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175 owner complaints and 1 active recall campaign on file. Here's the breakdown — what's serious, what's noise, what a working mechanic would actually do about it.
Solid reliability overall. Common issues are concentrated in a few systems.
Worth owning if you verify the specific issues below before you buy.
Our read of the federal NHTSA complaint and recall record for this exact year and model — not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection. How we score.
Here's what this model is known to do — so you can inspect for it, price it in, or make the seller fix it before you sign.
⚠ The one to take seriously: airbags is flagged severe on this model , showing up around 123,309 mi. Inspect it closely on a test drive.
Run the VIN from the listing — 1 active recall on this model. Recall repairs are always free.
Verdict for buyers: 7.4/10 model. The priciest documented failure is engine (~$3,100) — get the seller's service records for it or inspect closely. Otherwise an average-risk used buy at a fair price.
We tell you what this model is known for and what to inspect — a vehicle-history report tells you what this exact car has been through. Smart buyers get both.
See the full pre-purchase inspection checklist →A noise, a warning light, a repair quote, "should I buy this?" — get an answer grounded in this vehicle's actual NHTSA record, not generic advice.
Answers use this vehicle's NHTSA complaint & recall record — owner-reported and unverified, not a diagnosis. Verify anything safety-critical with a mechanic.
When owners report each system failing, in actual miles — so you can see what's likely behind you, what's due around now, and what to budget for next. Enter your mileage to mark where you are.
"Typical" = median owner-reported failure mileage from the NHTSA complaint record for this exact year and model. Not a maintenance schedule — a heads-up on where this model's failures cluster.
Change tires and the low tire light doesn't come off. Trunk will not unlock from key fob or inside car. Key hole to open door easy to break into. Car keep cutting off while driving on several occasion. Cut off while in the middle of intersection.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 Dodge charger. The contact stated that the throttle warning light illuminated on the instrument panel and the vehicle became hesitant. The vehicle was powered off and restarted, as it resumed normally. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic where they…
In august of 2011 I hit a large piece of semi tire tread. I realized before we returned home to iowa that I had no tail lights.in january 2012 I took my car into the dealership where I purchased it to find out why the car had such a bad shiny and the tail lights were not…
Tl*the contact owns a 2009 Dodge charger. While driving approximately 50 MPH, the brake calipers broke in half. The vehicle swirled in the opposite direction so the contact pulled over. The left rear tire was punctured as a result. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer…
Drag to your current mileage. Numbers are derived from this vehicle's complaint history.
This could allow the vehicle to move in an unexpected direction startling the driver, and cause a crash without warning.
NHTSA has an open defect investigation covering this vehicle — the step that can precede a recall, not a finding of fault. EA21002 on NHTSA →
How NHTSA investigations work, and what's open now →
Mostly yes. With a reliability score of 7.4 out of 10 based on 175 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2009 Dodge Charger is generally a sound vehicle. The areas to watch are listed in the top problem section above — most are budget items, not deal-breakers.
The 2009 Dodge Charger is acceptable, with specific caveats. Worth owning if you verify the specific issues below before you buy. The record behind that call: Engine: 31 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 57,000–125,000 mi; Reliability score 7.4/10 — around the segment average; 1 recall campaign on file. This is our read of the federal complaint and recall data — not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection.
Inspect the airbags first — it's the most-reported issue on this model, with 41 owner complaints filed. Typical failure occurs around 123,309 miles. Average repair cost runs about $1,100 at an independent shop. Also confirm any open recalls have been completed by running the VIN, and ask for service records covering the problem areas listed above.
It scores 7.4 out of 10 on our NHTSA-based read of 175 owner complaints. The main thing to watch is airbags. Typical failure occurs around 123,309 miles. Priced fairly and clean on inspection, it's a reasonable used buy. Our data covers what this model is known for — pair it with a vehicle-history report on the VIN to see what that specific car has been through.
Based on NHTSA records, the most-reported issue is airbags, with 41 complaints filed. Typical failure occurs around 123,309 miles. Average repair cost runs about $1,100 at an independent shop.
The airbags is one of the costlier repair items. Average repair cost runs about $1,100 at an independent shop. Typical failure occurs around 123,309 miles. Catching early warning signs can sometimes extend life by 20–30,000 miles.
Paste your VIN into the decoder at the top of this page. We pull live from NHTSA, so you'll see exactly which campaigns apply to your vehicle and whether the dealer has logged the fix. Recall repairs are always free regardless of mileage or warranty status.
Math is straightforward: a quality service contract runs $1,800–3,500 over 3 years. With 175 complaints on file and the costliest repair averaging $1,100, one major failure more than pays for it. The catch is reading the contract — many providers exclude wear items and require pre-authorization, so cheaper plans are not always better value.