Buyer Research

2021 Dodge Charger — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $22,000–$40,000. There is 1 high-severity known issue you need to know before handing over a check.

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Kestrel Take

34 complaints is too few to say anything about how a 2021 Charger holds up, and we will not pretend otherwise. What the record does hold is two recalls, both of them about the car protecting you in a crash: side curtain airbag inflators that can rupture (the last year covered by that campaign, and 44% of this car's complaints are owners who could not get it done), and a windshield that may not have been bonded to the body. One owner had a dealer refuse to buy the car back because the airbag campaign was open on it, which tells you how the trade sees it. The five powertrain complaints are scattered — a service-transmission message, a lost sixth gear, broken rear control arms — and do not add up to a pattern. Buy a 2021 with both campaigns shown closed and the headliner sitting properly after the airbag job, take it for a proper drive through all eight gears, and price it as a car whose record is short because it is young, not because it is proven.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 34 owner complaints for the 2021 Dodge Charger, and 2 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. 44% of them are about one thing — airbags. 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.

2 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 2021 Dodge Charger

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

Side curtain airbag inflators can rupture — the last year in the recall, and the hardest to get parts forHigh — wallet impact

Recall 24V198 covers 2018–2021 Chargers and 300s: the left and right curtain airbag inflators have a manufacturing defect and can rupture on deployment, throwing sharp fragments into the cabin. Both curtain airbags are replaced free. Fifteen of this car's 34 complaints are the recall — owners who got the letter in 2025 and were told no parts, no technician, or in one case a dealer that simply refused to do the work. One owner had the job done and got the car back with the headliner, mirror and sunglass holder hanging loose. Run the VIN on the NHTSA lookup before you drive it. If it shows closed, look up: the headliner should be tight to the roof at both A-pillars and the mirror mount solid. If it shows open, get a dealer to confirm parts are physically in stock before you commit.

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

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under airbags (15); 2 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Windshield may not be bonded to the body and can come out in a crash (recall)Medium

Recall 21V516 covers 2020–2021 Chargers, Challengers and 300s: the windshield urethane may not have adhered properly on the line, so the glass can separate from the body in a collision — and the windshield is part of what the passenger airbag pushes against. Dealers remove the glass and rebond it free. The three visibility complaints here are two owners chasing this campaign and one who had a stone crack the glass and had it replaced by a mobile glass company — which is fine, as long as the replacement was bonded with proper urethane and given its cure time. Confirm the campaign on the VIN, and if the glass has been replaced outside the recall, ask who did it and whether it was done in a shop or a driveway.

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

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under glass, wipers and mirrors (3); 2 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Service-transmission message, a lost gear, and rear control arms found brokenMedium

Five powertrain complaints, one with a crash, and they do not share a cause. One eight-speed dropped into a lower gear with a Service Transmission message and was towed; another threw a check-engine light and an independent shop found sixth gear inoperative; a third owner heard popping from underneath and found both rear control arms broken and rubbing the body — which may be what the crash report describes as the rear end locking up. One more is delayed, hesitant power delivery in the low gears. None of this is a pattern at five reports, but each one is checkable in ten minutes: drive the car through all eight gears with the paddles, listen for pops or clunks over bumps from the rear, and look at the rear lower control arms with a torch for cracks or a bent stamping.

Repair cost (estimate): $150–$400 per rear control arm; $300–$700 for a transmission fluid and software service; $3,500–$6,000 for an eight-speed rebuild

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the transmission and drivetrain (5).

Hemi lifter tick — known across this generation, three engine complaints hereMedium

There are only three engine complaints on the 2021, too few to read as anything, so this is what we know rather than what the record shows: the 5.7L Hemi in this generation is known for lifter rollers that seize and wear the camshaft lobe, and it announces itself as a tick at startup that gets louder and faster with revs and does not fade once the engine is warm. Dealers often call the early stage normal Hemi tick. The fix is a cam and lifters with the heads off, which is a four-figure job outside the powertrain warranty. On a V8, cold-start it with the hood up and listen for a tick that keeps time with the engine; on any car, ask for oil change receipts at 5,000 miles or better, because thin, old oil is what these lifters die on.

Repair cost (estimate): $2,500–$4,500 for cam and lifters

Source: not yet checked against public records.

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Recall 24V198 open on the NHTSA VIN lookup, or a dealer who says parts are still unavailable
✗Headliner sagging at the A-pillars or a loose mirror mount after an airbag recall repair
✗Service Transmission message or a gear that will not engage on the paddles
✗Popping or clunking from the rear over bumps
✗Windshield replaced outside the recall with no shop paperwork
✗Ticking from a 5.7 at cold idle that speeds up with the revs

Good Signs

✓Both campaigns 24V198 and 21V516 shown closed on the NHTSA VIN lookup with dealer invoices
✓Headliner tight to the roof and the mirror solid after the curtain airbag job
✓All eight gears engaging cleanly on the paddles with smooth upshifts on a cold drive
✓Rear control arms straight and unmarked when viewed with a torch
✓Oil changes at 5,000-mile intervals with receipts on a Hemi
✓Remaining factory powertrain warranty, confirmed by a dealer on the VIN