2016 Dodge Challenger Electrical System
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
My backup camera doesn’t work at all
The wiring to the headlights are getting hot and visibly showing burn Mark's to the wiring and fuses to the headlights (not halo lights). It is causing the headlights to come on intermittently. Sometimes they come on at night and sometimes they don't. Sometimes they are off and suddenly comes on after miles of driving with my flashers. I can spell the burning sometimes. The Dodge dealership in Douglasville Georgia verified the wire and fuse burning. The dealership technicians spoke of relocating the wires to empty fuse box slots. How will that prevent the wires from burning? This could be a fire hazard. Your assistance is appreciated.
Uconnect advised me via email that once the 3G bandwidth was no longer functional, that Uconnect would be upgrading to 4G. The list of functions that would be lost would mostly be cellular functions as well as the Assist and 9-1-1 button functions located on the inside rear view mirror. Most of the cellular phone functional loss was partially resolved with a dongle from T-Mobile/Sprint. However, it does not resolve functional loss of the Assist and 9-1-1 buttons on the inside rear view mirror. I believe this to be significant safety concern. I called Uconnect and was told that "we're sorry, but you'll have to use your cell phone in case of an emergency." My experience (law enforcement, EMS, and as an injured driver) dictates that the access and use of a cell phone is not always feasible depending on the structural/electrical damage of the vehicle and/or injuries. Stellantis and Uconnect initially told me that this was not repairable, but I was also told from another Uconnect employee that a recommendation was made to Stellantis, who apparently refused the upgrade/update, but offered no other information. Stellantis will not answer their phones (Not programmed to take messages and hangs up), executive management refuses to reply to email and letters, and my support through a Customer Care Executive Manager was very limited (our communication via email was terminated). I also received a phone call from Stellantis (department not disclosed in this message) a few months later, which I believe to be a method of intimidation.
UCONNECT WILL NOT ADD TO DEVICES, CAN'T ADD PHONES TO CAR FOR HANDS FREE DRIVING. SOFTWARE DEFECT. MY CAR IS 3YEARS OLD. THERE'S NO WAY THIS SHOULD BE HAPPENING. I NEED SATISFACTION PLEASE.
WHEN SHUTTING THE TRUNK WITH THE KEY FOB IN MY POCKET THE LOCKING ACTUATOR WILL ENGAGE AND UNLOCK THE TRUNK. THIS HAPPENS SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE IT WILL STAY LOCKED. ALSO WHEN THIS HAPPENS 2 OTHER ISSUES PRESENT. WHEN LOCKING THE DOOR USING THE LOCK BUTTON ON THE DOOR PANEL AND CLOSING THE DOOR WHILE STANDING OUTSIDE OF THE VEHICLE WITH THE FOB IN MY POCKET. THE DOOR WILL UNLOCK ITS SELF, THE HORN WILL BEEP AND THE LIGHTS WILL FLASH THIS ISSUE WILL HAPPEN SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE IT STOPS, OR I WILL USE THE KEY FOB TO LOCK THE DOOR. ALSO AFTER THESE 2 ISSUES PRESENT, WHEN STARTING THE CAR WITH THE KEY FOB IN MY POCKET THE DISPLAY ON THE DASH WILL READ KEY FOB NOT IN VEHICLE AND THE CAR WILL GIVE THE AUDIBLE TONE AS IF THE KEY WAS NOT IN THE CAR. ALL ISSUES PRESENTED WHILE THE CAR WAS PARKED AND WILL NOT REPLICATE EVERYDAY. THESE ISSUES HAPPENED A FEW WEEKS AGO AND I CALLED CARSON CITY DODGE IN NEVADA. APPOINTMENT WAS MADE AND I LEFT THE CAR WITH THEM FOR A FULL WEEK. I WAS NOTIFIED BY THE SERVICE ADVISOR THAT THE ISSUES WOULD NOT DUPLICATE. THE CAR WAS RETURNED TO ME ON 5/10/219. I WAS TOLD IF THE HAPPEN AGAIN TO CALL. I WILL BE DOING THAT TODAY 5/13/19. THESE ISSUES STARTED ON OR ABOUT 5/1/19.
BATTERY FAILURE LIGHT BROUGHT UP ON DASHBOARD, BATTERY VOLTAGE HEALTHY BUT DASHBOARD READINGS READ OTHERWISE. OVER TIME CAR STALLED OUT, DISABLED ABS, ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL AND BRAKES. SPEEDOMETER WENT UP AND DOWN AND POWER STEERING SHUT OFF. BURNING SMELL FROM ENGINE NEAR THE ALTERNATOR
DRIVING HOME FROM WORK, I STARTED SMELLING SMOKE A FEW BLOCKS FROM MY HOUSE. I THOUGHT A GARBAGE CAN WAS ON FIRE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. I PULLED INTO MY DRIVEWAY AND MY TRUNK WAS ON FIRE. CALLED 911 AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ARRIVED WITHIN 4 MINUTES. CAR WAS TOTALED. DEALERSHIP AND INSURANCE COMPANY BELIEVE WIRING HARNESS OR BATTERY (LOCATED IN TRUNK) WAS THE CAUSE OF THE FIRE. *TT
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Quick Summary
The 2016 Dodge Challenger has 7 Electrical System complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.