2012 Dodge Charger Problems: 6 Known Issues

On the 2011-2023 Dodge Charger 3.6L Pentastar V6, the 3.6L Pentastar V6 can develop a ticking noise often related to the rocker arms or hydraulic lifters. This is common on engines with higher mileage or irregular oil change intervals. Some early Pentastar engines had rocker arm design issues that were later updated.

On the 2011-2023 Dodge Charger, hEMI engines with Multi-Displacement System (MDS) can develop a ticking noise from the MDS lifters. This tick is most noticeable at idle and during light acceleration. While often not causing immediate damage, it can indicate lifter wear that may eventually require attention.

On the 2011-2020 Dodge Charger, the alternator can fail, sometimes with little or no warning. When it stops charging, the car runs on the battery until voltage drops too low, and then the engine can stall. On 2011-2014 Chargers this failure is covered by two Chrysler (FCA) safety recalls. What goes wrong: according to FCA's recall filings, the diodes in the alternator's rectifier wear out from heat fatigue. The cause is high operating temperatures combined with the repeated load cycles from the electro-hydraulic power steering (EHPS) pump. A failed alternator may give no output, reduced output, or short to ground. As voltage falls, the ABS/stability control and the engine and body control modules can shut off. FCA's investigation also looked into reports of heavier steering effort and the engine stalling while driving. A failed diode can also develop a short that produces heat, smoke, or fire inside the alternator. FCA says a warning light may come on just before the failure in some cases, and the "Battery Saver Mode" message may appear. - Recall 14V-634 (FCA P60) covers 2011-2014 Chargers built from June 2010 to December 2013 with the 3.6L V6 and the 160-amp alternator. FCA changed that alternator in production on January 3, 2014. - Recall 17V-435 (FCA T36) covers 2011-2014 Chargers with EHPS: 5.7L cars with the 160-amp or 180-amp alternator, and 3.6L cars with the 180-amp alternator. Owners on CarComplaints describe an alternator smoking and the car dying, being left stranded in traffic, and a Battery Saver Mode warning appearing before the failure. The failures reported there averaged about 42,700 miles. One owner reports that the alternator installed under the recall also failed later. High electrical loads from added aftermarket accessories can also strain the alternator. 2015-2020 Chargers are not included in either recall.

On the 2006-2023 Dodge Charger, all Charger generations suffer from rapid front suspension wear including tension struts (radius arms), tie rods, lower control arm bushings, and sway bar end links. Bushings typically worn by 45,000-60,000 miles. Endemic LX/LD platform problem shared with Challenger and 300.

On the 2006-2018 Dodge Charger, the Chrysler LX/LD rear-drive cars use a saddle-shaped fuel tank that straddles the driveshaft, so a single sender cannot measure the whole tank. Fuel Level Sensor 1 lives on the primary (driver's) side with the electric pump module; Fuel Level Sensor 2 - the 'B' sensor in generic OBD-II terms - measures the secondary (passenger) lobe and is fed by a jet-pump siphon that transfers fuel across to the pump side. Both senders are read by the cluster/CCN and the fuel level data is then bussed to the PCM. Two things go wrong on the secondary side. The sender's resistive card wears or becomes contaminated so the float arm reads a fixed value, and the siphon jet pump can weaken or clog so the secondary lobe genuinely does not drain at the expected rate. Either way the module sees a fuel-level signal that is present but not credible against fuel consumed, and stores P2066 instead of the circuit-low or circuit-high codes. The classic owner complaint is a gauge that freezes somewhere between half and three-quarters and stays there for a hundred miles or more, then falls off a cliff, with range-to-empty and the low-fuel light never catching up. Because the same tank architecture is used across the platform, a Charger diagnosis translates directly to a Chrysler 300 or a Dodge Challenger.

On the 2006-2023 Dodge Charger, a very common and frequently misdiagnosed problem on the Dodge Charger is failure of the EVAP (evaporative emissions) leak-detection device, which causes the PCM to log P0456 (small EVAP leak), P0455 (large EVAP leak), and/or P0457 (leak detected / fuel cap loose) and illuminate the check-engine light. On 2011-and-newer Chargers the system uses an ESIM (Evaporative System Integrity Module) — a natural-vacuum-based switch (the same NVLD-style monitoring concept) mounted directly on the charcoal/EVAP canister behind the passenger-side rear wheel well. With the EVAP system sealed, the PCM watches the ESIM/NVLD switch; if the switch's internal mechanical diaphragm fails or its external O-ring seal degrades, the switch fails to close within the calibrated time and the PCM falsely reports an EVAP leak. The classic giveaway is that a smoke test shows NO actual leak yet the code keeps returning. Because the code is almost always assumed to be a loose or failed gas cap, owners (and shops) often chase the wrong part first — replacing the gas cap and purge valve before discovering the real culprit is the inexpensive ESIM module. The code is low-severity (no driveability or engine damage, only a slight fuel-economy effect) but will fail an emissions/smog test and leaves the CEL on. In a worst-case escalation, the same codes can be caused by a pinhole leak on top of the fuel tank near a fuel-pump lock ring, which requires fuel-tank replacement. On 2022 Chargers with the 5.7L or 6.4L, Mopar TSBs 18-093-23 (5.7L) and 18-094-23 (6.4L) cover a check-engine light with P0455/P0456/P0440/P0441 that is corrected with a PCM software update rather than a part.