Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 2012 record →
THE COMPONENTS CAUSING ISSUE ARE SUSPENSION AND STEERING COMPONENTS, SUCH AS THE STRUTS, STRUT PLATES, CONTROL ARM, BUSHINGS AND TIE ROD ENDS, THE AXLES, REAR SUSPENSION ARMS, AND THE U-JOINT CONNECTORS FOR THE DRIVE SHAFT, PHOTOGRAPHS HAVE BEEN TAKEN BY CRISWELL DODGE IN GAITHERSBURG, MD. *TR
SKIP SHIFT. THIS FEATURE IS ALREADY THE CAUSE OF SEVERAL NEAR MISSES OF ME BEING REAR-ENDED BECAUSE FROM A STOP, I AM UNEXPECTEDLY PREVENTED FROM SHIFTING FROM FIRST INTO 2ND GEAR TO MAINTAIN EXPECTED ACCELERATION IN TRAFFIC. I REALIZE WHAT THE SKIP SHIFT IS INTENDED FOR BUT IN THE REAL WORLD OF TRAFFIC, THE SKIP SHIFT FEATURE IS INHERENTLY DANGEROUS AND IS A SAFETY ISSUE. WHEN EVER ANYONE IS BEHIND ME AT A STOP OR AT A LEFT OR RIGHT TURN, WHEN ITS TIME TO GO, THE SKIP SHIFT FEATURE PUTS ME AT RISK OF BEING REAR ENDED EVERY TIME IT ENGAGES. THERE IS A DISPLAY ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL WHEN SKIP SHIFT IS ENGAGED BUT TO TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THE ROAD TO REFOCUS AND LOOK FOR THIS DISPLAY WHILE AT THE SAME TIME DRIVING IN TRAFFIC IS AS DANGEROUS AS THE SKIP SHIFT FEATURE ITSELF. ADDITIONALLY, AS A RESULT OF BEING FORCED TO SHIFT FROM FIRST TO FORTH IS DAMAGING TO THE CLUTCH, TRANSMISSION AND ENGINE. THE ENGINE KNOCKS AND PINGS TERRIBLY IF I TRY TO ACCELERATE IN FORTH GEAR AT SUCH A LOW SPEED. OFTEN TIMES I AM FRANTICALLY DOUBLE CLUTCHING TRYING TO OVERRIDE THE FEATURE BY TRYING TO YANK AND JAM THE TRANSMISSION INTO SECOND GEAR ALL THE WHILE DECELERATING WITH FOLLOWING TRAFFIC HONKING OR YELLING VERBAL ABUSE. THERE NEEDS TO BE A WAY TO DISABLE THE SKIP SHIFT FEATURE ON THESE 6 SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS. *TR
THE CHALLENGER SRT8 IS NOT EQUIPPED WITH A DASH ILLUMINATION SYSTEM, WHICH COMES ON, DURING NORMAL DAYTIME DRIVING. THE INSTRUMENTS (SPEEDOMETER, TACHOMETER) ARE ONLY ILLUMINATED DURING OPERATION OF THE PARKING OR HEADLAMPS FUNCTION. THE GAUGES ARE SOMEWHAT RECESSED AND ARE ONLY PARTIALLY VISIBLE DURING DAYTIME DRIVING CONDITIONS. FURTHER, WHEN TURNING ON THE HEADLAMPS, DURING DAYTIME OPERATION, THE AMOUNT OF ILLUMINATION AVAILABLE, WITH THE ADJUSTMENT AT MAXIMUM BRIGHTNESS, IS STILL AT A MINIMUM VALUE. THIS PRESENTS AN OBVIOUS SAFETY ISSUE AS TO SPEED OF VEHICLE, ENGINE RPMS AND VITAL ENGINE TEMPERATURE READINGS. *KB
NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Full record for the 2012 Dodge Challenger → · Every Challenger year → · How the figures are calculated →