[Spillage]

It was a battery on ours... within a few days of the flickering needles on startup, the battery died... new battery, all is well.

 

[Orochi Serge]

Started having the gauges go crazy this morning, though it has taken my Uconnect a bit to boot up for the past few months. My Dart is almost 40k so I don't think I have the warranty coverage, and besides I have major issues with my local Dodge Dealership. So I'm going to just stop at Advance Auto Parts during my lunch, get my battery checked, and replace it. Since I have a road trip coming up, I sure as heck don't want to have any surprises spring up on me.

Since this is an old thread, I hope the folks here who got their batteries replaced is no longer having this issue, please let me know? Thanks!

 

[Rallye Girl]

Hi,
My 2013 Rallye wouldn't start on 8/22/15 while I was out running errands, and the needles on the gauges starting flickering. All the lights on the dashboard also lit up in the process, as well as making strange clicking noises. I called for the tow truck, and the guy jump started it, so I drove it home with no problem. On Sunday, the same thing happened, so I had the car towed to the dealership. The guy who towed it yesterday also jump started it and got it running. The really strange thing is that it would not go in reverse when put in reverse gear. The back up camera came on, but it would not actually go in reverse. The steering wheel was also locking up. At this point, the tow truck driver said the car has something wrong with it. I should know more this afternoon as to what the problem is. Could it need a new battery already?

 

[Elegy]

Started having the gauges go crazy this morning, though it has taken my Uconnect a bit to boot up for the past few months. My Dart is almost 40k so I don't think I have the warranty coverage, and besides I have major issues with my local Dodge Dealership. So I'm going to just stop at Advance Auto Parts during my lunch, get my battery checked, and replace it. Since I have a road trip coming up, I sure as heck don't want to have any surprises spring up on me.

Since this is an old thread, I hope the folks here who got their batteries replaced is no longer having this issue, please let me know? Thanks!

Funny that you just posted, because I also had this happen to me this morning as well and found this post. I guess I'll be stopping by AutoZone on the way home to see what is going on with the battery. I only have 28k miles on the car and almost due for an oil change...I wonder if I should limp along for now and see what the dealer says while its in for service.

 

[Orochi Serge]

Yeah my old battery had a lower charge on it, they would have recharged it but I did read someone on this thread saying they did the same and it didn't help. So I went ahead and replaced the battery with a new one, I noticed right away my Uconnect actually booted up normally, so I'm hoping this solved the issue. I did forget to ask them to check the alternator just incase, but my new battery has a 3 year warranty so hopefully this will be okay for the time being.

 

[Rallye Girl]

My 2013 Dart Rallye was towed yesterday due to the same problem. I'm still waiting to hear back from the dealership as to what the problem is. The battery is two and a half years old, and came with the car.

 

[Veloster Style]

I wonder what is causing this to happen? Bad batteries or something draining them quickly. Dealer covered my wifes rallye battery. Didnt keep the car long enough after to see if the replacement did the same thing.

 

[MPerez84]

I'm so glad I stumbled upon this thread. This problem just presented itself on my 2013 Dart this past weekend and didn't know where to start. The needles would twitch a few times prior to starting. It seemed to be fine when I drove it back from work Monday. Then yesterday it reared it's ugly little head again. It's unfortunate since the car is relatively new but I'm relived its attributed to a faulty battery (only...I hope.) I guess I'll be battery shopping today before I get stranded somewhere.

It would be great to hear updates on those who had their batteries replaced. Has the problem been fixed since?

 

[pkgmsu2000]

I'm so glad I stumbled upon this thread. This problem just presented itself on my 2013 Dart this past weekend and didn't know where to start. The needles would twitch a few times prior to starting. It seemed to be fine when I drove it back from work Monday. Then yesterday it reared it's ugly little head again. It's unfortunate since the car is relatively new but I'm relived its attributed to a faulty battery (only...I hope.) I guess I'll be battery shopping today before I get stranded somewhere.

It would be great to hear updates on those who had their batteries replaced. Has the problem been fixed since?

i have this problem, and ive dealt with this since taking ownership of the car new. just last week my battery was tested and said to be "fine". but i still have this issue, and its also intermittent for me as well. if my battery is fine, who the heck knows why these are flicking and dancing. there must be a ghost in my car trying to tell me what lottery numbers to play on friday.

 

[MPerez84]

As was mentioned earlier...this is a common problem. When does something like this become recall worthy?

 

[pkgmsu2000]

As was mentioned earlier...this is a common problem. When does something like this become recall worthy?

when sergio walks on the moon

 

[MPerez84]

Like I mentioned, I stumbled upon this post just in time. Started my car after work yesterday and noticed it struggled to turn over. I knew the next time I shut the engine off it would be done. I got home and let it sit for a couple of hours, then went back and as anticipated, it was dead. Luckily my neighbor works for interstate batteries and hooked me up with a battery for $80. Had it changed last night and voila. I just hope it did the trick. I'll update on this thread in the days to come.

 

[SLovee]

Is this done free of charge, if not what's the fee.. Is it only for 2013 Darts .. Because I've had some minor issues I've noticed example at times my radio and other features will freeze where I cant higher volume or my screen just goes black, Might this have to do with the software

 

[Growlor]

Just had my wife's battery croak this morning. Weird thing is, we didn't notice any warning signs, just went to start it this morning and only got the clicks of doom and twitching gauges. I broke out my trusty battery charger and no luck. The battery would not hold a charge over 10 volts.
Fortunately, a local home improvement store had a sale on the group 48 batteries these take (their top of the line l3/48X, 760CCA model was a little over $78!) Hopefully it was just the el-cheapo battery Chrysler used failing too soon and not a more serious issue.
BTW her Dart is the 1.4L with the DDCT. She absolutely loves it and we have had it for almost exactly 3 years now.

Full disclosure: my employer sells some of the raw materials to the AGM battery manufacturers. Didn't influence my decision or my post (in fact, I was in a bind and couldn't find a place that sold AGM batteries in the timeframe I needed to replace this one, but consoled myself with the great deal I got on the traditional one we found.)

 

[pkgmsu2000]

So, are new batteries fixing the dancing gauges? If yes, is my battery already crap at 11,000 miles?

 

[Growlor]

! day past the battery replacement and so far, so good.

 

[pkgmsu2000]

! day past the battery replacement and so far, so good.

cool, definitely let us know how things are going once the weather changes and cools down. i first noticed these dancing gauges in the colder weather, but they happen all year round for me.

 

[DannyD]

UPDATE... To answer the above reply, the dealer did not charge me anything for the software updates and charging the battery. It was covered under warranty. My Dart was fine for a few weeks after my last dealer visit. Then, last week it started the clicking sound and needles flickering again. The dealer kept the car overnight and I got it back this morning. They did a voltage test and the battery failed, so the battery was replaced under warranty. Sounds like from others that will solve the problem. I sure hope it does! Must have been a bad batch of batteries from the factory.

 

[Spillage]

...Must have been a bad batch of batteries from the factory.

More like lower cost/quality batteries from the factory, that will just barely make warranty before packing it in.
The tires are the same... it's the done thing with consumable items from the factory... just need to be good enough for the basic 38k.

 

[EMount91]

UPDATE... To answer the above reply, the dealer did not charge me anything for the software updates and charging the battery. It was covered under warranty. My Dart was fine for a few weeks after my last dealer visit. Then, last week it started the clicking sound and needles flickering again. The dealer kept the car overnight and I got it back this morning. They did a voltage test and the battery failed, so the battery was replaced under warranty. Sounds like from others that will solve the problem. I sure hope it does! Must have been a bad batch of batteries from the factory.

just happened to me, it was the battery.

I also got my touch screen acting weird with the gauge flickering!