Chevrolet Camaro vs Dodge Challenger: which is more reliable?
The Chevrolet Camaro and the Dodge Challenger are level on the federal record — 79/100 against 80/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Chevrolet Camaro
- 11 model years scored
- 1,354 owner complaints on record
- about 12 complaints per year on the road
- 32 recall campaigns, 24 safety-critical
- best year 2022 (93/100) · worst 2017 (63/100)
Dodge Challenger
- 13 model years scored
- 1,249 owner complaints on record
- about 8 complaints per year on the road
- 47 recall campaigns, 33 safety-critical
- best year 2020 (94/100) · worst 2012 (45/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Camaro against Challenger
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
What owners actually complain about
Chevrolet Camaro
- Electrical System — 429 complaints
- Power Train — 206 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 196 complaints
Dodge Challenger
- Electrical System — 525 complaints
- Engine — 177 complaints
- Air Bags — 145 complaints
Both nameplates have Electrical System as their largest complaint group, so the choice between them is about how often, not about what.
Years to avoid on each
Chevrolet Camaro: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018….
Dodge Challenger — avoid: 2012.
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used Chevrolet Camaro prices at about $53,300 and a Dodge Challenger at about $56,900 — the Chevrolet Camaro is roughly $3,600 less, and they return 16.0 against 23.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Chevrolet Camaro or the Dodge Challenger more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Dodge Challenger scores 80/100 against the Chevrolet Camaro's 79/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger years should I avoid?
Chevrolet Camaro: no year scores below 45. Dodge Challenger: 2012. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Chevrolet Camaro and the Dodge Challenger?
The largest complaint group on the Chevrolet Camaro is Electrical System (429 complaints); on the Dodge Challenger it is Electrical System (525).
Is the Chevrolet Camaro or the Dodge Challenger cheaper to own?
A recent used Chevrolet Camaro prices at about $53,300 and a Dodge Challenger at about $56,900, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.