Buyer Research

2014 Dodge Dart — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $4,500–$8,000. There are 5 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 4 Dodge Dart years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

370 complaints, 20 of them involving a crash and 7 a fire, and the three biggest piles are the transmission at 36 percent, the engine at 28 and the electrical system at 20. That is not a car with one weak spot; it is a car with three, and four recall campaigns on top — including a shifter cable that can leave the car out of Park and a brake booster that can be spoiled by engine oil. The Dart is cheap now for exactly these reasons. If you are looking at one, our honest advice is to treat it as a car that needs its recall status proven, a long test drive, and a proper inspection on a lift before any money moves — and to be ready to walk, because there are plenty of them.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 370 owner complaints for the 2014 Dodge Dart, and 4 recall campaigns.

A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. 36% of them are about one thing — the transmission and drivetrain. That much concentration is a genuine pattern rather than background noise, and it is the first thing to check on any example you look at.

4 recall campaigns cover this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2014 Dodge Dart

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

The shifter cable can come off the transmission, so Park does not holdHigh — wallet impact

The shift cable bushing fails and the cable detaches from the transmission, after which the lever and the gearbox stop agreeing: you select Park, the dash says Park, and the car is still able to roll. Chrysler recalled this in 19V293000 and then replaced that campaign with 25V674000 in 2025, which means cars already repaired under the first one need doing again. Owners describe being told the part is not available anywhere in their region, and one had the shifter jam in Reverse with no way to get the key out. Until the work is confirmed done under the current campaign, use the parking brake every single time. Check the VIN, and ask the dealer directly what the remedy status is.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $300–$700 for a shift cable and bushing outside the campaign

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the transmission and drivetrain (132); 4 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Transmission control module failure drops the car into neutral while drivingHigh — wallet impact

Campaign 15V542000 covers a transmission control module that can fail and throw the transmission into neutral without warning, which is a loss of drive in traffic. The remedy is a new module and bracket. The complaint record around it is worse than the campaign text suggests: owners describe the car shifting itself to neutral and powering down every time they slow to a stop, ten days running in one case, and a dry-clutch automatic that shudders, hesitates and jerks from a standstill. On the test drive, come to a complete stop a dozen times in traffic and pay attention to whether the car picks up cleanly each time it pulls away.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $900–$1,800 for a transmission control module outside the campaign — about 29% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the transmission and drivetrain (132); 4 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Oil consumption on the Tigershark engine, ending in stalls and replaced enginesHigh — wallet impact

105 engine complaints, with two fires and three crashes among them. The pattern owners describe is a quart of oil gone every thousand miles, an oil leak that the dealer cannot cure, and then the engine shutting off in motion — one owner lost power steering and everything else four separate times, three on residential streets and once on the freeway. At least one had the engine replaced by Chrysler after scoring was found in the pistons, then watched the consumption start again. The MultiAir actuator unit on top of the engine is a common and pricey failure in its own right. Check the dipstick cold, look for oil around the top of the engine and down the back of the block, and ask for every oil receipt the seller has.

Repair cost (estimate): $900–$1,600 for a MultiAir actuator unit; $4,500–$7,500 for an engine replacement — more than this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (105).

Body control module faults that black out the screen and kill the carHigh — wallet impact

74 electrical complaints, four of them mentioning fire. Owners describe the body control module misbehaving so the navigation screen blacks out, the heater controls stop responding and the car runs rough; others have the check engine light flashing while every gear-position light glows red, the reversing camera and sunroof quit, the windows stop working and the car will barely move. Several simply shut off while being driven. This is the kind of fault that costs more in diagnosis than in parts. Sit in the car with the engine running and work every switch — windows, sunroof, camera, climate, radio — and watch for anything that hesitates or resets.

Repair cost (estimate): $250–$700 for wiring and connector repairs; $700–$1,500 for a body control module

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (74).

Engine oil seeping into the brake booster and taking the brake assist with itHigh — wallet impact

Campaign 15V800000 covers 2013 and 2014 Darts with the 2.0 or 2.4 engine built up to January 2014: oil from the vacuum pump can seep into the brake booster and damage it internally, so the pedal loses assist and the car needs much further to stop. Dealers inspect the booster grommet for oil and repair accordingly, free. The brakes cluster on this year runs to 65 complaints with eight crashes in it, so this deserves your attention even if the campaign shows closed. On the test drive, brake hard once from about 40 mph in a safe place and notice whether the pedal feels firm and assisted or suddenly wooden.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $400–$900 for a brake booster and vacuum tube assembly

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the brakes (65); 4 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗A brake pedal that goes hard and wooden under firm braking
✗Any hesitation, shudder or neutral feeling when pulling away from a stop
✗Oil weeping around the top of the engine or a low cold dipstick
✗A screen, camera or window switch that resets or goes dead
✗A seller who cannot show the current shifter cable recall as completed

Good Signs

✓The current shifter cable campaign shown complete on the NHTSA VIN lookup, dated 2025 or later
✓A transmission control module replacement recorded in the service history
✓Oil receipts showing the level checked and topped at every change
✓A brake booster inspection or replacement documented by a dealer
✓A dozen clean stops and clean pull-aways on a long test drive