Dodge Charger reliability by year
49 recall campaigns and 5,764 owner complaints across 20 model years. Best year to buy: 2023. Year to avoid: 2012.
Worst model years to avoid → — the single year to avoid for every model line we track, ranked side by side.
Years to avoid — and why 8 flagged on the NHTSA record
Cleaner on the data: 2009, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 . Still verify the specific vehicle.
At-a-glance: every year color-coded
Each cell shows the last two digits of the model year and its 0–10 reliability score from NHTSA data. Click any year to see the full record. ★ best year · ✕ year to avoid.
Year-by-year reliability 20 model years · newest first
Per-year recall counts add up to 110, more than the 49 campaigns above, because a single NHTSA campaign often covers several model years and is counted once in each.
Common trouble spots across the Charger aggregated across 20 model years
Common questions
What's the best year to buy a Dodge Charger?
Based on NHTSA complaint volume and severity weighting, the 2023 Dodge Charger scores 8.0/10 — the strongest in the 2006–2026 range. 26 complaints on file, 2 active recalls. Reliability scores reflect the federal complaint record, not subjective owner reviews.
Which Dodge Charger year should I avoid?
The 2012 Dodge Charger scores 3.0/10 — the weakest in the lineup. 648 owner complaints with NHTSA, 14 active recalls. That doesn't mean every 2012 is a problem — it means failure rates run higher than peer model years on the same platform.
Which years of the Dodge Charger should I avoid?
On the NHTSA complaint and recall record, the model years to be most careful with are 2013 (avoid — the electrical system — 19 fire-related complaints and 1 crash-related complaint on the electrical system); 2012 (avoid — the electrical system — 35 fire-related complaints and 6 crash-related complaints on the electrical system); 2011 (avoid — the electrical system — 41 fire-related complaints and 6 crash-related complaints on the electrical system); 2008 (avoid — the electrical system — 13 fire-related complaints and 4 crash-related complaints on the electrical system); 2007 (avoid — the electrical system — 7 fire-related complaints on the electrical system); 2006 (avoid — the electrical system — 5 fire-related complaints and 1 crash-related complaint on the engine). The cleaner years on the data are 2023, 2021, 2022, 2020, 2019, 2018. This is our read of the federal data, not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection of the specific vehicle.
How many years of the Dodge Charger are tracked?
20 model years (2006 through 2026) with NHTSA records on file. Total across the lineup: 49 distinct recall campaigns and 5,764 owner complaints. Those campaigns land on 110 model-year entries in total, because one campaign often covers several years at once — which is why per-year recall counts add up to more than the campaign count.
What's the most-reported problem on the Dodge Charger?
electrical is the most-reported category — 1,650 complaints across 16 model years. Average shop repair runs about $850.