This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
I was on the highway when all of a sudden I lost power to the engine and steering. I was not able to get to side of the road. I was stuck in the middle of the highway. I had the car towed to the shop where I was told that the timing chain had broken. Wow
I was coming home from work and my 2010 Dodge Challenger suddenly cut off. I was going approximately 63 mph and lost all power, I had to coast to the side of the highway. The vehicle was towed to the dealership where the car was purchased. The service dept notified me that my timing chain broke. The engine is pretty much shot, I have been looking at a lot of Dodge forums and this has been happening quite often.
Engine quit while driving on the freeway with no warning! I was extremely lucky that it didn't quit on one of the back roads I drive every day to work, because there are no shoulders to pull over on, and I will most likely be rear ended when it happens again, and I know it will.. I can tell the failure is going to happen again from my past experience, and I have notified Chrysler several times about it, but they refuse to fix the issue.
Timing chain broke while driving. Complete engine shutdown. Had it happened less than 2 miles earlier I would have been at highway speed in rush hour traffic. This a major concern to me because I know of more that 50 cases of timing chain failure on 2009 thru 2011 Challengers with automatic transmissions and the 5.7L V8 engine.
- Edmond, OK, USA
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I came to a stop sign and made a stop. I went to accelerate and the car turned off. Had to stop the car completely in the middle of an intersection to turn it back on.
On 9/26/13 I was driving on the interstate at approx. 60 miles per hour, I then saw several warning lights come on the dash and the car lost all power, luckily I was able to coast down a bridge and off to the side of the road. The car had to be towed to the local Dodge dealership the next day. After a tear down of the engine, I was told that the timing chain broke and caused extensive engine damage. 2 weeks later and I'm still waiting on the parts to be delivered to the dealership and the repairs to be made. After doing some research online, I see that there are several other Dodge Challenger owners with this year and engine type who have had the same problem. Since I have done all of the required scheduled maintenance, I feel that I am not at fault for this issue. I now await to see the outcome of how my car performs once these extensive repairs are made and how this will effect my trade in value.
I was driving on the interstate going approximately 70-75 mph in my 2010 Dodge Challenger R/T (auto transmission). The cylinders deactivated from 8 to 4 and then I heard a loud rattling noise and my car lost power. The lights on the dash came on and the car rolled to the side of the interstate. I tried starting the car again but the engine would not turn. I got the vehicle towed to the nearest dealership and they stated that the timing chain broke. My car only had 78,000 miles so a broken timing chain seems unusual. My maintenance has be very good on this car and nothing indicated a problem with the timing chain prior to my car breaking down.
I have a 2010 Dodge Challenger R/T with a 5.7 L hemi at 35,192 miles on car. The car has a loud bang and shuts off, . I try to crank my car, but nothing.. car was towed to dealership for repairs and was in the shop for 3 weeks before I got a phone call telling me that they put my car together only to find out they have to take it apart again.. the cam shaft broke.... the timing chain broke....bent a rod... and they are not talking about replacing you heads....I only have 35,000..miles on the car....now they are telling me that it will be another 6 to 8 weeks before they can even tell me how bad it really is... I am making a car payment[correction}.....several car payments for a car I cant even drive... and on top of that.. I cant even get a loner car from the dealership while they work on my car.... that I bought last year.......2012.....
Engine stalled in traffic. My wife, a nurse lives 3 miles from work. The air conditioning has always been poor while driving in the city an more efficient on the highway but never really cold. Her car has had the water pump replaced for leaking shaft seal. Engine shut off in traffic. The engine showed hot. Took to dealer, and again the water pump gasket was leaking. They said that was the reason the air conditioning was not up to specifications. No codes in the computer. After changing the orifice tube. Still not cooling. Now changing the dryer an condenser. Still doesn't cool. Freon has been drained an refilled now 5 times during trouble shooting. Come to think about it. The car has stalled twice on me turning out of the parking lot at my lodge. This engine stalling is a concern for me because she is not strong enough to handle the steering an brakes. I see it's an issue with other owners. This needs to be looked into before a major injury happens.
2010 Challenger srt8 with automatic transmission. 7800 miles. Traveling approximately 25mph. Had to apply brakes hard to stop. Engine stalled. Had to put in park and restart the car. After restarting, put the car in drive and it would not move. After a few seconds transmission engaged and car was functioning. Could have been much more dangerous.
I was driving on I-55 northbound 10 miles North of bloomington, il, when I lost power to the engine. I was able to get over to the side of the road. I attempted to start the car, but the engine would not start. The nearest dealership (sam leman) noted no compression and a broken timing chain and tensioner. This is the fourth time the vehicle has been at a dealership for engine problems (previous three in April 2013 for a faulty oil control solenoid). It appears that the broken timing chain is common with my model of Challenger (R/T sub model with 5.7L engine (with vvt and mds) and automatic transmission).
Traveling uphill-slight incline- at approx. 55 mph on canyon road when engine light came on, flashed. Then all dash light indicators came on as engine failed. Coasted off to side of the road, where I was stranded with no cell service. Able to get help from a Chrysler service rep who happened to have a computer for diagnostic purposes. Computer indicated "cam shaft sensor failure". rep advised remove sensor, look to see if "gear" turns when engine is cranked. If gear turned then timing chain ok, and it was just a bad sensor. If gear didn't turn then the timing chain broke. Vehicle towed home and sensor removed. Gear didn't turn when engine cranked, so the vehicle was then towed to dealer. Dealer confirmed timing chain broke- also damaged several valves. Covered under power train warranty at the moment.
While coming around a sharp left bend in the road of a winding road my car stalled and I had a very hard time steering and braking to get the car to a complete stop. I was very lucky that I didn't end up in the ditch and also very lucky that the driver behind me was alert and did not crash into the back of my car. I restarted my car and it seemed to be ok. I have had my car for sometime and this is the first time I have ever had a problem with it. Doing research on the internet I found numerous other postings about this same problem, but there have been no recalls or service bulletins about it.
I was commuting to work on the westpark tollway in houston in traffic at approximately 7:00am when multiple engine warning lights came on and the engine stopped. I was able to pull to the side, avoiding a collision barely as all systems were dead. After 4 days in the shop it was determined that there was a timing chain failure which in turn caused a catastrophic engine failure, bent valves, damaged pistons etc. Upon searching the web I found 39 instances of this failure on one forum. Particularly model years 2009 to 2011 and cars with 35 to 40,000 miles and mds. Mine has 44,000 and all factory maintenance has been followed. This is particularly troublesome as should this event happen in a heavy traffic or passing situation there could be a serious accident as one has no power to do anything. It is clear from the number of instances and warranty claims that Chrysler is aware of the issue which I find troubling. There are alot of cars that are just now coming into the suspect mileage range for this event and it's only a matter of time before a person or persons are seriously injured or killed by this.
Driving down the interstate and pressed on the cruise control button, car stalled out and I had to avoid traffic and get to the side of the road, this all happened at 70 mph, car was towed to a dealer ship where a broken timing chain was discovered, Dodge has known about this for over two years and they still do not have a safe fix for this.
While traveling on interstate 40 on my way to work in rush hour traffic I was in the fast lane and heard a pop in the engine compartment. The lights on the dash came on and I lost all engine power. I pulled the car into neutral and attempted to restart it. When the car wouldn't restart I put on my blinker and moved to the right shoulder. I ran the code with my onboard computer and it told me that the cam shaft was in the wrong position. A roll back came and took me to the dealership where I left with the service department. An hour later while I was at work I got a call from the service department letting me know that my timing chain had malfunctioned and threatening me that if they found that I was abusing the engine that they would not honor the warranty and I would be paying for this problem out of pocket. With the vast number of people complaining about this problem on www.challengertalk.com/forums/F188/timing-chain-failure-Dodge-Challenger-69216/ I would think that the serious safety issue here would be looked in to.
I was driving on the interstate at approximately 65mph when a small pop was heard from the engine bay. The engine immediately stopped functioning and I lost all power to the vehicle. I was able to safely stop the vehicle on the shoulder of the interstate without incident. I tried restarting the engine, which just caused the starter to run for 5+ seconds before turning off the start sequence (push button start). The dealership said the cause has been determined to be a snapped timing chain and broken plastic chain guide. This is a 2010 5.7L mds auto transmission Challenger. Dodge's response is to replace the chain and guide and see if that enables the engine to run. This is an interference fit engine which will mean several valves will have struck the piston heads as a result of the timing chain breaking. In addition, the valve heads and piston heads may have sustain additional damage. The dealership had recommended to Dodge a complete engine replacement. While, I find Dodge's solution to be whole inappropriate, the failure of the chain is of more concern. Approximately 40 occurrences of this have been documented at www.challengertalk.com/forums/F188/timing-chain-failure-Dodge-Challenger-69216/ with no solution being presented by Dodge to stop the guides from breaking and thus the chains snapping. Dodge's inability to adequately and preemptively address this situation will result in more instances of Challengers being disabled while traveling at a high rate of speed on a crowded interstate, such as I-75/85 through atlanta. I am lucky my incident did not occur during heavy rush hour traffic which may have resulted in an accident, injury, or worse.
If Chrysler was notified of the problems I have had with this car, they would remember it from 3 days after I purchased it from westpointe Dodge in Oklahoma. I had problems from day one, mainly from the lies I was told at the dealership, I bought it new! I was told of all the extras on this vehicle including a navagation system, I tried to get the navagation system to work, no luck. I called them and they told me to bring it back, probably just didn't have the navagation system hooked up. I took it back, they said it had one, then looked and checked and on and on, then said no navagation system, they installed an after market mirror so I would have something to tell me what directions I was going. That was not the end there. I sent 10 pages of notes to Chrysler explaining all the problems I had with the vehicle. They gave me free oil changes. Now, in March, the car started having problems starting, it would die after running rough, then after 2-3 tries it would start. I took it to the dealership on May 1st, they said they could not find a problem, probably just bad gas, I had got it back 2 days later. The next day, it would not start, after a few more tries it did start. I called the dealership and took it back to them on May 6th. I called them May 7th, said they thought they found the problem and changed something. I called them yesterday and they said it still had the problem and they had contacted Chrysler to see if they could help find the problem. The dealership called today and said they "think" they have it fixed, but will need to wait until Monday and start it again to see if it is fixed. This is a vehicle with less that 20 thousand miles. I can only hope than if and when I get it back, I don't have any more problems.
Driving on the freeway home late from work at 65 mph, without warning, the engine stopped. No power, no power steering, no power brakes. Put car in neutral to try and restart: Would turn over not start. Had to get to the right shoulder expeditiously and was stuck there w/ a concrete barrier to my right. Car would not start, with 18 wheeler big rigs blowing by me at 65 mph stuck in the car. Extreme danger. Had to get it towed 16 mi. To dealer at 8:30 pm. Extreme safety issue to me and commuters around me--dead car, no warning, while driving on the freeway. Please address with Chrysler Corp. As this is a known extreme safety issue!!! took to dealer and said the timing chain broke. Huh" at 36,500 mi.?"!! completely unsafe and unacceptable. See posts here: www.challengertalk.com/forums/archive/index.php/T-69216.html. I personally will not trust this car ever again--getting attorney and will lemon this thing for my family's, and fellow commuters' safety, and, imho, the NHTSA should investigate and force a recall. Clearly Chrysler is not addressing the issue and putting the public's safety at risk. Now that the NHTSA knows about it, they too must address this issue, or, be complacent and implicitly responsible for any deaths or injuries resulting from this fatal, widely known--search google for "Challenger R/T timing chain failure"--design flaw. Thank you for addressing this extreme safety issue.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Raymond, WA, USA