DODGE AVENGER · model year

2010 DODGE AVENGER

245 NHTSA complaints, 24 crash reports, and 3 active recalls for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 2010DODGEAVENGER carries 245 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 24 crashes, 12 fires, 25 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.

Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2010 AVENGER is air bags with 37 filings, followed by electrical system (36) and vehicle speed control (27). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability. This model year has 3 active recall campaigns, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.

NHTSA currently has 20 investigation files overlapping the 2010 AVENGER, and 1 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.

245
Complaints
24
Crashes
12
Fires
25
Injuries
0
Deaths

Total Complaints

245 filings

Crashes Reported

24 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

Above median complaint volume — review patterns below.

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
AIR BAGS37
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM36
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL27
ENGINE23
POWER TRAIN19
UNKNOWN OR OTHER17
SEAT BELTS15
SERVICE BRAKES9
STEERING8
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)6
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM6
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING5
STRUCTURE4
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC3
EXTERIOR LIGHTING3

Recalls (3)

16V66800015/09/2016

SEAT BELTS:PRETENSIONER

Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain model year 2011-2014 Chrysler 200, 2010 Chrysler Sebring, 2010-2012 Dodge Caliber and 2010-2014 Jeep Patriot, Compass and Dodge Avenger vehicles. The Occupant Restraint Control (OCR) module may short circuit, preventing the frontal air bags, seat belt pret

10V00900011/01/2010

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

CHRYSLER IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2010 CHRYSLER SEBRING; DODGE AVENGER AND NITRO; JEEP LIBERTY, COMMANDER AND GRAND CHEROKEE; AND MODEL YEAR 2009-2010 DODGE RAM TRUCK. THESE VEHICLES MAY HAVE BEEN BUILT WITH AN IMPROPERLY FORMED OR MISSING BRAKE BOOSTER INPUT ROD RETAINING CLIP.

10V47500007/10/2010

STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM

CHRYSLER IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2010 CHRYSLER SEBRING, 300, CHARGER (LX) AND DODGE CHALLENGER (LC), AVENGER (JS), AND JOURNEY (JC), AS WELL AS MODEL YEAR 2011 DODGE RAM LIGHT DUTY PICKUP (DS) VEHICLES. SOME OF THESE VEHICLES MAY EXPERIENCE A SEPARATION AT THE CRIMPED END OF THE POWER STEER

Recent Complaints

20241226AIR BAGS

Every time I start my car, the airbag lights stays on. It will not turn off.

20240803ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Right turn signal has gone dismantled. It works erratically. Previously Baxter changed it. It had warranty for 3 years or 36000 miles. 3 years has passed but it did not surpassed 36000 miles yet. New motherboard of this system unavailable in market.

20240718VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS

The contact owns a 2010 Dodge Avenger. The contact stated while attempting to lower the driver's side window, the window fell off the track and fell into the door panel. The contact stated that the failure became a regular occurrence. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the window regulator. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred an additional five times. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 175,000.

Mileage: 175,000

20240123AIR BAGS

Airbag lights turns on and off and I think it's a manufacturer problem with the harness behind or under the seat. I read it's a common problem.

20230309STEERING

The contact owns a 2010 Dodge Avenger. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle experienced an electrical short. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. A dealer was not contacted. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 10V475000 (Steering) and 10V009000 (Service Braces, Hydraulic) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.

Mileage: 160,000

20230309SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

The contact owns a 2010 Dodge Avenger. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle experienced an electrical short. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. A dealer was not contacted. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 10V475000 (Steering) and 10V009000 (Service Braces, Hydraulic) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.

Mileage: 160,000

20230109WHEELS

Car won’t move in drive or reverse

20230109ENGINE

Car won’t move in drive or reverse

20221212ENGINE

The contact owns a 2010 Dodge Avenger. The contact stated while attempting to make a left turn while driving approximately 5 MPH, the vehicle started rattling at the front-end of the vehicle. The vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact shifted to park, turned off and then restarted the vehicle. The vehicle returned to normal operation. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a certified mechanic who diagnosed that there was a malfunction with an unknown part. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 90,100.

Mileage: 90,100

20221212ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The contact owns a 2010 Dodge Avenger. The contact stated while attempting to make a left turn while driving approximately 5 MPH, the vehicle started rattling at the front-end of the vehicle. The vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact shifted to park, turned off and then restarted the vehicle. The vehicle returned to normal operation. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a certified mechanic who diagnosed that there was a malfunction with an unknown part. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 90,100.

Mileage: 90,100

20220822POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM)

The contact owns a 2010 Dodge Avenger. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled without warning. The contact stated that on several occasions the vehicle would not immediately restart. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the PCM was faulty and needed to be replaced. The PCM was replaced with an aftermarket part however, the failure persisted. The local dealer was contact and informed that the manufacturer PCM part had been discontinued and was no longer available for purchase. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 142,086.

Mileage: 142,086

20220725POWER TRAIN

The transmission began slipping on Saturday, July 23, 2022 with 120,000 miles on the odometer. The car was driving normally then suddenly went into neutral causing it to slow down and back up traffic until I manually changed to a lower gear. The car was also doing this change to neutral on its own while I was trying to park the car and then when I went back to my car to pull out of the parking space, it took several attempts to engage the gears to move. I limped home with the car and got it parked in my driveway. The transmission fluid reading was normal. The car started doing this shift change to neutral without warning.

20220301FireFUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

While I was driving my car began to smoke, there was no warning lights on my dashboard & my temperature gage was in the middle, indicating my car was not overheated. I pulled over put the vehicle in park & it became completely engulfed in flames. My car is a total loss!

20220301FireENGINE

While I was driving my car began to smoke, there was no warning lights on my dashboard & my temperature gage was in the middle, indicating my car was not overheated. I pulled over put the vehicle in park & it became completely engulfed in flames. My car is a total loss!

20220301FireELECTRICAL SYSTEM

While I was driving my car began to smoke, there was no warning lights on my dashboard & my temperature gage was in the middle, indicating my car was not overheated. I pulled over put the vehicle in park & it became completely engulfed in flames. My car is a total loss!

20211029POWER TRAIN

The contact owns a 2010 Dodge Avenger. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would not properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. Also, while operating the vehicle a knocking noise was present coming from the engine when the air conditioning unit was turned on. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 150,000.

Mileage: 150,000

20211029ENGINE

The contact owns a 2010 Dodge Avenger. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would not properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. Also, while operating the vehicle a knocking noise was present coming from the engine when the air conditioning unit was turned on. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 150,000.

Mileage: 150,000

20211029VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

The contact owns a 2010 Dodge Avenger. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would not properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. Also, while operating the vehicle a knocking noise was present coming from the engine when the air conditioning unit was turned on. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 150,000.

Mileage: 150,000

20210911POWER TRAIN

I was reversing out of a parking spot and when I tried to go forward, the car kept wanting to go in reverse. The shifter then became stuck in park and would not move to another gear. I was in the middle of the road now blocking traffic. The dashboard still showed I was in reverse even though the shift lever was stuck in park. I was forced to keep reversing until I found a safe spot to park. Later I looked up this problem on YouTube and found many videos posted with my same problem with the stuck gear shift. I would definitely say this is a manufacturing defect that needs to be recalled on all versions of the Dodge Avenger car.

20210420ENGINE

CAR CUTS OFF WHILE DRIVING. DRIVING IN THE INTERSTATE AT 55 MPH THE VEHICLE SHUT OFF. NO WARNING SIGNS WERE GIVEN, THE CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE WHEN PRESSING THE GAS.

Mileage: 140,000

Compare 2010DODGEAVENGER to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations 1 Open

View all investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 2010 DODGE AVENGER have?
The 2010 DODGE AVENGER has 245 NHTSA complaints, 24 crashes, 12 fires, 25 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
Are there any recalls for the 2010 DODGE AVENGER?
Yes, the 2010 DODGE AVENGER has 3 recall(s). The most common affected component is SEAT BELTS:PRETENSIONER. Recalls are issued by NHTSA and manufacturers must provide a free remedy.
What are the most common problems with the 2010 DODGE AVENGER?
The most-complained component for the 2010 DODGE AVENGER is AIR BAGS with 37 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include ELECTRICAL SYSTEM and VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL.
Is the 2010 DODGE AVENGER safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.