10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
12,449 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2016 Dodge Challenger drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2016 Dodge Challenger Owner Comments

problem #13

Jun 062024

Challenger

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Center bond of crankshaft Damper falling-off front of engines on the highway due to defective bonding material in manufacturing causing failure in rubber bonding. At highways speeds, a 10lb chunk of metal will fall-off HEMI engines & create a flying projectile at other motorists on the road causing damage or death to other vehicles/drivers and/or pedestrians. Owners who are unaware of this safety-issue will be unaware that their crankshaft-damper has fallen off due to not realizing a piece of the engine is now missing, thus creating possibility of engine failure due to No Vibration Dampening any longer attached to the crankshaft pulley.

- Glendale Hts, IL, USA

problem #12

Sep 112023

Challenger

  • miles
Was taking off from a red light, got to about 15 MPH and there was a loud bang and I felt it from under the car. It then felt like I was dragging something under the car, but that couldn't be as I was behind another car and if there were something in the road, they would have hit it. I managed to pull over to the side of the road. I put it in park and tried to turn it off. It wouldn't turn off and the "P" on the shifter was blinking and so was the "Run" light. It was at that point smoke started coming from under the hood. I grabbed my belongings from the passenger compartment, but couldn't open the trunk. It was then that flames started showing. I got away from it and started calling 911. Just then a police car arrived and they radioed for fire. It was afterwards I noticed that from the place it happened, to the spot I was able to stop, there was a long line of transmission fluid and when they towed the burned car, there was lots of transmission fluid. The car had low mileage and maintained as required. It was still under extended warranty. I contacted Chrysler customer care and they had the car "inspected" but found nothing to have gone wrong and that fires happen. This is wrong and unfair as there was a major mechanical issue that resulted in a fire and the loss of my vehicle. If this had happen a couple minutes earlier, I would have been on the freeway and certainly would have crashed and possibly died.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #11

Feb 202023

Challenger

  • miles
2016 Dodge Challenger 39,900 miles. Drive train completly broken off. My safety and others steering problems. Sudden lack of power to tires. This car is driven very little and is driven like a grandma. This drive train should never had been and issue. There should be recalls on this. I am having to pay $2500 to get it replaced. The only warning I had was I noticed it wasn't powering like it should or turning like it should. Even though its 7 years old, the mileage on it proves its a well taken care of vehicle.

- Lebanon , TN, USA

problem #10

Apr 212022

Challenger

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The drive shaft carrier bearing has disintegrated causing the drive shaft to bounce all around unsupported in the drive shaft tunnel. The carrier bearing is located in the middle of the two piece drive shaft. This could cause the drive shaft to break and fly out from under the rear of the car and smashing into the car behind and causing a serious or possible fatal accident, or if the drive shaft drops down towards the front of the car this could this could dig into the road causing the rear of the car to flip up causing a serious or fatal accident. There are no warning lites or indicator. This is happening in many 2016 Dodge Challengers. You can find this out throughout searching in any dodge websites.

- Edgewater , MD, USA

problem #9

Mar 052022

Challenger

  • miles
Driveshaft failed at 58.000 miles. It almost snapped from it's place.

- Haslet, TX, USA

problem #8

Jan 162020

Challenger

  • 25,352 miles
Caxmax sold me a car that my mechanic described as flood damaged up to the body line just below the window. Rust from the engine to the exhaust tips. Rocks and sand in all body cavities on the underside of the vehicle. I conveyed this information to my salesman who facilitated a refund. I included photos. A week later it was back on the carmax South sacramento website (where I bought it) with updated mileage information and no mention of the flood damage. As it is in 'unavailable' status it is likely being resold to another unsuspecting consumer.

- Sacramento, CA, USA

problem #7

Aug 072019

Challenger

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The icon came on to tell me service immediately, it's bogging down when it's in gear and the motor is extremely hot

- Columbus, OH, USA

problem #6

Jun 262019

Challenger

  • 45,000 miles
Rear differential makes a grinding noise when I make turns. Dodge issued a star number and fixed it before

- Atlanta, GA, USA

problem #5

Jun 202019

Challenger

  • 30,000 miles
Slowly pulling out of carport area making an inclined right turn I get a distinctive screeching sound. Something is slipping almost sounds and feels like im braking and hitting the gas: As in burning rubber. Just had powertrain updated and she still does it. Please note that the incline is relatively mild, I do not have a sharp turn, so I am not cranking my steering wheel, I've tried to shift into first, go super slow, use traction control button (which indecently does not turn on anymore after powertrain recall update). The mechanics at two separate Nissan dealerships cannot find an error when testing they cant find an error or error code. One other note is that this was a contnious and embarrassing daily problem. After powertrain update it is inconsistent but 80% of the time she squeals) once again, I barley touch gas am not yanking wheel. It happens from a dead stop to me turning or me coasting without stopping. Hell, ive even tried to gun it (it was worse) here tires are in very good condition and are inflated properly don't know if this next piece of info will help?: she seems to have a slight lag in in her ability to accelerate when I floor the gas peddle to speed up to pass someone or jump on freeway. She didn't do that to start with, after.powertrain update recall, she is a bit smoother. I thank you for you time again I love my car (barley over 30K miles ). I and just a side note: I do let my her warm up, until she is drops to a perfect 1R :) for date it happened I'm putting the today. Its been happening for 1.5 to two years, slowly increased from occasionally to constantly. And once again it is after the power train update, it stopped doing it every time but it is still frequent. She does it if I'N turning slowly up other inclines. Again im putting todays date so you know it is a present issue. Thank you.

- Camarillo, CA, USA

problem #4

Apr 012018

Challenger

  • 49,000 miles
Car sticks in gear when parked or driving. Snychs replaced at 41K now at 49K clutch plate now needs replacing. This vehicle has almost caused accidents as I could not get it in/ out of gear while driving.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

problem #3

Nov 012015

Challenger

  • 10,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2016 Dodge Challenger. The contact stated that the air bag warning indicator illuminated. Also, whenever the brake pedal was depressed, the brakes made a squeaking noise as if they were prematurely wearing. The contact stated that the brakes failed to stop the vehicle in a timely manner. The vehicle also made a clunking noise as if metal were touching whenever the gears were shifted from park to drive and vice versa, as well as whenever the contact drove downhill. The contact took the vehicle to poway Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram (13811 poway road, poway, ca 92064; 858-218-2213) where it was diagnosed that the brake pads needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and opened case numbers: 30285247 and 31041577. The manufacturer also sent an investigator to view the brakes. The investigator stated that the brakes were not in need of repair. The contact returned the vehicle to the poway Dodge regarding the transmission, but they were unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the transmission failure and opened case numbers: 32657810 and 32920890. The failure was not repaired. The contact took the vehicle to the same poway Dodge dealer regarding the air bag warning sensor, but they did not diagnose the failure. The brake pads and rotors were replaced twice, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired for the transmission and the air bag warning indicator failures. The approximate failure mileage was 10,000.

- Poway, CA, USA

problem #2

Dec 152016

Challenger

  • 2,007 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Dodge Challenger. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds and using the paddle shifter to shift to an up gear, the vehicle would down shift instead. The contact stated that the when the failure first occurred the vehicle was taken to both an independent mechanic and whitten brothers of richmond located at 10701 midlothian turnpike #100, richmond, va 23235, phone number: (804) 378-0707, where the failure could not be duplicated. The contact stated that he then purchased a dash-cam and upon recording the failure, the vehicle was taken back to the local dealer whitten brothers of richmond 10701 midlothian turnpike #100, richmond, va 23235 (804) 378-0707, where both paddle shifter buttons were replaced. The contact stated that the failure had recurred several times. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 2,007.

- Moseley, VI, USA

problem #1

Jul 152016

Challenger

  • 483 miles
Driveline clunk noise in rear of vehicle when coming to a stop between 3 to 6 mph downshifting. This happens no matter what the road surface your on. This is a new vehicle with less than 500 miles, after I went to my county probate office to get my licence tag, this occurred every time I came to a full stop at a sign, light or behind a vehicle in front of me. Took vehicle to dealership, service manager came out to see if anything was loose in trunk, spare tire, etc. No problem found, I was told to bring car back Monday morning for further diagnosis where techs can find problem. I have heard others complain of this issue with their Challengers but no avail, or they would tell the owners that this was normal. No this is not normal in the driveline, please investigate this issue so it can be resolved with Chrysler wether a recall or tsb needs to be enforced to solve this driveline issue. Thanks for your time in this matter.

- Prattville, AL, USA

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