Radiator or coolant leak on the 2013 Dodge Avenger
When radiator or coolant leak gets reported
Owners of the 2013 Dodge Avenger report radiator or coolant leak at a median of 65,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 65,000 miles and a quarter after 90,000 miles, from 9 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 98,000 miles. It is the 12th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 60,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 100,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 37,400 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A window that narrow is the signature of a part that fails on its own schedule rather than on how the car is driven — which is usually a design or supplier problem rather than wear and tear.
0% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 61,600 miles | 63,000 miles | 64,000 miles | 90,000 miles | 99,000 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $350–$1,900 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 6 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2014, at a median of 65,000 miles, and latest on the 2008 at 90,000 miles.
By volume the 2012 carries the most reports, with 38; the 2013 has 19. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 dodge avenger. When the heater was activated, the passenger side air vent failed to function. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The technician diagnosed that the radiator operator hose and heater core needed to be replaced. Also, the technician stated that the coolant needed to be flushed and the evac system recharged. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was then taken to another dealer who diagnosed that the climate control unit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 63,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 dodge avenger. When the heater was activated, the passenger side air vent failed to function. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The technician diagnosed that the radiator operator hose and heater core needed to be replaced. Also, the technician stated that the coolant needed to be flushed and the evac system recharged. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was then taken to another dealer who diagnosed that the climate control unit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 63,000.
On september 26 2016, the driver's side headrest exploded and came lose (for no apparent reason). Experiencing headache due to the bump on my head. Despite the vehicle being only three years old, and with just 56000 miles, the radiator and air conditioning systems have been replaced! 2013 dodge avenger is not a safe car to drive and needs to be thoroughly investigated for quality and safety. The headrest explosion happened while the engine was off and was about to exit the vehicle inside my garage.
Also reported on the 2013 Dodge Avenger
Other engine problem
Other electrical problem
Other body or interior problem
Heater core failure
Airbag inflator rupture
Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 19 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does radiator or coolant leak happen on the 2013 Dodge Avenger?
Across 9 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 65,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 65,000 miles and a quarter after 90,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is radiator or coolant leak on the 2013 Dodge Avenger?
19 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.3 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed