2023 DODGE HORNET Recalls, Complaints & Safety

Discontinued vehicle model still under active bumper to bumper warranty (thru 10/26); has faulty rear defroster/heated side mirrors that the "remedy" handed down to me was to "drive more" in an effort to charge battery to a threshold that allows said necessary safety feature to operate. If charge falls beneath 65% the vehicle terminates functionality of deemed "non-essential" operations to maintain major functions. Problem is, this feature is not optional. It needs to be available on demand AT ALL TIMES. Especially in the midst of a brutal upstate NY winter where the windows are quintessentially frosted over EVERY morning. There is but one mention of rear defroster operation in the 2023 Dodge Hornet owner manual on page 47. There is ZERO mention of driving X amount of miles or X amount of time to maintain functionality of the rear defroster/heated side mirrors. Devoid of this information in the manual, my expectation is for the company to find a remedy as I have owned many vehicles in my life and never have I ever had this sort of selective operation issue for a SAFETY feature. These vehicles rely on an Intelligent Battery Sensor to dictate to the car what the state of charge is for the battery. My battery was replaced by the dealer I bought this from in May '25 (have paperwork to prove) and the readings per the local dealer I had looking into this on two occasions this month were in the 60-65% range for battery capacity. No way a battery this young has been drained by a third of it's potential already. And if so, something larger is amiss that needs to be diagnosed and remediated PERMANENTLY. Me "driving more" is not a solution. Especially since it makes me incur unnecessary miles and expend more on gas which I will absolutely not do. Bringing this to light before warranty expiration later this year. The company is seemingly trying to do anything and everything to not put money into vehicles that are discontinued. Factory warranty ends 10/26.

The electrical system drains the battery if not driven on a daily basis. Now that it had to be jump started the information screen is not working. With that being said, I have no camera, radio, heat and other displays. There have been many people with the same problem with this model vehicle but nothing is being done.

While driving through Columbia, SC on Jan 10th at 11am the sunroof suddenly shattered. The temp was 80 degrees and it was sunny. Traffic was moderate. There was what sounded like a large explosion and then I heard what sounded like pebbles running down my car. It was very startling to say the least. I thought it was a truck tire that had exploded but I kept hearing the pebbles sound. So as soon as it was safe to pull over I did to check to see if what I thought was a truck tire exploding had damaged my car somehow. I opened the sunroof roof once I came to a stop and thats when I saw that my sunroof had shattered and understood that was the noise I heard.

I took my Dodge Hornet to the dealership on October 1st for ongoing Apple CarPlay issues and the safety recall involving the center screen and camera system. I explained that the screen had been failing intermittently while driving, shutting off or freezing without warning, and that CarPlay had continued to malfunction despite bringing the vehicle in for this issue more than three separate times over the past two years. The dealership told me the CarPlay problem might improve after a system update, but they could not complete the recall because the required part was on back order. I was told I would be contacted once the part arrived. It is now December 4th, and I have received no update or estimated timeframe. Since then, the center screen has continued to fail at random while the vehicle is in motion, and CarPlay disconnects unpredictably. These issues affect the backup camera, navigation, alerts, and other essential functions, making the vehicle unsafe to operate. This is also not the first recall I have had to address, despite owning the car for only two years. The repeated electronic failures, combined with the manufacturer’s inability to complete a safety recall within a reasonable timeframe, have significantly reduced my confidence in the vehicle’s safety and reliability. I am requesting resolution due to the ongoing safety risks and continued delay in repairing a known defect.

Vehicle loses all power and will not restart Displays driver mode not available Displays numerous systems not working and drains battery. This has happens two times The first was June 14th mileage 13080, second July 17th mileage 14300 (Estimate). On June 22nd thru 24th after starting vehicle parking brake was on without being activated. Vehicle is a safety issue

Notified dealer roughly 9/27/23 of issues with dodge hornet . The car went into reverse instead of forward causing significant damage to another car we own . Dodge pulled the black box and gave findings that they weren’t liable however here we are in 2025 an issues we complained about are in recall without a remedy to fix .

Crash

Notified dealer roughly 9/27/23 of issues with dodge hornet . The car went into reverse instead of forward causing significant damage to another car we own . Dodge pulled the black box and gave findings that they weren’t liable however here we are in 2025 an issues we complained about are in recall without a remedy to fix .

Crash

Notified dealer roughly 9/27/23 of issues with dodge hornet . The car went into reverse instead of forward causing significant damage to another car we own . Dodge pulled the black box and gave findings that they weren’t liable however here we are in 2025 an issues we complained about are in recall without a remedy to fix .

Crash

I brought this Vehicle from Carvana but it has a recall and I see there are no available parts. This is major issue for the vehicle; would like some assistance on how to receive the parts as soon as possible to get it fixed.

The contact owns a 2023 Dodge Hornet. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V246000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that the U-connect screen that displays the image at the rear of the vehicle with the back over prevention camera with the message stating "Camera System Unavailable" displayed on a blue screen. The mileage on the instrument panel was blinking consistently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the blinking on the instrument panel was caused by the back-over prevention camera failure. The overhead wiring harness was replaced; however, the failure persisted. The dealer stated there was a possible module that may be released to repair the vehicle. The dealer confirmed there was no fix for the recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and opened a case. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

In cold weather, the driver’s door is either not closing and latching, or it appears like it has closed and then the door flies open while you’re driving. This is dangerous and distracting when it happens (holding the door physically shut while driving at the same time). The dealer tried aligning the door hardware but it hasn’t made a difference. I did make a video of the issue and I believe the dealer was able to reproduce the problem, at the time. I have another appointment booked with the dealer for the same issue. It’s possible the door handle itself is defective, and I’ve read about other owners with the same problem. It only happens in cold weather. When it happens several warning messages (disabling other safety systems) are also displayed on the dashboard, many of which are not related to the door (but probably triggered by it being open).

While driving in left lane of one way road at 46 mph with adaptive cruise and lane sense active, the cruise control switched off and lane assist veered left off the road, locking the steering wheel to the left. I was unable to correct steering until after the car had come to a complete stop. I hit a sign in the median due to the lane departure.

Crash

While driving in left lane of one way road at 46 mph with adaptive cruise and lane sense active, the cruise control switched off and lane assist veered left off the road, locking the steering wheel to the left. I was unable to correct steering until after the car had come to a complete stop. I hit a sign in the median due to the lane departure.

Crash

Drivers door would not latch or lock. Tried 30 different ways to get the door to latch closed by electronically and manually locking and unlocking the door plus opening and closing it. Had to drive home holding the door shut. Issue appears to be cold weather related.

The cruze control shuts it's self off It said "ACC temporarily blocked, service required" this is very dangerous. The headlights don't project in the correct direction to have proper visibility. All the system error lights come on for no reason, seems like something is aways wrong according to the dash lights.

Steering wheel makes a loud cranking/screeching noise when driving for long periods. You can also hear a knocking sound coming from the steering wheel. Have found several complaints of this issue amongst several online groups and forums

The contact owns a 2023 Dodge Hornet. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the passenger extended the rear passenger’s side seat belt and the seat belt failed to retract. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the rear driver’s side seat belt needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 5,000.

Adaptive cruise control does not work usually gives warning signals when it does activate only goes for a short time then says camera is blocked and other issues. Brought into dealer they said that it is a known issue that Benny people are having and there is no solution yet.

All warning lights continue to go on randomly while vehicle is in motion. Brake and decelerate for nothing On the open highway.

The cars advanced safety system sensors malfunction. This leads to a variety of different outcomes. Sometimes we just see the warning lights telling us it’s not working, and other times the car has actually slammed on the brakes as it thought something was in front of it when there was nothing. We have taken it into the shop 3 times and it still has not been repaired. We have been told that there is no fix right now but should have an update to repair by the end of Q1 2024, but they can not guarantee. We have made it clear this is a safety issue and they refuse to acknowledge. They have even gone so far as to call our local dealership to see if they think it’s a safety issue. We have requested they buy back the vehicle and are told no to this point. Our safety has been put at risk because the sensors caused the vehicle to slam on the brakes at 80mph. While this time there was no one behind us if they would have been they would have rear ended us. To my knowledge this has not been reproduced by the dealer as they do not drive the vehicle long enough, but they have not denied the car could have done this. They have also acknowledged there is no repair available currently. The vehicle has been brought to the dealership 3 times for repair thus far. We are told they are not able to do anything further until this update releases and it might fix it. There are lights that come on showing it is not working properly. They do seem to come off and on. The lights come on in almost any weather other than cloudy weather. We have made several requests for Mopar to fix the vehicle or buy it back due to it being unsafe. They question us if it is actually a safety issue which is absurd. So the only solution they have for us is to drive the vehicle until the update comes out and hope it fixes the problem. Still no guarantee that it will fix it.

When in the highway assist, i turn the cruise control on, and every 5 to 10 minutes the highway assist will turn off and i get a code saying Addition Service required. It seems that all new Dodge hornets have this code. ive gone to Dodge Dealers and they all say there is no issue.

Took car into dealer for the following issue that we have had since purchased new. The Automatic Emergency Braking and/or Forward Collision Warning will shut off. While driving the customer we notice that the Automatic Emergency Braking and/or Forward Collision Warning will shut off and we will see two separate icons on the lower left and right sides on the dash Happens every time it rains, snows or very sunny out. This is a serious issue and Dodge needs pressured to fixed ASAP. Afraid to drive the car as a result. The dealer said Dodge is aware but has no fix. Unacceptable.

Adaptive cruise control failure. Radar sensor blocked ( message displayed on screen) Forward collision warning inactive

I have been taking my car into the shop to get the lights checked. They’ve come to conclusion that the front crash sensors disable themselves and they have no fix for it. Chrysler engineers came back and said to close the case and give the car back until they find a fix. This is very unsafe considering I drive a hour to work and home and also have a 6 month old baby. I talked to Chrysler about getting my car bought back under the lemon law and I was told I’d get a call with my options. However, when it came down to it, they have me driving the unsafe car and will not return my calls nor contact me. I tried to take it to a different location and he told me that he couldn’t do anything about it over the phone. Dodge is not concerned about the problem nor my safety and I believe something needs to be done because they won’t work with me to get a safe car. They’d rather me drive an unsafe vehicle. The car disables its crash sensors whenever it wants.

I'm driving and the Forward Collision indicators come on. I've taken it twice in the same month and they can't find the problem.

I have three issues that I believe compromise the safety of the Hornet. My specific safety-related issues are: Emergency call system inoperable (this worked originally but became a problem when the dealer replaced my telematics module) FCW - Intermittent warning lights that indicate the system has been disabled or that a crash is imminent ACC - Intermittent warning lights that the ACC sensor is blocked These errors occur while the vehicle is being driven and may go on and off multiple times in a single trip. When we are driving our vehicles and these things happen it is hard to know whether these lights and messages are harmless or if the safety of our vehicle is compromised while we are driving. After my last visit to the dealer they told me nothing more could be done and there would be no reason for me to return for service until software updates are available......basically washing their hands of the problems. There are other annoying issues from time-to-time that don't necessarily seem to be safety-related so those are less concerning. I have had my vehicle at the dealer for service three times. Nothing has been resolved and some new unwelcome behavior occurred as a result of the visit.