The second coming of the Dodge Dart was an experiment Stellantis would rather forget. But the Dart has other plans, like, “How about never?” Because a 2019 recall fix for the second-iteration Dart apparently wasn’t a fix at all, as the population of nearly 299,000 recalled vehicles is being investigated again.
Yeah, me, too. I didn’t realize that many Darts were even built. And seemingly built with faulty shifter cable bushings. According to an April 11, 2019, report for NHTSA recall number 19V-293:
Some 2013-2016 model year Dodge Dart vehicles equipped with 6-speed automatic transmissions have transmission cable bushings that may deteriorate and allow the shift cable to detach from the transmission.
The scope was determined to be all Dodge Dart vehicles with 6-speed automatic transmissions which are equipped with the suspect shift cables…Similar vehicles not included in the recall were assembled with manual transmissions that do not use the suspect shifter cable assemblies.
“Some” Dodge Dart vehicles translated to 298,439 of them, and with a 100% defect rate. So, basically, every Dart with an automatic. A stop-sale notice was also issued to dealers. With bad bushings, drivers wouldn’t be able to change gears despite the shifter moving. An example is the car being put into park, and the shifter indicates as such, but the vehicle is not physically in that setting. Although the instrument cluster will display the actual gear, if a driver ignores that and the audible warnings, well, let’s hope they’re not parked on a hill.
The remedy at the time sounded simple enough. Just replace the questionable part with a “more robust bushing,” stated the recall notice. The repair procedure was also straightforward, thanks to the shifter cable being easy to access. As shown in the dealer service instructions below, no special tools are required, and components like the battery do not need to be removed.
After releasing the gear shift cable from the manual shifter lever, the recalled bushing is removed using a pair of pliers or a pick-type tool so as to prevent damage to the cable end. That cable end is then cleaned and prepped for the replacement bushing, which is inserted using an installation aid.
Presto change-o, everything is then reattached and reinstalled into the manual shift lever. For final verification, the shifter is moved between the gears to ensure the selected gear matches what is indicated within the instrument cluster.
The Dart was offered with three engines, but the overall service procedure remained the same. The only change was the location of the cable access point. In the 2.0- and 2.4-liter engines, the transmission gear shift cable was located underneath the battery tray. In vehicles equipped with the 1.4-liter turbo-four, the cable was found below the brake booster.
Describing the new cable bushing as robust might’ve been inaccurate, though, because a recall query was recently opened. According to Reuters:
The updated part prevented deterioration from chemicals, oils, and solvents. However, the NHTSA received 44 consumer complaints alleging worn, misadjusted or detached shifter cables after the recall remedy was completed.
The NHTSA said its Office of Defects Investigation launched the latest investigation to evaluate whether the original recall fix was effective, determine what caused the bushing failures, and explore any other factors that could impact how the shifter cable functions.
In addition to being more sturdy, the NHTSA recall query states that the replacement bushing was also more flexible. But something obviously went wrong. Reuters noted that such an investigation only occurs when the initial recall fix “appears inadequate.”
Although 44 complaints out of a quarter-million-plus vehicles doesn’t sound concerning, keep in mind that these consumer concerns are specifically labeled as Vehicle Owner’s Questionnaire (VOQ) submissions. The initial recall listed 41 VOQs, but thousands more were in related customer inquiries and repair services. However, as in 2019, no injuries have been reported in connection with the recall. A timetable for the query results was not released.
Top graphic image: tk
Nothing says you’ve failed at life like a Dodge Dart.
when most of your sales go to Corporate rental fleet you do need to realize that shifter bushing will be having a very hard life. why? because none of there pieces of crap will have an owner for more than couple of days and they will beat the f..k out of them. When i am being asked what is the fastest car you had I always say: my last rental
Personally I think this service procedure is all wrong. The correct service procedure would involve doing a manual transmission swap!!!
And it should be doable given 5 and 6 speed manuals were offered in other markets.
This exact thing happened to my friend’s Dart. Fortunately, Chrysler covered it then (and it was well out of warranty), but he was very perplexed when it wouldn’t even shift into park. Which was problematic because it wouldn’t let us remove the key unless it was in park. We got under the hood and figured out where the actuator was that the cable was connected to, so that we could remove the key, and he used that and the parking brake for a few days until he could get it so
I was getting some drive thru chicken fingers the other day when I noticed one lane of the drive thru had a broken down Dart clogging the works. I wondered why they wouldn’t just push it out of the way since there were two employees there trying to assist. When I got up there, they said it wouldn’t come out of park. I got my chow and circled back around to try and help. Figured out shifter was no longer connected to transmission. Helped a friend years ago with same problem on a Saab, so I managed to reach in and got the cable snapped back onto the lever. Young lady was very thankful, young man working drive thru was impressed as it only took a minute to figure it out and sorted. Told the owner to NOT use the shifter until she was at home. I head out, and as I look back, she’s stopped again. She moved shifter and it popped off. One more fix and told her to just go straight home! Hope she made it. Had no idea all these darts did it.
Oh a Dart. Almost forgot about those. That’s what I think on the rare occasion I see one on the road these days, too.
Once the bushing breaks down enough (looks like from heat and random grime) it falls apart and the hole is big enough for it to slip through, or loose enough that it can’t move it enough from the slop. Happens to Ford cars with the AOD transmission too, except those kill the transmission.
I wonder what the cost to replace a little rubber bushing vs something like a brass bushing with little locking pin (like the aftermarket Ford AOD fix) that would last the rest of the life of the car (and then some) would be.
Also, Thanks to Beverly for handling the weekend. Unlike most Autopians, I don’t get paid to read Autopian (I don’t work). The weekends seemed so lonely. Things are much better now.
The bushing falls apart over time. The connection keeps getting looser, then movement forces the bushing remains out, then voila!
This happened to my wife’s Fiat 500, both cables. (Manual) When the first one went I didn’t know about the aftermarket replacement kits and fabricated a rod end. Wouldn’t work for the second one, then I found out about the cottage industry of Fiat bushings. Also, I’ve had to replace door handles or bushings four times?
The Aisin 6 speed and a 1.4 Multi-Air does fine in a Fiat 500, but that’s about half as much car. The Dart seemed like a swing and miss in initial reviews and certainly didn’t improve with age
I had one as a rental back in the day when my car was in the body shop getting repaired. I had a whole string of rental cars covering most offerings in the compact category, and I found the Dart to be the most enjoyable to drive and one of the nicest to live with for the week I had it. I don’t know what long term ownership would be like, but I didn’t see any reason why prospective buyers would be turned off from a test drive beyond Chryslers overall reputation.
Looks like much the same problem as the failing Jeep 4WD cable mentioned last month or so.
Oh man! This is the closest we are going to get to an affordable Dodge car making the news.
That era really was the final push for homegrown affordable cars.
Detroit stepped up to the plate, called the shot like Babe Ruth and then, having just realized their shoe was untied, got beaned unconscious by the ball.
I’m really stuck wondering what percentage of the 300k cars are still registered and running, given what horrible piles of garbage they were.
Yes, it’s sometimes possible to get recall compensation for a car you used to own, but how many people would bother?
I remember thinking that the uplevel model (the GT?) with a manual might be a worthy Ford Focus competitor, but always wondered if the more pedestrian versions were simply more handsome Dodge Calibers.
Wow, that’s a lot more Darts than I expected. And they had 3 engines? Ambitious.
Since it was just a re-faced Alfa Giulietta, the Italians had done a lot of the work already for the 1.4L. And the 2.0L and 2.4L are basically the same engine, and it’s just Chrysler trying to foist their dogshit Tigershark upon the masses in any way possible (though, to be fair, the FIAT 1.4L FIRE engine was also dogshit)
Yep, fair point on the standardization, but if I understand correctly, every single powerplant has to be certified for the US in each vehicle (so you can’t just say “we use it in the 200C or Jeep Cherokee” and get a sign-off).
I’ve always been used to the idea that the Euro versions have 3-5 powerplants for tax and economy reasons, but IMO anything more than 2 in the US feels like overkill. A budget option and a power/sport/lux option always felt like enough for me — but I’ve been beating the drum against too many options in the US for a while.
The 1.4t was necessary to hit the magic MPG mark they needed that was part of their bailout agreement with the government (40mpg I think?) but it used a DCT auto that Americans are prone to hating, so they also developed and threw in the new tiger shark engines (just the old 4 banger with a new fiat multi air head) with traditional automatics behind them to be the volume sellers.
If they would have streamlined the crap out of the car and lightened it up a bit, they could have hit that MPG mark with the Viper’s thirsty V10…
I figure they had 3 engines in the same car, that way when 1 broke down the other 2 were there for backup….*drives 50 ft* “Oh, the 2nd engine blew up now, at least I have the 3rd”…”BOOM!!!”
There is a neighbor with a 2014 Dart with maroon and gold racing stripes AND a 49ers sticker on the rear window. I fucking chortle everyday I see it. What depravity drives a man to own this car in their 50s…..
It’d be awesome if you also lived in Montana just so the guy could have “Montana” on his bumper.
Yeah! Lawn Darts!
This is the only automatic I got in and thought “man this would be better with a CVT”.
For a company that was simultaneously shifting to the ZF8 – this was hilariously bad.
I remember thinking that the Dart might not be THAT terrible of a car with a manual – but I never really got there because the moment you did or didn’t take off, it was worse than a 2001 Neon.
I have to wonder what the Dart’s rate of people driving them as rentals vs people test-driving because they were seriously considering buying one was.
Mine was a loaner when the dealer fixed the paddle shifters on our V8 Durango (which DID have the ZF8)… it was not encouraging anyone to stick with FCA.
I had one as a rental. One week with that thing felt like 9 days too long. In stop and go traffic, I was convinced it used a rubber band in the drivetrain.
JATCO missed a genuine opportunity.
Fun fact, the successor to this in Mexico was called the Dodge Neon(also a Fiat). I feel like size and styling wise it was definitely more of a Neon than a Dart, no idea why they used the name, it ticked off old folks that like their Darts, and didn’t matter to people who didn’t remember the old one.
In Mexico, the car Americans knew as the Dodge Aspen was called Dart, and there was also a K-car variant called Dart (Dodge 400). And also an E-body car called Dart (Dodge 600). I think Mexicans wanted to forget the Dart name.
Well, you’re getting somewhere. Baby steps.
I’ve driven a couple manual Darts when I worked at a Chrysler dealer once upon a time and regret to inform that it did not turn the car into the fun scooter that the Neon was as much as I really really wanted it to be. The clutch was as nothing in feel as it was in the manual Wrangler and the gearshift was relatively short and smooth but similarly completely vague.
It was a major disappointment because I actually really liked the Dart when it came out.