Steering rack, gear or tie rod failure on the 2009 Dodge Challenger
Only 4 reports for this mode came with an odometer reading, which is too few for percentiles to mean anything. The page is here because someone linked to it; treat the figures as anecdotes, and see the full report for this year instead.
When steering rack, gear or tie rod failure gets reported
There are 4 reports of steering rack, gear or tie rod failure on the 2009 Dodge Challenger, 4 with a mileage attached. That is too few to place the failure on the odometer with any confidence.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 98,000 miles. It is the 11th most-reported problem on this model year.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | 15,200 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 $700–$2,600 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, every year of the Dodge Challenger
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.
I took my car in to the local dodge dealer for a scheduled inspection of the drive train. The inspection was good, but a shop note indicated there was a leak in the power steering system. The tech filled the power steering fluid reservoir and the service department rep indicated she would call me later when I asked about the cost to repair the leak situation. When the service department later called, I was told that the repairs would require replacing the rack and pinion unit and connecting hoses, etc. I asked about the cost, and was told the cost would be in excess of $1100! I expressed my dismay and said I needed to think that over. The service rep then indicated I should keep an eye on the steering fluid level until repairs were made! This vehicle is like new! I have approx. 12000 miles on it in almost 5 years! I investigated this situation via the internet, and I found this is a common issue with these vehicles. I then searched recalls, and to my surprise, there is no recall for this! I am of the opinion that chrysler motors should have made the owners aware of this recurring issue, so owners could have had repair work done…
Ordered new tires for vehicle, I was told that the rack and pinion was leaking and it would cost $ 585.00 to fix it. I drive this vehicle summers only. I have only 15000 miles on the car. I do not believe this should happen this early. The car has never been in any kind of mishap. *tr
Ordered new tires for vehicle, I was told that the rack and pinion was leaking and it would cost $ 585.00 to fix it. I drive this vehicle summers only. I have only 15000 miles on the car. I do not believe this should happen this early. The car has never been in any kind of mishap. *tr
Also reported on the 2009 Dodge Challenger
Other engine problem
Other powertrain problem
Airbag inflator rupture
Other electrical problem
Other speed control problem
Timing chain, belt or tensioner failure
How far this goes
This page is kept out of search results because 4 reports is not enough to publish percentiles from. It stays reachable because somebody looking at this exact car would rather see the reports than be told there are none.
Complaints are voluntary, so 4 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 steering rack, gear or tie rod failure happen on the 2009 Dodge Challenger?
Across 4 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 15,000 miles. A quarter were filed before — and a quarter after —. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is steering rack, gear or tie rod failure on the 2009 Dodge Challenger?
4 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.1 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