Model Year Index

Which Dodge Dart years to avoid

Across 4 scored model years, the 2013 and 2015 model years carry the highest severity-weighted complaint rates.

Ownership label · Dodge Dart Full report
D
Grade 2013–2016
2013 vs model median 2.0×
Model median3× median
Drivetrain 266
Brakes 246
Electrical 118
Avoid

2013 · 2015

Best

2014 · 2016

What the record shows

Written from this model’s own complaint and recall history.

The Dart was sold for four model years, 2013 to 2016, and its first is its worst: 994 complaints at 2.04 times the model’s own median, against 274 on the 2014 car that followed it.

Drivetrain leads at 266 reports and braking follows at 246, and the two overlap. A large group in both describes the parking brake failing to hold — owners report the car rolling from a standstill on a slope, several within weeks of delivery — which filers entered under whichever heading seemed closest. Read together they account for more than half of that year. The 2013 car also carries 75 crash allegations and ten fire allegations, the highest of both here.

From 2014 the leading category becomes engine and stays there, at 57, 90 and 48 reports, with the accounts describing stalling and a loss of power while driving. Drivetrain sits immediately beneath it every year.

2015 is the other flagged year at 1.22 — a much milder elevation than 2013, and close enough to the median that the gap between it and the unflagged 2014 car is narrow.

The model ends on its strongest year: 216 complaints on the 2016 car at 0.52 times the median. Only eight distinct recall campaigns sit against the Dart across its whole life, among the lowest counts on this site.

Reviewed Claude, 11 August 2026, against the model's own record and NHTSA campaign filings

Year by year

Severity-weighted complaints filed in each model year’s first 60 months on the road, so every year is measured over an identical window.

Year Complaint volume vs median Reports Grade
2013
2.04× 994 D
2014
0.78× 274 B
2015
1.22× 464 D
2016
0.52× 216 B

What owners report

The component groups most often named, with one representative report. These are unverified — allegations, not findings.

2013 D 994 reports · median 30,000 mi

  1. Drivetrain 266

    One month old dodge dart rallye was parked on a steep driveway the morning of 01/20/13. The emergency brake was engaged and the dashboard light for the 'parking brake engaged' was lit. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

  2. Brakes 246

    The contact owns a 2013 dodge dart. The contact stated that the emergency brake handle failed causing the emergency brake release rod to malfunction and not engage. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

  3. Electrical 118

    Chapmanswrecker wrecker svc in nashville , tn 37210 towed a 2013 dodge dart rent-a-car that the whole front end burnt. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

75 crash · 10 fire · 33 injuries

2015 D 464 reports · median 43,800 mi

  1. Engine 90

    My knee hit the ignition key while driving to dallas and the engine shut down. I was able to pull the car over, figure out what happened and resumed my trip. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

  2. Drivetrain 90

    While driving on the freeway for about 10 minutes, I noticed the tach was approaching redline and discovered the car had gone into neutral but shift lever was in drive. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

  3. Electrical 55

    While driving in the morning in a neighborhood speed limit of 30, I decrease speed to come to a full stop and suddenly the vehicle shuts off engine power and power steering at approximately 10mph. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

38 crash · 5 fire · 25 injuries

The best year for the Dart

Ranked by overall score among years with a full 60 months on the road.

2016 is the best-scoring Dart model year with a full 60 months on the road, at 74.6 out of 100 — a score that combines complaint rate, recall campaigns and open investigations.

Yearvs medianReportsGrade
2016 0.52× 216 B
2014 0.78× 274 B
2015 1.22× 464 D

Recalls

8 campaigns on record.

Campaign Component Model years Units affected
25V674000 POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:LEVER AND LINKAGE:FLOOR SHIFT 2013–2016 298,439
19V293000 POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION 2014–2016 298,439
15V800000 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:POWER ASSIST:VACUUM 2014 105,425
17V824000 EQUIPMENT 2015, 2016 61,791
16V813000 VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER 2016 53,155
15V542000 POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM) 2014, 2015 23,564
16V113000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE 2015, 2016 1,122
14V800000 TIRES:PRESSURE MONITORING AND REGULATING SYSTEMS 2015 944

How long do they last?

Complaint records show when problems get reported, not how long a car survives. Where owners gave an odometer reading, faults on the 2013 were reported at a median of 30,000 miles. Treat that as the point problems start being noticed, not a lifespan.

Common questions

Answered directly from this model’s record.

Which Dodge Dart years should you avoid?
2013, 2015 carry the highest severity-weighted complaint rates of any Dodge Dart model year measured over an identical 60-month window.
What is the best year for the Dodge Dart?
2016 is the best-scoring Dodge Dart model year with a full 60 months on the road, at 74.6 out of 100. The score combines complaint rate, recall campaigns and open investigations.
How many recalls does the Dodge Dart have?
8 distinct recall campaigns are on record across all scored Dodge Dart model years. A recall is a matter of record: the manufacturer filed a defect report with NHTSA.

How this was calculated

Every model year is scored over an identical window: complaints filed with NHTSA during the first 60 months after that model year went on sale. Without this, older cars look worse purely because they have had longer to accumulate reports.

Limitations. Complaints are unverified reports submitted voluntarily by owners; they are allegations, not findings, and reporting rates vary between models. Model years with fewer than 60 months on the road are marked provisional and excluded from verdicts. Cross-model comparison is withheld pending production-volume data.

Full methodology · Sources · Data vintage August 9, 2026

Working 2013 Dart
Complaints in window
994
Severity-weighted
1,453.5
Model median (weighted)
712
vs model median
2.04×
Recall campaigns (weighted)
1
Open investigations
0
Score 46.5 D