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What 1,153 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 Dodge Dart

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (1,153)Crash / fire / injury (79)Transmission & drivetrain (505)Brakes (279)Electrical system (183)Engine (173)Airbags (70)Speed control (43)Steering (39)Visibility & wipers (37)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (29)Wheels (25)

279 of 1,153 complaints match · Brakes · clear filters · page 12 of 12

Jul 16, 2013SteeringBrakesEngine

WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 70 MILES PER HOUR DOWN THE HIGHWAY MY DART SUDDENLY LOST ALL POWER. THE STEERING WHEEL ACTED AS IF THERE WAS NO KEY IN IT AND LOCKED UP. THE BREAKS SLOWLY APPLIED THEMSELVES, AND THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT SHIFT INTO NEUTRAL SO THAT I COULD MOVE OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. I HAVE WORKED WITH THE COMPANY AND THE DEALERSHIP AND IT WILL NOT DUPLICATE FOR ANY REASON. HOWEVER, I HAVE BEEN HAVING ISSUES WITH POWER OF THE VEHICLE EVERY MONTH SINCE JANUARY. WITHER IT BE NOT STARTING OR FAILING TO KEY LESS START. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME FOR COMPLETE POWER FAILURE. CHRYSLER REFUSES TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT AND WANTS ME TO DRIVE IT AROUND WITH A BLACK BOX IN IT. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10525202

May 13, 2013BrakesTransmission & drivetrainCrash

MY VEHICLE WAS PARKED IN MY DRIVEWAY FROM FEB. 21, 2013 FROM 11:30 AM TO APPROXIMATELY 4:00 PM WHEN IT ROLLED DOWN THE DRIVEWAY HIT A TREE AND STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET. THE CAR WAS PARKED IN FIRST GEAR AND THE PARKING BRAKE WAS ENGAGED. THE DRIVEWAY HAS AN APPROXIMATELY 20% SLOPE AT THE LOCATION THE CAR WAS PARKED. THE SECOND INCIDENT TOOK PLACE ON MAY 2, 2013 APPROXIMATELY 1:00 PM. THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN PARKED IN THE SAME LOCATION FOR THREE WEEKS AS I WAS OUT OF TOWN. IT WAS ONCE AGAIN PARKED IN FIRST GEAR, WITH THE PARKING BRAKE ENGAGED. AS I APPROACHED THE VEHICLE IT BEGAN TO ROLL DOWN THE SLOPE IT WAS PARKED ON. I HAVE WITNESSES FOR BOTH INCIDENTS. CHRYSLER HAS INSPECTED THE VEHICLE TWICE AND REPORTS THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE BRAKES OR TRANSMISSION. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10511679

Jan 22, 2013BrakesTransmission & drivetrainCrash

ONE MONTH OLD DODGE DART RALLYE WAS PARKED ON A STEEP DRIVEWAY THE MORNING OF 01/20/13. THE EMERGENCY BRAKE WAS ENGAGED AND THE DASHBOARD LIGHT FOR THE 'PARKING BRAKE ENGAGED' WAS LIT. THE CAR SAT IDLE FOR ABOUT A MINUTE AND WAS ALSO IDLE AFTER GETTING OUT OF THE CAR FOR >30 SECONDS. AT THAT POINT THE CAR STARTED TO ROLL BACKWARDS DOWN THE DRIVEWAY WHERE IT CRASHED INTO A WOODED AREA STRIKING SEVERAL TREES. THE PARKING BRAKE HANDLE WAS STILL UP AND APPEARED TO BE ENGAGED. THE DAMAGE TO THE CAR WAS ESTIMATED AT $2400. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10493778

Jan 6, 2013BrakesCrash

THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE & COULD HAVE CAUSED A FATALITY. WHO EVER OWNS THIS VEHICLE BE CAREFUL. ON 10/31/12 ABOUT 11:30AM MY GRANDMOTHER & I WERE HEADING OUT TO LUNCH. MY GRANDMA WANTED TO RIDE IN THE DART THAT I HAD BOUGHT ON 10/26/12. I ONLY PUT ABOUT 10 MILES ON THE DART & IT IS A MANUAL 6 SPEED. I LET MY GRANDMA INTO THE PASSENGER FRONT SEAT, I STARTED THE CAR, PUT IT INTO NEUTRAL, THE EMERGENCY BRAKE WAS ALREADY ENGAGED, BUT I DOUBLE CHECKED IT & RE-PULLED UP ON THE EMERGENCY BRAKE, I THEN PULLED UP ONE MORE TIME TO MAKE SURE IT WAS FULLY ENGAGED BECAUSE MY DRIVEWAY IS SLANTED. I THEN TURNED ON THE A/C SINCE IT WAS ABOUT 80 DEGREES OUT. I LEFT THE DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR OPEN. I TOLD MY GRANDMA THAT I WAS GOING TO MOVE HER CAR SINCE IT WAS BLOCKING THE DRIVEWAY & PARKED IN THE STREET & THEN WE CAN GO TO LUNCH. I WALKED DOWN MY DRIVEWAY & MADE IT TO HER DRIVER SIDE DOOR WHEN I HEARD MY 76 YEAR OLD GRANDMOTHER SCREAMING I LOOKED UP & SAW MY DODGE DART ROLLING DOWN MY DRIVEWAY AS IF NO E-BRAKE WAS ON AT ALL. THE DRIVERS SIDE DOOR ON THE DART SMASHED INTO MY GRANDMA'S CAR THE DOOR ON THE DART THEN SMASHED INTO THE FRONT FENDER OF THE DART THE INSIDE OF THE DOOR RUBBED & DAMAGED THE REAR FENDER OF MY GRANDMOTHERS CAR. THE DART THEN CAME TO A STOP ABOUT A 1/3 WAY INTO THE STREET ABOUT 50FT FROM WHERE I HAD THE DART PARKED. I JUMPED INTO THE DART & CHECKED ON MY GRANDMOTHER SHE HAD NO SERIOUS INJURIES. I LOOK DOWN AT THE EMERGENCY BRAKE & THE EMERGENCY BRAKE IS FULLY ENGAGED & IN THE SAME POSITION THAT I LEFT IT IN. THIS CAR DIDN'T IMMEDIATELY ROLL DOWN THE DRIVEWAY IT TOOK ABOUT 30-45 SECONDS BEFORE IT STARTED ROLLING. IT ACTED LIKE THE EMERGENCY BRAKE WAS ENGAGED THEN JUST DISENGAGED & ROLLED AT A HIGH SPEED. I HAVE REPORTED THIS TO MY INSURANCE COMPANY & TO DODGE. DODGE IS SAYING THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR, BUT THEY ARE UNWILLING TO GIVE ME A COPY OF THE REPORT. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10491591

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Working with the data? Download all 1,153 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 26, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2013 Dodge Dart verdict →