Buyer Research

2016 Dodge Dart — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $4,500–$8,500. There are 2 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

One failure dominates this car's record: 32% of the 257 complaints are the shifter cable, and the recall that was supposed to end it (19V293) was replaced in 2025 by a second campaign whose remedy was still under development when this record was pulled. A seller can honestly tell you the recall was done and the car can still roll out of Park. Behind that sits a 26% engine cluster that reads as two problems wearing one label — the 2.4L quietly emptying its own oil, and cars shutting off at speed. The Dart is cheap now for reasons the public record spells out in detail. If you want one, buy it at a price that already assumes a transmission conversation and an engine conversation, and only after you have watched it hold still in Park on a hill.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 257 owner complaints for the 2016 Dodge Dart, and 5 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. 32% 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.

5 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 2016 Dodge Dart

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

Shifter cable can detach — the car can roll away while the lever says ParkHigh — wallet impact

A third of this year's complaints are this single failure. The plastic bushing where the shift cable meets the transmission breaks up, the cable pops off, and the lever moves while the transmission stays where it was. Owners describe selecting Park, walking away, and finding the car had rolled — and others describe being stranded in neutral in the middle of a street. Recall 19V293 covered 2013–2016 Darts; it was superseded in 2025 by 25V674, whose remedy was still being developed when this record was pulled, so a car repaired the first time around still needs the second fix. Test it yourself: on a slope, put it in Park, come off the brake, and watch whether it settles or keeps creeping.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $250–$700 for a cable and bushing paid out of pocket

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the transmission and drivetrain (83); 5 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

The 2.4L empties its own oil, and cars shut off at speedHigh — wallet impact

Twenty-six percent of complaints land under ENGINE, and the filings tell two versions of one story: a dipstick found bone dry between oil changes with no warning light beforehand, and cars that cut out at 30 mph and then refuse to restart. Three complaints in this cluster involve a fire. An engine running low on oil this way gives no notice until something expensive lets go, so the check is arithmetic rather than mechanical — ask when the oil was last changed, pull the dipstick cold yourself, and decide whether the level matches the miles since. Pay for a compression and leak-down test before you hand over money.

Repair cost (estimate): $3,500–$6,500 for a used engine; $120–$250 for the compression test that tells you whether you need one — more than this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (67).

Wipers can die mid-storm from the washer pump (recall 16V813)Medium

Recall 16V813 covers 2016 Darts built April 13, 2015 to June 7, 2016: voltage spikes from the windshield washer pump knock out the wiper circuit, and dealers replace the pump free of charge. One owner in this cluster describes the wipers quitting at 25 mph in rain. The other 47 electrical complaints are scattered rather than pointed — batteries failing a load test, radio and dash display blinking, gauges clicking for half an hour after the key is out, a passenger door that will not lock from outside. Run the wipers through every speed plus the washer, then sit in the car with everything switched on and watch the dash for flicker.

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

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (48); 5 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Missing engine-software safety layer on 2.0L manual cars (recall 16V113)Medium

A narrow one, and worth checking rather than assuming. Recall 16V113 applies to 2016 Darts with the 2.0L engine and a manual transmission built July 25 to December 16, 2015: the engine control module lacked its backup software layer, which is what is supposed to catch a torque event the driver never asked for. Dealers reflash the module at no cost. If the car in front of you is an automatic or a turbo, this campaign is not yours — put the VIN into NHTSA's free lookup instead of reading the badge on the trunk.

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

Source: 5 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Ask which gearbox it has before you fall for the turboMedium

Dart buyers meet more than one transmission: a manual, a conventional automatic, and a dual dry-clutch unit Chrysler offered alongside the 1.4 turbo. The dual-clutch is the one with the reputation for shuddering away from a stop and clunking at parking speeds, and both parts and shops willing to touch it are thin now the car is long discontinued. NHTSA's 2016 record does not separate the transmissions, so treat this as a reason to look rather than a documented fault for this year: ask the seller which gearbox the car has, then creep through a parking lot at walking pace and feel for judder through the floor.

Repair cost (estimate): $1,800–$3,500 for a clutch pack and actuator job — around 54% of what this car is typically worth

Source: not yet checked against public records.

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Shifter that feels loose, vague, or needs a shove to reach Park
✗The car creeping after you select Park on a slope and release the brake
✗Oil below the low mark, or black and thin, on a cold dipstick
✗Blue smoke at cold start or under a hard pull onto a highway ramp
✗Wipers that hesitate, stall mid-sweep, or run only on one speed

Good Signs

✓A service invoice showing the 19V293 shifter-cable repair, with the 25V674 follow-up notice on file
✓Oil at the full mark on a cold dipstick with a dated sticker for the last change
✓Receipts showing oil changed every 5,000 miles from the same shop
✓Washer pump replaced under recall 16V813, with all wiper speeds working in the rain
✓A compression test on paper from an independent shop