Owners have filed 205 complaints on the Dodge Colt, covering 1982–1994. The system named most often is Seat Belts (150 reports). Worst years by volume: 1993, 1989, 1987; cleanest: 1982, 1992, 1990. 8 reports describe a crash, 3 a fire, 1 a death. On average the car was 5.9 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Dodge Colt
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 205 Colt complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Seat Belts 150 Read
Automatic seat belts opened up, upon side impact. Tt
Consumer's brother was driving vehicle, and had a head-on collision with another vehicle. At time of crash driver was wearing his seat belts, the shoulder belt had to be cut off of occupant, and the lap belt detached itself during impact
Consumer was driving about 45 mph and was involved in an accident, and the seat belts on the driver's side did not catch. The shoulder belt went forward with owner and the lap belt broke. Manufacturer was contacted
Power Train 8 Read
Transmission failed twice
Dodge re-called this car in 1995 to replace the transmission fluid hose, but did not solve the problem
The transmission failed! Bearings were all pitted & lopsided. Garage attempted to get a used replacement without success. Several transmission shops told me that they think every one made has failed? I couldn't get a used replacement within a 100 mile radius! I finally got a shop to install a rebuild kit at a total…
Service Brakes 7 Read
Brake system failure, total loss of braking while driving at 30-40mph. Tt and there were also two injuries
Brake system failure, partial loss of braking, replaced entire front brakes. Tt
Consumer wife was driving went to apply the brake there was no brake it was the master cylinder is needed to be replace . Tt
Electrical System 6 Read
Wiring harness from the battery to the firewall short circuited, causing an under hood fire
Ignition switch shorted, causing fire
While merging onto a highway going 50-55 mph the car just completely cut off, lost all power except for the lights. When vehicle was towed to mechanic, mechanic stated that computer system was compeletely dead. The problem has not been corrected
Engine And Engine Cooling 5 Read
Exhaust manifold is prone too wide/cracking, causing the exhaust to escape into the fresh air intake and then into the vehicle. When searching for replacement, difficult to find one without the same problem. *ak
Exhaust manifold has a hole in it, causing fumes to leak into passenger compartment
While driving the vehicle had shut down and would not restart. Ts scc
Fuel System 4 Read
While driving the vehicle caught on fire in the fuel line system. Please describe
Fuel line routed under vehicle ruptured, stalling vehicle. Tt
A fuel smell consumes the entire vehicle, cause unknown. Dealer cannot identify the problem. Please give any further details
Seats 4 Read
The shoulder straps failed to restrain on both seats, causing injuries. Tt
While driving bolts that hold driver's seat to vehicle chassis broke. Metal has torn away from chassis. Dealers noted possible manufacturing defect
Experiencing no movement of both front seat belt connectors when the vehicle doors are shut. However the seat belt motor burnt up, causing failure, prior to recall notice (97V073)
Suspension 4 Read
Vehicle was bought used last feb 24, 2000. According to the dealer, the vehicle passed safety inspection. Last april 18, car was sent to a tire dealer for tire replacement. Mechanics found a huge crack on frame at rear lower control arm probably caused by metal fatigue.. Further visual inspection indicate that car did…
Took vehicle to a mechanic, and they told consumer that there was a big crack in the frame of the lower control arm. If driving on the highway car could lose control
Harmonic balancer bolt "backed" out - was advised it was manufacture defect but because it was out of warranty it would not be covered - was advised that if they had to cover every manufacture defect that was out of warranty that they would "go broke"- I had to replace the engine with a '93 engine (compatible w/ my…
Colt 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 1993 | Electrical System | 2 | — | |
| 1992 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — | |
| 1991 | Electrical System | 1 | 1 | |
| 1990 | Electrical System | 1 | 1 | |
| 1989 | Electrical System | 1 | — | |
| 1988 | Fuel System, Gasoline | 1 | 1 | |
| 1987 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — | |
| 1986 | Fuel System, Gasoline | — | — | |
| 1982 | Electrical System | — | — |
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 | 171 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.2 |
| Worst single series | 5 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.9 years |
A model average of 1.2 hides a worst series at 5. 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 Colt?
By complaint volume, 1993, 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 Colt years are the cleanest?
1982, 1992, 1990 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Dodge Colt have?
205 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1982–1994. Of those, 8 describe a crash and 3 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.