AutoUtility currently tracks 74 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2018 Dodge Challenger. Electrical System issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 27 complaints (36.5% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 9 filings cite a crash, 2 cite a fire, 5 report one or more injuries.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 74 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Electrical System (27 reports • 36.5% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Powertrain & Transmission (8), Wheels & Tires (6)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 9 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 2 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 5 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2018 Dodge Challenger
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Electrical System
NHTSA records list 2 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #18V332000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING
- Campaign #18V524000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:FRONT UNDERHOOD
Powertrain & Transmission
NHTSA records list 2 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #18E053000 POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM)
- Campaign #18V280000 POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Wheels & Tires
Brakes & Traction Control
Steering System
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2018 Dodge Challenger
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"Driving along and all of a sudden the shifter lights started flashing, wipers turned on, steering became difficult, and finally the transmission locked up. Stalled in the middle of the hiway turn lane and because the transmission was locked up it couldn't even be pushed out of the way. Traffic was..."
"The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Challenger. The contact stated that the rims on the wheels of the vehicle were poorly designed and there were several cracks on the rims. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who discovered cracks on the inside edges of the rims. The contact stated that the..."
"I purchased the vehicle which had minor passenger door damage under $500. There were false reports on Copart and Autobidmaster about the vehicle. They lied and said the vehicle was 91.2 percent damaged. The businesses are false. They admitted insanity as their fraudulent motivation. The title..."
"The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Challenger. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the left turn signal light failed to function as intended. The turn signal light on the instrument panel was flashing erratically. The message "Left Turn Signal Out" was displayed. The vehicle was not..."
"I got the car on 4/13/2025 from a Toyota dealership with about 31000 miles they told me the car fax showed the car had 2 owners a regular customer and another dealership, they also told me they change the battery but they failed to disclosed that they took the car to a body shop to fix a dent and..."
Complaint History for Dodge Challenger
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2023)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Dodge Challenger | 126 | 16 | 6 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Dodge Challenger | 78 | 10 | 2 | View 2016 Problems → |
| 2017 Dodge Challenger | 49 | 7 | 3 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Dodge Challenger Current Page | 74 | 9 | 4 | Current |
| 2019 Dodge Challenger | 57 | 5 | 3 | View 2019 Problems → |
| 2020 Dodge Challenger | 20 | 1 | 1 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2021 Dodge Challenger | 19 | 4 | 2 | View 2021 Problems → |
| 2022 Dodge Challenger | 9 | 1 | 2 | View 2022 Problems → |
| 2023 Dodge Challenger | 41 | 0 | 2 | View 2023 Problems → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2018 Dodge Challenger
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 34 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 4 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Equipment & Accessories NHTSA category: EQUIPMENT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| STEERING,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,SUSPENSION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,WHEELS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STRUCTURE,ENGINE,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| WHEELS,SEATS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (1)
Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious...
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.