2012 Dodge Challenger: loss of power steering

Filed Feb 29, 2020 · Steering · 137,134 miles · WA

All of a sudden my power steering went out it's hard to steer the vehicle while making a left turn, on a city street with a lot of traffic and pedestrians. The road was dry. No indications that the car was having an issue prior to that. I checked the power steering fluid and the belt I don't hear a sound. I've asked several people about this issue and a lot of people have reported this as being a problem with the vehicle. I was in the middle of a turn and the power steering went out which caused me to almost hit the curb and pedestrians on the sidewalk. There has to be a resolution because this is a problem not with just my vehicle up with many others. When I bought the vehicle I was told that it had a new power steering unit in it.

Filed Mar 12, 2019 · Electrical, Steering · 113,000 miles · TX

Battery was replaced because it went dead. Lost power steering. Windows going up and down on their own running down new battery. Found fuse that runs side mirrors and power steering to be good but is showing the fuse box to be grounding out when fuse is removed. I have heard of alot of issues with the windows on this car. Nobody can seem to locate the problem. The car was sitting still and engine not turned on. If I leave windows open, weather damage is done. Dangerous to drive without power steering. Afraid it might catch on fire due to the grounding out. There are no recalls referring to this issue. Why and what can I do about getting this resolved when mechanics can't find the problem?

Filed Feb 19, 2018 · Engine · 55,700 miles · MD

This is in regard to the dodge t36 alternator recall. After the recall was announced, my car was affected. I want to add another report. In mid 2017, a higher pitch noise was coming from the engine. 2 to 3 months later, I took the car to my dealer who affirmed the noise was the sound of the alternator charging. The recall replacement part was not available. As long as I was operational, the advice was to wait. 2 months after the dealer visit, while driving one morning, my alternator failed, the battery was dead, and my engine died. When I left out that morning, a couple of the idiot lights came on which was weird. Then 15 minutes later, while in traffic on a busy road, the radio was glitching, many of the warning lights came on, power steering went out. I was able to move over to the right lane, though nearly sideswiping another vehicle in the process. The engine then just ceased. I was able to coast to a stop in a safe spot. No power whatsoever. Car towed to dealer. Dealer claimed battery, which was the original, did not die as a result of the alternator failure. To me, the timing says otherwise. If the battery was on its way out, this sure finished it off. Dealer installed a new battery and a replacement alternator - but this was the existing non-replacement alternator stock. Once the recall replacement part becomes available, whenever that will be, I will need to take the car in again to have that put in if it's a replacement part to the alternator. Otherwise, if it's a whole alternator unit, then they will swap out the existing stock new one I received. Dealer/mfr did not cover the cost of the new battery. They did replace the alternator at no cost.

Filed Aug 22, 2017 · Electrical · 65,000 miles · TX

Alternator abruptly shorted out. Had no power steering, instruments, engine died. The care was in motion on the highway. The battery was total discharged. The alternator was very hot, burnt electrical smell, with discoloration.

Filed May 6, 2017 · Electrical · 4,000 miles · CA · crash · 1 injury

Tracktion light came on(little car with tire tracks) then dead, won't hold a charge.excact same thing is happing to thousands. Alternator replaced @ dodge/$1,000. There's a recall, (p60) 2011-2014/dodge challenger's the alternater 160 amp is defective! So why did I have to pay???? Because (they) are only replacing them on 3.6 l engines not 5.7 l like mine!so I guess it's only defective when u have a smaller engine? I paid more$ for my engine so I guess they think a defective alternator is going to some how work? Well it dosnt! My question is did they put the new and improved alternator on mine? Or do I just have to pray this one dosnt go out again, on the freeway again and cause a huge accident! Ever been coming down the grapevine at 70 MPH and your car goes dead? No steering no brakes, it's like an e ticket ride at disneyland😳so if u buy a challenger make sure u get 3.6l because they replace the defective alternator for free! If you don't cause an accident first! No one seems to b worried about this, but if u own a challenger be careful....... I can't really answer the questions on form, they are yes and no,,,,,,,,, this whole thing is very grey.

Filed May 3, 2017 · Electrical · 40,000 miles · CA

Tracktion control light came on, I pulled into my driveway. Thank god because when I tried to start it about 5 min. Later it was dead. Would not hold a charge, could not jump start it , had it towed to haddad dodge. Next morning they called and said it is the alternater and it's $1000😳so I asked if that's all that's wrong because I know there were burned out fuses and I would think I would need a new battery . He said I would have to pay for the alternater before he could check to see if anything else was wrong,hmmmmmm I've checked the dodge blog and I can't count how many people have had the excact same thing happen to there challengers! I guess there going to wait till one of us gets killed before they do a recall on what ever is causing this to happen,because if ur on the freeway and it dies it's no fun at 70 with no brakes and no steering!,, I was actually rear ended at a stop light 6 months ago, maybe that had something to do with, because I have had one thing after another go wrong with this car since the accident. But if u ask anyone in this hillbilly town I live in, the reck had nothing to do with any of the problems my cars having! Coman since tells me it has everything to do with it, since my car was perfect since the day I got it! Not one problem ever, till that idiot hit me, but this town is full of men that know everything about everything 😏

Filed Mar 18, 2015 · Electrical · 40,769 miles · MA

Fiat chrysler dodge has issued a recall on all 3.6 liter v6 alternators because the amperage is causing fires in some cars but mostly the alternators are failing and once they fail, the battery goes within a few days with no warning. I was driving on the highway when my car lost all electrical, no power steering, no lights, which also means no airbags or anything. I pressed the gas pedal all the way to the floor to keep it running and was at 40 MPH before I could finally get off the highway. I stopped at the redlight and the car just shut off. I contacted chrysler through my service agreement and got roadside assistance to take the car back to the dealership where I bought it in 2012, I told them about the recall and they told me dodge had not released the parts to anyone yet. They gave me another faulty alternator and a new battery, lied to me and told me that the alternator has nothing to do with charging a battery, told me that dodge wouldn't reimburse me for the service, and told me to come back in a few months if dodge had sourced the parts. It's four months later and dodge is sporadically releasing the new higher amperage alternators, some dealerships are getting as low as 4 alternators and that's it. So every day I drive my car, I wonder if this is the day that the alternator fails again, and leaves me on the highway again, or in the middle of traffic, or in the middle of an intersection, or on train tracks or god knows where else! I'm contacting dodge after this to let them know what is going on and how displeased I am.

Filed Jun 25, 2014 · Electrical, Steering · 36,200 miles · TN

I was driving down the road and my instrument panel started going crazy, lights were coming on, the speedometer was jumping up and down, then my radio and air conditioner shut down, then I lost power steering, and about 30 seconds later the car died in traffic on a busy highway. It was towed to the dealership and the next day I was told that first I needed to authorize the purchase for a battery so they could get it to come on, which I did. They called back later and told me my problem was that my ignition switch was stuck in the on position which caused it to fry the ignition switch and my battery. I contacted dodge and they gave me a case # in which I followed up today and was told they were sorry there is nothing more they can do. They even told me that there have been similar issues and that dodge was looking into the problem, but for now they couldn't help me. Another thing that really bothered me other than my car flaking out 200 miles after the warranty expired is that I get a letter in the mail the same day from dodge about extending my warranty.

Filed Dec 11, 2012 · Acceleration, Brakes · 3,200 miles · FL · crash

2012 dodge challenger going 10 MPH in parking lot, turning right into parking space, car accelerated by itself, and stuck itself at full throttle speed, brakes failed, power steering failed. Car hit and went up on concrete barrier. Bounced back, stalled.