Buyer Research

2017 Dodge Challenger — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $18,000–$34,000. There are 3 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 14 Dodge Challenger years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

A thin record — 49 complaints in nine years — and a thin record is not a reliability rating; it means few owners filed, not that the car is clean. What they did file is clear enough: a third of it is the 8.4-inch Uconnect screen delaminating and pressing its own buttons, which on this car means changing drive modes and settings while you are moving. Two owners had a front wheel come off, one of them into a gate. Three recalls, each for a specific configuration: Hellcat oil-cooler hoses that can spray oil, a 5.7L eight-speed that may not stay in Park, and the cruise control that may not cancel. Check those three on the VIN, press every corner of the touchscreen, and have a shop put the front end on a lift for the ball joints. With those done, a 2017 is a well-sorted version of this car and worth the price over an earlier one.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 49 owner complaints for the 2017 Dodge Challenger, and 3 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. 33% of them are about one thing — electrics and electronics. 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.

3 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 2017 Dodge Challenger

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

Uconnect 8.4 screen delaminates and registers ghost touches — changing drive settings on its ownMedium

Sixteen of 49 complaints, and nearly all of them say the same thing: the touchscreen surface bubbles or peels from the inside, then starts pressing itself — radio stations jump, the phone dials, the navigation dies, and on this car the screen also controls the performance pages, so owners report the drive mode and the manual-shift setting changing at 55 mph. Dealers have called it a cracked screen and refused warranty. A replacement radio unit is four figures at a dealer; an independent can often swap the screen digitizer alone for a few hundred. Run a fingertip across the whole screen in sunlight and look for a hazy or wavy patch; then leave the radio on for the whole test drive and watch for it to act alone.

Repair cost (estimate): $300–$700 for a screen digitizer; $1,200–$2,000 for the radio unit

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (16).

Front ball joint failures — two owners had a front wheel detach while drivingHigh — wallet impact

Only six suspension complaints, but two describe the same thing and one ended in a crash and a fire: a front wheel separating from the car at low speed, at 22,000 miles in one case, with the owner blaming the upper ball joint. Another describes a crunching noise from the driver's front and steering that pulls away from where the wheel is pointed. This is a small number of reports, and we cannot say how common it is — but the failure mode is severe enough that it belongs on the checklist. Jack the front of the car and rock each wheel at 12 and 6 o'clock; any play, or a clunk, is a ball joint. Ask for the invoice if the seller says the front end has been done.

Repair cost (estimate): $400–$1,100 per side for control arm and ball joint

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the suspension (6).

Head gasket and overheating reports; Hellcat oil-cooler hoses that can burst (recall)High — wallet impact

Six engine complaints, one fire. One original owner blew a head gasket at 72,000 miles — confirmed by a hydrocarbon test after a coolant leak — and another car overheated at 20 mph with a hot-water smell in the cabin. On Hellcats, recall 17V496 replaces the engine oil cooler lines, which can fail and dump the oil onto the windshield or a hot exhaust; that is a fire risk and a free fix, and it applies only to the 6.2L supercharged car. On any engine here, check the coolant is at the mark and clean, look for a white or sweet-smelling exhaust at a cold start, and watch the temperature gauge on a hard run. A head gasket on a Hemi is a four-figure job.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $1,800–$3,500 for a head gasket

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (6); 3 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

5.7L eight-speed that may not hold Park (recall), and cruise control that may not cancel (recall)High — wallet impact

Recall 17V431 covers 2017 Challengers with the 5.7L and the eight-speed automatic: with the engine running, the transmission may not stay in Park when the driver gets out, and the car can roll — a software update to the transmission control module fixes it. One owner in the record describes the dash flashing 'not in Park' and the engine shutting off when the brake was released. Recall 18V332 is the cruise control flash that applies to 2015–2018 Challengers, where the car may hold or gain speed after you cancel. Both are free reflashes and both show on the NHTSA VIN lookup. Until you have confirmed them, set the parking brake every time you get out.

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

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the transmission and drivetrain (5); 3 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Electro-hydraulic steering noises and a steering column failureMedium

Five steering complaints plus one owner in the suspension cluster whose steering column failed six months after purchase. The 2017 uses electric power steering on most trims, and the common complaint is a knock or a rubbing noise on turning at low speed, with the wheel not quite following the front wheels. Turn lock to lock at a standstill and listen, then drive slowly over a speed bump with the wheel turned. A column or a rack is a four-figure part; a tie-rod end or intermediate shaft is not.

Repair cost (estimate): $200–$1,800

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under steering (5).

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Hazy, bubbled or wavy patch anywhere on the touchscreen, or menus that change on their own
✗Clunk or play when the front wheel is rocked on a jack
✗Coolant below the mark, or a sweet smell at a cold start
✗Any of the three recalls still open on the VIN lookup
✗Dash message about Park, or the engine shutting off when the brake is released in Park

Good Signs

✓Uconnect radio or screen replaced with an invoice, and a clear, responsive display in direct sunlight
✓Recalls 17V431 and 18V332 shown closed on the NHTSA VIN lookup
✓Front control arms or ball joints replaced with a receipt and a firm feel on the jack test
✓Coolant at the full mark and a steady temperature gauge on a hard drive
✓Head gasket confirmed sealed by a shop's hydrocarbon test on the coolant