Alternator or charging system failure on the 2011 Dodge Challenger
6 fires 6 of the 69 reports for this failure mention a crash, a fire, an injury or a death. Those are the owner's words on the complaint form, not a verified finding, and one report can mention more than one.
When alternator or charging system failure gets reported
Owners of the 2011 Dodge Challenger report alternator or charging system failure at a median of 55,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 45,000 miles and a quarter after 72,500 miles, from 55 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 98,000 miles. It is the 1st most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 35,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 87,500 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 52,300 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
Reports bunched into a band this tight usually mean the component has a life of its own: it goes at roughly the same mileage regardless of who owns it.
15% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34,700 miles | 46,000 miles | 56,000 miles | 72,618 miles | 87,000 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
Of these reports, 6 a fire is mentioned. Owners write their own complaints and the agency does not verify them, so read this as what the reports say happened rather than as a confirmed count.
Putting it right typically runs $450–$1,600 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 on other years
The same failure is reported on 7 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2015, at a median of 15,000 miles, and latest on the 2010 at 100,000 miles.
By volume the 2012 carries the most reports, with 70; the 2011 has 69. 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.
The battery, engine, ABS, airbag and other lights began to flash. I bought a new battery. The next day something killed the new battery. The car stalled on a busy highway. It was towed to the dealership. They were no help. I told them of the recall on the 2013 challengers for the exact same problems. They stated mine was not recalled. This repair cost me over $1200 out of pocket. I would not recommend. A dodge vehicle to anyone. Bad alternator , wire harness and electrical system. Terrible car and service. Chrysler was no help at all. As I have searched, there are numerous electrical problems/complaints with the 2011 dodge challenger/ chargers. There should have been a recall on those. *jb
Numerous lights went off in my vehicle after the steering wheel locked and the music to my stereo suddenly cut of and back on within seconds. All of this without warning. Now the car fails to start back up. I've taken it to a dodge dealership and it was diagnosed as a bad alternator. I was informed that there are absolutely no alternators available anywhere for a 2011 dodge challenger 3.6 and sure enough I can't find any myself online. How can a part so important be on back-order with chrysler and not to mention worth $500 and over $200 in labor when all it has are two bolts for attachment. I'm so confused. *tr
Problem identical to prior customer complaint with all internal lights and gauges blinking. Driving down the road and the lights started flashing, engine started racing, smelled rubber, speedometer racing. Pulled over to the side of the road. Put the car in park, and the light show continued. All of a sudden the car cut off and never started again. Had to call a tow truck to pick it up and take to repair shop. Repairman exact words were "the alternator is fried and it destroyed your battery". After a new battery was put in the car, the alternator started smoking. Battery/installation $250, alternater/installation $750. Could only get alternator from dodge dealership because they claim the car was too new for an aftermarket alternator.... And was on back order. I may not be the smartest sperson in the world, but doesn't it seem that there are some major issues going on if the supposedly new alternator is on backorder. Had my son and I been on the highway driving and the car cut off, this story may have had a different ending. I'm very concerned that there has not been a recall. I hope and pray that dodge is not waiting for someone…
Also reported on the 2011 Dodge Challenger
Other electrical problem
No-start or intermittent start failure
Other engine problem
Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault
Airbag inflator rupture
Seat belt or retractor failure
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 69 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 alternator or charging system failure happen on the 2011 Dodge Challenger?
Across 55 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 55,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 45,000 miles and a quarter after 72,500 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is alternator or charging system failure on the 2011 Dodge Challenger?
69 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 1.1 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