Faults:

Nothing to date.

General Comments:

I bought this vehicle because there really wasn't anything else within my price range. I really wanted a crossover vehicle with AWD, but they're too pricey given their high demand, or a compact regular cab pickup, but none seem to exist, even nearly new ones. A point A to B, but nothing special. I live in a small town, and picking out a vehicle is a challenge for me. I certainly don't know how to road test a car, because when I do I test drive it for a couple of days, and I figure it will be OK. I've owned this Dart for six months and I've been beating on it and thrashing it. Many years ago I owned a 1987 Jeep (XJ) Cherokee and I loved it, but can't seem to find another one like it. Mine ended up being a money pit in the end, but almost had 200K miles on it. The drivetrain held up well, but the everything else was falling apart and was deemed too costly to fix, so I had to dump it. Loved that straight six for its low rev power, but can't say the same for this little Dart. The Dart has to be revved like mad to accelerate moderately.

Faults:

When I first purchased the vehicle, the inner tread on the front driver's tire was worn. Quickly replaced the tires with a better brand and had the vehicle aligned. The new tires have not shown wear yet.

The upper radiator hose had a small leak at its clic clamp. Found an appropriate sized constant tension spring clamp and that has seemed to solve that problem.

Brakes are starting to make some noise at around 50000 miles. Will definitely need some pads and maybe back rotors. They seem much more grooved than the front ones.

Front strut towers make popping/clicking noise when turning the wheel because of a crummy strut cap design that lets the windshield cowl drainage penetrate strut caps. There are updated version and part numbers of said caps. There's also a TSB about removing the water, cleaning them up and applying some Nye grease to the strut mount bushing. Some say it has worked, others it didn't. If I still own the car in a year or two, I will replace struts anyway as regular maintenance.

Plastic headlight covers already starting to dull. Will sand and clear coat them.

Plastic in the interior can scratch easily.

General Comments:

The car is a nice looking car, especially compared to others of the same class. The 2.0 is no hemi and the tranny flies through the first 3 gears; that takes some getting used to. It can tend to gear hunt on some hills, so I just downshift in manual mode for added power if that happens. In winter I get about 28 combined MPG and summer about 33 MPG. Considering I don't do much highway driving, maybe it can even increase a bit.

The powertrain moves the car around okay when you get used to it; remember it's an economy car that's easy on the eyes. Not a Dodge Charger. The sound system seems to be good in mine, I've had much worse. A/C blows nice and cold in summer... love the exhaust note on Rallye, believe it or not it sounds nice and raspy and not too much ricer for such a small engine. I've had a pretty good experience thus far, but time will tell!

Faults:

Catastrophic engine failure due to cylinder head failure at 5,002 miles.

Computer failure due to old software.

Transmission shifting problems.

UConnect software crashes/reboots.

Bubbles in the el-cheapo tire sidewalls at under 2,000 miles.

Sun visors that snap off with very little pressure.

General Comments:

In the early 1980s, Chrysler was on the brink of bankruptcy due to churning out absolute junk cars. They promised a compact 4 cylinder car that would revolutionize motoring with advanced engineering, premium styling, great safety, and fuel economy.

The K-car was born... and it was terrible. Unreliable, janky, and a bit of a laughing stock.

In the early 1990s, Chrysler was on the brink of bankruptcy again due to churning out absolute junk cars (like the aforementioned K-cars). They promised a compact 4 cylinder car that would revolutionize motoring with advanced engineering, premium styling, great safety, and fuel economy.

The Neon was born... and it was terrible. Unreliable, janky, and a bit of a laughing stock.

Fast forward to 2013. Chrysler was recovering from a bankruptcy that was a result of churning out absolute junk cars (like the aforementioned Neons). They promised a compact 4 cylinder car that would revolutionize motoring with advanced engineering, premium styling, great safety, and fuel economy.

This car is called the Dodge Dart.

And it's every bit as gawdawful as the K-cars and Neons of yore.

You want to give Chrysler a chance to deliver. But they disappoint time after time.

My 2013 started out with squeaks and rattles in the interior that I hadn't seen in ten-year-old cars of yore, within the first 100 miles. The dealer couldn't fix it.

Then, the radio stopped playing and the Uconnect Bluetooth system stopped working. It required a reset and swap.

Then, the dashboard lights started flickering and changing intensity while driving at night. Dealer couldn't fix.

The transmission started shifting roughly and continues to act odd, despite reprogramming of the software.

The coup de grace is that the engine blew at 5,002 miles, despite proper maintenance. The dealer says it's "because of a cylinder head problem." Even making a simple 2.0L engine with a reliable cylinder head is beyond Chrysler's abilities in 2014.

The best part is that the repair has taken the better part of a month, and still isn't complete. The engine is overheating with the replacement cylinder head, so the dealer has very kindly ordered a replacement crate engine, which "may take another month" to arrive. The vehicle has been in the shop for 25 days already, and I have no confidence in its safety and reliability anymore.

Everything about this car is a compromise. The fuel release cable, shown in the manual as an easy-to-access thing, was cheapened and requires you to rip up the carpet in the trunk in order to get access to it.

The tires are no-name units from a company called Kumho (that's really, truly the manufacturer's name!) They have horrendous winter and rain traction, the treads wear quickly, and one of mine got a bubble in the sidewall by 2,000 miles.

Acres of cheap easily-scratched plastic swathe the interior, while much of the vaunted "advanced technology" including the Uconnect system, automatic dimming lights, and streaming Bluetooth radio are prone to bugs and outright failure, requiring a dealer trip.

Thank the universe for the state Lemon Law, which will allow me to get the heck out of this laughable excuse of an automobile.

A quick Google search shows myriad consumer feedback about all these problems, discussions on Dodge Dart forums about getting a manufacturer buy-back, discussions on catastrophic engine failures and transmission problems, etc., etc., etc. Even the new 2.4L engine in the higher-end model in 2014 seems to be suffering from endless problems.

Don't make my mistake. Chrysler is still incapable of building small cars that are worth buying. They failed in the K-car era, they failed in the Neon era, and this Dart is another unreliable flash-and-trash dud of an automobile. Steer clear and spend the extra $1,500 to get a car that won't collapse into garbage inside of 24 months.