Model-year matrix

Dodge Charger
which year?

Compare every Dodge Charger model year the EPA recorded, 1984 to 2027. See complaint patterns, fuel economy and configurations side by side, then open any year for recall campaigns and the full dossier. Confirm against the official NHTSA recall search.

Evidence-led answer

Looking for the best Dodge Charger year—or years to avoid?

The official records cannot honestly name a best, worst or most reliable year. Complaint totals have no sales, mileage or age denominator. They can show where more reports were filed and which components were named, giving you years to investigate more closely before checking the exact car and its VIN.

What is the best year for the Dodge Charger?

No official dataset can support one universal best year. Use the table to compare complaint patterns and EPA figures, then open the shortlisted years for recall campaigns and exact specifications.

Which Dodge Charger years should you avoid?

The records cannot justify a blanket avoid label. Years with more reports are surfaced below as research priorities, not predictions about every car from that year.

01 · More reports to inspect2006

1,293 indexed complaint reports; engine is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2006 dossier →02 · More reports to inspect2011

694 indexed complaint reports; electrical system is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2011 dossier →03 · More reports to inspect2012

648 indexed complaint reports; electrical system is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2012 dossier →

Do not read this as an avoid list. Older and higher-selling model years usually accumulate more reports. A low count can also mean a newer, rarer or poorly matched vehicle—not a safer one.

Read this as evidence, not a ranking.

Complaint totals are counts of owner-submitted allegations, not confirmed defects, and they carry no denominator: they are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, how old they are, how far they are driven, or how much publicity a fault received. A high-volume or older year will usually show more reports than a rare or recent one. The site does not convert these into a reliability score, because the data needed to do that honestly is not in the public record.

Direct comparison

Compare two Dodge Charger model years.

Choose any two years. The URL keeps the pair so you can return to the same comparison. Every figure below is an observed official record or EPA estimate—not a reliability score.

First model year

2026 Dodge Charger

NHTSA complaint allegations: 1
Combined EPA economy: 19–95 mpg/MPGe
EPA configurations: 9
Annual EPA fuel-cost estimate: $800–4,000
Fuel labels: Electricity · Premium Gasoline · Regular Gasoline

Most-reported component labelselectrical system 1

Open the 2026 evidence dossier →

Second model year

2027 Dodge Charger

NHTSA complaint allegations: 0
Combined EPA economy: 75–86 mpg/MPGe
EPA configurations: 3
Annual EPA fuel-cost estimate: $900–1,000
Fuel labels: Electricity

Most-reported component labelsNo component label indexed

Open the 2027 evidence dossier →

Observed complaint-record difference

2027 has 1 fewer indexed complaint allegations than 2026.

This is not a rate or reliability finding. The counts have no sales, mileage, age or exposure denominator, and newer years have had less time to accumulate reports.

Side by side

Dodge Charger by year.

Complaint bars are scaled against this model’s own highest year, so they compare years with each other and with nothing else.

Dodge Charger model years with NHTSA complaint totals, most-reported components, EPA fuel economy and configuration counts
Year	Complaints	Most-reported components	Combined MPG	EPA configs	Annual fuel cost	Dossier
2027	0	—	75–86	3	$900–1,000	Dossier →
2026	1	electrical system 1	19–95	9	$800–4,000	Dossier →
2025	0	—	70–98	7	$800–1,000	Dossier →
2024	1	electrical system 1	70–98	5	$800–1,100	Dossier →
2023	26	electrical system 11power train 9engine 5	15–23	6	$2,650–5,050	Dossier →
2022	13	air bags 3electrical system 3engine 3	15–23	6	$2,650–5,050	Dossier →
2021	32	air bags 14power train 5unknown or other 5	15–23	6	$2,650–5,050	Dossier →
2020	57	air bags 36unknown or other 10electrical system 6	15–23	6	$2,650–5,050	Dossier →
2019	120	air bags 49electrical system 22unknown or other 21	16–23	6	$2,650–4,750	Dossier →
2018	122	electrical system 45unknown or other 33structure 19	16–23	8	$2,650–4,750	Dossier →
2017	128	electrical system 48unknown or other 31structure 20	16–23	8	$2,650–4,750	Dossier →
2016	182	structure 55unknown or other 32electrical system 25	16–23	8	$2,650–4,750	Dossier →
2015	135	power train 32electrical system 23engine 23	16–23	7	$2,650–4,750	Dossier →
2014	343	electrical system 111steering 66engine 61	17–23	9	$2,650–4,450	Dossier →
2013	359	electrical system 170engine 50power train 48	17–23	9	$2,650–4,450	Dossier →
2012	648	electrical system 365air bags 111engine 94	17–23	6	$2,650–4,450	Dossier →
2011	694	electrical system 403exterior lighting 161fuel/propulsion system 79	18–21	4	$2,950–3,700	Dossier →
2010	232	electrical system 74air bags 59engine 48	15–21	6	$2,950–5,050	Dossier →
2009	174	electrical system 46air bags 45engine 32	15–21	7	$2,950–4,100	Dossier →
2008	609	electrical system 393air bags 124engine 89	15–21	7	$2,950–5,050	Dossier →
2007	554	power train 228engine 82air bags 77	15–21	6	$2,950–5,050	Dossier →
2006	1,293	engine 387fuel/propulsion system 305power train 222	15–21	4	$2,950–5,050	Dossier →
1987	0	—	20–26	5	$2,350–3,800	Dossier →
1986	0	—	20–30	6	$2,050–3,800	Dossier →
1985	2	electrical system 4power train 2engine and engine cooling 1	20–30	9	$2,050–3,800	Dossier →
1984	1	electrical system 1	21–30	6	$2,050–2,950	Dossier →

Evidence snapshot generated August 25, 2026. “Not indexed” means NHTSA holds no complaint record matching this exact year, make and model — not that no fault occurred. Recall campaigns are not summarised here: NHTSA publishes no bulk recall dataset, and fetching them per year would take longer than the page should. Each year’s dossier shows its recalls in full, live from NHTSA.