Owners' Stories

I had a transmission issue cause it wont go in fourth gear. It was a sensor but thats nothing big but my car wont start up all the starter does is clicks. It has a new battery, starter, alt, and ignition switch and it still wont start. Its still at the dealers.

2006 R/T Daytona. 92K miles no major issues. Some minor exterior issues with door bumpers (removed cause paint was wearing). Interior driver side window control needed some super glue. Replace brakes and rotors with aftermarket @ 20K; replaced pads at 70K. Changed spark plugs at 40K. Dropped suit case muffler at 10K. Added Air Intake, Diablo Tuner (91 octane) and 255/55/R18's Nitto 420's. On 1.5 sets of Nitto's (replaced all 4 mfg tires at 38K) . Gave brakes low rating cause of mfg issues with rotors and pads, but after upgrade 5 stars Great car, highly recommend it!

This car just looks good, thats about it! Same old Dodge, Dodge has had a history of using cheap parts that break. They were notorious for their engine and transmission problems, I had friends and family BEG me not to get this car...I should have listened. I purchased brand new, NOBODY wants to take this car in on a trade due to whats currently going on with Dodge. Had the rotors replaced 5 times due to warping, TOTAL ENGINE replacement, TOTAL Fuel system replacement and now I feel the tranny slipping. Once you get past the HEMI which is about the only thing that I love you can see and feel the cheap build quality. I wish I would have went foreign.....!!!!

2006 Dodge Charger R/T with 5.7 liter hemi - I bought the car used with 7880 miles on it. By 13,000 miles the front brake rotors were warped. I was told by the dealership service adviser that this was a common problem caused by not torquing the lug nuts on the aluminum wheels in a certain pattern and to the proper specs. There is nothing in the owner's manual about the proper method of tightening lug nuts, and I had to find out the (correct) lug nut torque spec from a web site, which I verified through several other sources. The service adviser gave me an incorrect torque spec. The factory warranty on the brakes was only for 12,000 miles, not 36,000 as it is for the rest of the car, so the warped rotors were not covered by warranty. I replaced the rotors but I had to beat the warped ones off with a sledge hammer. I had to have both the inner and outer tie rod ends replaced before 44,000 miles. The sunroof developed a rattle and the frame retainer bolts had to be replaced before 42, 000 miles. Another common problem, but I found a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) for it which resulted in a quick resolution. There is an intermittent "clunking" noise somewhere in the right front when the brakes are lightly applied that the dealership has not been able to isolate. From reading postings on a web site that Charger owners belong to, many of them have had the same problem, as well as other noises elsewhere in their cars that they have not been able to resolve. But the fixes that have gotten rid of the clunking noise for some owners has not got rid of my noise. There is a constant high pitched whine that comes from the dash anytime the headlight switch is on. The volume varies from barely audible to extremely noticeable, even with the stereo on. This is another problem the dealership could not find, mainly because it was barely audible every time I had them check for it. They would not have been able to hear it if they had it in the shop with all the air-powered tools and other noises. The service adviser wasn't able to tell me afterwards if the technician listened for the sound in the parking lot away from the shop, with the engine off, no accessories on, and windows up, liked I asked them to do. I replaced the headlight switch, because that's where it originally sounded like the noise was coming from, but it did not get rid of the noise, and now it sounds more like it is coming from behind the instrument cluster. The hands free Bluetooth cell phone function, which Chrysler calls U-Connect and has previously malfunctioned, is malfunctioning more and more frequently lately. The first time it malfunctioned, the technician showed me how to repair it, by pulling up on a module in the fuse block, waiting about 10 seconds and then pushing it down. I had to do this twice within the following year, and each time it resets the preset radio stations to factory default. Now, in the past 2.5 years, the U-Connect has failed more than a dozen times, and the time interval between failures is decreasing, with the most recent time interval of three weeks between failures. Also, each time it fails, I have to reset the module more each time before I can get it to work (4 times just last week). Eventually, resetting this module will fail to get it working again altogether. This feature is important to me because I sometimes go into an adjacent jurisdiction where you have to use a hands free device to talk on the cell phone while driving, and the police will ticket you if they catch you, and the fine is a hefty one. Unfortunately, the only way I know the U-Connect has stopped working is when either I attempt to make a cell phone call or someone calls me and the U-Connect does not activate to make or accept the call. The dash and door panels are hard, cheap plastic. The paint on the car scratches very easily. The built-in GPS system malfunctioned (error reading DVD-ROM) after I had the car only 2 months and had to get that repaired, as well as get the ashtray door, which I never use, replaced because it would not stay closed. You cannot check the transmission fluid. There is a plug in the top of the dipstick tube that requires a special tool to remove. So, if a transmission fluid leak develops, there is no way to add fluid until you can get it repaired, other than take it to a dealer, or independent shop that has the tool, if they even have it. The car comes from the factory with a hood prop (rod), which is hazardous, because the prop sets just to the left of center when the hood is up, in the front part of the engine compartment, and can easily be knocked out of place when working underneath the hood. The odd thing is that the fittings and holes for hood struts are already in place. It's like it was designed to have hood struts, but for whatever reason, they installed a hood prop instead. Road noise is more than what I expected, but tolerable on a trip if you have the stereo on. Now for the positives on the car. The hemi has plenty of power and the gas mileage isn't that bad for the weight of the car and an engine with the hp and torque that it has. Ride comfort, steering, and handling are pretty good, even though some automotive and consumer magazines have criticized them. Routine maintenance, such as oil and filter changes, other filter changes, brake pad replacement, and replacing the spark plugs and PVC valve, for example, is fairly easy compared to some other late model car engines I've worked on. The front factory brake pads left very little dust on the wheels, compared to the aftermarket replacement ones, and they had hardly any wear on them after 42,000 miles. The only reason I replaced them was because I replaced the rotors and didn't want to put used brake pads that had been used with warped rotors back on. The stereo system, with the higher power Bose amp and 6 speakers, sound really good for an American car factory stereo system. Also, the speakers in the driver and passenger door panels don't vibrate as much as I expected at high volume, like a lot of speakers mounted in a hard plastic door panel usually do. In summary, I like the power of the engine, the stereo system, and the ride comfort, steering, and handling. I have had no problems with the exhaust system or emissions. But, with the problems I've had and unresolved problems I continue to have, I would not buy another Charger nor recommend it to anyone else.