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.
Driving home from work I noticed a thick white smoke and odd sounds worried about a fire I pulled over immediately and retrieved fire extinguisher from my truck, thank goodness I didn't end up needing it. Very scary with my little buckled into a car seat in the back. A car burns way faster then people think.
The contact owns a 2012 Dodge Charger. The contact stated that the alternator failed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The technician was unable to diagnose the problem. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 54,000.
My husband was driving on the highway with my 3 children and myself in his 2012 Dodge Charger on Sunday, 10.26.14. The cars dash started getting wacky, going on and off. The car started to stall and thank god we were able to pull over. We shut the car off and then it did not start. We waited about 10-15 minutes and then it started back up. We started driving back home and it did it again and it made a weird noise. We shut it off again. While the car was off it was still going wacky with the ring as if the door was open and the lights were flickering and stating the key was not detected. The steering wheel was hard maneuver. We went online and there are a lot of recalls on this car. We were blessed we did not get into an accident. My husband is calling Chrysler today regarding this issue.
I was driving my vehicle in rush hour, stop and go traffic. I came to a stop because of traffic congestion and my ABS and other warning lights became illuminated. There was no previous warning. The car ceased to function. Electric systems were locked and I was left immobile in the middle of traffic. I called a local tow truck from my cell phone and the car was towed to the local dealer. The diagnosis was alternator and battery needed to be replaced. The car was running fine in the days/weeks leading up to this incident.
Hello. Yesterday, I was driving on a city street 35 mph and I received an error message battery saver mode. I had never seen this before, all of a sudden my car starting going slower and slower. I was very lucky that I was at my destination before the car finally shut off. I could not do anything. My car would not do anything. I called aaa, I could not access the trunk. I am so glad my car doors were not locked. I had my daughter climb behind the back seat to lift the trunk. Aaa checked my battery through the trunk and kept saying something is still on. My car was still in start although the car was completely shut off. Then when he tried charging my battery, it was still draining. I am so glad the car did not shut off while I was on the highway (which I travel frequently with my children). I have learned that my alternator is bad. Now I have to pay out of pocket for an alternator for a 2012 car, a 2012222222222 car! I can not even believe it! contacted Chrysler and the rep told me if I take it to an independent shop there is not a guarantee I could receive my money back soooooo now I have to tow it to a dealer, which means there is more out of pocket expense. This is crazy and I expect so much more from such a long term company. I am livid that my car completely shut down on me and am thankful that my children and I are safe.
- Richmond, VA, USA
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I took my car in for routine engine oil replacement and tire rotation. After receiving it back I noticed a humming sound coming from the engine and the dash information center telling me that the car is now in battery saver mode.. reading through the forums it seems this has been happening with people driving the same car as me and this has always led to engine failure and possible fire or accident. Prior to this incident, for the past 2-3 months, the airbag warning light has been coming on and off intermittently for no reason, regardless of anything on me seats.
I was driving on the freeway going about 55 mph and all of a sudden I noticed a message appear on my car stating "battery on safe mode". a few minutes after that message appeared I noticed the brake light popped up, along with the battery sign, and fuel light. As I exited the freeway I started smelling smoke so I pulled into a gas station. My car completely shut off. All power was gone. I tried jump starting the car a few times. The first time I never got a charge. The second time I let the car sit 5 mins to charge and was able to get power but the same messages appeared and the car would not start. The 3rd and finally time I tried, the power cut on but once I disconnected the cables the power shut down again. I ended up getting the car towed and later found out the battery was drained due to the alternator being bad. So the alternator went out. I'm glad I was able to pull into the gas station that day, instead of the car shutting down on the freeway. I could have been in a serious accident.
The contact owns a 2012 Dodge Charger. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 45 mph, the no battery saver mode warning light illuminated. The contact also stated that the entire instrument panel lights flickered and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was able to restart but the failure recurred. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 45,000.
Vehicle had whining noise coming from the engine while driving. Stopped and checked vehicle and it appeared to be coming from the alternator. Also had a burning smell. When driving home, the radio shut off and car went into "battery saver mode". took it to Dodge dealership and they confirmed the alternator was bad and needed replacing. Not covered under certified pre-owned 7/100 extended warranty. Dealership and Chrysler/Dodge refused to do anything other than full price repair. Barely over 40,000 miles on a 2012 and the alternator is defective. It's unfortunate they don't stand behind their vehicles and warranty a known issue. Instead, they stick the customer with a $650+ repair.
Was driving at 70mph when everything started to turn off, radio, gauges, brake system. Information center was telling car was in power save mode. I had to pull over due to nothing working. The windshield wipers came on and that was it, car had no power. All this while my wife was in labor. Thank god she didn't have the baby on the side of the road. We couldn't even get anyone to tow the car because it couldn't be put into neutral. All this due to a faulty alternator.
The contact owns a 2012 Dodge Charger. While driving 30 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The technician stated that the vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number: 12V197000 (service brakes, air:antilock:control unit/module). The recall repairs were performed, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 69,000.
While going around 40mph "battery saver mode" came up on the display..few seconds later the whole dashboard icon warnings lit up: ABS, traction control, brake, high beam, seat belt; you name it.! after that the speedometer display turned black following the radio display...then they started flickering! car was still running at around 40mph but after a while it started slowing down unresponsive! came to a light stop then it turned green I accelerated but the rpms wouldn't go past 1500 and not shifting to second gear! after that rmps started to decrease power gas pedals became unresponsive until car completely shut down..lucky I was able to pull over right on time to avoid cars hitting me...called tow truck, took it to the shop were they said it was the alternator.. couldn't find a new one anywhere only at a Dodge dealer in town for $600ish plus installment fee $100 total coming out to $700ish... now, two-three months later as in today Oct 5 2014 "battery saver mode" popped up again! does that mean another alternator for $700"? for a new car?" car has only 44K! recall asap! don't wanna put another 700 !! :(
Started my car this morning and it was making a loud noise. Drove my car out the neighbor to the stop light. While waiting for the traffic light to change green, I notice a burning spell. My radio then turned off and traction light came on and off. After a minute the battery light appeared and I received a message that the car was in battery safe mode. After researching the error message it appears to be that my alternator is either defective or going bad.
I pulled into an intersection and the electrical on the vehicle started flashing off and on. Dashboard, wipers, radio, transmission and engine stuttering and stalling. I made it through the intersection, and about 20 feet from it before the car shut off completely. There was minimal power, so the hazards worked, but the key fob was not detected (I just bought a new battery for it last week), the warning lights on the dashboard continued to flicker each time I tried to restart it. The middle screen came up blank or white, and it would take several seconds before the button/start indicator would move from the "run" to the "off" position. The battery was obviously dead, but when a passerby stopped to help me try to jump it, it wouldn't take a charge. The electrical capacity continued to diminish as I tried to start it, or try different things to get it to work. The great shift locked up so I couldn't put it in neutral to roll the car out of the way. Since it was 4:30 on a busy, divided highway during a torrential downpour, I was terrified someone was going to hit me from behind. Fortunately ocso arrived to help divert traffic, and he helped me figure out where the emergency disconnect was for the transmission so we could push it off the road. Aaa came but it wouldn't stay charged. I was able to drive it home with the travel Charger on it. I tried to jump it again several times, with no luck, it was completely dead. So, $800 later, I have a new battery, new alternator, and feel lucky that I didn't get stuck in the intersection, get rear-ended, or hadn't left on my trip to North Carolina yet. It was an extremely dangerous situation, that could have been a lot worse, and there was absolutely no warning or indication that the alternator had gone bad. I know I'm not the only one that has experienced this based on a google search, and appreciate that the NHTSA is investigating.
I was driving my car and all of a sudden the battery saver mode light came on, then about 5 min later the battery light came on. There was a wine coming from the alternator, and the car just shut off. It was very difficult to control but I managed to pull off to the side of the road. I tested the alternator and sure enough that was the problem. This vehicle had less than 40,500 miles on it. I was out of a vehicle because the part ($400) had to be ordered because it was to new for the dealer to have one in stock. I was able to change the alternator myself because of my mechanic background. This is outrageous.
I was traveling around 30 mph and as I was braking to stop for a traffic light the car turned off by itself. I was able to re-start after a minute. I almost rear ended the car in front of me as my brakes were disabled when the car shut off abruptly.
Driving to work, at about 45 mph, I saw a message on my dashboard read battery saver mode followed by a humming noise throughout the car. I then started to pull out of the freeway and my anti-skid lights flashed on and off, along with other unidentifiable dashboard lights. I managed to get into a gas station right before my car shut off completely. Per the dealer, alternator failure caused battery to shut down. How does an alternator fail on a car 2 1/2 years old? I have read so many complaints on this issue yet not recalls. Something needs to be done. I am still waiting to see if my extended warranty will cover costs, as I am 1000 miles out of my manufacturer warranty.
I left out the house to go pick up a friend when started up my car I saw smoke coming from under the hood then it went away as I drove out of the parking lot battery saving mode popped up on the dash board so I drive it to my friend house who lives 5 minutes down the street from where I stay as I was turning to his home the ABS and traction control light would keep popping up on dash board so I parked my car at my friend house then turned the car off and checked under hood and all I could smell was burning wires and smoke was coming from the alternator then I tried to start up my car and it was completely dead no power at all I called my insurance to get a jump start they tried but that didn't work so I called to get it towed to my house I had a mechanic come out to check to see what it was wrong he discovered that it was the alternator.
I turned the car on the traction light and ABS light kept coming on, a weird noise under the hood when I turned the car off smoke coming out from under hood and car died, I wasn't able to unlock my car... everything was dead.
I was heading to work early am. Heading down the freeway, notice the battery save mode on the dash. By that time the radio shut off and didn't have A/C, started to blow hot air.I started to smell burning rubber. Almost didn't make it off the high before the car shut off. It was hard to steer, and lost brakes. Almost hitting a couple of cars. So I look up what battery save mode was, then check the forums. It is common in the 2011-2012 Chargers. I had to get the car towed to dealership.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Laporte, TX, USA