Headlight pigtail assembly burned out as described in the 2014 safety recall. 14V‑101 / P08 Recall Summary The wiring sub-harnesses for the headlights may overheat, and the low beam headlights may fail. Dealers will replace the headlamp jumper harnesses and bulbs or the headlight assemblies as needed free of charge to resolve the concern.
2012 Dodge Charger electrical problems
359 complaints (55% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 64,000. 8 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 359
- of this car's complaints
- 55%
- typical mileage
- 64,000
- crashes
- 8
- recalls
- 3
Which part fails
- Alternator/generator/regulator33
- 12v/24v/48v battery5
- Wiring: fuses and circuit breakers1
- Horn1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+
Dodge Charger electrical problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2012 Dodge Charger electrical
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
Electrical system: alternator/generator/regulator
- What is wrong
- Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain model year 2011-2014 Dodge Challenger, Dodge Charger, Chrysler 300, Dodge Durango, and 2012-2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles. The affected vehicles have electro-hydraulic power steering (EHPS) and are equipped with a 5.7L or a 3.6L engine and a 160, 180 or 220 amp alternator. In the affected vehicles, the alternator may suddenly fail.
- Risk
- If the alternator fails, the vehicle may stall without warning, increasing the risk of a crash. There is also the possibility that the alternator may short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the alternator and depending on the part number, will replace the alternator, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began February 12, 2018. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1‑800‑853‑1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is T36.
Recall number 17V435000 · Recall details
Electrical system: alternator/generator/regulator
- What is wrong
- Chrysler Group LLC (Chrysler) is recalling certain model year 2011-2014 Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, Challenger, and Durango; and 2012-2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles manufactured April 22, 2010, to January 2, 2014, and equipped with a 3.6L engine and a 160 amp alternator. In the affected vehicles, the alternator may suddenly fail.
- Risk
- If the alternator fails, the vehicle may stall without warning, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Chrysler has notified owners, and dealers will replace the alternator, free of charge. The recall began on February 27, 2015. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1‑800‑853‑1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is P60.
Recall number 14V634000 · Recall details
Electrical system: wiring: fuses and circuit breakers
- What is wrong
- Chrysler is recalling certain model year 2011 and 2012 300 and dodge charger vehicles. These vehicles may lose ABS/ESC system function due to an overheated power distribution center.
- Risk
- This could lead to loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will relocate the ABS/ESC system fuse, free of charge. The safety recall began on may 18, 2012. Owners may contact chrysler at 1‑800‑853‑1403.
Recall number 12V197000 · Recall details
Related investigations
Alternator failure
On July 22, 2014, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-022 to investigate 14 complaints (VOQs) alleging incidents of alternator failure resulting in engine stall while driving in model year (MY) 2011 through 2012 Dodge Charger vehicles.The MY 2011 through 2012 Dodge Charger vehicles were sold with three different engine options:1) 3.6L V6 (VIN8 = G), 88,766 vehicles; 2) 5.7L V8 (VIN8 = T), 38,615 vehicles; and 3) 6.4L V8 (VIN8 = J), 2,406 MY 2012 vehicles.The 14 VOQs identified in the PE14-022 opening resume involve 13 vehicles with 3.6L V6 engines and 1 vehicle with unknown engine (no VIN provided).In an October 7, 2014 letter to the federal safety agency, Chrysler described a safety defect condition that could result in rapid alternator failure having limited or no detection in approximately 434,581 MY 2011 through 2014 Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, Dodge Challenger, Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles equipped with 3.6L engines and 160 amp alternators (the federal safety agency Recall No. 14V‑634, Chrysler P60).The subject alternators are used in vehicles equipped with 3.6L V6 engines and without towing packages.According to Chrysler, the silicone diodes in the alternator rectifier bridge may experience thermal fatigue due to cyclic loading from the Electric Hydraulic Power Steering (EHPS) system, eventually resulting in no output, reduced output, or a fully shorted to ground condition.These failure modes vary in their time to failure and warning to the driver.Depending on the failure mode and timing, system voltage may drop to critically low levels, disabling systems such as the Anti-lock Brake System/Electronic Stability Control, Engine Control Module/Central Body Controller, or a total vehicle electrical system shut down (in the event of a short to ground failure mode).Analysis of complaints to ODI and Chrysler identified a total of 146 incidents of alternator failure resulting in engine stall while driving in MY 2011 through 2012 Dodge Charger vehicles, including 142 involving vehicles equipped with the 3.6L V6 engines (1.6 IPTV) that were included in 14V‑634 and 4 involving vehicles with 5.7L V8 engines (0.1 IPTV), which are equipped with different alternators.Analysis of all alternator failure complaints found that approximately 48 percent of VOQs and 21 percent of Chrysler complaints involved allegations of engine stall.Many (98) complaints reported fire and/or smoke, but analysis of these determined that they involved thermal damage to the alternator diode and did not identify any incidents involving damage beyond the alternator assembly.One VOQ identified in the opening resume for PE14-022 alleged a crash, but further evaluation determined that this involved a minor rear-end impact with slight bumper damage.This investigation is closed based on Chrysler's decision to conduct a safety recall.The VOQs associated with this investigation are:10641479,10641366,10641349,10642017,10640770,10640687,10640553,10639692,10638810,10638356,10638175,10638143,10637460,10633806,10633304,10632943,10632006,10631704,10631613,10631420,10631088,10630991,10630854,10630844,10630108,10629623,10629603,10628228,10628150,10627941,10627342,10626452,10626254,10625962,10622385,10622340,10621603,10620961,10619481,10618950,10618948,10618539,10618476,10618334,10618081,10618107,10616834,10616461,10616456,10615754,10615719,10606580,10605090,10604958,10597295,10592085,10588675,10587141,10562463,10559730,10511407
PE14022
What 2012 Dodge Charger owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
My vehicle has been experiencing electrical issues causing my radio to cut off and my car to cut off and lose power while driving. When the car is moving and loses power it's causes the vehicle to shift into neutral.
Says that my car is simply just dead smells like gas when trying to start up and shakes but doesn’t start up
I have called the dealerships in Fresno Ca and Clovis Ca asked them to check out my car because of all the recalls that were done by them I'm having problems with it or had to replace it again. I also told them since it was a recall and they supposedly repaired it I wanted them to check into it to see if the wrong was done because anyone could falsify a document I was turned away from both dealerships. I have receipts for parts I have replaced that were recalled, as diagnostics tests. This has been going on since 2022 one after another and then affects other parts I even asked them to do a software update for the electronic monostable gear they said no.
My insuramce claim is [XXX]. [XXX] afternoon. My car was parked on hill parking lot. I put on drive, was getting ready to leave and go home. Car has no acceleration, start sliding down while i stepped on gas. So I stepped on brake and no brake, car kept sliding downhill and hit another subaru. Nothing worked then I stepped on e brake and saved my life. My car computer has a malfunctioning.This car and accident has causes me so much emotional stress, i was shaking up and i will not ever get into that car again. Please contact me [XXX] . Id like you guys to get into my car computer box to tell me what caused my car out of control before i take my car to dodge. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The battery keeps dying. The vehicle is draining the battery while it is not running.
The contact owns a 2012 Dodge Charger. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, he became aware that the air conditioning system was inoperable. Additionally, the contact became aware that the 10-AMP air conditioning clutch fuse was loosened. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the failure was due to the loosened air conditioning clutch fuse. The vehicle had been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not under recall for the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 84,000
I am experiencing the same issue as identified with the federal safety agency ID NUMBER: 11525511, June 5, 2023. Dodge has a known issue with the wiring for the fuse for the a/c located in the front PDC. Technical Service Bulletin NUMBER: 08-040-14 REV. A. On or around June 2020, I took my 2012 Dodge Charger to my local dealership during the COVID pandemic for an issue with my AC not working. I had the car inspected by numerous mechanics who indicated there was an issue with the fuse for the a/c clutch (#12), They would replace the fuse numerous times, the AC would come on and blow warm air or cool air, but mostly warm. Replacing the fuse numerous of times did not resolve the issue. Neither did replacing all the cooling system and radiator and fan as well. My auto shop had a mechanic who specializes on the computer for cars take a look at my Charger and found technical service bulletins NUMBER: 08-040-14 and NUMBER: 08-040-14 REV. A which directly describes the issue I am experiencing with my vehicle. The mechanic has even placed a small nail in the cavity next to the fuse to hold it in its place and my AC is blowing fine and cold air until that fuse is moved or touched. This also caused issues with the fuse for the steering wheel on the car which the Dodge dealership addressed when I lost steering power on my vehicle. They did NOT repair the issue with NUMBER: 08-040-14 on my vehicle. I paid the $199.00 diagnostic fee just for the shop to put a new fuse in (which I repeatedly told them was not the issue at that time) and I am still having the same problem. I would like Chrysler/Dodge to contact Armory Dodge and authorize not only a refund for the $199.00 diagnostic fee I paid to have the issue identified (which they did not) and also authorize the repair needed as instructed on the TSB NUMBER: 08-040-14. The dealership has informed me that they do not even have the repair kit needed Part No. 68235388AA (wire harness kit) and would need to do a workaround to repair the issue.
When I purchased the car it had been used as a police car in the state of Mississippi. So after I bought the car I checked for any recalls and found it to have 2 open recalls. 1 was a passenger side airbag and the other was the alternator. So I contacted Moss motor company in South Pittsburg Tennessee and they agreed to do the recalls. After they had finished installing the air bag they told me the alternator wasn't required for change out because the part number listed on it wasn't warranted. So I did some investigating and found my part number to be 7030. The part numbers not required for change out is 7051-7031-and 7170.. It's listed under the federal safety agency S68/16v-739 recall. Since I've had the car I have had blinking headlight issues.. I have a little bit of automobile knowledge and I knew it had to be a grounding problem or a alternator problem. So I even added a couple of grounds from the engine to the chassis with no improvement. So I contacted a good friend of mine whom is a retired Dodge Chrysler master technician and he agreed to check my alternator for fluctuating amperage. He placed a device around the lead wire coming from the alternator to the battery and when he did the needle was constantly fluctuating very rapidly probably 2/3 across the entire dial. So there is no question whatsoever the alternator is the source of the problem. There's one more issue I would like to report. When I carried my car in for the recalls to be performed the technician didn't even bother to raise the hood of the car to check the part number on the alternator.. The reason I know this is because he didn't take my car to the shop area, he pulled my car in front of the high bay doors and installed the passenger side airbag.. I did witness this.. But not 1 time did I see him raise the hood. It took me a 30x magnifying glass and a flashlight to take the photo clearly showing the part number on my current alternator that was supposed to be changed. Photo attached is part number.
My ac was working decent, not how it should be, when I first got the vehicle. Now, the ac just blows warm air, no recirculation for feet setting. I am getting the code P0741 and it doesn't change.
Questions about the 2012 Dodge Charger electrical
Does the 2012 Dodge Charger have electrical problems?
Owners have filed 359 complaints about the electrical of the 2012 Dodge Charger, 55% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.
At what mileage do 2012 Dodge Charger electrical problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 64,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2012 Dodge Charger electrical?
Yes, 3 recalls: 17V435000, 14V634000, 12V197000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.
What year does the Dodge Charger have the most electrical problems?
The Dodge Charger model years with the most electrical complaints are 2011 (395 complaints), 2008 (391 complaints) and 2012 (359 complaints).
Other 2012 Dodge Charger problems
Airbags 111Engine 96Transmission 65Steering 53Lights 52Brakes 46Driver assistance 40Acceleration 20Visibility 15Fuel system 13Body 11Suspension 10Seat belts 7Wheels 6Seats 4Tires 3
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