Fast Car Market

Dodge Charger

From 1960s muscle coupe to modern four-door sedan, and how to shop 2015 to 2019 cars

Model-year reports

The short version

The Charger name has been on and off Dodge showrooms since 1966. For most used-car shoppers today it means one thing: a big, rear-drive-based four-door sedan with a V6 or a Hemi V8 and a loud personality. It is one of the few mainstream sedans you can still buy with serious performance, and that is why it attracts so many different kinds of owners. Some bought a V6 as a commuter. Some bought a Scat Pack for weekend fun. A small number bought a supercharged Hellcat and used it hard.

That spread is the main thing to understand before you shop. Two Chargers from the same year can be very different cars, depending on engine, trim, drive wheels and how the previous owner treated them. A police-package car, a lightly driven V6 and a modified V8 are not the same purchase, even if the listings look alike.

This page covers the history briefly and then focuses on the 2015 to 2019 cars, which are the years we have model-year reports for.

Generations at a glance

First generation (1966-1978). The original Charger was a two-door coupe with fastback roofs and big V8 options. It went through several redesigns in that span and became a muscle-car icon. Those cars are classics and collectibles now, and a different kind of shopping from everything else on this page.

Front-drive hatchback era (1982-1987). The name came back on a small front-wheel-drive hatchback. It has little in common with the later cars beyond the badge, and few people shopping a modern Charger will ever look at one.

Four-door revival (2006-2010). Dodge brought the name back on a rear-drive sedan. It carried the Charger idea into a family-size body, with V6 and Hemi V8 choices and a high-performance SRT8 version. These cars are older now, and their age matters more than their generation. Condition and maintenance records count for a lot.

Current four-door generation (2011-2023). A big redesign for 2011 brought new styling, new interiors and a new V6. A refresh for 2015 changed the front and rear styling, updated the interior and brought an eight-speed automatic transmission across the lineup. The Hellcat arrived at that point too, along with the Scat Pack on the V8 side. This generation stayed in production for a long time with incremental updates, and all of the model-year pages on this site fall inside it.

A new Charger with different underpinnings followed after this generation ended. It is a separate car and outside the scope of these used-car guides.

What the 2015 to 2019 cars have in common

Within this stretch, the basic car stays the same. It is a large four-door sedan, sold with rear-wheel drive on most versions, and with all-wheel drive on some. Engines ranged from a V6 to several Hemi V8s, including a supercharged one in the Hellcat. Transmissions were automatics only. There was no manual Charger in this period, so you won't find one, however much a seller may talk about "driving it like a manual."

Trim names shifted from year to year. You will see SE, SXT, R/T, Scat Pack, SRT 392 and SRT Hellcat in listings, plus Daytona and GT versions in some years. Police pursuit cars were also sold and sometimes show up at auctions and used lots. NHTSA data does not always separate these versions cleanly, so recall and complaint numbers on a page can include several different cars.

Which used years to research first

This is not a ranking. It is a list of patterns that showed up in the NHTSA data and what each pattern means for your search.

  • 2015. The first year of the refresh. The complaint data leans toward driveline noise, transmission behavior, engine ticking, electrical gremlins and a few fuel-smell reports. It also has the longest recall list of the five years. Read the 2015 report if you are looking at an AWD car or a supercharged SRT.
  • 2016. The highest complaint count of the five years, led by interior structure complaints. Owners describe door panels and trim pieces warping and peeling away. It also has the most injuries reported in the data of the five years, and a recall that covers the factory jack. See the 2016 report.
  • 2017. The infotainment screen is the standout. Many owners describe it acting on its own, and there is a separate recall for oil cooler hoses on Hellcat engines. See the 2017 report.
  • 2018. A mix of screen problems and headlight electrical complaints, plus a newer curtain airbag recall that may still be open on some cars. See the 2018 report.
  • 2019. Airbag complaints lead the list, almost all tied to the newer inflator recall and to repair delays. If you are shopping a 2019, check that recall status first. See the 2019 report.

None of these years is clean, and none is a disaster. Complaint counts are owner reports to NHTSA. They are not failure rates, and they say nothing certain about the car you are looking at.

Shopping a performance Charger

A few points apply to every Charger that has a V8 or a heavy right foot behind it.

  • Ask about modifications early. Exhaust, intakes, tunes, wheels and suspension parts are common. Ask what has been changed, who did it and whether the original parts come with the car.
  • Ask about a tune. A tune changes how the engine and transmission behave. Ask who tuned it, whether it can be returned to stock and whether the seller has the original calibration or a dealer record showing it was reset.
  • Look at the tires and brakes. Uneven wear, mismatched tires and warped-feeling brakes tell you a lot about how the car lived.
  • Check cooling. Look for leaks, a clean radiator and steady temperature on the test drive.
  • Be careful with launch and track use. Ask directly. A candid seller will answer. A vague answer is also an answer.

How to use the model-year reports

Each year page shows the recalls NHTSA has on record, what owners complain about most, and the crash ratings where they exist. We write a test-drive checklist for each year, built from the data, so you know where to look first.

Treat the reports as a starting point. Run the car's VIN through NHTSA's free recall lookup to see which recalls are open on that exact car, since many of them cover only certain trims, engines or build dates. Then get an independent pre-purchase inspection from a mechanic who knows these cars. A history report and the service records round out the picture. If you plan to finance, use the payment calculator before you talk numbers with a seller.