2015 Dodge Challenger — Should You Buy One?

The biggest cluster on the 2015, at 23%, and it is three different parts. Rear axles: one owner's differential let go at 60 mph with a bang, another has had the rear end replaced twice and it is howling again — the higher-output cars put real torque through a 3.09 or 3.70 axle that was not overbuilt. Driveline: a worn carrier bearing shows as a bounce or vibration at speed. Transmission: the first-year ZF eight-speed here is described with a hard 4–5 shift, a lunge, and a delay engaging Drive from Park; paddle shifters that downshift instead of up. Drive the car at a steady 60 mph with the radio off and listen for a whine from behind you that changes when you lift off the throttle. Then do ten stop-and-go shifts in town and feel for a bang going into gear.

Repair cost (estimate): $1,800–$4,000 for a rear differential; $300–$700 for a carrier bearing; $0–$400 for a transmission reflash

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the transmission and drivetrain (29).

Twenty-six engine complaints, one fire, two crashes. The Hemi failure is the one that costs the most: a loud tick, then a dealer finding worn cylinder-deactivation lifters and a scored cam — one 6.4L in this file failed internally at 56,000 miles. On the 3.6L Pentastar the failure is cheaper but real: an owner had all twelve rocker-arm bearings replaced at under 70,000 miles for $1,600 after full dealer servicing. Two other threads: a Scat Pack radiator that leaked at 7,100 miles (a puddle at the passenger front corner after a highway run), and an electronic throttle body that made the car decelerate under throttle — one crash. Cold-start any Hemi yourself and listen for a tick that does not fade; look under the passenger front corner for coolant staining.

Repair cost (estimate): $2,500–$5,000 for Hemi lifters and camshaft; $1,200–$2,000 for Pentastar rocker arms; $500–$900 for a radiator

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (26).

Recall 14V749 covers 2015 Challengers built June 30 to October 8, 2014: the gauge cluster can stop working, with the needles oscillating at zero and the theft light on — a software fix. The rest of the 26 electrical complaints are a grab-bag: windows that go up and down on their own and then stick (the same door-glass fault as the earlier years), both headlights going out at once at night with the dealer blaming a turn-signal circuit, a backup camera that cuts out alongside ABS and traction lights, and one dash fire on the passenger side that destroyed the car. Two fires in this cluster total. Confirm the cluster recall on the VIN, cycle every window with the engine off, and switch the headlights through every mode on the test drive.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $150–$700 for a window switch or door module

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (26); 6 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Recall 18V332 covers 2015–2018 Challengers with cruise control: a software fault can leave the car holding or gaining speed after you try to cancel it. The fix is a flash of the engine or powertrain control module, free; the brakes still work throughout, but a car that will not give up its set speed is not something to discover on the highway. Recall 15V461 is the Uconnect vulnerability that let researchers take control of a Jeep remotely — Chrysler mailed owners a USB drive with the patch, which means plenty of cars never got it. One owner here had the PCM recall done at two dealers and came back with a check-engine light. Both show up on the NHTSA VIN lookup; the Uconnect version number can be checked in the radio's settings menu.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: 6 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.