2017 Dodge Challenger problems: recalls, complaints and whether this is a year to avoid

Is 2017 a good year for the Dodge Challenger?

Complaint volume is fairly even across this nameplate, so the model year is a weaker signal here than it is on many cars. Read the components below rather than the totals.

Older years have been on the road longer and collect more complaints for that reason alone, and a year that sold in higher volume collects more while being no worse.

This retrieval holds 3 of the nameplate’s model years. 2016 is absent, which means no records came back for it — not that it was clean. The ranking above is among the years shown.

The 2017 accounts for 20% of every complaint filed against the Dodge Challenger in this retrieval, which works out to 5.4 complaints per year on the road across the 9 years since it was sold new — the figure to compare against other years, because it removes the advantage a newer car gets simply from having had less time to accumulate reports.

Complaints fell against the preceding year: the 2017 carries 39% of the 2015’s reports. Some of that is age, but a drop this large between consecutive years often marks a fix.

Which recalls cover the 2017?

Take the campaign number to any franchised Dodge dealer. Recall repairs are free with no mileage or ownership limit, and they follow the car rather than the owner, so a used 2017 with an unrepaired campaign is a free repair you can claim. How recalls work.

Recall text is abridged from the NHTSA record. Search the campaign number at nhtsa.gov/recalls for the full notice and affected VIN ranges.

What do owners report on the Dodge Challenger?

Across every Dodge Challenger year, not the 2017 alone — NHTSA does not split component totals by model year.

• Electrical System — 60 reports
• Power Train — 40 reports
• Unknown or Other — 34 reports
• Air Bags — 18 reports

If your 2017 is doing something now, these are the guides for that system — each opens with whether it is safe to keep driving:

• Won't start — clicking
• Won't start — silence
• Battery light on

Which other Dodge Challenger years should you compare?

← 2015 Dodge Challenger · 2018 Dodge Challenger → · All Dodge Challenger years

If you are deciding between years, the table above is the short answer and the Dodge Challenger page carries the full run with the component breakdown. Before money changes hands, run the VIN for open recalls and read the inspection checklist — ten minutes in the seller’s driveway finds most of what matters.