Owners have filed 55 complaints on the Dodge Viper, covering 1993–2015. The system named most often is Electrical System (11 reports). Worst years by volume: 2006, 2004, 1996; cleanest: 1993, 1995, 2001. 5 reports describe a crash, 1 a fire. On average the car was 6.0 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Dodge Viper
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 55 Viper complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 11 Read
Passenger window rolls itself down and the passenger door latch actuates and opens the door. This started with just the door opening when the car would sit overnight. It then later progressed to rolling the window down and opening the door while driving the vehicle. Dealer is aware of a technical service bulletin(TSB)…
Vehicle began having issues at 10, 500 miles by not starting. Push the start button one time and the car would go dead. If I lifted up on the negative battery cable, the car would start with no issues. Let go of the cable and the same problem. When this first occurred, I bought a new battery. Problem seemed ok. After…
Picked car up from dealer after another service complaint and the radio, phone, and seat were not working. I pulled the vehicle over and discovered the circuit breaker for fuse location #11(power seat) had a dead short and kept the breaker tripped constantly. I removed the breaker from the circuit until I could return…
Structure 10 Read
My Viper is displaying the symptoms of your recall 15V-178 (see below) unsafe door release. I called Dodge and they said my vehicle was serviced for this recall in Sept 2015, but cannot produce receipt for the work. The same door lock problems as 15V-178 are now showing up on both of my doors. I would like to know if…
The contact owns a 2013 dodge viper. The contact stated that while driving at 70 mph, the roof separated from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to lee chrysler dodge jeep ram located at: 3700 raleigh road parkway w, wilson, nc 27896, tel: (855)217-8742 to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that during production,…
Driver side door failed to open when battery power was out. Door was opened to investigate and it was discovered that the cable to the door latch mechanism had a fatigue failure at the cable to handle junction. When this condition occurs there is nothing that allows one to exit the vehicle. This is not a case of…
Steering 8 Read
At approximately 9:50 am on sunday, december 2, 2012, dr. X left his garage and proceeded past his gate in his 2006 dodge viper. He turned north to view the lake and turned around at the end of the road (1/2 mile) and headed back to go for a short ride in the country. As he passed the gate (72745) at about 30 miles…
The contact owns a 2006 dodge viper coupe. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph, the rear passenger's side wheel knuckle fractured, causing the vehicle to go airborne and crash into a ditch. The contact sustained injuries to the back. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the…
The contact owns a 2004 dodge viper. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 mph, he heard an abnormal thumping sound. The vehicle was inspected by an independent mechanic, who advised the contact that the rear suspension knuckle was causing the failure. Additionally, the contact noticed a whining sound…
Engine And Engine Cooling 5 Read
2008 model dodge viper srt10 convertible caught fire and burned entirely maybe before a somewhat minor collision. Have talked to emergency ambulance workers and wrecker drivers and they verified that this was common (3rd incident in the houston, tx area)
2004 viper blows excessive heat in the cabin area. *ts in addition, the heating issue also caused the side exit panels to become extremely hot which resulted in the consumers wife burning the back of her right calf when she exited the vehicle. The dealer informed the consumer the heat was coming from the engine. The…
The contact owns a 1998 dodge viper. While driving at any speed, the breather hose on the engine leaks oil. The contact also noticed large oil spots wherever the vehicle was parked. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and they stated that the breather hose needed to be replaced. The contact did not notice any…
Power Train 4 Read
The contact was driving a 2006 Dodge Viper. The contact stated that while driving at 60 MPH, the rear differential locked, causing the rear tires to not rotate. The rear of the vehicle then skidded and crashed into a ditch, and flipped, coming to a stop 100-150 feet upside down in the ditch. The air bags failed to…
There are two recalls on this vehicle, r13 and ve4 but I have been unable to get these completed because the dealer and dodge state that they do not have the parts. This has been going on for well over 1 year. I have called many times to both the dealer and dodge but all I get is we have no estimated time for these…
Plastic bushing on clutch lever wears out and disengages from pedal while driving. Causing inability to shift gears. Very dangerous in traffic
Suspension 4 Read
This is regarding the recent news brief that I saw yesterday. The same thing happened to my car. I was driving and a deer jumped out in front of me on the highway, I swerved very slightly as it was not directly in front of me. The car all of a sudden did a sharp right and I went down into an embankment and hit a tree…
I started hearing a clunk that seemed to come from the passenger side rear wheel well when starting from a stop. I pulled all 4 tires off to grease the car. On the rear passenger side, it appears that the rubber boot on the suspension knuckle is leaking and may be torn. I can't be sure at this time if the suspension…
The contact owns a 2004 dodge viper. The contact stated that the rear suspension started to separate from the vehicle. The contact lost control of the vehicle while traveling 10 mph and veered off the roadway. The air bags immediately deployed, although the contact's vehicle had not impacted anything. The contact…
Air Bags 4 Read
2014 dodge viper. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle airbag recall notice 14V-529 issues. *smd the parts were not available to complete the recall
The contact owns a 2004 dodge viper. The contact stated that the air bag sensor warning light would sporadically illuminate, indicating that the air bag system was disabled. The vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign id number:13V040000 (air bags) but the contact was advised by the dealer that the parts needed to…
The contact owns a 2004 dodge viper. The contact stated that NHTSA campaign number 13V040000 (air bags) had a exceeded a reasonable time for repair, the dealer advised the contact that the part was not available for repair. The contact had not experienced a failure
Service Brakes 3 Read
The brake pedal and clutch pedal on this vehicle is rusted and presents a safety hazard since your foot either slips off or sticks to the pedal depending on the type of shoe being worn. The regional service manager for dodge and the dealership admits an inferior metal was used to mfg. The pedal but will not make any…
Intermittently, while driving at very low speed and applying the brakes, the pedal went down to the floor. Also without pressing the accelerator, the vehicle surge. The dealership inspected the several times and has not been unable to duplicate the problem
When braking there is a grinding in right front area of vehicle and goes to the right. Took to dealer and dealer can't duplicate problem. Please provide any further information. Ph
Viper 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2013 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2008 | Electrical System | 1 | 1 | |
| 2006 | Electrical System | 3 | — | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2002 | Power Train | — | — | |
| 2001 | Fuel/propulsion System | — | — | |
| 2000 | Service Brakes, Hydraulic | — | — | |
| 1999 | Steering | — | — | |
| 1998 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — | |
| 1997 | Seats | — | — | |
| 1996 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — | |
| 1995 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — | |
| 1994 | Structure | — | — | |
| 1993 | Visibility | — | — |
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 | 46 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.2 |
| Worst single series | 3 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.0 years |
A model average of 1.2 hides a worst series at 3. 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 Viper?
By complaint volume, 2006, 2004, 1996 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 Viper years are the cleanest?
1993, 1995, 2001 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Dodge Viper have?
55 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1993–2015. Of those, 5 describe a crash and 1 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.