The Dodge Dart stinks. It always has, and if this latest recall is any indication, it always will. Despite the fact that the car ceased production over nine years ago at this point, its ghost still haunts Dodge. The automaker is recalling nearly 300,000 of the compact sedans in the U.S. alone because of a detaching shifter cable that can cause the vehicle to roll away. Perhaps that’s the best outcome for Dart owners in the big-25, but still, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration isn’t thrilled about it.
The massive recall covers what seems to be just about every Dart built during its February 2012 through October 2016 production run, meaning 298,439 Darts in the U.S. are going to have to be checked out, according to NHTSA. A further 20,117 Darts in Canada, 3,389 in Mexico and 874 sold outside of North America are also in trouble, Automotive News reports. In total, that’s 322,819 even more disgruntled Dart owners who now have to deal with this crap.
Apparently, the shifter cable can detach itself from the transmission in impacted vehicles. When that happens, the Dart can completely lose its park function, and there’s no way to get it back. This is not an ideal situation… unless you’re a Dart owner who really wants their car to roll down a hill.
Not the Dart’s first rodeo
This actually isn’t the first time the Dart has been recalled for an issue with the shifter cable. Back in April of 2019, Stellantis recalled the little misanthrope of a sedan for an issue with the shifter cable bushing detaching from the transmission. Then, in November of 2024, NHTSA told Dodge that it had received reports of a remedy failure, according to its report, and it launched an investigation in June of this year.
Luckily for everyone involved, Dodge isn’t aware of any accidents or injuries related to the defect. However, in an effort to keep that streak alive, the automaker is encouraging Dart owners to use the parking brake before getting out of their cars… just in case. Right now, there’s a remedy under development, but there isn’t a concrete timeline, according to NHTSA. Dealers will be notified of the recall on October 16, and owners will get a letter in the mail sometime between November 6 and November 13.
If you’re a Dart owner who was looking for a quick and easy way to rid yourself of that machine, might I suggest finding a very nice cliff or boat slip and waiting for something to go wrong?
