2010 Dodge Nitro
This year drew an ordinary 78 complaints for a Dodge Nitro — the model's median is 122. What they were about is the unusual part: 12.8% of them mention inside, against 4.3% across the model's other years.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 78 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 122 |
| Involving a crash | 3 |
| Involving a fire | 2 |
| Recalls | 3 |
| EPA combined | 17.5 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- inside — 12.8% of this year's complaints, against 4.3% across the model's other years (3×). Owners wrote it as: inside, anti, turned car, slipping.
- head — 7.7% of this year's complaints, against 1.8% across the model's other years (4.2×). Owners wrote it as: head, writes, regards, consumer writes.
- vehicle failed — 7.7% of this year's complaints, against 3.1% across the model's other years (2.5×). Owners wrote it as: vehicle failed, determined manufacturer, traction control, control vehicle.
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.
What owners wrote
2010 DODGE NITRO. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO FRONT SEAT ACTIVE HEAD RESTRAINT SAFETY RECALL. THE CONSUMER STATED THE STEERING WHEEL HAD 3 SMALL HOLES WHERE THE EMBLEM SHOULD BE. THE DEALER WAS CONTACTED AND DID NOT KNOW WHEN A FIX WOULD BE AVAILABLE.
TAKATA RECALL. MY 2010 DODGE NITRO MAKES A VERY LOUD, ALMOST DIESEL TRUCK LIKE SOUND, WHENEVER MY CAR IS RUNNING. IT ALMOST SOUNDS LIKE A VACUUM CLEANER INSIDE THE CAR. THE STEERING WHEEL, SEATS, PEDALS, BODY, AND GEAR SHIFT OF THE DODGE SHAKE CONSTANTLY. THIS…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 20V396000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 10V009000 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC Fixed free of charge.
- 10V315000 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Dodge Nitro 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 2010 Dodge Nitro? What happened to yours?
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