Alternator or charging system failure on the 2008 Dodge Charger
When alternator or charging system failure gets reported
Owners of the 2008 Dodge Charger report alternator or charging system failure at a median of 125,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 115,000 miles and a quarter after 130,000 miles, from 8 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 98,000 miles. It is the 15th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 95,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 135,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 41,940 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.
0% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 93,000 miles | 115,500 miles | 123,000 miles | 132,000 miles | 134,940 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 $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 9 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2014, at a median of 47,500 miles, and latest on the 2006 at 175,000 miles.
By volume the 2011 carries the most reports, with 284; the 2008 has 8. 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 2008 dodge charger. The contact stated that the steering wheel was tight, difficult to turn, made a noise, and vibrated. The contact indicated that the vehicle stalled several times, but was able to be restarted. The vehicle was taken to a repair shop. A diagnostic code for the voltage regulator was discovered. The alternator, oxygen sensor, and a second sensor were replaced. The contact indicated that the vehicle continued to stall and jerked forward while in motion, as if it would stall each time it was driven. The failure progressed and occurred intermittently. The vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number: 14v567000 (electrical system). The dealer stated that the parts were not available. The contact was waiting for the parts to schedule the recall repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 132,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 dodge charger. The contact stated that the steering wheel was tight, difficult to turn, made a noise, and vibrated. The contact indicated that the vehicle stalled several times, but was able to be restarted. The vehicle was taken to a repair shop. A diagnostic code for the voltage regulator was discovered. The alternator, oxygen sensor, and a second sensor were replaced. The contact indicated that the vehicle continued to stall and jerked forward while in motion, as if it would stall each time it was driven. The failure progressed and occurred intermittently. The vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number: 14v567000 (electrical system). The dealer stated that the parts were not available. The contact was waiting for the parts to schedule the recall repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 132,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 dodge charger. While driving 60 MPH, the instrument panel lights illuminated and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the alternator was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the ignition switch needed to be replaced. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 14v567000 (electrical system) and stated that the parts needed for the repair were not available. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 93,000.
Also reported on the 2008 Dodge Charger
Other electrical problem
No-start or intermittent start failure
Ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure
Airbag inflator rupture
Other engine problem
Radiator or coolant leak
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 8 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 2008 Dodge Charger?
Across 8 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 125,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 115,000 miles and a quarter after 130,000 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 2008 Dodge Charger?
8 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