Owners have filed 28 complaints on the Dodge ARIES, covering 1981–1989. The system named most often is Electrical System (6 reports). Worst years by volume: 1988, 1989, 1987; cleanest: 1981, 1982, 1983. 2 reports describe a crash, 2 a fire. On average the car was 10.4 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Dodge ARIES
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 28 ARIES complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 6 Read
Brakes failed, causing accident
Distributor failure, causing vehicle to stall
Bolts were loose without nuts that hold the rack and pinion to the frame fell out tt
Engine And Engine Cooling 3 Read
While going around a slight curve it was difficult to turn steering. Tt
Two of the front lower motor mounts were missing, and the other two were loose, causing the engine to vibrate
Brakes failed seven times
Fuel System 2 Read
While driving check engine light appeared on the dashboard and remained on. Consumer noticed that fumes were coming from underneath the vehicle. Consumer was able to pull over, and extinguish the fire. Vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that the fuel rail needed to be replaced
Carburetor coil failed
Power Train 2 Read
Engine running opened door vehicle slipped from park to reverse. Tt
Bracket that holds the rear axle broke, causing rear wheel to rub against the gas tank pipe. Tt
Vehicle Speed Control 2 Read
Engine races for no reason without foot being on accelerator. Please descibe. Tt
Upont starting the vehicle the rpms increased and in addition upon applying force to the gas pedal the vehicle suddly accelerated
Seat Belts 2 Read
Driver's side push button release is inoperative, seat belt buckle won't detach, also, passenger's side buckle plastic cover has fallen off. *ak consumer was stuck in the driver side seat belt, it would not detach, consumer had to wiggle out of it, consumer states belts do not retract when not in use
At times, driver's shoulder/lap belt will not unlatch; occupant have to crawl out of belt; could cause occupant to be trapped inside during collision. Tt
Steering 2 Read
I had a mechanics shop replace the rack and pinion assembley and it keeps coming loose from the frame, when I go around a bend in the road the car feels like it whants to straihgten out and the steering wheel has to be turned as mucn as 45 degrees to maintain proper control. When the road straitens out the steering…
Steering wanders during shifts at highway speeds
Suspension 2 Read
Rear axle control arm loosened/torqued, causing other damage to vehicle
Right lower cross suspension is corroded, took to dealer and they installed an attachment reinforcement bracket.*ak the vehicle had safety recall (89V-052) on corrosion of the front suspension cross member due to road salt used for snow removal. But the customer says corrosion occured due to a/c water discharging on…
ARIES years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Equipment | — | 1 | |
| 1988 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 1987 | Electrical System | 1 | 1 | |
| 1986 | Electrical System | 1 | — | |
| 1985 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 1984 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 1983 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 1982 | Fuel System, Gasoline | — | — | |
| 1981 | Structure | — | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 26 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.1 |
| Worst single series | 2 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 10.4 years |
A model average of 1.1 hides a worst series at 2. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the ARIES?
By complaint volume, 1988, 1989, 1987 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which ARIES years are the cleanest?
1981, 1982, 1983 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Dodge ARIES have?
28 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1981–1989. Of those, 2 describe a crash and 2 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.