Owners have filed 2,656 complaints on the Dodge Avenger, covering 1995–2014. The system named most often is Electrical System (448 reports). Worst years by volume: 2008, 2013, 2012; cleanest: 2007, 2000, 1999. 180 reports describe a crash, 60 a fire, 2 a death. On average the car was 5.0 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Dodge Avenger
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 2,656 Avenger complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 448 Read
Hit a deer at 60 mph the car started on fire and completely burned up no air bags went off dodge investigated but will not tell us why the car burned up
Wednesday october 10th 2018 approximately 10:30 a.m. I was on my way to smoothie kind in cooper city located inside of a plaza. As I turned into the parking spot with my foot already on the brake to slow down into said parking spot the vehicle accelerated on its own. I pumped the brakes once nothing stopped the…
The contact owns a 2014 dodge avenger. The contact stated that the vehicle was hesitant while driving various speeds and was difficult to start. The contact mentioned that the instrument cluster flickered with various indicators illuminating, the radio shorted as well, the function buttons failed, and the vehicle…
Air Bags 423 Read
Braking system did not stop car causing rear end collision. Air bags deployed and passenger air bag starting smothering and burnt hole though air bag. Car totaled at going only 30mpg.notified dodge and was sent a letter saying nothing was found on brakes but didn't even address the air bag. 1week before had car in for…
The contact owned a 2013 dodge avenger. While driving approximately 35 mph, the vehicle crashed into a tree. The contact noticed smoke emitting from the vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. The vehicle was towed and destroyed. A police report was filed. The contact received injuries to the chest, neck, and hip,…
I was hit by another car that ran a stop sign and none of my airbags deployed. The accident resulted in a total loss due to the hard hit. As a result I do not feel safe at all knowing that I could be hit so hard that my 2014 dodge avenger was totaled but no air bags deployed to do the job they were suppose to do
Power Train 289 Read
The contact owns a 2012 dodge avenger. While driving approximately 50 mph, the vehicle suddenly stalled behind a commercial vehicle. When attempting to restart the vehicle, the truck in front suddenly moved and allowed the contact to notice another vehicle heading towards them at high speeds. The contact shifted into…
The contact owns a 2008 dodge avenger. The contact stated the dealer issued a safety campaign since the power transmission remained stuck in gear. The vehicle was repaired under the safety campaign; however, the failure continued to occur. The contact stated while driving in reverse, the vehicle remained stuck in…
The first one was on august 7th 2010 the car slid and I hit an embankment the brakes did not work we were pretty shook up I messed up the right front tire with the crash the second incident happened on august 13 2010 the cars gear will not shift it is stuck we are trying to fix by looking at the internet it seems this…
Suspension 156 Read
Hit a few deer head on it took out both sides and complete front end and air bags didn't deploy and it was a pretty hard impact ill be surprised if they don't total the vehicle out we were on hwy 45 in bloomington indiana
Back in 2019 on thanksgiving we had a car accident driving straight on route 17 in essex county because the wheel bearings went out to quickly we replaced them a year later it did almost did the same thing but we catch it in time are mechanic said it shouldn't have to change your wheel your wheel bearing 10 months…
Dt: 1998 dodge adventure. Consumer took vehicle for a state inspection which approved the vehicle. Twenty days later on 7-26-05 the ball joint fall off the vehicle. The consumer heard a loud popping noise, and then consumer5 lost total control of the vehicle, and it hit a road sign and ran through another . There had…
Engine 149 Read
While driving down the interstate my car started to emit black smoke from the hood, I pulled ocer to the right hand shoulder to inspect the smoke when I got out there were flames coming from under the hood I called 911 immediately. There were no warning lights or abnormal guage readings prior to the incident. The fire…
The contact owns a 2013 dodge avenger. The contact stated that while the driver was driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle stalled without warning. As a result, the driver crashed into a utility pole. The driver did not sustain injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a used vehicle lot. The…
The contact owned a 2013 dodge avenger. The contact stated that while driving at 25 mph, the temperature gauge went hot and approximately 20 seconds later, smoke submerged the inside of the vehicle. Flames then began to come from the hood the vehicle as the engine began to stall without warning. The contact…
Vehicle Speed Control 122 Read
I was in a car accident as of march, I had front damage hit pretty hard at least the passenger air bag should have deployed but after I got my car back it started cutting off for no reason. I took it back to auto shop that fixed it when the check engine light came on due to revving up between the 3 and 5 RPM and…
I was driving down a back road coming up to a severe curve the car started accelerating on its own. The gas pedal was not pushed al the way down but the engine continued to speed up. As I came up to the curve I could not maintain the car on the road and it flipped four times and landed in a swamp area in about 2 feet…
My 2012 dodge avenger caught fire under the hood while I was driving on the fwy. I could not stop the car because the brake became locked in place and I couldnt press it down with my foot. The emergency brake did not work. It was unsafe to get out of the moving car, so I was trapped in the car as the fire under the…
Service Brakes 119 Read
On march 5, 2010 (friday) - approximately 5:30 p.m., while driving on sunrise highway in long island, new york, an indicator light went on inside my 2008 dodge avenger, in the shape of a lightning bolt in my car. Literally 30 seconds later, and before there was time to react at all, my brakes stopped working and there…
The contact owns a 2014 dodge avenger. While reversing at approximately 10 mph, the rubber brake pedal cover became detached when the contact attempted to depress the brake pedal. As a result, the contact crashed into another vehicle. The contact shifted the vehicle into drive and crashed into a building three times…
The contact owns a 2013 dodge avenger. While the contact's sister was driving 55 mph, she depressed the brake pedal, but it failed to stop the vehicle. As a result, the driver crashed into another vehicle on the front driver's side. Both the driver and passenger air bags deployed. The driver sustained a brain aneurysm…
Engine And Engine Cooling 97 Read
The contact owns a 2010 dodge avenger. The contact stated that while in his driveway the vehicle was stuck in a snow drift, he attempted to release the vehicle by revving the engine so the vehicle could rock back and forth. The contact stated the cabin filled with smoke but he was still able to drive the vehicle…
On tuesday may 31,2011 at 8:00 am I was driving about 40 mins when I approached a stop light. I turned the a/c on and noticed a plastic smell. I turned into the gas station to investigate. In less than two minutes my entire engine compartment was in flames. The car is a total loss. My vehicle was not included in the…
I have a 2008 dodge avenger that burst into flames all of a sudden when I was headed home from work during rush hour on a city street doing between 25-30 miles an hour. There was no warning when a man started shouting for me to get out of the car. In another half an hour my kids would have been in the car. This is the…
Avenger 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Air Bags | 18 | 2 | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 23 | 10 | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 26 | 6 | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 13 | 2 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 14 | 7 | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 33 | 25 | |
| 2007 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — | |
| 2000 | Electrical System | — | 1 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 3 | 2 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 11 | — | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | 11 | — | |
| 1996 | Air Bags | 10 | 3 | |
| 1995 | Air Bags | 16 | 2 |
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 | 550 |
| Average complaints per series | 4.8 |
| Worst single series | 35 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.0 years |
A model average of 4.8 hides a worst series at 35. 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 Avenger?
By complaint volume, 2008, 2013, 2012 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 Avenger years are the cleanest?
2007, 2000, 1999 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Dodge Avenger have?
2,656 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1995–2014. Of those, 180 describe a crash and 60 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.