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Horrible Issues with Dodge Dart - Shut Down While Driving

125K views 114 replies 65 participants last post by  leshihernandez73  
#1 ·
I purchased my 2013 Dodge Dart in August 2013 with 50 miles on it. Everything seemed fine for the first couple hundred miles...since then I have had the following issues.

* Car shuts down while driving - battery light flashes and I am unable to accel. No power what-so-ever. This has happened (2) times once at 45 mph and the second time at 70 mph.
* Car stereo/screen powers down while driving and resets
* All lights in car go out for a short time and come back on
* Rushing water sound while accel.
* Car gets up to 4,000RPM's to go from Zero to 30mph
* Issue with break delays
* Knocking sound from front right side of car

I have spoken with Chrysler CS at least 15 times. Taken it to the dealership 4x and because they cannot recreate any of the issues they cannot fix them. Ran diagnostics and said there are no error codes showing up for the shutting down issue.

Chrysler states this is NOT a known issue...which is obviously incorrect because I have found at least 20 people on this forum alone with the same issue in addition to an article stating they did a recall because of engine issues in cold temperatures for the Dart.

I work for a Chrysler company (funding) and reached out to my boss who's own friend had the exact issues with her Dart. Trying to get this expedited and taken care of. I do not feel safe in this car and they know it. I want a replacement vehicle (different car) or my money back.

Anyone who has had the same issue please urge them to post to this thread and show them that this is a huge issue! The more people we have the faster they will be urged to do something.


If they cannot assist me with a replacement or money back by May 1st I have a lawyer on standby for lawsuit and lemon law cases.
 
#2 ·
Have you ever left the car for an extended period of time at the dealer so they can test over a period of time to see if it can be replicated, I know the radio thing seems to be a problem, they seem to do that frequently but the bigger concern would be the shutting off, it seems there may be an intermittent electrical issue as in maybe a short in a harness somewhere. If you have always justed dropped the car off in the morning and that day it doesn't do it then you pick it up in the evening then maybe you will never find the issue, as a technician who worked in a CHRYSLER dealer for a number of years I have seen many electrical problems that where hard to pinpoint. My suggestion would be to either leave it with someone for an extended period of time and have them drive it daily while they put you in a rental or have them give you a monitor so that when it happens then they can see what it was doing, if not then you may never find the issue. I find that a lot of people think that if they have a problem then it's as simple as just plugging it into a computer and hitting a couple of buttons and it's fixed and have noticed at least on this forum if it isn't that easy a fix then it lets call a lawyer and make them buy it back without giving the dealer a real chance to fix the problem
 
#115 ·
I Have the some what same issue with mine and I honestly feel that it has to be something with the wires a electrical problem because mine was draining my battery so thought it was The alternator put a new alternator in a new oil sensor and it still is draining my battery and my battery light continues to stay on it will drive for a few days and as I'm driving just shut off Iam not positive that it's electrical but I will find out as soon as my mechanic gets a chance to look at it and fix it because I have been dealing with this issue for more then a year and I gave tried everything I could think doing it
 
#14 ·
Does sound like a post lifted right out of the Chevy Sonic forums. And about a million other lemon blog reports about Sonics. And 500,000 about Cruze's...... not to discredit the op or make light of a serious issue, but I don't recall many posts on this forum quite like this combination of common Chevy problems. I call foul without a verifiable case number/report. Otherwise, there must be some really poor quality dealers out there not to be able to figure out any or all of these issues. Especially at this late in the game when most if not all known gremlins have been recorded and resolved. Not so with Chevy. They're selling units right off the lot that are known ticking time bombs and that's just the way it is. It's the Aveo all over again and the evidence is mounting up rapidly. Worst kept secret in the current marketplace. Some of their issues are at the core of faulty design and engineering and from what I hear, Chevy/GM could care less. That is not the case with the Dart. If there is a lemon, it's an isolated lemon at this point. Not an inherent fault of lacking in quality and engineering. And that is saying a lot, considering the gushing reviews that were originally written by the car media in the beginning - especially about the Sonic. It appears to be the dilemma of Chevy Small Cars all over again.
 
#4 ·
The first time it was there for 3 days, second time it was there for 7 days, other times were just a day. They put almost a 1000 miles on it testing it and could not recreate the issue. :(
 
#6 ·
Yeah, from day one my car at lower rpms trying to shut down itself, car shakes and almost dies… two dealers couldn't find any issues, even after numerous ecu flashes
 
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#9 · (Edited)
:
* Car shuts down while driving - battery light flashes and I am unable to accel. No power what-so-ever. This has happened (2) times once at 45 mph and the second time at 70 mph.
* Car stereo/screen powers down while driving and resets
* All lights in car go out for a short time and come back on
* Rushing water sound while accel.
* Car gets up to 4,000RPM's to go from Zero to 30mph
* Issue with break delays
* Knocking sound from front right side of car
:
@jessann8822 -

We could better assist you if you gave us a little more info about your Dart and the issues you have experienced.

What engine & transmission? ... e.g., 1.4L MultiAir Turbo w/ 6sp manual, 1.4L MultiAir Turbo w/ 6sp DDCT, 2.0L Tigershark w/ 6sp manual, or 2.0L Tigershark w/ 6sp Powetech automatic?

Has your Dart been in any heavy rains and/or flood waters that may have corroded the wiring harness / electrical systems ... and/or filled your rocker panels with water?

Has your dealer ever performed any flash updates?

What are "break delays"? ... or was that a typo? ... i.e., your Dart has broken electrical "relays"? ... or there is a delay when you apply the brakes on your Dart?

What area of the US or Canada do you live in? ... i.e., cold (ice & snow) climate, hurricanes, state lemon laws, etc.
 
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#10 ·
1.4L MultiAir Turbo w/ 6sp DDCT Engine
Dart has not been in any heavy rains or floods
Dealer performed all updates (there was 1 the first time it happened) none since
I live in Texas.
It is a delay when applying the breaks....I press down and nothing really happens and press harder then all of a sudden it jerks to a stop. They think this could be linked to the knocking sound. Something to do with break calibers? They have been on order from the factory for almost 8 weeks now and have not come in.
 
#12 ·
The brakes sound like a serious issue and if by "they" you mean the dealer thinks it's something to do with the calipers then they should have fixed them immediately. Not sure I would be driving it and I would definitely do a full court press on the dealer to get that resolved.

The electronics issues and not capturing a code could be trickier. It could be something as simple as the battery cable as suggest above but I would have thought the dealership would have checked the simple stuff, at least I would hope so.
As far as capturing any codes the ECU is throwing you can always pick up a bluetooth OBD2 adapter and the Torque app. That way you can monitor it in real time and capture the errors (hopefully) as they occur. That would give you some leverage at the dealership and create a history record for you in case you have to go down the lemon law road.

Finally, sorry to hear you're have so many issues with your Dart and I hope you get them resolved soon. I have not had the issues you listed and the few gremlins that I have experienced pretty much fixed themselves w/ a restart of the car.
Hope this helps!
 
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#13 ·
Just do as I did and take the car in for repairs to stack up on invoices for lemon law, look up your states rules on new car lemon law an go from their, I'm in Ohio so it's 1 year or 18,000 miles which one comes first with at least 3 repairs on the same problem. and the clanking noise is the trans mount get it replaced
 
#18 ·
Chrysler states this is NOT a known issue...which is obviously incorrect because I have found at least 20 people on this forum alone with the same issue in addition to an article stating they did a recall because of engine issues in cold temperatures for the Dart.
The cold-weather start issue with the early Darts was taken care of a long time ago. Can you provide links to the threads from 20+ people who claim to have the same issues as you? It's the first I've ever heard of a Dart having these kinds of problems, but yes like dad's dart says there have been plenty of Chevys with similar problems. In your case I think you should just move forward with the lemon law action and be done with it.
 
#21 · (Edited)
My Dart is a POS and has given me nothing but fits since I bought it. Dodge is a pain in the a** to deal with and yes I had a case and they closed it after I told them enough was enough and it was a lemon. They went from going to pay my car note this month to nope and closed my case. I've turned the car into the NTSB because of the car just shutting down when driving, the whole dash just going black. Now my air shutters are bad and they want money to fix them. I've bought my last Dodge and no no high water and I'm in Texas too. I wish I could get them on the car but my car has almost 83000 miles on it and the issues have not stopped. Dodge used to be a good company but ever since Fiat took them over they and their products are just crap. And its always something different that goes wrong with the car. I'm beginning to suspect that the mother board is bad but Dodge says no. If I didn't owe money on it I go set the car on fire in the dealerships parking lot where I bought it
 
#24 · (Edited)
We've got a new member who just dredged up an old "My Dart is a POS" thread from months ago (which was originally started by a possible troll) just to bitch to us that his Dart is a POS as well. And his other posts are the same song. I guess things are pretty slow in the Brand X fanboy forums at the moment.

Sorry, but legitimate owners come here asking for advice and solutions to their problems , not just trying to insult us all with "this car is a piece of shit" comments which aren't helpful in the least.

EDIT 9/1/2016: To answer the question below, here we are two years later and he never showed up again after his inflammatory post. So yes, I'm pretty sure he was just a Brand X troll pretending he owned a POS Dart.
 
#27 ·
Every car has it's issues eventually. Its the luck of the draw. Some Dart owners have had problems since day 1. Others like me with 22k miles haven't had a single issue.

The Dart is a fine piece of machinery.
 
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#29 ·
First, I want to say I do love my Dart. We're a Dodge Family...have owned nothing but Dodge for MANY years. I found this discussion on a search due to the same issue that has started this week with my 2014 Dart. Bought it last February and currently just went over 20K miles. Three times in the last 2 days, my car has died while in motion. Luckily it was in the neighborhood and not on the highway that I drive daily to work. I end up having to sit for about 5-10 minutes before it will restart. Called the dealer today to get an appointment for service but they are booked solid for the next 4 weeks! They told me I could bring it in and leave it, but they won't be able to even look at it for at least a week--and the service department said even that may be pushing it. And we know that means they won't pay for a rental car until they figure out what it is and how long it will take to fix. I've read through this discussion and checked the things suggested. Ugh...frustrating to say the least. Just wondering if others who had this problem were able to finally get it fixed and what the problem was.
 
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#30 ·
I have exactly the same issue as you hadleyzoo. 2014 Dodge Dart, ran flawlessly for 27000 miles, then 3 times in the last 2 days it died on me while driving. Both times a low speeds, but it took several minutes to get it to restart. It's at the dealer now but they put in the disclaimer that they will have to replicate the problem since it is not throwing any codes. I did find this though:

Dodge Dart Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Defective Transmissions

It seems that maybe our transmission is to blame. Did you ever find a solution? I will update this thread with what I find out about my car.
 
#31 ·
Sorry I forgot to come back and provide what I've been through and to give an update.

First time I took it in back in January, I was told it was a computer update that was needed. Ran great for a couple months then died one day while turning in an intersection. So I ended up taking it back again in March after it died while turning in an intersection. They couldn't duplicate the issue then, so nothing was done. And my car is starting to show the "symptoms" of it wanting to die again...jerking while pressing in the gas as I accelerate through an intersection/stop light/etc, idling really low when stopped so it shakes and sputters like it is going to die. It has given me these "symptoms" before it actually died in the past and I told all this to the dealership but they still couldn't duplicate the issue last time (after putting 200 miles on my car). It is scary to have his happening.
 
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