Airbags & electrical issues are among the top complaints received by the NHTSA from vehicle owners
The 2020 Dodge Challenger was designed to provide sports car style with muscle power. Newer models claim to offer “strong delivery.” However, customers can’t stop complaining about the defective air bags, faulty electrical system and malfunctioning powertrain.
Click on other model year to view more problems: 2019 2021
The car’s air bags are designed to prevent accidents during a collision, but if they don’t work, they are worthless.
One NHTSA complaint talks about this problem. “My car was in a collision yesterday. I was rear-ended and pushed into another vehicle, resulting in both front and rear impacts. The air bag did not deploy, even though I could smell it, as if it did deploy. Also, my car app notified me that the airbag had been deployed and needed to be taken to a service provider to be serviced. The problem is that no airbags actually deployed. So if I had been in a situation that required the airbags to save my life, I would not have had them. I feel like this could really be a problem if it happened in another situation & I wanted to let someone know so they can look into it.”
There’s currently an NHTSA investigation into the air bags. #EA21002 discusses how the propellant in the inflator can degrade over time, creating an air bag that deploys when it shouldn’t. If this happens, there could be serious injuries created, which is also a pain considered that no accident occurred. For this reason, new air bags must have desiccants installed to remove moisture and prevent this problem. The other solution is to avoid driving a Challenger at any cost.
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Electrical System | |
| Engine | |
| Power Train | |
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Air Bags | |
| Exterior Lighting | |
| Fuel/propulsion System | |
| Seat Belts | |
| Service Brakes | |
| Visibility/wiper |
Considering the price of this muscle car, all of the electrical systems should be in tip-top condition, but that’s not the case.
Here’s another NHTSA complaint to read. “Car completely shut off while driving on the freeway at 75mph. Car completely shut off another incident on the street and another incident in a parking lot.”
One examination of how poorly this car is made reveals where the problems are coming from. While not related to the electrical system, the engineering defects can also be seen in the windshield construction. NHTSA Campaign Number 21V516000 talks about over 21,000 vehicles that are built with the wrong bonding on the windshield, leaving it to possibly detach from the vehicle during an accident. When you combine this fault with the air bag issue, it feels like Challenger drivers are more at risk for injuries than the average driver. Is there any part of this car that truly offers “strong delivery?”
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A final look at the powertrain must be evaluated to see how this vehicle actually performs.
This NHTSA complaint reveals a lot. “I bought a Dodge Challenger. The place I bought it is [dealer]. I got out of the dealer and the shaft of the car was out of the way, I was almost having an accident. I went back to the dealer and explained the situation. They told me to give the car to the service. I said I did not want to service the car at 50 miles. I asked them to give me a new one of the same car. No, we can’t give you a car because they said you bought cash and got a discount. I left the car to the service 3 days ago. Still nobody informed me. When they repaired the vehicle, I don’t want to get on that vehicle, I have a child, I’m afraid. I want them to give me a new one of the same car.”
There have been a lot of drivers wishing for the same thing with the 2020 Challenger. It turns out that there was even a class-action lawsuit because of the defective 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine. The valve train defect wasn’t disclosed by Dodge to customers, so many had to deal with a ticking noise because of failed rocker arms and other parts contaminating the oil and creating permanent damage. With every part of the Challenger falling apart, it might do better sitting in the junkyard.
Think you have a lemon? Sit back and let the experts work out your lemon case at no cost to you. The law makes Dodge pay legal fees. You may be able to get your lemon out of your life. Every year, auto manufacturers buy back, replace or pay cash settlements to thousands of ‘lemon’ owners like you.
Brian Jones spent more than 30 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
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