2012 Dodge Charger Problems, Recalls & Reliability
957 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2012 Dodge Charger, alongside 14 recall campaigns and 3 defect investigations. It scores 63/100 on the trouble index — one of the years to avoid for this model. Electrical leads the reports, typically around 62,000 miles.
Avoid this year if you can. The 2012 Dodge Charger sits at the top of this model's complaint rankings. Quieter picks in the same family: 2009–2010, 2015–2021.
Avoid
Where 2012 sits among all Charger years
What owners report
“My alternator failed with hardly any warning while driving on the highway. I have the 180 amp alternator. The 160 amp alternator was recalled for this very same issue.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2012 Charger
“Can not put car into park i have took it to normals dealership and referred to me that it's a recall issue.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2012 Charger
“Driving at highway speed in eco mode engine shut off and would not start. Dealer said that the timing chain failed. Speed was about 70-75 mph”— owner report to NHTSA, 2012 Charger
“My car turned off on me in the middle of the freeway. It was the starter that went out and the alternator.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2012 Charger
“Vehicle electronics started to shut off while driving and would not accelerate car then turned off and shifted to park on its own in the middle of the street. Car would not turn on with out a jump start when disconnected would not shift and would not idle right before shutting off”— owner report to NHTSA, 2012 Charger
“My power steering went out again! This is now the 3rd time! I was backing out of my driveway and my steering wheel light came on, this made my steering wheel hard to turn! This has been a complete inconvenience to keep having to deal with this”— owner report to NHTSA, 2012 Charger
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 713 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 64,000 miles. Half of those reports fall between 45,200 and 89,008 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (14)
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain 2010 Dodge Ram 3500, Ram 4500/5500, 2010-2011 Dodge Dakota, 2010-2014 Dodge Challenger, 2010-2015 Dodge Challenger, Chrysler 300, and 2010-2016 Jeep Wrangler vehicles. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air…
Fix: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicle until the recall repair is complete. Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The…
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Jeep Wrangler, Chrysler 300, Dodge Challenger and Dodge Charger vehicles, and 2009-2011 Dodge Dakota vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii,…
Fix: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicle until the recall repair is complete. Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The…
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain model year 2011-2014 Dodge Challenger, Dodge Charger, Chrysler 300, Dodge Durango, and 2012-2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles. The affected vehicles have electro-hydraulic power steering (EHPS) and are equipped with…
Fix: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the alternator and depending on the part number, will replace the alternator, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began February 12, 2018.…
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 2012-2014 Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 vehicles manufactured February 15, 2011, to November 27, 2014, and 2014-2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles manufactured July 16, 2012, to December 22, 2015. The…
Fix: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will update the vehicle software to mitigate the risk of vehicle rollaway, free of charge. The recall began on June 24, 2016. Owners may contact Chrysler…
FCA US LLC (Chrysler) is recalling certain model year 2011-2016 Dodge Charger vehicles manufactured August 23, 2010, to January 7, 2016. When an affected vehicle is lifted using the supplied tire jack without chocking the wheels, the vehicle's body-side sill…
Fix: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will provide owners with wheel chocks and instructions for their use, free of charge. The recall began on March 21, 2016. Owners may contact Chrysler…
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain model year 2011-2014 Dodge Charger vehicles manufactured May 6, 2010, to June 5, 2014. In the affected vehicles, the side impact sensor calibrations may be overly sensitive, and as a result, the side air bag…
Fix: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will update the Occupant Restraint Control module calibration, free of charge. The recall began on August 25, 2015. Owners may contact Chrysler customer…
Chrysler Group LLC (Chrysler) is recalling certain model year 2011-2014 Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, Challenger, and Durango; and 2012-2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles manufactured April 22, 2010, to January 2, 2014, and equipped with a 3.6L engine and a 160…
Fix: Chrysler has notified owners, and dealers will replace the alternator, free of charge. The recall began on February 27, 2015. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403.…
Chrysler Group LLC (Chrysler) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Dodge Charger vehicles manufactured May 20, 2010, through November 8, 2011, and equipped with halogen headlamps. In the affected vehicles, a sub-harness for the headlights may overheat…
Fix: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the headlamp jumper harnesses and bulbs, or the headlamp assemblies, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on May 2, 2014. Owners may…
Chrysler Group LLC (Chrysler) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Chrysler 300, Dodge Challenger, and Dodge Charger vehicles manufactured April 11, 2011, through December 14, 2011. The affected vehicles may have improperly sized terminal crimps on the…
Fix: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace both driver and passenger seat airbag wiring harnesses, free of charge. The recall began on April 22, 2013. Owners may contact Chrysler at…
CHRYSLER IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2011 AND 2012 300 AND DODGE CHARGER VEHICLES. THESE VEHICLES MAY LOSE ABS/ESC SYSTEM FUNCTION DUE TO AN OVERHEATED POWER DISTRIBUTION CENTER.
Fix: CHRYSLER WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL RELOCATE THE ABS/ESC SYSTEM FUSE, FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 18, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CHRYSLER AT 1-800-853-1403.
CHRYSLER IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2011 and 2012 DODGE CHARGER POLICE VEHICLES. THE LOW BEAM HEADLAMPS OF SOME VEHICLES COULD FAIL DUE TO AN OVERHEATED BULB HARNESS CONNECTOR. OTHER VEHICLES MAY LOSE ABS/ESC SYSTEM FUNCTION DUE TO AN OVERHEATED POWER…
Fix: CHRYSLER WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE HEADLAMP JUMPER HARNESSES AND RELOCATE THE ABS/ESC SYSTEM FUSE WITHIN THE POWER DISTRIBUTION CENTER, FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN…
CHRYSLER IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2012 DODGE CHARGER SRT8 AND THE CHRYSLER 300 SRT8 VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM MAY 2, 2011, THROUGH NOVEMBER 17, 2011, FOR FAILING TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NUMBER 138,…
Fix: CHRYSLER WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND DEALERS WILL REPROGRAM THE VEHICLE’S TPMS. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MARCH 2, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CHRYSLER AT…
CHRYSLER IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2012 CHRYSLER VEHICLES, INCLUDING 200 AND TOWN AND COUNTRY MODELS, DODGE VEHICLES, INCLUDING CHARGER, DURANGO, GRAND CARAVAN AND JOURNEY MODELS AND JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM AUGUST 31, 2011,…
Fix: CHRYSLER WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE ENGINE FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR ABOUT NOVEMBER 18, 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CHRYSLER AT 1-800-853-1403.
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
Led to recall campaign 16V240000.
Led to recall campaign 14V634000.
Technical service bulletins
219 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, the biggest share on electrical and transmission & drivetrain — are on file for the 2012 Dodge Charger. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
See the 2012 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 2012 Dodge Charger reliable?
The 2012 Dodge Charger drew 957 complaints in federal safety records — one of the years to avoid for this model. Its trouble index is 63/100, scored against the model's worst year (2006).
What are the most common 2012 Dodge Charger problems?
The top reported problems for the 2012 Dodge Charger are electrical (417 complaints), airbags (111), and engine (97).
At what mileage do 2012 Dodge Charger problems show up?
Owners most often report 2012 Dodge Charger problems around 64,000 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 45,200 and 89,008 miles.
Does the 2012 Dodge Charger have recalls?
14 recall campaigns apply to the 2012 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.