CSR

Dodge · NHTSA safety record

2021 Dodge Challenger

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

Owners have filed 19 safety complaints about the 2021 Dodge Challenger with the US government. Of those, 4 describe a crash, 1 mentions a fire, 2 people were injured and no death is recorded. 2 recall campaigns are open against it, covering the electrical system and visibility.

The most complained-about system is the air bags, named in 4 complaints, 21% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 17,160 miles, the median across the 5 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers August 2021 to July 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

19 complaints on file

19

Complaints

4

Describe a crash

1

Mention fire

2

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
AIR BAGS 4 · 21%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 4 · 21%
ENGINE 3 · 16%
POWER TRAIN 3 · 16%
STEERING 2 · 11%
STRUCTURE 2 · 11%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 · 11%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 · 5%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 · 5%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 · 5%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 · 5%
NONE 1 · 5%
0 4 8

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 19.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2023 at 4.

8 6 4 2
21 22 23 24 25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2021 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2021 Dodge CHALLENGER, and it is a separate question from what owners report going wrong later.

Test 2 DR AWD 2 DR RWD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover 11.1% 11.1%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard

A rating belongs to a tested body style and drivetrain, not to the model as a whole, which is why more than one is listed. A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.

Recall campaigns

2 on file

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL

21V664000 · August 26, 2021

The defect
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2021 Dodge Challenger vehicles. The affected vehicles do not illuminate their safety system status indicators sufficiently in both daylight and nighttime driving conditions. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 101, "Control and Displays."
The risk
Without visible safety system indicators, a driver may not receive information regarding vehicle safety, increasing the risk of injury or a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will re-program instrument clusters with the correct software version, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on October 5, 2021. Owners may contact FCA US LLC customer service at 1-800-853-140. FCA US LLC's number for this recall is Y58.

Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) · up to 135 vehicles across all model years covered

VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD

21V516000 · July 8, 2021

The defect
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Dodge Challenger, Dodge Charger, and Chrysler 300 vehicles. During manufacturing, the windshield may not have been properly bonded to the vehicle, allowing it to detach in a crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 212, "Windshield Mounting."
The risk
A windshield that separates from the vehicle during a crash can increase the risk of injury.
The remedy
Dealers will remove and replace the front windshield urethane sealant, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on August 31, 2021. Owners may contact FCA US LLC customer service at 1-800-853-1403. FCA US LLC's number for this recall is Y47.

Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) · up to 21,258 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

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

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed

On [XXX] I was involved in car accident on [XXX] around 4 o’clock in the afternoon. When the impact happened the airbags deployed and cut my wrist (left) and burned my left forearm. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint 11588705. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · towed · 45,415 miles

The contact was driving a rental vehicle from Enterprise which was a 2021 Dodge Challenger. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact stated there was debris in the high way and the vehicle was pulled into the wall and the air bag did not deploy. The contact stated a police report was filed. The contact was transported to the hospital where he was diagnosed with dislocated left shoulder and head injury. The vehicle was towed to the Airport Enterprise Lot. mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 45,415.

NHTSA complaint 11540153. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

fire · towed · 16,000 miles

The contact owns a 2021 Dodge SXT. The contact stated while the vehicle was at a standstill, it caught on fire without warning. The fire marshals extinguished the flames. A report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 16,000.

NHTSA complaint 11436031. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

crash · towed

Left frontal Collision between drivers side head assembly and center front of car- with white tail deer about 100-120 lbs. , causing extensive damage to car. $19,000. Payout from progressive for those extensive repairs. And airbags never deployed. This seems highly alarming to me. The abrupt stop, or the sudden heavy damage to front of vehicle seems like it would activate airbags?? Safety issue??

NHTSA complaint 11462849. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STEERING
While operating my vehicle at road speed the electric steering rack failed. This rendered the steering inoperative. It was impossible to steer the vehicle. Not only is this situation extremely dangerous and deadly, there was no advanced warning. I received no prompts or warning lights before the incident happened. I researched and found that certain 2021 Dodge Challengers were involved in a warning system recall. My specific vehicle was not included in the recall. This is what Dodge and the dealership who did the repair kept telling me while they ignored any responsibility. This situation is completely unacceptable. I have no idea why my vehicle was not included in the recall for the

NHTSA complaint 11750829, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STEERING

44,850 miles

The contact owns a 2021 Dodge Challenger. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30-35 MPH on a local roadway, the steering suddenly became inoperative, and the steering wheel locked without warning. The contact was able to maintain control of the vehicle and safely pulled over to the side of the road where the vehicle was already drifting. There were no warning lights illuminated, or messages displayed prior to the failure. After restarting the vehicle, a warning message associated with the steering system was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was towed from the scene to a dealer to be diagnosed and repaired. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified

NHTSA complaint 11745702, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
mileage 61113 . car moves forward 15 feet an goes into neutral .When pulling into traffic this is a serious safety problem . A major accident which could be loss of life might occur . Enterprise car sales will not acknowledge o show any concern . They offered a 12 month or 12000 mile limited warranty free and implied i should have paid for an expensive warranty. their carfax report showed that they did not comply with service information from the manufacturer for the transmission . As such i have been taken advantage of . I will now have to pay about $1000 to have the service completed . This problem also is happening on their Dodge pick up trucks.

NHTSA complaint 11671071. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SEAT BELTS
My seatbelt seemed a bit faulty when I purchased the car. It was slow to retract and at some points wouldn’t retract unless I played with the seatbelt. Three years in to owning the car it still won’t retract fully and is at the point where it won’t come out to a safe distance that allows me to wear my seatbelt. As for the electrical defaults, there are times when I am driving and the display, between my speedometer and rpm dials, turned off. So would my center display, yet my radio continued to play. There were no warning signs or signals when that would happen. It is always random.

NHTSA complaint 11668279. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
I purchased this vehicle from Vroom, who is also my lender under United Auto Credit. The car was sold with a washed title and undisclosed prior structural and mechanical damage. I have documentation confirming the vehicle had serious pre-existing issues and should never have been sold as a clean-title car. The differential has failed three times in under 6 months, and I’ve experienced full drivetrain failure following multiple service visits to Dodge. I had requested inspection of the transmission, but after every visit, the issues worsened. The vehicle is currently available for inspection. The car exhibits violent vibrations, power loss, and unpredictable handling, making it unsafe to

NHTSA complaint 11666655, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My automatic start hasn’t been working for months . Sometimes it work , sometimes it doesn’t . When it doesn’t work I get a message on the dash saying “remote start cancelled hood open . “Iced taken my car to the Dodge dealership several times & it keeps happening . I’ve contacted Dodge customer care etc and nothing . Once when I was at the dealership the gentlemen said another customer came in with the same issue . This is car is too expensive, , I only have 38400 miles and nobody knows the issues nor do they care . I believe this is known issue with dodge

NHTSA complaint 11629331. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Dodge Challenger

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2023 43 2 —
2022 9 2 —
2020 20 1 —
2019 59 3 —
2018 75 3 —
2017 49 3 —
2016 78 1 —
2015 126 5 —
2014 149 4 —
2013 179 5 —
2012 253 6 —
2011 193 6 —
2010 299 7 —

Other 2021 Dodge models

Durango 202 Charger 35

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Dodge on this site — 105 vehicles.

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. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

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.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst