2012 Chrysler 300
Complaints about this year name alternator far more often than the other years of this generation — 29% of them, about 25× the usual rate of 1.2%.
Generation 2 of the Chrysler 300, which began in 2011. Everything below compares this year against the others in that generation, not against a different car wearing the same name.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 425 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 137 |
| Involving a crash | 24 |
| Involving a fire | 34 |
| Recalls | 9 |
| NHTSA crash rating | 5/5 |
| EPA combined | 20 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- alternator — 29.6% of this year's complaints, against 2.3% across the other years of this generation (12.6×). Owners wrote it as: alternator, diagnosed alternator, alternator needed, alternator failed.
- electrical — 27.1% of this year's complaints, against 7.2% across the other years of this generation (3.8×). Owners wrote it as: electrical, electrical system, repaired vin, towed independent.
- vin — 22.4% of this year's complaints, against 7.4% across the other years of this generation (3×).
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
Also unusual this year
- electrical system — 20% of complaints, 51× usual
- stalled — 16% of complaints, 40× usual
- battery — 20% of complaints, 17× usual
What owners wrote
WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 25 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE ALTERNATOR AND BATTERY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 1…
WHILE DRIVING 10 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS INDEPENDENTLY ACTIVATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE ALTERNATOR HAD OVERLOADED AND BURNED OUT THE BATTERY. THE VEHICLE…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 19V018000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 17V435000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 16V240000 POWER TRAIN Fixed free of charge.
- 18V021000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 16V352000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 12V004000 TIRES Fixed free of charge.
- 13V118000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 14V634000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
Showing 8 of 9. The rest are on NHTSA's site.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Chrysler 300 was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2012 Chrysler 300? What happened to yours?
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