Dodge Charger R/T Review: 42/70

The Buyer's Guide

This car is for someone who wants a V8 and needs four doors, five seats and a boot, and who will either buy one with the camshaft already done or budget for the day it is not.

All money figures use a fixed set of assumptions so they can be compared to other cars we cover: 12,000 miles a year, insurance for a 40-year-old with a clean record on full coverage, and fuel at the octane the car is rated on. Read The Deal before you take the buy-in figure literally on this car.

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The Deal

~ our estimate, not a measured or quoted figure. Why we mark figures

On this car the book figure and the market are not describing the same thing. Kelley Blue Book values a 2014 R/T at $9,250 private party. Go shopping and the median asking price on a comparable 2014 is $15,993. That is 1.73 times book.

On the Camaro SS we found a gap like that and it resolved to mileage: book was pricing a high-mileage car nobody was selling. That explanation does not work here. The median listed car has 92,061 miles, against 76,210 on the Mustang GT and 58,230 on the Camaro SS, which is roughly what book should be describing. The retail market simply sits a long way above private-party book on a Hemi Charger.

So budget against $16,000, not against $9,250. One caveat on our own figures: the search was capped at $20,000, so the top of the range is cut off and the spread we can show understates what is really out there.

Two figures decide the Deal score, and both use book like every other car we cover. What you would lose: KBB's value for a 2014 R/T went from $10,722 in 2023 to $7,881 in 2025, about $1,320 a year at book. What you get: $9,250 buys 11.5 lb per hp, against about $13,854 for what that power-to-weight usually costs across our Board. At the $15,993 you would actually pay, it sits over that going rate rather than under it.

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The Drive

Three hundred and seventy horsepower and 395 lb-ft, in 4,253 lb. That is 11.5 lb per hp, which is a couple of pounds per horsepower heavier than anything else in this tier.

The Hemi has real character and it makes a noise worth paying for. What it does not have is enough gearbox to let that out: the 5.7 came with a five-speed automatic and nothing else in these years. The eight-speed you may have read about is a V6 transmission, and a manual was never offered at all.

One number to get right if you are cross-shopping. Some aggregator pages list 365 hp. Chrysler's own specification deck says 370 bhp at 5,250 rpm for the R/T, and that is what we have used.

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The Upkeep

About $5,185 a year, and the fuel line is lower than you would expect because of a detail worth checking on any car.

The EPA database lists this car's fuel type as midgrade, which is a grade we carry no price for. Chrysler's own specification deck settles it: midgrade 89 octane is recommended and regular 87 is acceptable. Recommended is not required, so the honest running cost is built on 87, which is about $157 a year cheaper than the midgrade assumption.

Tires are square, P235/55R18, so they rotate and wear evenly at about $740 a set. Insurance is the line that bites at $2,178 a year, against $1,924 on the Camaro SS and $2,154 on the Mustang GT. Note that against the $9,250 book figure that is 23.5 percent of the car's value annually, which would normally be the point where full coverage stops making sense. Against the $15,993 you would actually pay it is 13.6 percent, which is reasonable. It is another place the book number misleads.

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The Risk

On the Camaro SS the same style of failure is avoided by choosing the manual, and on the Corvette C5 the signature fault is a $50 part. Here there is no equivalent move, and that is the whole reason this scores where it does.

The 5.7 Hemi uses Multi-Displacement System, which shuts down four of the eight cylinders under light load. It deactivates cylinders 1, 4, 6 and 7, which is exactly the set GM's bulletin names on the Camaro SS: two manufacturers, the same idea, the same four holes and the same failure. A deactivating lifter collapses or fails to re-lock, wipes the camshaft lobe, and the repair is a camshaft and a full set of lifters at $3,200 to $5,000, with dealer quotes reported past $6,000.

On the Camaro you avoid that for free by buying the manual, because the LS3 has no MDS hardware. Here there is nothing to choose. Chrysler's specification deck lists the 5.7 as standard across the R/T range in both rear- and all-wheel drive with eight deactivating valves, and the EPA database lists exactly one 5.7 configuration in these years: five-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive. No year, no gearbox and no drivetrain avoids it.

There is a second thing to check, and it is subtler than it looks. Stall and no-start reports are the loudest theme in this car's complaint file, and they trace to the alternator. There are two recalls. Campaign 14V634000 replaces the alternator outright, and it applies to the 3.6 V6. The one that covers the 5.7 is 17V435000, and its remedy is to inspect the alternator and replace it only if necessary. The complaint file contains owners describing exactly what that produces: a unit inspected under the recall, cleared, and failing outright a year later. A completed recall tells you a technician looked at it.

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The Daily

This is the case for the whole car. Five seats, four doors, a 16.5 cu ft boot and 104.7 cu ft of interior volume, on a chassis tuned for covering distance rather than for a circuit.

Uconnect with Bluetooth is across the range and later cars get a large touchscreen, so your phone will work even though there is no CarPlay in these years.

It answers the category's actual question, which is whether this could be the only car you own, with a straightforward yes. The Camaro SS and Mustang GT seat four badly and the Corvette C5 seats two.

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The Limit

F Street under the 2026 SCCA Solo rules, which is the same class as the Mustang GT and the Camaro SS. On paper that makes it a direct comparison.

In practice it is a 4,253 lb saloon in a class full of coupes several hundred pounds lighter, and the class flatters it. The chassis runs out a long way before the engine does.

We have not published a grip figure, for the same reason as the rest of this tier: period numbers were measured on tires that have not been sold for years.

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The Mods

The Hemi and the LX platform have a deep parts supply, so this is not a hard car to work on or to find bits for. What it is not is a cheap car to make meaningfully faster, because the naturally aspirated route on a 5.7 is thin and real power means forced induction at $6,000 to $7,000 before fitting.

The first modification most owners make is a camshaft package. Here is the part that makes this car different from the others in this tier: a large share of those are fitted because the MDS lifters already failed, not because the owner wanted more power. The repair and the upgrade are frequently the same job.

That has a practical consequence when you are shopping. A car advertised with a cam and non-MDS lifters might be a built engine, or it might be a survivor of a $4,000 bill. Those are very different histories at the same asking price, and you want to know which one you are looking at.

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The Verdict

Buy one with the camshaft and lifters already done and paperwork to prove it, or budget about $4,000 for the day they are not. There is no version of this car without MDS hardware, so this is not a risk you can shop your way around the way you can on the Camaro.

Check recall 17V435000 by VIN and then look at the alternator anyway, because on the V8 the remedy is an inspection rather than a replacement. And price the car off asking rather than book: $9,250 is not a number anyone transacts at.

This car is for you if you want a V8 and you need four doors, five seats and a boot, and you are willing to carry one expensive engine risk to get all of that for about sixteen thousand dollars. It is not for you if handling is what you are buying, or if an unbudgeted $4,000 repair would be a problem rather than an annoyance.

The Long Read: Should You Buy a Used Dodge Charger R/T?

So you want a V8 and you also need the back seats to be usable. A 2011 to 2014 Charger R/T is a genuine family saloon with a Hemi in it, which the coupes at this money are not, and it carries one expensive engine risk that you cannot buy your way around.

We scored this as a 2011 to 2014 R/T with the 5.7 Hemi and rear-wheel drive. Unusually for this Board, the year range is not doing any protective work, and the reliability section explains why.

How much does a used Dodge Charger R/T cost?

The usual sources will mislead you on this car. Kelley Blue Book values a 2014 R/T at $9,250 in Good condition private party. The median asking price we found on comparable 2014 R/T cars was $15,993, which is 1.73 times book.

We checked whether that was a mileage artifact, because it was on the Camaro SS. It is not. The median listed Charger R/T has 92,061 miles on a twelve-year-old car, which is about 7,671 miles a year and close to what a private-party book figure should be describing. The retail market on Hemi Chargers just sits well above book.

The practical answer is to budget against $16,000 rather than $9,250. Our asking search was capped at $20,000, so the upper end of the real range is cut off and the spread we can quote understates it.

What is the Hemi MDS lifter problem?

This is the failure that decides the review, so it is worth being precise about it.

The 5.7 Hemi uses Multi-Displacement System, Chrysler's cylinder deactivation. Under light load it shuts down four of the eight cylinders to save fuel, and the four it shuts down are 1, 4, 6 and 7. If that sounds familiar it is because those are exactly the cylinders GM's own bulletin names on the Camaro SS. Two manufacturers, the same idea and the same failure.

What goes wrong is that a deactivating lifter collapses or fails to re-lock, and then wipes the lobe off the camshaft. Once that has happened the repair is a camshaft and a complete set of lifters. Typical cost is $3,200 to $5,000, and dealer quotes past $6,000 have been reported.

Here is why it matters so much on this particular car. On the Camaro SS the same style of failure exists, and you avoid it entirely by buying the manual, because the manual car has a different engine with no deactivation hardware. On the Charger R/T there is no such choice. Chrysler's specification deck lists the 5.7 as standard across R/T, R/T Plus, R/T Max and R/T Road and Track in both rear- and all-wheel drive, with a valve system of sixteen valves of which eight deactivate. The EPA database lists exactly one 5.7 configuration for 2011, 2013 and 2014: a five-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive. A manual was never sold. So no model year, no gearbox and no drivetrain gets you out of it.

What you can do is buy a car where the work is already done. A camshaft package with non-MDS lifters is a permanent fix, and a documented one is worth paying extra for.

Are there other Dodge Charger R/T problems to check?

Yes, and one of them is easy to get wrong because the paperwork looks reassuring.

Stall and no-start reports are the loudest single theme in this car's complaint file, running 150, 176, 71 and 39 across 2011 to 2014, and they trace to the alternator. There are two recalls and they are not the same. Campaign 14V634000 covers 3.6-litre V6 cars with a 160-amp alternator and the remedy is to replace it. Campaign 17V435000 covers cars with electro-hydraulic power steering and a 5.7 or 3.6 engine, and its remedy reads: dealers will inspect the alternator and, depending on the part number, replace it if necessary.

So the V6 gets a new alternator and the V8 gets a look. The complaint file contains an owner describing an inspection under that campaign in September 2018 which cleared the part, followed by a total failure of the same component a year later. Check the VIN, then satisfy yourself about the alternator separately.

Beyond that, a 2011 or 2012 should have had the headlight recall 14V101000 done, which explains why exterior lighting complaints fall from 82 on a 2011 to 2 by 2013. There are also multiple Takata airbag campaigns across the range. Total complaints fall steadily across the scope, from 694 on a 2011 to 343 on a 2014, though the levels are not comparable with the coupes in this tier because the Charger sells in far higher volume and carries large police fleets.

Is a Charger R/T expensive to run?

About $5,185 a year, and there is a useful detail in the fuel line.

The EPA database lists this car as taking midgrade, 89 octane. Chrysler's own specification deck is more precise: midgrade is recommended and regular 87 is acceptable. Recommended is not required, so we cost it on 87, which is about $157 a year cheaper than assuming midgrade and avoids inventing a fuel price we do not otherwise use.

Tires are square, P235/55R18, so all four rotate and wear evenly and a set is about $740. Insurance is the expensive line at $2,178 a year, against $1,924 on the Camaro SS.

That insurance figure is worth a second look against the two prices. Against the $9,250 book value it is 23.5 percent of the car a year, which is normally where people stop carrying full coverage. Against the $15,993 you would actually pay it is 13.6 percent, which is ordinary. It is another reminder that the book number is not describing this market.

Can a Charger R/T be your only car?

Yes, and that is the strongest argument for it. Five seats, four doors, a 16.5 cu ft boot and 104.7 cu ft of interior volume, with a ride tuned for covering ground.

Uconnect with Bluetooth runs across the range and later cars get a large touchscreen. No CarPlay in these years, but your phone will pair.

The Camaro SS and Mustang GT seat four badly and the Corvette C5 seats two, so among the American V8s at this money this is the one you can answer that question about without hedging.

Is the Charger R/T any good at autocross?

It classes in F Street under the current SCCA Solo rules, the same class as the Mustang GT and the Camaro SS.

That is where the flattery ends. It weighs 4,253 lb and it is a saloon competing against coupes several hundred pounds lighter, so the chassis runs out well before the engine does. Being classed somewhere is not the same as being competitive there.

As with the rest of this tier we have not published a grip number, because period figures were measured on tires that are no longer sold.

Charger R/T buy or skip: the verdict

Buy one with the camshaft and lifters already done, with paperwork, or budget about $4,000 for the day they let go. There is no configuration of this car without MDS hardware, so unlike every other V8 in this tier you cannot shop your way around the failure.

Check recall 17V435000 by VIN and then look at the alternator anyway, because on the V8 the remedy is an inspection rather than a replacement. Price the car off asking rather than book.

The Charger R/T finished at 42 out of 70 on our Board. It loses points to an engine risk that no choice avoids and to a chassis that its own class flatters, and it wins back the category the rest of this tier loses badly: it is a genuine four-door family car with a V8 in it, for about sixteen thousand dollars.