Owners have filed 2,065 complaints on the Dodge Dart, covering 2012–2016. The system named most often is Power Train (775 reports). Worst years by volume: 2012, 2015, 2014; cleanest: 2013, 2016, 2014. 122 reports describe a crash, 29 a fire, 2 a death. On average the car was 4.6 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Dodge Dart
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 2,065 Dart complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Power Train 775 Read
It was september 23rd around 11pm, I was driving on a highway, upon turning into the exit lane my car hit some form of pothole which made my touch screen and dashboard turn off and back on. I've had issues with my touch screen shutting off and back on in the past, once I've replaced the battery it worked fine until…
The parking brake has failed on two occasions, once while stationary when it was at the dealership. It crashed into a car in their parking lot in 2016. The vehicle has been in and out of the dealership over the last four years. It was in the dealership in 2015-2016 thirteen times for oil leaks and the engine either…
The contact owns a 2016 dodge dart. While driving 25 mph, the clutch pedal traveled to the floorboard. As a result, the vehicle crashed into a curb and damaged the bumper. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was not filed and there were no injuries. The vehicle was taken to red bluff dodge chrysler jeep ram…
Service Brakes 302 Read
Was stopped, with foot on brake dropping kids off at school Heard a pop and hiss. Brake pedal became rock hard, and car rolled into kids crossing road for the school. I seen this issue is for 2013-2014 It should be extended to include 2015-2016 also. As they continued to install parts with known issues until the car…
This complaint is additional information for original complaint 11535053 7/28/2023 I have diagnosed the issue I have taken pictures of the entire brake booster that failed, and have held on to the parts for the investigation. The vehicle had the updated vacuum line. Still oil present in brake booster
The contact owns a 2015 dodge dart. The contact stated that while driving about 35 mph, the brake pedal did not stop the vehicle and caused the vehicle to hit a dog. The failure recurred while driving at about 70 mph. The vehicle. The vehicle was pulled to the side and crashed into a guard rail. The air bags did not…
Electrical System 265 Read
The contact owns a 2013 dodge dart. While driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to eventually restart the vehicle. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the key fob and the ignition needed to be replaced. The vehicle…
"takara recall" I started noticed squeaking when pressing the breaks. This automatically making me assume that my brakes/brake pads were going bad. I took it to a local shop and after checking it out they suggested the brakes were fine and that I needed to take it to the dealership. Before I was able to do so, I had…
I came home from work, (drove 18 miles) and parked, walked towards my building and I heard a noise, as if something turned on under the hood. Like a electrical motor spinning. And it was not the fan because that one had already turned off. I walk back to the car and pop the hood, white smoke starts coming out and in…
Engine 140 Read
My son parked the vehicle after driving it approximately 2 miles. He went into his dorm room and was informed shortly after that his car was on fire. The engine had ignited
The contact owned a 2016 dodge dart. While the contact's son was driving 10 mph, the motorists in the rear noticed an unknown liquid pouring from underneath the vehicle. The vehicle immediately burst into flames. The driver managed to pull over and exit the vehicle without injuries. The contact mentioned that driver…
The contact owned a 2015 dodge dart. The contact stated that when the vehicle was parked and unoccupied, fire emitted from under the hood. The fire department was called and extinguished the fire. The vehicle was towed to an unknown location. The contact's insurance company investigated and stated that the fire…
Steering 88 Read
Unexpectedly loss motive power resulted in a crash
November 1 2015 while traveling on parkway 376 in pittsburgh pennsylvania . I became trapped behind a portion of a tree that had made it's way in the lane I enter the parkway. After being forced to stop, and put hazards on and attempt to merge into traffic. I was rear ended by a gmc envoy traveling at least 55 mph ,…
Takata recall while diving at approximately 30 mph I was taking a left turn into my neighborhood when the vehicle began to accelerate on its own causing me to strike my drivers side front wheel on the curb disabling my vehicle. The motor still continued to rev at a high RPM for 10-15 seconds after impact without the…
Air Bags 76 Read
Upon driving the car on the freeway yesterday, the 2016 dodge dart started to shake and the car would not slow down. The passenger front wheel control arm, tire, and cv joint completely feel off the vehicle which caused an accident
The contact owned a 2016 dodge dart. While driving 45 mph, the contact crashed into the rear of a chevrolet colorado. The driver was injured on the left side of his body due to his body going under the steering wheel. Medical attention was not provided. The air bags did not deploy. There were no known injuries to the…
The air bags on this car failed to deploy from a bad car accident. My car was hit near the right front from a person that ran a red light. The front end damage was horrible to say the least as to where the insurance adjuster said to me that the car has to be totaled. Extensive frame damage from this accident and…
Vehicle Speed Control 38 Read
The contact owned a 2016 dodge dart. While in a drive-thru line, the vehicle inadvertently accelerated. The brake pedal was depressed, but failed to respond. As a result, the contact crashed into a building. The air bags did not deploy. The contact stated that the driver sustained neck and nose injuries that required…
The contact rented a 2016 dodge dart. While parking, the vehicle accelerated forward without warning and crashed into a building. The driver and passenger air bags deployed. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was totaled and towed back to the rental company. The dealer and manufacturer were not…
No check engine or warning light driving on the interstate in 6th gear car blew up loud noise and caught on fire! Only 85,000 miles with regular services. Lost all power and clutch pedal dropped to the floor and coasted to shoulder with a lot of smoke coming from engine opened the hood and there were flames where…
Suspension 31 Read
The contact owns a 2016 dodge dart. While driving approximately 30 to 35 mph, slowing down, and veering left, the vehicle became difficult to control. The front end of the vehicle pulled to the right on its own and struck a curb. The front wheels straightened out and the vehicle landed in the yard of a sub-division.…
Purchased car new jan 2017. On 3/3/19 at approx. 18 mph while attempting a left turn in to our neighborhood I heard a loud pop and car jerked to the left hitting a curb. Upon visual inspection of the car it appeared that the axle popped out of joint and control arm broke in two. Because of this two parts…
The right lower control arm has broken off for the second time as I was driving straight
Dart 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Air Bags | 13 | 4 | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 30 | 6 | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 18 | 6 | |
| 2013 | Electrical System | 2 | — | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 59 | 13 |
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 | 274 |
| Average complaints per series | 7.5 |
| Worst single series | 37 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 4.6 years |
A model average of 7.5 hides a worst series at 37. 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
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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 Dart?
By complaint volume, 2012, 2015, 2014 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 Dart years are the cleanest?
2013, 2016, 2014 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Dodge Dart have?
2,065 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2012–2016. Of those, 122 describe a crash and 29 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.