Dodge Charger by Model Year: Problems, Recalls and MPG

Every Dodge Charger model year since 2016: EPA fuel economy, NHTSA recalls, owner complaints and crash tests.

Data: US EPA and NHTSAUpdated Sep 28, 2026

Every model year since 2016 in one place: EPA fuel economy, NHTSA recalls, owner complaints and crash test ratings. The best fuel economy rating, 23 mpg combined, arrived in 2016. Excludes the electric Charger Daytona, which NHTSA files as the Charger EV. EPA lists no gas Charger for 2024 or 2025. Crash ratings for the Charger Pursuit police car are left out; NHTSA files some of its recalls under the regular Charger name, so they appear here.

Complaints in each year's first three years

Model years ranked by owner complaints filed with NHTSA in their first three years (model year Y: filed by the end of Y+2), so every year is measured over the same time on the road. Years without three full years of data, and launch or final years with very few sold, are left out. Counts are not adjusted for how many were sold.

Model year	First 3 years	All complaints	Recalls
2018 Charger Most described: backup camera problems	50	122	6
2016 Charger Most described: a fuel smell or fuel leak	45	182	5
2019 Charger Most described: headlight or exterior light problems	39	120	5
2017 Charger Most described: infotainment or touchscreen failures	30	128	4
2023 Charger Most reported: electrical system	14	26	2
2020 Charger Most described: airbags not deploying in a crash	13	57	3
2021 Charger Most reported: air bags	11	34	2
2022 Charger Most reported: air bags	5	16	3

Year by year

Model year	Best rating	Recalls	Complaints	Crash test
2026 MPG · Recalls and problems	20 mpg Gas	1	2	Not rated
2023 MPG · Recalls and problems	23 mpg Gas	2	26
2022 MPG · Recalls and problems	23 mpg Gas	3	16
2021 MPG · Recalls and problems	23 mpg Gas	2	34
2020 MPG · Recalls and problems	23 mpg Gas	3	57
2019 MPG · Recalls and problems	23 mpg Gas	5	120
2018 MPG · Recalls and problems	23 mpg Gas	6	122
2017 MPG · Recalls and problems	23 mpg Gas	4	128
2016 MPG · Recalls and problems	23 mpg Gas	5	182

Owner complaints by model year

All complaints filed so far. Counts rise with sales volume and with time on the road, so recent years look better than they may turn out. The highlighted bar is the model year with the most complaints in its first three years.

2018: 122 complaints

Show as a table

Owner complaints by model year, Dodge Charger
Model year	Complaints
2016	182
2017	128
2018	122
2019	120
2020	57
2021	34
2022	16
2023	26
2026	2

Best combined rating by model year

The best-rated version in each model year. Gas: 20 to 23 mpg (2016 to 2023, 2026); highest in 2016.

2026: gas 20 mpg

Show as a table

Dodge Charger best combined mpg by model year
Model year	Best gas version
2016	23
2017	23
2018	23
2019	23
2020	23
2021	23
2022	23
2023	23
2026	20

Questions

Which Dodge Charger years have the most problems?

A typical Dodge Charger year drew only 22 owner complaints in its first three years (the range is 5 to 50), too few to rank the years fairly. The 2026 is not ranked yet: it has had fewer than three full years on the road.

Which Dodge Charger years have the most recalls?

The 2018 has the most safety recalls in NHTSA's file (6), then the 2019 (5). A recall can cover a problem that affects only a few cars, so open a year's page to see what each one covers. No recall for 2016 to 2026 models tells owners not to drive the car or to park it outside.

What are the most common Dodge Charger problems?

In the 687 owner complaints NHTSA lists for 2016 to 2026 models, owners most often describe backup camera problems (27 complaints, most of them for the 2017 and 2018); a fuel smell or fuel leak (25 complaints, most of them for the 2016 and 2017); and headlight or exterior light problems (25 complaints, most of them for the 2016, 2018, and 2019). One complaint can describe several problems. Each year's recalls and problems page lists what owners describe for that year.

Which Dodge Charger year has the best MPG?

The best EPA fuel economy is 23 mpg combined, first reached by the 2016 gas version.

Sources and method

US EPA fuel economy data (fueleconomy.gov), file dated Sep 18, 2026.
NHTSA recall file dated Sep 29, 2026 and owner complaint file dated Sep 28, 2026; NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings.

Complaint counts are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume. How we build these pages. Spotted an error? Tell us.