LIVE Global accident monitoring — updating every 15 minutes
LIVEACCIDENTTRACKER
Home / Car Problems Checker / 2012 Dodge Charger
Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2012 Dodge Charger — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 648 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

648
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
20
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
49
Involved Fire
owner-reported
16
Injuries
across all reports
Years to Avoid

Dodge Charger — Complaints by Model Year

Years flagged AVOID have at least twice this model's average complaint count — the strongest public-data signal of a bad year.

2010 Dodge Charger

238 complaints

2011 Dodge Charger AVOID

695 complaints

2012 Dodge Charger AVOID

648 complaints

2013 Dodge Charger

360 complaints

2014 Dodge Charger

343 complaints

2015 Dodge Charger

136 complaints

2016 Dodge Charger

182 complaints

2017 Dodge Charger

128 complaints

2018 Dodge Charger

122 complaints

2019 Dodge Charger

120 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Electrical System 359 reports
Air Bags 111 reports
Engine 94 reports
Power Train 65 reports
Steering 53 reports
Exterior Lighting 52 reports
Service Brakes 46 reports
Electronic Stability Control (esc) 35 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Electronic Stability Control (esc) ODI 10558009 12/31/2013

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 DODGE CHARGER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH, THE ABS AND TRACTION CONTROL LIGHTS ILLUMINATED AND CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO STALL. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED BECAUSE THE BRAKES WOULD NOT RELEASE. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE ALTERNATOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE …

Engine ODI 11057507 12/30/2017

MY TIMING CHAIN AND PULLEY BROKE WHILE ON TTHE FREEWAY CAUSING LOSS OF POWER AND STALL.

Electrical System ODI 10669070 12/30/2014

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 DODGE CHARGER. THE CONTACT RECEIVED A NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V634000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE.

Electrical System ODI 10816787 12/29/2015

I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY WHEN THE 'BATTERY SAVER MODE' INDICATOR CAME ON AND I PRESSED THE OK BUTTON ON MY STEERING WHEEL. I DROVE HOME AND PARKED THE CAR. THE NEXT DAY UPON STARTING MY CAR THE INDICATOR DID NOT APPEAR WHEN STARTING THE AUTO. AS I LEFT MY HOUSE DRIVING IN NEIGHBORHOOD I NOTICED MY CARS TOUCHSCREEN WASN'T WORKING, THEN I HEARD A WHINING SOUND SO I B…

Electrical System ODI 10661723 12/29/2014

2012 DODGE CHARGER ABS LIGHT, TRACTION LIGHT CAME ON AND THE VEHICLE SHUT OFF. *MW THE CONSUMER WAS INFORMED THE ALTERNATOR HAD BURNED UP AND IT WOULD COST $ 891.00 TO REPLACE IT. *JB

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2012 Dodge Charger, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

Check Another Car

Problems Checker

Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.

Questions

FAQ

Is the 2012 Dodge Charger reliable?
Owners have filed 648 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2012 Dodge Charger, most often about electrical system. Compare the complaint counts across model years above — a year with far more complaints than the model's average is the strongest 'avoid' signal in public data.
Which Dodge Charger years should I avoid?
The rule of thumb used by analysts: a model year whose complaint count is well above the model's own average (we flag 2× or more) usually had a real manufacturing or design problem — not just noisy reporting. Use the year-by-year strip on this page.
Where do these complaints come from?
Directly from NHTSA, the US government road-safety agency. Any owner can file a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire; NHTSA publishes them as public domain data. We cache each lookup for up to 7 days.
Do complaints mean a recall is coming?
Sometimes. NHTSA opens defect investigations when complaint patterns emerge, and investigations can end in recalls. Check the recalls page for this vehicle to see what has already been recalled.