Which Dodge Vehicles Have Dangerous Takata Airbags?
Key Points
- The Takata airbag recall is the largest automotive recall in U.S. history with more than 100 million vehicles affected worldwide.
- The inflators become unstable over time and can rupture / explode during an airbag deployment, shooting metal fragments into the cabin.
- The problem is responsible for at least 27 deaths worldwide.
The propellent inside the inflators is unstable. During an airbag deployment the explodes with such force that it rips the inflators into metal fragments, shooting them in the direction of vehicle occupants along with the airbag itself.
Because of their instability, the airbags are turning low speed crashes into very dangerous situations.
After years of recalls, Fiat-Chrysler announced they were entering the fourth and final stage of Takata campaigns in January 2019.
Which Dodge Vehicles Have Been Recalled? ∞
| Make | Model | Years | Limited To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dodge | Challenger | 2008-2013 | Zone A |
| 2008-2010 | Zone B | ||
| 2008-2009 | Zone C | ||
| Charger | 2006-2013 | Zone A | |
| 2006-2010 | Zone B | ||
| 2006-2009 | Zone C | ||
| 2005-2010 | |||
| Dakota | 2005-2011 | Zone A | |
| 2005-2010 | Zone B | ||
| 2005-2009 | Zone C | ||
| Durango | 2004-2009 | Zone A, B | |
| 2004-2009 | Zone C | ||
| Magnum | 2005-2008 | Zone A, B, C | |
| 2005-2010 | |||
| Ram 1500 | 2003-2008 | ||
| Ram 2500 | 2003-2009 | ||
| 2009 | Zone C | ||
| Ram 3500 | 2003-2009 | ||
| 2009 | Zone C | ||
| Ram 3500 Cab Chassis | 2009-2010 | Zone B | |
| 2009 | Zone C | ||
| Ram 4500 | 2008-2010 | ||
| Ram 4500 Cab Chassis | 2009-2010 | Zone B | |
| 2009 | Zone C | ||
| Ram 5500 | 2008-2010 | ||
| Ram 5500 Cab Chassis | 2009-2010 | Zone B | |
| 2009 | Zone C | ||
| Sprinter 2500 | 2007-2008 | ||
| Sprinter 3500 | 2007-2008 |
What are Zones? ∞
Some Takata recalls are being broken down into what NHTSA calls "zones". A zone is a group of states and territories where a vehicle was originally sold or registered at some point in time. A few notes about zones:
- A vehicle can be recalled in more than one zone.
- When no zone is defined, the recall was more widespread. Possibly internationally.
- If you find this all very confusing, you're not alone my friend.
So, here we go:
- Zone A: Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan) and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- Zone B: Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
- Zone C: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Take Action ∞
Takata inflators have been [linked to 11 deaths][2] in the USA, so far.
Owners of these vehicles are urged to call the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 or [lookup your VIN][3] (vehicle identification number).
"Consumers that are uncertain whether their vehicle is impacted by the Takata recalls, or any other recall, can contact their manufacturer’s website to search, by their vehicle identification number (VIN) to confirm whether their individual vehicle has an open recall that needs to be addressed."
Generations Where This Problem Has Been Reported
This problem has popped up in the following Dodge generations.
Most years within a generation share the same parts and manufacturing process. You can also expect them to share the same problems. So while it may not be a problem in every year yet, it's worth looking out for.
3rd Generation Challenger
- Years
- 2008–2021
- Reliability
- 26th of 54
- PainRank™
- 7.18
- Complaints
- 264
6th Generation Charger
- Years
- 2006–2010
- Reliability
- 48th of 54
- PainRank™
- 27.35
- Complaints
- 443
3rd Generation Dakota
- Years
- 2005–2011
- Reliability
- 28th of 54
- PainRank™
- 10.29
- Complaints
- 223
2nd Generation Durango
- Years
- 2004–2009
- Reliability
- 44th of 54
- PainRank™
- 22.05
- Complaints
- 829
1st Generation Magnum
- Years
- 2005–2008
- Reliability
- 38th of 54
- PainRank™
- 19.1
- Complaints
- 273
3rd Generation Ram 1500
- Years
- 2002–2008
- Reliability
- 52nd of 54
- PainRank™
- 57.14
- Complaints
- 3501
3rd Generation Ram 2500
- Years
- 2003–2009
- Reliability
- 41st of 54
- PainRank™
- 20.39
- Complaints
- 827
3rd Generation Ram 3500
- Years
- 2003–2009
- Reliability
- 39th of 54
- PainRank™
- 19.54
- Complaints
- 358
4th Generation Ram 4500
- Years
- 2008–2011
- Reliability
- 1st of 54
- PainRank™
- 0.22
- Complaints
- 3
4th Generation Ram 5500
- Years
- 2008–2011
- Reliability
- 10th of 54
- PainRank™
- 0.6
- Complaints
- 3
1st Generation Sprinter
- Years
- 2004–2009
- Reliability
- 3rd of 54
- PainRank™
- 0.3
- Complaints
- 8
Further Reading
A timeline of stories related to this problem. We try to boil these stories down to the most important bits so you can quickly see where things stand. Interested in getting these stories in an email? Signup for free email alerts for your vehicle over at CarComplaints.com.
Is that a light at the end of the Takata tunnel?
Fiat-Chrysler (FCA) says they’ve entered the _ fourth and final stage_ of Takata recalls with a campaign to replace the passenger-side inflators in 1.6 million vehicles.
The bulk of the vehicles are in the US and include the 2010 Dodge Ram 3500, 4500, 5500, the 2010-2011 Dakota, the 2010-2014 Challenger, and the 2011-2015 Charger.…
keep readingDid you know it’s been almost five years since the first Takata recall?
And just like the ongoing nightmare it’s become, we find ourselves staring down the barrel of yet another recall expansion.
Fiat-Chrysler (FCA) is recalling 317,000 vehicles, including the Dodge Challenger, Charger, Dakota, and older Ram trucks. David Woods of CarComplaints.com has the full breakdown of which model years and in what zones.…
keep readingFiat-Chrysler (FCA) announced they will recall 4.3 million vehicles with dangerous Takata airbags
, and that includes plenty of Dodge models.…
keep readingJ
ust a few days after switching its name, FCA US is issuing a massive recall for 3.3 million older vehicles with Takata airbag inflators.** The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been not-so-subtly suggesting automakers ditch regional recalls and expand nationwide. It looks like FCA US has listened.
FCA US says it's aware of one injury related to exploding Takata airbag inflators, but that incident occurred in Florida. The automaker said there have been no other reports of accidents or injuries. In addition, FCA US says over 1,000 laboratory tests have been conducted on airbag inflators but no problems were discovered.
The recalled vehicles include the 2004-2007 Dodge Ram 1500 / 2500 / 3500 / 3500 Chassis Cab, Durango, Charger, Magnum, and Dakota.
keep readingDodge is part of a new recall of Takata airbag inflators in over 350,000 vehicles.
The recall is currently limited to areas of high humidity, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and the territories of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Saipan and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Chrysler says the vehicles have passenger frontal airbag inflators that are different from other metal Takata inflators used by other automakers. Chrysler says it has received no reports of accidents or injuries and even after laboratory tests on 600 inflators, none of the inflators were defective.
Recall notices should be sent out around January 15th of next year.
keep reading