01
Substantial Defect
One that impairs the use, value or safety of the vehicle. Stalling, brake failure, steering and persistent electrical faults qualify. A rattle generally does not.
By Manufacturer
DODGE LEMON LAW.
Dodge's two newest models are both already recalled. The Hornet for seat belts that will not retract, the Charger Daytona EV for a cluster that blanks and a pedestrian alert that never made a sound.
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Bad VehicleDodge claims.
EXPLORE ↓What Decides It
Four facts, in this order.
Dodge built it, but Dodge does not decide it. These four questions decide it, and the repair orders in your glovebox answer all four.
02
Repair Attempts
Florida looks for three attempts at the same defect. New York looks for four. Recall work and visits that found nothing both count.
03
Days Out of Service
Thirty cumulative days in Florida and in New York. Cumulative, not consecutive, and the days count whether or not anything was fixed.
04
Coverage Window
The defect has to be reported while the vehicle is inside the warranty or rights period. When it was reported matters more than today's date.
Dodge is a division of FCA US, LLC, part of Stellantis, and NHTSA files every Dodge campaign under Chrysler (FCA US, LLC). Search the badge and you find little. The record exists — it is filed under the parent.
The newest Dodges carry the newest problems. The Charger Daytona EV has two campaigns already: one covering 20,271 vehicles where instrument cluster software hides gear selection and the brake, stability-control and tire-pressure warnings, and one covering 8,390 where the amplifier software was missing entirely so the car emitted no exterior pedestrian warning sound at all.
Both were fixed by a reflash, and both still count. A software remedy is still a remedy, and when the symptom returns after the update, the attempt count builds exactly as it would with a mechanical repair. That matters because so much of a modern Dodge is code.
Jonathan D. Schwartz has +25 years of experience handling Lemon Law and warranty matters, including claims against FCA US. Bad Vehicle offers a free case evaluation, direct access to the attorney handling the claim, and no upfront legal fee to begin pursuing an eligible case.
Recall or Claim
A recall says the manufacturer knows. A claim says they were given the chance to fix it.
A recall is the manufacturer acknowledging that a defect exists across a population of vehicles and offering a remedy. It is a public admission of the fault pattern, which makes it useful evidence. What it is not is a Lemon Law claim.
The claim arises from what happened to your vehicle: the defect was reported, the dealership was given a reasonable number of attempts to repair it, and it is still there.
The group-wide camera campaign, 26V531, covers 844,027 vehicles including the 2026 and 2027 Charger alongside Jeep, Chrysler and Ram models. Radio software can leave the backup camera screen blank in reverse — a federal safety-standard violation, not a convenience fault.
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Check before the next visit
Look your VIN up under Chrysler (FCA US), not under Dodge.
A reflash that does not hold is still a repair attempt.
Check My Case ↗Recurring Dodge Faults
WHAT KEEPS COMING BACK.
These are the defect categories that generate the most Lemon Law and warranty claims against Dodge. A vehicle showing one of these is not automatically a claim. A vehicle showing one of these repeatedly and unrepaired usually is.
Rearview Camera Failure
Radio software can prevent the backup camera image appearing when reverse is selected. Campaign 26V531 covers 844,027 vehicles including the 2026-2027 Charger, a federal safety-standard violation.
Charger EV Cluster Blackout
Instrument cluster software failure hides gear position and the brake, stability-control and tire-pressure warnings on 20,271 Charger Daytona EV and Jeep Wagoneer S vehicles.
Seat Belt Retractor Failure
Hornet rear outboard belts can twist in the retractor and stop retracting, leaving occupants improperly restrained. Campaign 26V510 covers 48,777 vehicles, 40,386 of them Hornets.
Body Control Module Faults
A body control module software fault sending irregular voltage to the engine control module has left a current-model Charger unable to shift into Drive — the kind of intermittent fault that produces repeat visits.
Missing Pedestrian Alert Sound
8,390 model-year 2024-2025 Charger Daytona EVs shipped with the amplifier software missing entirely, so the car emitted no exterior pedestrian warning sound at all.
Durango Spoiler Detachment
The 2021-2023 Durango rear spoiler was assembled over-flush, is progressively damaged by liftgate cycling and can detach at speed. Campaign 26V528 covers 74,578 vehicles.
Where It Ends Up
Four ways a Dodge claim resolves.
Which one applies depends on the state, the facts and what gets negotiated with FCA US. All four start with the same free case review.
The models we see most
Recall record · NHTSA · September 2026
DODGENEW MODEL. NEW RECALL. TWICE OVER.
01 / CHARGER, 2026-2027
844,027
Rearview camera blank — Group-wide campaign covering Jeep, Chrysler and Ram models alongside the Charger. Radio software can stop the camera image displaying in reverse.
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02 / DURANGO, 2021-2023
74,578
Rear spoiler detaches — The rear liftgate spoiler is misaligned with the roof, is damaged by repeated liftgate use and may detach, becoming a road hazard.
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03 / HORNET, 2023-2025
48,777
Seat belts will not retract — Shared with the Alfa Romeo Tonale. Rear outboard seat belts can twist in the retractor and fail to restrain an occupant properly.
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04 / CHARGER EV, 2024-2025
20,271
Instrument cluster blank — Shared with the Jeep Wagoneer S. A software error blanks the cluster, hiding gear selection and the brake, stability and tire-pressure warnings.
Check My Case ↗Both of Dodge's newest nameplates are already recalled — the Hornet for seat belt retractors and the Charger Daytona EV twice, for a blank cluster and a silent pedestrian alert. All Dodge campaigns are filed under Chrysler (FCA US, LLC). Figures from NHTSA as of 23 September 2026.
Read the 15 Questions ↗Dodge Lemon Law
15 questions Dodge owners ask.
General information about Lemon Law and warranty claims, not legal advice. What applies to a particular vehicle depends on its records, its warranty and the state where it was bought.
Ask Us Directly ↗
Because NHTSA does not file it that way. Every Dodge campaign is recorded under the manufacturer name Chrysler (FCA US, LLC), which is part of Stellantis. Your window sticker says Dodge; the recall record, the warrantor and the defendant in any claim all say FCA US. Search by VIN rather than by badge.
Yes. The Charger Daytona EV has two campaigns already — 20,271 vehicles for instrument cluster software that hides gear position and safety warnings, and 8,390 where the amplifier software was missing so the car made no pedestrian warning sound. Both were remedied by reflash. A software remedy is still a remedy, and if the symptom returns, that is another attempt.
That is a documented defect. Campaign 26V510, filed August 2026, covers 48,777 vehicles including 40,386 model-year 2023-2025 Hornets, where rear outboard seat belts can twist in the retractor and fail to retract, so they may not restrain an occupant properly. It also covers the Alfa Romeo Tonale, which shares the platform.
Campaign 26V528 covers 74,578 model-year 2021-2023 Durangos whose rear liftgate spoiler was assembled misaligned with the roof, is progressively damaged by repeated liftgate use, and may detach and become a road hazard. If yours detached, document it immediately with photographs and keep every record of the repair.
It is a reported pattern. A body control module software fault sending irregular voltage to the engine control module has left current-model Chargers unable to shift into Drive, in one case three times in five days. Intermittent electrical faults like that are exactly the sort that produce repeated visits and "no fault found" paperwork — keep every one of those repair orders.
No. A recall is the manufacturer acknowledging that a defect exists across a population of vehicles and offering a remedy. A Lemon Law claim arises from what happened to your specific vehicle: a substantial defect, reported inside the coverage period, that the manufacturer was given a reasonable number of attempts to repair and did not. The recall is useful evidence within that claim, not a substitute for it.
Yes, where the recall remedy addressed the defect at issue and the fault persisted afterward. Owners frequently leave recall visits out of their own count because the work was free and manufacturer-initiated, which weakens the record unnecessarily. If the vehicle went in for the fault and came back with the fault, it was an attempt.
Florida's presumption generally arises after three repair attempts for the same defect, or after the vehicle has been out of service for 30 or more cumulative days during the Lemon Law rights period. A separate and earlier trigger applies at 15 cumulative days, when written notice goes to the manufacturer. It is a presumption rather than a fixed requirement — a defect serious enough to be dangerous can qualify with fewer attempts, and the presumption is one route to the remedy rather than the only one.
New York generally looks for four repair attempts for the same defect, or 30 or more days out of service, within the first two years or 18,000 miles. The framework is close to Florida's but the thresholds and the arbitration process differ, and a vehicle bought in one state and serviced in another needs the applicable law identified early.
One that impairs the use, value or safety of the vehicle. Stalling, brake failure, steering faults and persistent electrical problems clearly qualify. A rattle or a trim complaint generally does not. Between those extremes the answer depends on how the fault affects the vehicle in normal use, and on what the repair orders actually say about it.
State Lemon Law is primarily directed at qualifying new and demonstrator vehicles. A used Dodge can still carry rights where a manufacturer or dealer warranty was active when the defect was reported, generally under federal warranty law including the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which does not carry the same new-vehicle limitation.
A leased vehicle can be covered where it meets the same substantive requirements that apply to a purchase. The calculation of any refund is tied to the amounts actually paid into the lease rather than the full vehicle price, and the leasing company is dealt with as part of the resolution rather than left to be sorted out afterward.
That visit still counts as a repair attempt. Intermittent faults are extremely common in software, camera and electrical systems, and a growing share of manufacturer campaigns are software-related. A record of repeated visits where the fault was reported and not resolved is precisely the pattern the law addresses. Ask for the complaint to be written down in your words, and keep the copy that says it could not be verified.
Three, in practice. A repurchase, where the manufacturer buys the vehicle back and refunds what was paid, less a statutory offset for the miles driven before the first report of the defect. A replacement with a comparable vehicle. Or a cash settlement where the vehicle stays with you and the manufacturer pays for the diminished value. Which applies depends on the state, the facts and what is negotiated.
Broadly: the purchase price plus collateral and incidental charges, minus a mileage offset tied to the distance driven before the defect was first reported. Registration, taxes and finance charges are frequently recoverable. The offset is the part manufacturers most often calculate in their own favour, and it is worth checking line by line.
Other Manufacturers
The badge does not decide the claim.
The law applies the same way to every brand sold in the state. What differs is the defect pattern, the warranty terms and how hard the manufacturer fights.
Get in Touch
Is your Dodge back at the dealership again?
Send the year, model and the repair history — including the visits that ended with a software update rather than a part.
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