2011 Dodge Charger: engine overheating

Filed Jul 17, 2026 · Airbags, Engine · VA

There has been numerous issues that affected my safety while driving and had to make costly repairs and replacements while on going. Alternator and serpentine belt broke out and all my coolant leaked out. had to stop in the middle of the street several Times by force having the abs, check engine light turn on having to turn the car off. Transmission shifter was so faulty I couldn’t pull out of park needing to replace it. Air leaks in the engine, electrical surges effecting headlights low beams I can’t see anything at night, dashboard and radio. The windows are has so much glare from sun light to other cars at night I almost cannot see ahead of me almost blinding me. The car constantly over heated. I’ve changed the battery, exhaust pipes, put breaks on it, ignition coils upper and lower intakes manifold but still proceeds to present me with a check engine light needing to unplug my battery to recent the car which turns off my eco system. Gas consumption is little to much at times The air bags light in the dashboard usually turn on constantly when adjusting the driver and passenger seat.

Filed Jul 17, 2021 · Engine · GA

The radiator fan blade broke off and hit the alternator creating a hole in it. The alternator lost all fluid and the car overheated. This happened on 2 different occasions before it became obvious that the radiator fan was the culprit and not the radiator itself. This is a safety issue because no dash lights were illuminated and the car could have severely overheated on the highway if it wasn't noticed. Mechanic inspected it and saw the fan blade caught in the hood.

Filed Jul 25, 2019 · Electrical, Engine · 170,000 miles · FL

The car gave an error message 'vehicle not in par'. Could not turn engine off. Eventually car began to overheat and caused blown head gaskets. Have to get an entire new engine and replace shifter and push to start system.

Filed Jul 23, 2019 · Engine · NY

The car seems to continue overheating no matter what after numerous deliveries to the dealership, I was assured the car would no longer overheat but it continues to do so.

Filed Oct 7, 2015 · Lights · 30,000 miles · TX

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 dodge charger. The contact stated that the headlights failed to illuminate. After inspecting the vehicle, the contact noticed that the harness melted due to overheating. The contact mentioned that the vehicle had been repaired under the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v101000 (exterior lighting). The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 30,000.

Filed Apr 15, 2014 · Lights · 73,600 miles · KY · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 dodge charger. The contact stated while driving the low beam headlights malfunctioned and failed to function. The contact discovered that the headlight wire harness melted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the headlight sub-harness had overheated causing the defect. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and no solution was offered. The contact was informed that the vehicle was not included in the federal safety agency recall campaign number 14v101000(lights). The contact stated the vehicle experienced that the same defect listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 73,600.

Filed Apr 14, 2014 · Electrical, Lights · 73,600 miles · KY

Wiring harness of headlight overheated and caused harness to melt. I have no headlights. Took car to bob allen in frankfort and they informed that there is a recall for this issue but my car is not included in the recall and there is nothing that they will do. Yet this is a safety hazard and it should be fixed at no cost since they are having this issue with other cars.

Filed Mar 18, 2014 · Electrical, Lights · 35,000 miles · IN · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 dodge charger. The contact stated that the headlight bulb continuously overheated and caused the wiring harness to become melted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician verified the failure and notified her that the vehicle was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 12v042000 (electrical system , exterior lighting , service brakes, hydraulic). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 35,000 and the current mileage was 70,000.

Filed Mar 15, 2014 · Electrical, Lights · 66,500 miles · NJ

Front passenger side low beam headlight molex (harness) disfigured and inoperable. Apparently the part failed due to an overheated bulb harness connector, similar to the federal safety agency campaign #12v042000, and chrysler recall number m01.

Filed Feb 27, 2014 · Lights · 36,300 miles · NY

A co-worker informed me that my driver's side headlight was out on the 30th of august. When I changed out the bulbs for the headlamps, I noticed that the wiring harness showed signs of overheating. The driver's side headlamp worked for a short period of time and then went out. Upon taking the car to the dealership, they indicated they didn't think repair would be covered under the warranty. I subsequently went online and found two recalls for 2011/2012 dodger charger police vehicles that match my problem exactly. The recalls are #94303 and #94301. When I called dodge about this, they took my VIN and told me my car wasn't covered under the recall and wouldn't be covered unless enough people complained about it. These recalls state "the low beam headlamps of some vehicles could fail due to an overheated bulb harness connector." both of my low beam headlamp bulb harness connectors have black marks indicating overheating.

Filed Feb 19, 2014 · Lights · 62,000 miles · NC · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 dodge charger. The contact stated that the driver's side low beam head light would not illuminate and a burning odor was present inside the vehicle. The contact discovered that the driver's side low beam head light bulb harness had overheated and melted. The contact stated that the driver's side head light bulb had been replaced multiple times. The vehicle was diagnosed by the dealer but not repaired. The contact was informed that the defect was caused by a faulty head light bulb harness connector and that the connector needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified and no solution was offered. The failure mileage was 62,000.

Filed Jan 2, 2014 · Electrical, Lights · 54,034 miles · MD

Noticed that the passenger side low beam headlamp was not lighting. Installed a new lamp with the same current and power specs. With less than 4 hours on the new lamp it also failed to light. Removed the lamp and found the connector shell/housing charred and brittle. Contacts on one side of the connector and both the original and replacement lamps were discolored by intense heat. Evidently, the connector contact was not providing a solid connection with the lamp terminals, and the high resistance connection resulted in overheating and melting of the connector, a dealer service advisor informed me that this is a known, ongoing problem for which the solution is to replace the entire wiring harness at the owner's expense. Research indicated that the problem has been acknowledged by chrysler, but only police vehicles have been recalled. To avoid spending hundreds of dollars to have the entire harness replaced, the original connector has been removed and a replacement connector installed. Whether "new" harnesses installed to fix the problem use the same inadequate connectors is unknown.