What's Wrong with the 7th Generation Charger?

Front 3/4 view of a Dodge Charger

The 7th generation Charger spans the 2011 to 2021 model years.

It has accumulated 376 owner complaints over those year and ranks 30th in reliability out of 54 eligible Dodge generations.

Our reliability rank is based on our PainRank™ system. A higher number means you can expect more significant problems. The average Dodge score is 12.28 while this generation comes in at 12.35.

Compare With Other Charger Generations

The Worst 2011-2021 Charger Problems

  1. Charger Warped Door Panels

    There is a door panel defect in certain model years of the 7th generation Charger. The panels warp and pull away from where they meet the window, leaving an unsightly gap that causes more problems than cosmetics. A class-action lawsuit is t…

    Continue

  2. Dodge's Dangerous e-Shift Design

    The monostable electronic gear shifter is Fiat-Chrysler (FCA) vehicles has been disastrous. The confusing design is responsible for hundreds of rollaway incidents and widely believed to have caused actor Anton Yelchin’s death.

    Continue

  3. Stuck in Park

    Can't shift the car into reverse or drive! Now what? This is most commonly reported from Dodge Avenger owners, but there have also been similar complaints about other Dodge makes as well as other Chrysler and Jeep vehicles having a similar …

    Continue

What Owners Complain About

Sometimes it helps just to tally up the complaints and see where the biggest stacks are. Use this information to learn about troublespots or to run for the hills.

Worst Issues

What Breaks

Years to Avoid

7th Generation Charger Key Numbers

  1. 9 model years

    Grouping all models by their year can reveal some baddies.

  2. 376 complaints

    Running tally of owner grievances filed to CarComplaints.com.

  3. 30th in reliability

    Overall reliability rank out of 54 eligible generations.

Recent 7th Generation Charger News

There's a lot of news out there, but not all of it matters. We try to boil down it to the most important bits about things that actually help you with your car problem. Interested in getting these stories in an email? Signup for free email alerts over at CarComplaints.com.

  1. The Charger's interior door panels have been warping and peeling away from where they meet the window since the 2014 model year.

    And while some owners have been able to replace the issue under warranty there's a handful of major problems according to a new class-action lawsuit:

    1. It takes so damn long because there's a national backorder for parts
    2. It doesn't really matter because Dodge is just going to replace your defective panel with a new, but equally defective panel
    3. They're betting you won't wait around to replace the panel because it can interfere with the side airbags from deploying and locks from activating.…

      keep reading

  2. A lawsuit concerning hacking vulnerabilities in Fiat-Chrysler’s (FCA) Uconnect system is headed to trial this October.

    The lawsuit was filed after researchers showed how a Jeep could be controlled remotely through the infotainment system. FCA has called the case meritless and tried to get it dismissed. When that didn’t work they turned to the U.S. Supreme Court. To FCA’s surprise, the court refused to even hear the appeal.

    It’s almost as if FCA thought the were in control of the situation and then suddenly they weren’t 🤔

    keep reading

  5. The government has closed their investigation into FCA’s electronic gear shifters after the automaker agreed to a software update recall.

    But that doesn't mean they like the design change, saying the "monostable shifter isn't consistent and simply isn't easy to use."

    And yet, it appears at this point the only thing drivers have to look forward to is more chimes and audible warnings.

    keep reading

  6. Fiat-Chrysler (FCA) is recalling 1.1 million vehicles with electronic gear selectors.

    While the system is working as it was designed, it's the design that's the problem.

    "A driver should know the gear-selection based on multiple sets of indicator lights, unlike normal shifters that use a gear-selector position. However, hundreds of drivers have caused their vehicles to roll away because of not realizing the vehicles aren't in Park."

    An investigation was opened earlier this year. One or two rollaways might be an accident, but hundreds? That screams of a "back to the drawing board" situation for the FCA team.…

    keep reading

  7. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation into e-Shift last summer.

    They have since upgraded the investigation to an engineering analysis and have included the Dodge Charger.

    "NHTSA says to date, there are 306 incidents of Jeep Grand Cherokees rolling away after owners believed the SUVs were shifted into "Park." The 306 rollaway incidents resulted in 117 alleged crashes and 28 injuries. Those injuries include pelvic fractures, broken kneecaps, a ruptured bladder, busted ribs, sprained knees, trauma to the legs, lacerations to the face and various other injuries."…

    keep reading

  8. More than 500,000 Dodge Chargers are part of an interesting recall.

    While the owner's manual clearly says 'wheel chocks' should be used when changing a tire using a tire jack, not everyone follows instructions. Now at least three of those people ended up getting injured when changing their Charger's tires.

    Darwin has an award for this sort of thing.

    Rather than place blame, however, Dodge has decided to provide owners with free chocks.

    They should be ready in April, 2016. Owners can call Dodge at 800-853-1403.

    keep reading

  9. Having a bad day? A little too energized from your morning coffee?

    Be careful how much force you use to close your car's doors.

    "Days ago, Fiat Chrysler (FCA) recalled 667,000 trucks with airbags that can deploy just by slamming the doors. Add another 284,000 model year 2011-2014 Dodge Chargers to the list as the automaker says the curse of the sensitive sensors strikes again."

    FCA says the problem is an overly sensitive front door pressure sensor. The sensor thinks you closing the door is actually a side-impact crash. I know you've been hitting the gym lately, but come on...…

    keep reading

What Charger Owners Say About This Generation

Charger Warped Door Panels

Looks like thousands of others are dealing with the Charger interior door panel issue. I should not be forced to spend a dime to replace door panels on a vehicle 4 years old w/ 30,000 miles.