Buyer Research

2017 Dodge Charger — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $14,000–$26,000. There is 1 high-severity known issue you need to know before handing over a check.

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Kestrel Take

A different car from the 2011–2014 record: the alternator and steering-pump saga is gone with the facelift's electric steering, and what is left is 128 complaints — thin enough that it tells you what has been reported, not how reliable the car is. What has been reported is specific: the 8.4-inch Uconnect screen delaminating and pressing its own buttons (38% of the record), interior door panels peeling off the doors, a Hemi tick that turns into a lifter and cam job, and the Pentastar's plastic oil cooler dumping its oil. Four recalls, two of them for all-wheel-drive front driveshafts that can come loose, one for cruise control that may not cancel, and one for Hellcat oil-cooler hoses. Buy a 2017 with the driveshaft and cruise campaigns closed, a screen that answers only to your finger, and an engine that idles quietly when cold; those are the checks the record actually supports.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 128 owner complaints for the 2017 Dodge Charger, 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. 38% 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.

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 2017 Dodge Charger

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

Uconnect 8.4 screen delaminates and presses its own buttons — heated seats, radio, 911 callsMedium

48 electrical complaints, and the words that recur are screen and radio. The touch layer on the 8.4-inch Uconnect separates from the glass — you can see a bubble or haze at the edges — and then the screen registers phantom touches: the radio changes stations on its own, the heated seat switches on and stays on, climate settings flip, and several owners report the SOS button being pressed while they drive. Dealers replace the whole head unit; independents can fit a new digitizer for a fraction of that. Ask a Dodge dealer whether this VIN has any goodwill or extended coverage on the radio, and do not take the seller's word for it. At the viewing, look at the screen edges in daylight and leave the car idling for five minutes with the radio on to see whether it misbehaves.

Repair cost (estimate): $250–$500 for a screen digitizer; $900–$1,600 for a dealer head unit

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (48).

Interior door panels warp and lift away from the doorsMedium

All 20 structure complaints are the same thing: the upper door trim near the window seal warps and peels away from the door, worst on the front passenger side and in hot climates, until you can see the painted door frame from outside and in a few cases the lock and handle mechanism stops working properly. It starts as a ripple at the top edge and grows every week. It is cosmetic until the handle is involved, but it is a known weakness of this interior, warranty rarely outlasted it, and a fresh panel from the dealer is a few hundred dollars a door. Run a finger along the top edge of each door card and look for a gap at the window seal.

Repair cost (estimate): $150–$400 per door for a replacement panel

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the body and structure (20).

Hemi lifter and cam wear, and the Pentastar's plastic oil cooler that empties the engineMedium

Two engines, two faults among the 20 engine complaints. On the 5.7L, a tick at startup that a mechanic calls normal grows over a few thousand miles into a rattle with a thump in the exhaust — a collapsed lifter roller that has worn its cam lobe, a heads-off repair. On the 3.6L, the plastic oil filter housing and oil cooler assembly under the intake cracks and can drain the oil quickly enough to light the warning between stop lights; the fix is an updated housing, and aluminium replacements exist. One owner also had a transmission rebuilt at nearly $5,000 after a leak into the bell housing. Cold-start the car and listen at the front of the engine for a rhythmic tick; on a V6 look for fresh oil in the valley behind the intake and at the back of the block.

Repair cost (estimate): $2,500–$4,500 for Hemi cam and lifters; $400–$900 for the oil cooler housing

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (20).

AWD front driveshaft can unbolt or its joint can seize and drop the shaft (two recalls)High — wallet impact

Recall 17V097 covers 2014–2017 all-wheel-drive Chargers: the eight bolts on the front driveshaft can loosen and let it disconnect, causing a loss of drive. Dealers replace all eight bolts. Recall 18V281 covers 2015–2018 AWD V8 police pursuit cars, whose front driveshaft universal joint can seize or fracture and drop the shaft onto the road — relevant if you are looking at an ex-fleet Pursuit, which many 2017 AWD Chargers are. The 17 powertrain complaints are otherwise scattered shift-quality reports. On any AWD car, run the VIN before you drive it; on an ex-police car, ask for the fleet's service history, because the driveshaft recall is the least of what a pursuit car has been through.

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

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the transmission and drivetrain (17); 4 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Hellcat engine oil-cooler hoses can burst and spray oil (recall, 6.2L supercharged only)Medium

Recall 17V496 covers 2017 Chargers and Challengers with the Hellcat engine: the engine oil cooler hoses can fail and dump oil rapidly, onto the windshield or onto hot exhaust. Dealers replaced the lines. One Hellcat owner in this record reported the same failure on a car whose VIN was outside the campaign, so on any 2017 Hellcat look at the oil cooler lines for weeping or fresh replacement regardless of what the lookup says. Narrow trim, but a fire risk, so it is written up rather than left in the recall list.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $300–$700 for lines outside it

Source: 4 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Cruise control may not cancel — powertrain software recallMedium

Recall 18V332 covers 2014–2018 Chargers along with most of the Chrysler lineup: a wiring short could leave cruise control holding or increasing speed when the driver tries to cancel it. The remedy is a software flash of the engine or powertrain module, free at any dealer. The brakes still overpower it, but it is a two-minute VIN check and a reason to walk if the seller has never had a dealer near the car.

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

Source: 4 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Charred headlight fuses in the under-hood fuse box put a headlight outLow

A handful of owners describe a mini fuse in the under-hood power distribution center browning and burning, taking one low beam with it — each headlight has its own fuse, and the fuse holder terminal is what overheats. Seven exterior-lighting complaints and a few more filed under electrical. It is a cheap fix if it is only the fuse, and a fuse-box terminal repair if the holder has melted. Open the fuse box lid and look for a discoloured yellow fuse near the headlamp positions.

Repair cost (estimate): $5–$250

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the lights (7).

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Haze, bubbles or a lifted edge on the Uconnect screen, or a radio that changes station by itself
✗Door panel rippling or gapping at the window seal, especially the front passenger side
✗Ticking from the engine at cold idle that keeps time with the revs
✗Fresh oil in the valley behind the intake on a V6
✗AWD car, or an ex-police Pursuit, with either driveshaft recall still open
✗Discoloured mini fuse in the under-hood fuse box

Good Signs

✓Uconnect head unit or digitizer replaced with an invoice, and a screen that stays put for five minutes idling
✓All four recall campaigns closed on the NHTSA VIN lookup
✓Oil cooler housing replaced on the 3.6L with a receipt
✓Quiet valvetrain on a cold start on the 5.7
✓Door panels flat and tight along the window seal on all four doors
✓Oil changes on the 5.7 at 5,000-mile intervals with receipts, which is what its lifters need