2006 Dodge Charger Problems, Recalls & Reliability
1,904 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2006 Dodge Charger, alongside 5 recall campaigns and 4 defect investigations. It scores 100/100 on the trouble index — one of the years to avoid for this model. Fuel system leads the reports, typically around 81,730 miles.
Avoid this year if you can. The 2006 Dodge Charger sits at the top of this model's complaint rankings. Quieter picks in the same family: 2009–2010, 2015–2021.
Avoid
Where 2006 sits among all Charger years
What owners report
“After filling up my gas tank I went to start driving again and my vehicle stalled out. It did this several more times.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2006 Charger
“Car will stall and not start after filling with gas. After awhile car will run but shut off randomly. This can happen while driving. Car has been stuck at intersections and will stall even doing highway speeds. All lights will appear on dash engine car will lose all power. Small ding before it dies.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2006 Charger
“Gear shifter frozen in park, release button did not work had to have car towed on flat bed air bag light still on even after air bag recall”— owner report to NHTSA, 2006 Charger
“While driving my headlights, and parking lights flicker like a christmas tree or sometimes just go out, for a few seconds. I notice this happens in the cold weather especially.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2006 Charger
“1. In october only 5 months after buying my '06 charger i noticed a lot of noice coming from the brakes. 2. In november i took it in to the dealer and they said everything was fine that it mainly should happen when it gets colder. 3. I took it in last week in march and told them that it has been 75…”— owner report to NHTSA, 2006 Charger
“Two recalls for the driver and passenger airbags; however, no parts are available to repair. Dealer cannot provide any date or time frame when parts will be available.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2006 Charger
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 1,564 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 82,000 miles. Half of those reports fall between 53,500 and 108,000 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (5)
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) expanded the affected population to include 73,712 2005-2009 RAM 2500 trucks produced at the St. Louis North Assembly Plant. With this change, Chrysler is recalling certain model year 2004-2008 RAM 1500, 2005-2009 RAM 2500, 2006-2009…
Fix: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicle until the recall repair is complete. Chrysler will notify the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and RAM owners. Mitsubishi owners will be notified by their…
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain model year 2005-2009 Dodge Ram 2500, 2004-2008 Dodge Ram 1500 and Durango, 2006-2009 Dodge Ram 3500, 2008-2010 Dodge Ram 4500 and 5500, 2007-2008 Chrysler Aspen, 2005-2010 Chrysler 300, 300C, 300S, and SRT8,…
Fix: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicle until the recall repair is complete. Chrysler will notify the affected Chrysler and Dodge owners and Mitsubishi will notify the affected Raider owners.…
CHRYSLER IS RECALLING 20,283 MY 2006-2009 CHARGER AND MAGNUM VEHICLES BUILT WITH THE POLICE PACKAGE AND EQUIPPED WITH A COLUMN SHIFTER. THE GEARSHIFT CABLE MAY BECOME DISENGAGED FROM THE STEERING COLUMN MOUNTING BRACKET AND CAUSE AN INCORRECT TRANSMISSION…
Fix: DEALERS WILL ADD A REDUNDANT LOCKING MECHANISM TO THE GEARSHIFT CABLE AT THE MOUNTING BRACKET TO ENSURE PROPER RETENTION AND SHIFT LINKAGE FUNCTION. THE RECALL BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 10, 2008. OWNERS…
CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 2.7 LITER ENGINES AND MK25E BRAKING SYSTEMS MAY EXHIBIT INADEQUATE CLEARANCE BETWEEN THE REAR BRAKE TUBES AND THE EXHAUST GAS RECIRCULATION TUBE. CONTACT BETWEEN THE BRAKE TUBES AND EXHAUST GAS RECIRCULATION TUBE OVER…
Fix: DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE REAR BRAKE TUBES FOR DAMAGE AND REPLACE THEM FREE OF CHARGE. A CLIP WILL ALSO BE INSTALLED TO SECURE THE BRAKE TUBES TO THE RIGHT FRONT SHOCK TOWER TO MAINTAIN PROPER…
ON CERTAIN PICKUP TRUCKS, SPORT UTILITY AND PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 42RLE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS, THE CUP PLUG THAT RETAINS THE PARK PAWL ANCHOR SHAFT MAY BE IMPROPERLY INSTALLED. IF THE SHAFT MOVES OUT OF POSITION, THE VEHICLE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO…
Fix: DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE TRANSMISSIONS AND INSTALL A BRACKET TO ENSURE THE PARK PAWL ANCHOR SHAFT IS RETAINED IN THE PROPER POSITION. THE RECALL BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 28, 2005. OWNERS MAY CONTACT…
Federal defect investigations
Still open as of the last data refresh. An investigation is not a recall; it may close with no action. All open investigations →
Component: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade,…
Model years named: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Component: AIR BAGS
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their…
Led to recall campaign 13V172000.
Technical service bulletins
62 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, the biggest share on engine and electrical — are on file for the 2006 Dodge Charger. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
See the 2006 Charger TSB list →
Complaint history for this model year
When owners filed their reports — a long tail means problems kept surfacing for years.
Questions buyers ask
Is the 2006 Dodge Charger reliable?
The 2006 Dodge Charger drew 1,904 complaints in federal safety records — one of the years to avoid for this model. Its trouble index is 100/100, scored against the model's worst year (2006).
What are the most common 2006 Dodge Charger problems?
The top reported problems for the 2006 Dodge Charger are fuel system (520 complaints), engine (453), and transmission & drivetrain (222).
At what mileage do 2006 Dodge Charger problems show up?
Owners most often report 2006 Dodge Charger problems around 82,000 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 53,500 and 108,000 miles.
Does the 2006 Dodge Charger have recalls?
5 recall campaigns apply to the 2006 Dodge Charger. At least one carries a do-not-drive or park-outside warning — check your VIN before driving.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.