AutoUtility currently tracks 122 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2018 Dodge Charger. Electrical System issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 45 complaints (36.9% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 5 filings cite a crash, 1 cites a fire, 3 report one or more injuries.

Key Problem Findings
  • Total NHTSA Complaints: 122 reports
  • #1 Reported Problem Area: Electrical System (45 reports • 36.9% of submitted complaints)
  • Secondary Problem Areas: Body & Structure (19), Engine & Cooling (11)
  • Crash-Citing Complaints: 5 filings
  • Fire-Citing Complaints: 1 filings
  • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 3 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Reporting Methodology: Statistics describe unverified consumer submissions voluntarily filed with NHTSA. Complaint volume is not normalized for vehicle sales volume or miles driven. Multiple components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission.
Total Complaints
122
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
5
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
1
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
3
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
0
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2018 Dodge Charger

Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records

#1 Problem Area 36.9% of complaints

Electrical System

45 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 2 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
✓ 0 crashes or fires cited
#2 Problem Area 15.6% of complaints

Body & Structure

19 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 1 crash report 🩹 2 injury report entries
#3 Problem Area 9% of complaints

Engine & Cooling

11 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
🔥 1 fire report
#4 Problem Area 8.2% of complaints

Powertrain & Transmission

10 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 2 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 1 crash report
#5 Problem Area 5.7% of complaints

Brakes & Traction Control

7 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 2 crash reports 🩹 3 injury report entries
Domain Share Note: Share percentage represents the proportion of unique complaint filings referencing each vehicle system. Because single complaints may cite multiple systems (such as engine and electrical simultaneously), domain percentages represent individual category incidence and may sum to over 100%.

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2018 Dodge Charger

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Other / Miscellaneous NHTSA ODI ID: #11734829
Filed: 04/30/2026

"******* DELETE VOQ ******* THIS COMPLAINT IS BEING MARKED FOR DELETION BECAUSE IT WAS REQUESTED BY THE CONSUMER. DJR ******* DELETE VOQ *******"

Incident Date: 04/30/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Powertrain & Transmission NHTSA ODI ID: #11717796
Filed: 02/13/2026

"The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Charger. The contact stated that while driving at slow speeds, there was an abnormal, repetitive thud sound coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the wheel bearings were replaced;..."

Incident Date: 12/15/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: POWER TRAIN
Powertrain & Transmission NHTSA ODI ID: #11709218
Filed: 01/06/2026

"The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Charger. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed an abnormal sound, and the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the steering wheel was uncontrollable. The contact stated that the steering wheel..."

Incident Date: 12/29/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: POWER TRAIN
Other / Miscellaneous NHTSA ODI ID: #11691946
Filed: 10/07/2025

"Back up camera not working. screen turns blue. tried resetting and had serviced. camera will not work. According to the Forum many others have the same issue"

Incident Date: 04/15/2023 • Raw NHTSA Component: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Electrical System NHTSA ODI ID: #11690205
Filed: 09/28/2025

"The drivers side headlight fuse melts continuously causing the headlights to go out specifically use 15 and few 16 for the HID headlights."

Incident Date: 04/24/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Consumer Narrative Notice: Excerpts are sanitized text descriptions submitted by vehicle owners to the federal ODI database. They reflect the reporting consumer's observations at the time of filing and have not been independently confirmed by vehicle manufacturers or government investigators.

Complaint History for Dodge Charger

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2015 Dodge Charger 135 10 8 View 2015 Problems →
2016 Dodge Charger 182 7 6 View 2016 Problems →
2017 Dodge Charger 128 3 4 View 2017 Problems →
2018 Dodge Charger Current Page 122 5 6 Current
2019 Dodge Charger 120 7 5 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Dodge Charger 57 10 3 View 2020 Problems →
2021 Dodge Charger 32 2 2 View 2021 Problems →
2022 Dodge Charger 13 3 3 View 2022 Problems →
2023 Dodge Charger 26 3 2 View 2023 Problems →
2024 Dodge Charger 1 0 0 View 2024 Problems →
2025 Dodge Charger 0 0 0 View 2025 Problems →
2026 Dodge Charger 0 0 1 View 2026 Problems →
Comparative Disclaimer: Complaint totals are unadjusted historical counts and are not normalized for vehicles sold, active fleet size, or total road mileage. Newer model years naturally have had less calendar exposure time to accumulate owner filings.

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2018 Dodge Charger

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 39 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 24 0 0 0 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 20 0 0 0 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 18 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 7 0 0 0 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 6 0 0 0 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 3 1 0 1 0
Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS 3 1 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 0 0 0 0
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 2 0 1 0 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 2 1 0 3 0
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 2 0 0 0 0
Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION 2 0 0 0 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 1 0 2 0
AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EQUIPMENT 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 1 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
Tires NHTSA category: TIRES 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
WHEELS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
Data Attribution & Reporting Methodology: Complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Because multiple vehicle components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission, component-level rollups may sum to more than the unique complaint count (122). Injury and fatality entries in the detailed table reflect raw values entered by reporting consumers across individual submissions; they are not deduplicated casualty statistics and may include duplicate or unverified entries. Complaint volume is not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and does not represent an audited component failure rate.

Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (1)

1 OPEN

Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)

Official Federal Inquiries: NHTSA opens a defect investigation when safety screening or consumer defect trends indicate a potential unreasonable safety risk. An open investigation is a formal inquiry and does not by itself confirm a defect or result in a mandatory recall.
OPEN Engineering Analysis (EA) ODI Action #EA21002
Opened: 2021-09-17 • Currently Active

Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture

Affected Component: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

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...

Active federal investigation. Official NHTSA File →
Official US Government Data Provenance

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.