Dodge Challenger harsh shifting problems

Filed Feb 4, 2024 · Brakes · HI

At less than 1000 miles on the odometer, my brakes were seizing up after the car was parked in the carport for a week without being driven. When I would go to back the car up, the brakes were stuck. After they popped loose and I started driving down the road we heard a clunking noise. Upon inspection, we noted that some of the front brake pad material [semi-metallics], both left and right, had broken off of the pad and adhered to the rotors. If I had continued driving the car like this, it would have etched a very large groove into the rotors. A brand new, very expensive car, should not experience issues like this. Had I needed to replace the rotors, it would have cost over $1000. We replaced the brake pads to ceramics to keep this from happening again. Since doing so, I have had no issues. I have been on forums and this is not a one-off. Others have experienced the same issue. The brake rotors themselves were rusty when I took receipt of the car after ordering it from a dealer.

Filed Aug 13, 2021 · Transmission · WY

Faulty TCM After purchasing my car it would hard shift in the 3rd and 4th gear And I realize that shortly after purchasing it chant and then one night I was on the freeway and between 2 semi trucks when it's just neutral and then tried shifting into 2nd gear Which almost caused me to wreck in between 2 semi trucks which was not cool and Now my car only shifts into 1st and 2nd gear and when it gets to 3rd it neutrals , It won't go into 3rd or 4th gear . I took it into the dealership to get new software Uploaded on my TCM they said it was fine so I drove it out the parking lot and still doing the sa.e thing won't shift into 3rd gear so I took it to another shop to have it looked at because I didn't want to risk my life driving the car. I'm not gonna take it back to a place that just gotten to tell me that everything was fine when it's clearly not so we put it on a lift inspected it and it shifts from 1st all the way up to 4th no problem and then soon as you put it on the ground and start driving it ,it does the same thing neutrals when it gets the 3rd . Then after looking further into the car the mechanic noticed how small the groundwire was compared to the power wthe power wire and it wasn't getting enough voltage So I'm thinking that also could be a major issue Later on down the road And that might even be the cause of the TCM going bad . It's just crazy to me a car would be OKAY to be sold with the problems it has And there's a lot of people online with the same kinda of problems as mine All I have to say is I'm lucky that I'm alive due to These problems.

Filed Jun 29, 2020 · Transmission · 158,560 miles · CA

Very hard shift from 4th gear to 5th and also when I put it in drive from park it takes a while for the gear to kick in. Because of this my car is running at a high coolant temp. I will be driving normally and when 4th gear switches to 5th gear the car revs up and kicks forward I almost hit the car in front of me it is unsafe.

Filed May 26, 2020 · 99,559 miles · NC

Tl* the contact owns a 2018 dodge challenger. The contact stated that the gear shifter was placed in the park position however, the vehicle started to rollaway after the brake pedal was released. The contact activated the parking brake to stop the vehicle from rolling. Additionally, while driving at various speeds, the transmission experienced hard shifts between gears. Starr motors, inc. (2584 pruden blvd, suffolk, va 23434, (757)539-0214) was contacted and informed of the failure. The contact was informed that the vehicle was not subjected to a recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 99,559.

Filed Oct 4, 2019 · Transmission · 20,000 miles · TX · 1 injury

The right shifter paddle on the steering wheel will intermittently downshift several gears instead of upshifting when the paddle is pressed. The system will also downshift unexpectedly when the right paddle shifter is held down to change over to the automatic drive system. This has been occurring since I started using the paddle shifters around 30,000 miles on the vehicle. The unexpected downshifting consistently slams the vehicle to almost a stop, abruptly forcing any occupants in the vehicle into the seatbelts. There have been many occasions where vehicles have almost hit my vehicle because the car shifts down several gears at once and slows suddenly without brake lights. The vehicle has also slid in wet conditions when it has occurred. Due to safety concerns, I have not been able to operate the paddle shifters at high speed in fear of my own safety and the safety of others. If the vehicle was to downshift several gears at speed in wet conditions, the vehicle would likely slide out of control. Additionally, the hard shifting is likely causing premature wear and tear on the transmission, drive components and tires. The vehicle has now been in the shop for this issue 8 times with no permanent fix. There are many articles and forum reports addressing this issue with dodge challenger vehicles, but dodge refuses to acknowledge the forums and claims they only address issues separately with each customer. This issue has left me without my vehicle for months at a time and is a constant safety hazard if the paddle shifters are operated. This issue is a major safety hazard to the occupants and other drivers since downshifting 2-3 gears at once can be the same as slamming on the brakes, especially in wet conditions. Here is an article that pertains to this issue: https://www.hotcars.com/charger-challenger-defect-paddle-shifters/ thanks for your help!

Filed Jun 3, 2019 · Brakes, Transmission · 3,000 miles · CT

New vehicle was brought into dealer twice prior to reaching 15k miles. Brakes were adjusted, but said to be functioning as designed. Vehicle has long stops in city driving especially after long periods of time when the brakes have not been used, when there is no pressure in the line. The car was re-assigned a new star case by fca dodge 58387971, from customer service rep "sarah" at extension 3020683. 1 appointment was set up to bring back to the dealer, but when I could not male the appt. She closed the case and sent me no notice. The transmission also has shifting issues and bangs in and out of gear at low or high speeds at all times, when the car has been, or has not been driven. I have leased or bought 7 cars from chrysler / dodge in the last ten years and have never been treated so poorly. I did ask that they take the car back as the first incident occurred within 3k miles where I nearly re-ended someone at very low speeds under 20 MPH because of the car's defective stopping distance. Instead dodge told me to go through my state's lemon law. I am asking for assistance from the federal safety agency. I am asking that they contact dodge fca customer care directly at 1 844 827 2006 and speak to sarah at extension 3020683. The transmission is very clunky as well. It slams into a lower gear so hard it lurches the vehicle backwards from third to second gear. This vehicle was a present to myself after surviving colon cancer, but it's a nightmare that dodge doesn't want to hear about and wants to do nothing to resolve. First repair order was 08 29 2018 (purchased in july 2018), second repair order was march 21 2019. Third repair order was scheduled in may 2019, but needed to be rescheduled. Dodge closed my star case as a result of me canceling the appt. With the dealership.

Filed Dec 5, 2017 · Airbags, Brakes · 10,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2016 dodge challenger. The contact stated that the air bag warning indicator illuminated. Also, whenever the brake pedal was depressed, the brakes made a squeaking noise as if they were prematurely wearing. The contact stated that the brakes failed to stop the vehicle in a timely manner. The vehicle also made a clunking noise as if metal were touching whenever the gears were shifted from park to drive and vice versa, as well as whenever the contact drove downhill. The contact took the vehicle to poway chrysler jeep dodge ram (13811 poway road, poway, ca 92064; 858‑218‑2213) where it was diagnosed that the brake pads needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and opened case numbers: 30285247 and 31041577. The manufacturer also sent an investigator to view the brakes. The investigator stated that the brakes were not in need of repair. The contact returned the vehicle to the poway dodge regarding the transmission, but they were unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the transmission failure and opened case numbers: 32657810 and 32920890. The failure was not repaired. The contact took the vehicle to the same poway dodge dealer regarding the air bag warning sensor, but they did not diagnose the failure. The brake pads and rotors were replaced twice, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired for the transmission and the air bag warning indicator failures. The approximate failure mileage was 10,000.

Filed Mar 11, 2017 · Transmission · 24,000 miles · NC

Hello! Hard shifting 6speed manual: I have been having shifting problems with my manual trans for a couple of months. It started back in nov 11 when traveling out of town,got stuck in traffic and clutch started to not disingauge all the way (would creep) had to hold foot on brake or put in neutral even after pulling off the road. Latter when coming home baked into parking space turn key off wanted to put in other gear was very hard to pull out of reverse. Has gotten worse, it is getting harder to shift while driving. My wife went to get on the highway and had very hard time going into lower gear almost getting hit in the rear.dodge says worn clutch,but it doesn't slip, but they have a notice about grease being on input spline thats the clutch slides on getting dirty from to much grease and dirt, making the disc stick not fully disengaging. This is a manufacturing defect,assembling line defect not mine. Been to two dealers and ask 4 about the problem.

Filed Jan 25, 2017 · Transmission · 31,000 miles · CA

Car makes clunk noise when the 8 speed automatic gears down or up. I taken it to the dealership twice and they can't determine what is wrong. I'm afraid that warranty will run out before anything is done by fiat.chrysler.

Filed Jul 16, 2016 · Transmission · 483 miles · AL

Driveline clunk noise in rear of vehicle when coming to a stop between 3 to 6 MPH downshifting. This happens no matter what the road surface your on. This is a new vehicle with less than 500 miles, after I went to my county probate office to get my licence tag, this occurred every time I came to a full stop at a sign, light or behind a vehicle in front of me. Took vehicle to dealership, service manager came out to see if anything was loose in trunk, spare tire,etc. No problem found, I was told to bring car back monday morning for further diagnosis where techs can find problem. I have heard others complain of this issue with their challengers but no avail, or they would tell the owners that this was normal. No this is not normal in the driveline, please investigate this issue so it can be resolved with chrysler wether a recall or tsb needs to be enforced to solve this driveline issue. Thanks for your time in this matter.