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Dodge · NHTSA safety record

2012 Dodge Charger Police

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

13

Complaints

0

Crashes

1

Fires

0

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2012 Dodge Charger Police have filed 13 safety complaints with NHTSA between February 2017 and June 2019. The most complained-about system is the electrical system, named in 6 of them (46%). The typical failure was reported at 96,000 miles, the median across the 11 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 1 recall covering this vehicle. A further 1 defect investigation is open and unresolved.

Recalls (1)

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR

16V739000 · October 13, 2016

The defect
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain model year 2011-2014 Dodge Charger Police vehicles, 2007-2013 RAM 3500 Cab Chassis, 2008-2013 RAM 4500 and 5500 Cab Chassis, and 2013 RAM 2500 and 3500 vehicles. The affected vehicles have a 220 amp alternator that may suddenly fail.
The risk
If the alternator fails, the vehicle may stall without warning, increasing the risk of a crash. There is also the possibility that the alternator may short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.
The remedy
Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the alternator with a revised alternator, free of charge. The recall began on December 23, 2016. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is S68.

Chrysler (FCA US LLC) · up to 74,811 vehicles across all model years covered

Defect investigations (1)

An investigation means NHTSA has decided a pattern is worth examining. A preliminary evaluation is often closed with no action; an engineering analysis is the stage that usually precedes a recall.

Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture

EA21002

Still open engineering analysis · opened September 17, 2021

the air bags

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, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.Consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substance that traps and holds moisture) in US vehicles are under recall. These "non-desiccated" inflators either have been or are required to be replaced.In some cases, the remedy part for these recalled inflators was, or will be, an inflator using either propellant 2004 or 2004L that does contain a desiccant. None of these "desiccated" remedy parts (which were installed in older model year vehicles) are currently under recall for a degradation concern. Certain subsets of desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004 for use as original equipment, however, have been recalled for a degradation concern. All Takata inflators produced with propellant 2004L contain desiccant, and none of these desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L are under recall for a degradation concern. There have been no reported field ruptures in any non-recalled desiccated PSAN inflators.It is understood that desiccants fully saturate at some threshold, at which point any additional moisture will not be captured. This means the degradation process observed in non-desiccated inflators using propellant 2004 may also occur in non-recalled desiccated inflators using propellant 2004, assuming additional moisture enters the inflator and high temperature cycling occurs. Based on available information, desiccant saturation can occur within the first five years in the worst environments, and the time required for full saturation is affected by multiple factors. While no present safety risk has been identified, further work is needed to evaluate the future risk of non-recalled desiccated inflators using propellant 2004.Three entities -- Takata (now known as TK Global), the Independent Testing Coalition, and Exponent -- have been studying the long-term behavior of Takata desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004L (as well as 2004) in the presence of moisture and temperature cycling. The research efforts, which include development of predictive modeling techniques and field sample analysis, are ongoing. To date, none of the researchers have identified field evidence showing that propellant 2004L is undergoing a degradation process that leads to aggressive deployment and potential rupture. However, the time in service of such inflators remains short compared to that of the inflators using propellant 2004. Further study is needed to assess the long-term safety of desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L.The Office of Defects Investigation is opening this investigation to examine whether a safety defect related to propellant degradation exists in non-recalled desiccated PSAN frontal inflators manufactured by Takata. This investigation will require extensive information on Takata production processes and surveys of inflators in the field. Lists of recall actions that may have used desiccated PSAN inflators as remedy parts, as well as the makes and models originally manufactured with them, is available with the downloadable version of this document (see nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=EA21002 -- note this information is subject to change/revision as the investigation proceeds). This investigation does not supersede EA15-001, which remains open.

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 13.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 6 46%
ENGINE 4 31%
STEERING 3 23%
SERVICE BRAKES 2 15%
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 8%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 8%
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 1 8%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 8%
POWER TRAIN 1 8%
SUSPENSION 1 8%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 8%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2018 at 5.

2017 2018 2019
2017 to 2019

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

fire · towed · 120,000 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2012 DODGE CHARGER POLICE VEHICLE. WHILE PARKED AT A GAS STATION, SHE SAW SMOKE COMING FROM THE HOOD. THE CONTACT STATED SHE TRIED TO OPEN THE HOOD BUT THE LATCH WAS MELTED AND FAILED TO OPEN. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE AND FILED A REPORT. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE ENTIRE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE WAS DAMAGED DUE TO THE FIRE. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED AND THERE WERE NO INJURIES REPORTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DRIVABLE AND WAS TOWED TO A RESIDENCE. UPON INVESTIGATION, THE CONTACT ASSOCIATED THE FAILURE WITH NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V739000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM). THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO UNKNOWN LOCAL DEALER, WHERE IT WAS INVESTIGATED BY THE

NHTSA complaint 11221015, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STEERING

78,490 miles

SHOP HAS REPLACED THE POWER STEERING PUMP TWICE AND THE POWER STEERING STILL LOCKS UP AND IS HARD TO TURN. THIS OCCURS DAILY ON PATROL. VEHICLE IS CURRENTLY OFF THE ROAD DUE TO THIS BEING A SAFETY ISSUE.

NHTSA complaint 11220439. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STEERING

38,500 miles

POWER STEERING UNIT FAILED ON HIGHWAY WHILE TURNING INTO REST STOP.

NHTSA complaint 11183800. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

119,000 miles

FOR SOME REASON IN THE WINTER TIME MY CAR STARTED MISFIRING AND TAPPING AT WORK NOT IN MOTION JUST WARMING THE CAR BEFORE LEAVING. WENT TO THE SHOP COME TO FIND OUT THE CAMSHAFT AND LIFTERS ARE BAD OUT OF NOWHERE. OIL WAS GOOD, MILES ARE LOW. THIS IS A PROBLEM IN THE 5.7 I HAVE HEARD THAT THIS IS COMMON IN THE TRUCKS AND CARS WITH THE 5.7

NHTSA complaint 11171100. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

170,000 miles

I WAS DRIVING IN MOTION ON HIGHWAY 14 ME AND MY 1-YEAR OLD. A LIGHTNING BOLT SYMBOL POPPED UP ON THE DASH AND THE CAR SHUT DOWN WHILE DRIVING. THERE ARE A LOT OF RECALLS ON THINGS I SEE THAT HAVEN'T BEEN FIXED.

NHTSA complaint 11145205. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
THE WIRING HARNESS ABOVE THE FUEL PUMP BECAME HOT ENOUGH TO MELT A HOLD IN THE TOP OF THE FUEL TANK COVER AND ALLOW FUEL TO ESCAPE OUT OF THE TANK, UNDER THE BACK SEAT, THROUGH THE ELECTRICAL CONNECTION. THIS WAS REPORTED TO CHYYLER SEPTEMBER 30, 2016, BY LETTER, AND TO NHTSA, FEBRUARY 7, 2017, BY LETTER. *TT

NHTSA complaint 11114630. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other 2012 Dodge models

Every Dodge on this site — 105 vehicles, 431 recall campaigns and 2 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

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