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Engine & cooling

2016 Dodge Challenger Engine problems

Owners have filed 12 complaints about the 2016 Dodge Challenger's engine & cooling with NHTSA - 15% of all its complaints, most recently on January 28, 2025. They describe 0 crashes, 0 fires and 1 injury. Stalling, loss of power, oil consumption, overheating, head gaskets, timing chains and engine failure.

Complaints
12
Recalls
0
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
1
Deaths
0

Engine complaints

Engine & cooling

Hemi Tick. The problem is so bad there is a common name for Stelantis 5.7 Hemi engine. Nothing else needs to be said the problem is well documented.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11639234
Transmission & drivetrainEngine & cooling

Center bond of crankshaft Damper falling-off front of engines on the highway due to defective bonding material in manufacturing causing failure in rubber bonding. At highways speeds, a 10lb chunk of metal will fall-off HEMI engines & create a flying projectile at other motorists on the road causing damage or death to other vehicles/drivers and/or pedestrians. Owners who are unaware of this safety-issue will be unaware that their crankshaft-damper has fallen off due to not realizing a piece of the engine is now missing, thus creating possibility of engine failure due to No Vibration Dampening any longer attached to the crankshaft pulley.

Filed Incident Power train · EngineNHTSA 11593203
Engine & cooling

The contact owns a 2016 Dodge Challenger. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, there was a knocking and ticking sound coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the engine lifters and rocker's arms were faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 78,000.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11483510
Engine & cooling

Tl* the contact owns a 2016 dodge challenger. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the oil housing filter leaked onto the engine and transmission. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to wolfchase chrysler dodge jeep ram (8170 us-64, bartlett, tn 38133) where it was diagnosed with the oil housing filter needing to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that the part was on back order and could not fix until the part became available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 59,000.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11397958
Engine & cooling1 injury

Chrysler maker of dodge challenger 2016 and other models and other years are aware of a major defect. The oil filter housing on many makes and models leak lots of oil. As of right now there are 40,000 of this part on back order. They leak oil over the top of the engine and transmission. The burning oil puts fumes in the car as you are driving. This can make you sleepy and the car can catch fire in the right environment. You cant take a picture of the part without removing the uper and lower intake. I sent a pic of the oil in my drive. Please google this and see that this not a isolated thing but a common always gonna happen thing. The burning oil makes me feel sick.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11397787
Engine & cooling

Lifter noise very bad after sitting still ticks when warm was told by dodge they all do that

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11318010
Transmission & drivetrainEngine & cooling

The icon came on to tell me service immediately, it's bogging down when it's in gear and the motor is extremely hot

Filed Incident Power train · Unknown or other · EngineNHTSA 11242372
Electrical systemBody, doors & structureEngine & cooling

About a week or two ago I remote started my vehicle with the factory remote starter. I entered the vehicle which was stationary, pushed the start button to complete the activation. The vehicle started and ran normally, about a minute or two later the vehicle idled roughly and shutoff, all the dashboard cluster lights and side mirror proximity lights came on. The push button was also illuminated in the "run" position. I tried to push the start button and nothing happened, I tried to open my drivers door and it would...

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not open as the window would not roll down to allow me to open the door (frame less door), if I had forced the door open the window would have broke. I was stuck inside my vehicle which was stationary and not in drive. I then pressed the unlock function on the key fob and the car made all the noises to unlock, I again tried opening the door and the window would not roll down. I then tried pushing the start button and the button would not come out of "run" mode. I pressed the lock function on the key fob, the vehicle made all the noises of locking (horn, flashing lights, actuator noise for lock) but the door still would not open as the window would not roll down; the vehicle start button was still in "run" mode. I pressed the lock and unlock button a few more times until I was finally able to open the door. Once the door was open I continue pressing the lock/unlock button on the key fob, the vehicle finally let me push the start button to take it out of "run" mode. Once the vehicle went "off" I was able to start it by pushing the start button. On may 22, 2018 I took the vehicle to gresham dodge dealership, they ran a quick diagnostic and said there was no event stored, that I would have to let it happen again before they could do anything.

Filed Incident Electrical system · Structure · EngineNHTSA 11098094
Engine & cooling

2016 Dodge challenger 392 engine. When shifting the manual transmission from second to third gear, there is a severe hesitation that lasts a few seconds. This hesitation is so severe that I have nearly been involved in 2 accidents. Once while turning left in front of on-coming traffic and once while trying to merge onto a highway. The engine loses all power for about 3-4 seconds before responding. This problem has also been reported by other owners on challenger car forums on the internet. Problem has been...

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identified on 2016 & 2017 models with manual transmission only. When car was only 3 weeks old, dealer kept car for almost a month trying to fix the problem. April of 2016. Problem went away for almost 18 months but now has returned in november of 2017 worse than before. Dealer, lee dodge in westbrook maine unable to fix the vehicle even after their experts drove the vehicle. They do not know what is wrong even though they can duplicate the problem. Car is dangerous to drive in this condition.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11054112
Engine & cooling

When I opened the cap of my coolant expansion tank, I noticed what looked like rust around the bottom of the cap. I inserted my finger into the tank and found rust inside the coolant. I brought the car to the dodge dealership. They could not find any problems and claimed there was no rust. We went to the dealership and showed the cap to them. The dealer replaced the cap with an aftermarket cap. When I went to my mechanic for an oil change, he notified me that there seemed to be oil in my coolant. He proceeded to do...

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a hydrocarbon test which resulted 483 ppm which was bad for emissions. We brought this information to a dodge dealership who claimed there was nothing wrong with the vehicle again.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11023568
Engine & cooling

Tl* the contact owns a 2016 dodge challenger. The contact stated that the vehicle made an abnormal noise from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to victorville motors (located at 14617 civic dr, victorville, ca) where it was diagnosed that the failure was inherent to the vehicle. The manufacturer was notfified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 4,670.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11015082
Engine & cooling

Tl* the contact owns a 2016 dodge challenger. While driving approximately 15 mph and attempting to make a left turn, the vehicle stalled. All the warning indicators were illuminated. The contact coasted to the side of the road and called roadside assistance. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that water entered the engine manifold trough the cold air intake, located six inches from the ground. The failure was not covered under warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 16,000.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 10947843

Dodge Challenger engine complaints by year

Challenger engine problems, every year

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Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked . Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data

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