2009 DODGE CHALLENGER Complaints

I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, TRAVELING AT AN APPROXIMATE SPEED OF 65 MILES PER HOUR, WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THE CAR LOSES POWER, AND AT THAT POINT I COULD NO LONGER ACCELERATE MY VEHICLE. FORTUNATELY, TRAFFIC WASN'T TOO BAD, SO I WAS ABLE TO SAFELY PULL OVER TO SHOULDER WITHOUT GETTING REAR ENDED BY THE CARS THAT WERE TRAVELING AT VERY HIGH SPEEDS. SOON THEREAFTER, I HAD MY 2009 RT DODGE CHALLENGER TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP, APPARENTLY, THE TIMING CHAIN BROKE. IT DOESN'T END THERE, NOT ONLY IS THIS VEHICLE FAIRLY NEW, BUT I ATTEMPTED TO FIX IT ALREADY ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS, BUT IT SEEMS AS IF NOTHING HELPED. CURRENTLY MY VEHICLE NOW HAS ACQUIRED ENGINE DAMAGE AS A RESULT OF THE DEALERSHIP BEING UNABLE TO PROPERLY DIAGNOSE AND ADDRESS THESE ISSUES, FOR LACK OF KNOWING WHAT THE REAL ISSUE WAS ALL ALONG. IN ALL HONESTY, I FEEL AS IF THEY NEED TO RECALL THE TIMING CHAINS ON THE RT DODGE CHALLENGERS BEFORE MORE PEOPLE END UP IN MY SITUATION, OR WORSE. *TR

THERE SEEMS TO BE ISSUES WITH THE 5.7 LTR DODGE ENGINES FAILING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. MY FIRST OCCURRENCE WAS SEPT. 8TH, 2011 WITH 33,358 MILES ON ENGINE, MY SECOND OCCURRENCE WAS ON FEB 01, 20122 WITH 43,872 AND MY THIRD OCCURRENCE WAS AUG 9, 2012 WITH 59,600 MILES. TIMING CHAINS FAILURE ON ALL OCCURRENCES AND THIS IS HAPPENING TO MORE AND MORE 2009-2010 DODGE CHALLENGERS WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS. MY CONCERN IS THAT THESE OCCURRENCES ARE HAPPENING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS GREATER THEN 65 MPH AND EVENTUALLY WILL CAUSE SERIOUS HARM AND OR DEATH WHEN CAR SHUTS DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC ON INTERSTATES. THIS WILL BE MY THIRD NEW ENGINE TOTAL OF FOUR THAT WILL BE PUT IN THIS CAR WITH NO UPGRADED PARTS TO PREVENT THESE FAILURES. ALL THEY KEEP DOING IS PUTTING THEM BACK TOGETHER WITH THE SAME PARTS THAT ARE FAILING. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE TO CORRECT THESE PROBLEMS BEFORE SOME ONE GETS SERIOUSLY HURT OR KILLED! I CAN PROVIDE MORE INFO ON A NUMBER OF CHALLENGER THAT ARE HAVING THESE SAME FAILURES IF YOU REQUEST IT. *TR

MY 2009 CHALLENGER HAS STALLED TWICE WHEN MAKING A RIGHT-HAND TURN. 4/11/11 - I WAS DRIVING BETWEEN 30-35 MPH. I STARTED BRAKING SO I COULD TURN RIGHT INTO MY OFFICE PARKING LOT. AS I STARTED TO TURN RIGHT, THE ENGINE JUST TURNED OFF - THERE WERE NO IDIOT LIGHTS ON THE DASH. I RESTARTED THE CAR, BUT I COULD NOT GET IT TO MOVE - DRIVE WOULD NOT WORK - REVERSE WOULD NOT WORK - STILL NO IDIOT LIGHTS ON THE DASH. I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND RESTARTED IT AGAIN - AND WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE CAR. 7/27/11 - SAME RIGHT-HAND TURN - I WAS DRIVING BETWEEN 30-35 MPH. I STARTED BREAKING SO I COULD TURN RIGHT INTO MY OFFICE PARKING LOT. AS I STARTED TO TURN RIGHT, THE ENGINE JUST TURNED OFF - THERE WERE NO IDIOT LIGHTS ON THE DASH. I RESTARTED THE CAR AND WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE CAR WITH NO PROBLEMS. GAS GAUGE SHOWED A LITTLE ABOVE ONE-QUARTER. THERE WERE 16,630 MILES ON CAR ON 7/27/11. MY HUSBAND'S 2010 CHALLENGER WITH LOW MILEAGE, HAS STALLED TWICE - MOST RECENTLY ON 7/25/12. *TR

CAR SUDDENLY DIES/STALLS - WARNING LIGHTS COME ON (VARIOUS SPEEDS FROM 20 TO 70 MPH) MOST OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH A SMALL BUMP IN THE ROAD RESTARTS EASILY, BUT OCCASIONALLY WITH DIFFICULTY HAS HAPPENED MANY TIMES (50+) HAVE BEEN TO DEALER 4 TIMES IN THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS - REPROGRAMMED ONCE, BUT PROBLEM PERSISTS AND THE DEALER SAYS CANNOT DUPLICATE - THIS IS A DANGEROUS LOSS OF CONTROL AND POWER. *TR

THE GAS PEDAL STOP WORKING GOING UP A GRADE THEN STARTED WORKING AFTER PUT THE PEDAL TO THE FLOOR. *JS

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 DODGE CHALLENGER SRT8. THE CONTACT WAS TRAVELING 20 MPH. THE CONTACT REMOVED HIS FOOT FROM THE ACCELERATOR BUT THE VEHICLE MAINTAINED THE CURRENT SPEED DESPITE WITHOUT DECELERATING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 5,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 20,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 DODGE CHALLENGER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 15 MPH, THE VEHICLE LOST POWER AS IF IT HAD STALLED BUT THE ENGINE CONTINUED RUNNING. THE POWER STEERING HAD ALSO BECOME INOPERABLE. THE CONTACT TURNED THE ENGINE OFF AND RESTARTED THE VEHICLE. ONCE RESTARTED, THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO ACCELERATE AND HAD REGAINED STEERING CAPABILITIES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE A FAILURE. APPROXIMATELY ONE YEAR LATER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 11,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 34,000.

HELLO! HARD SHIFTING 6SPEED MANUAL: I HAVE BEEN HAVING SHIFTING PROBLEMS WITH MY MANUAL TRANS FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS. IT STARTED BACK IN NOV 11 WHEN TRAVELING OUT OF TOWN,GOT STOUCK IN TRAFIC AND CLUTCH STARTED TO NOT DISINGAUGE ALL THE WAY (WOULD CREEP) HAD TO HOLD FOOT ON BRAKE OR PUT IN NEUTRAL EVEN AFTER PULLING OFF THE ROAD. LATTER WHEN COMING HOME BAKED INTO PARKING SPACE TURN KEY OFF WANTED TO PUT IN OTHER GEAR WAS VERY HARD TO PULL OUT OF REVERSE. HAS GOTTEN WORSE, IT IS GETTING HARDER TO SHIFT WHILE DRIVING. MY WIFE WENT TO GET ON THE HIWAY AND HAD VERY HARD TIME GOING INTO LOWER GEAR ALMOAST GETTING HIT IN THE REAR.DODGE SAYS WORN CLUTCH,BUT IT DOESN'T SLIP, BUT THEY HAVE A NOTICE ABOUT GREASE BEING ON INPUT SPLINE THATS THE CLUTCH SLIDES ON GETTING DIRTY FROM TO MUCH GREASE AND DIRT, MAKING THE DISC STICK NOT FULLY DISENGAGING. THIS IS A MANUFACTURING DEFECT,ASSEMBLING LINE DEFECT NOT MINE. BEEN TO TWO DEALERS AND ASK 4 ABOUT THE PROBLEM. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 DODGE CHALLENGER. THE CONTACT WAS ATTEMPTING TO BRAKE FROM 30 MPH WHEN THE VEHICLE FAILED TO RESPOND. THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO AVOID A PRECEDING VEHICLE BUT WAS UNSUCCESSFUL AND THE CONTACT CRASHED INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE, WENT OFF THE ROADWAY, AND STUCK A TRAFFIC SIGN. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED INJURIES TO HIS WRIST. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THE FAILURE AND DETERMINED THAT THE CAUSE OF THE CRASH WAS NOT A MANUFACTURING DEFECT. THE MANUFACTURER DENIED ANY ASSISTANCE WITH REPAIR TO THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THE FAILURE AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 31,000. UPDATED 04/10/12*LJ

OVERVIEW: MY 2009 DODGE CHALLENGER R/T, WITH THE 5.7L HEMI ENGINE AND MANUAL 6-SPEED TRANSMISSION, HAS AN EXCESSIVE DELAY BETWEEN PRESSING THE THROTTLE AND ACHIEVING ENGINE RESPONSE. THIS OCCURS ONLY IN GEARS 4-6, AND IS THE RESULT OF A POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE (PCM) UPDATE. BACKGROUND: THIS VEHICLE HAS AN ELECTRONIC THROTTLE ("DRIVE BY WIRE") SYSTEM, WHERE THROTTLE RESPONSE IS CONTROLLED BY THE PCM AND NOT VIA A THROTTLE CABLE. HISTORY: ON OCTOBER 14, 2011, I BROUGHT MY VEHICLE TO MY LOCAL DODGE/CHRYSLER DEALERSHIP DUE TO A ROUGH ENGINE IDLE. THEY INFORMED ME THAT A PCM UPDATE WAS AVAILABLE, BASED ON TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN (TSB) 18-014-10. THIS UPDATE CHANGED THE ENGINE CALIBRATION ID FROM 05187899AE TO 05187899AG. EVER SINCE THIS UPDATE WAS PERFORMED, THE VEHICLE HAS A SIGNIFICANT (AND UNSAFE) THROTTLE DELAY WHILE IN GEARS 4-6. BASICALLY, WHEN THE THROTTLE IS DEPRESSED, IT TAKES ABOUT 2 SECONDS FOR THE ENGINE TO RESPOND. THIS HAS RESULTED IN SEVERAL NEAR-COLLISIONS, DURING TIMES WHERE ACCELERATION IS EXPECTED TO AVOID AN UNSAFE ROAD CONDITION BUT THE VEHICLE FAILS TO RESPOND IN A TIMELY MANNER. TO DEMONSTRATE THE PROBLEM, YOU COULD ACTUALLY RAPIDLY PULSE THE THROTTLE REPEATEDLY WITHOUT HAVING ANY ENGINE RESPONSE AT ALL. THIS ISSUE AFFECTS ALL OWNERS OF 2009-2010 DODGE CHALLENGER R/TS WITH THE 05187899AG CALIBRATION ID. AS OF THIS DATE, NO PCM UPDATE HAS BEEN RELEASED TO CORRECT THIS UNSAFE CONDITION. *TR