Used 2012 Dodge Avenger Consumer Reviews

I love it, but . . .

I really do love this car. The engine is fantastic. Awesome performance! Its exterior is eye-catching and sleek. The car is a combination of sporty and practical. Now what I don't like . . . The people who work in the service department of the dealership where I bought the car know me. The car has been in there THAT often. Various censors or detectors that trigger the engine light, the ABS/traction/cruise control system, a misfiring cylinder, visor clip broke off, the entire control panel (lock/window switch) in the passenger side door came out, the vents were flopping closed . . . and I have about 50k miles now. Everything but the ABS issue was when the car was under 36k miles.

Heater Core Needs a recall

This car performs well. There are a few things that needs to be address before the avenger can be a really neat ride. The Heater core seems to be a major issue with this vehicle. Especially if you live in cold areas. The Heater only blows warm air on the driver side of the vehicle and cold air on the passenger side. Dodge is well aware of this issue but has not done a recall on this placing the cost to repair this problem onto the consumer. Even then there is no assurance this problem will not return since the problem is in the faulty part. The cost can be anywhere from $900 to $1300 to repair depending on your area mechanics. Cold air in the winter renders this vehicle useless during the winter season. My vehicle is currently parked now and I am seriously consider trading this vehicle in for another one. Mostly because I refuse to pay to fix something that is flawed and Dodge knows that it is. Making you feel like you purchased a lemon. Not right Dodge, not right... I need a vehicle I can drive year round and not for 6 or 7 months out of the year. In Kansas it has really cool down in the temps. So it's looking like this vehicle will be parked November- March, and that's if the weather is not crazy cold in March. So with that said I encourage anyone having issues with their heating system in their dodge avenger to speak up and be heard. Not sure what it will take to make Dodge do a recall on this issue. For me, I'll be looking to trade this vehicle in if Dodge refuse to act by January.. Maybe someone in Florida or LA can use a ride that cools pretty well in the summer months, but they better not take a trip up North during the Fall.

Major Improvement

I recently purchased a 2012 Avenger SXT after owning an 06 Stratus since it was new. While the Stratus was very reliable the front rotors were warped more often than not. The Avenger appears to have a much higher quality associated with it. Both vehicles had the 2.4 liter engine. The refinements in the engine and the addition of the 6 speed Transmission have made a major improvement to the functionality of the car. It's smooth and quiet when accelerating. It corners and handles bumps well. The Avenger sits higher and is easier to enter and exit. Overall a very nice improvement over the Stratus.

Great Value

The 2.4L has plenty of power,and is comfortable and fun to drive. The driver's seat sits higher than my Patriot did,so after driving Jeeps for the past 7+ years,I don't feel like I'm sitting on the ground. I love the cold weather package and the stereo sounds great and is easy to access,thanks to the steering wheel controls. It has handled well this winter,though I have to remind myself I no longer have 4x4.Haven't had it long enough(2 weeks)to know what the mpg's will average out to.

Common Heater Core/Defrost Major Issues

Heater core issues! Drivers side will blow warm air while passenger side blows cold. Major visability and safety issues in the cold weather. Going to cost someone their life one day before major business will take their own responsibility for known errors and issues. Dodge reps... This is how you cause good Dodge customers to no longer believe in or want to buy a Dodge. Time to try a Chevy.

Astonished. Seriously.

My wife and I went to drive a Charger. We looked at a few, when she spotted this number on the side of the lot. We went through four different Chargers before we drove the Avenger, and I was completely blown away. The 3.6 in this destroys the same engine in my '12 Durango, this car was what that engine was built for. Absolutely thunderous performance above and beyond anything we drove, anywhere. No Accord, No Maxima, no Malibu or Fusion or anything came close to touching it in performance. Full leather is nice, electronics rock, build quality makes me hope that this is a trend for American Automakers, it's so good.

A car I like the more I do drive it

I used to hate this car. Bit only because I wanted something fast and full of technology. I also worked at a parts store and dodge trucks were always harder to find parts for than other brands and I just assumed the dodge avenger would be just as hard. This car is actually very great. I love this car. It's been very reliable, but I'm a perfectionist and take very good care of it. It's a 2.4 4-cylinder so it doesn't produce much power and the more powerful 3.6 V6 gets the same fuel economy because of a smarter transmission. I'm still a little bitter about that but it's been a fun car. I installed a cold air intake, because it's the only performance part available. It didn't improve power by much but mpg went up by 4 miles! So I now average 32 mpg on the highway when I was getting 28mpg. There is a safety recall on the airbags I think it was. But you pull the car into the dealer and they fix it for free. We hit a deer with the car coming back from a trip and the car was able to take all the damage to the cosmetics and not even harm the vehicle at all. I fixed some of the damage from what I could afford but it didn't even mess up the alignment or anything. This car has been great and got better from driving it more. They seem to only be around $7k to purchase and if I wife didn't think I was crazy, I would buy another one. Just get the V6 though ;)

Need heat

heater core gets plugged from casing sand, had system flushed, one year later have to have it flushed again, should be a recall

2012 SE V-6....not an option above

I am very disappointed in this car. It is just shy of 3 yrs old and I have put $1200 in to the car in two months. All electronics or emissions issues that are not covered by the warranty. The engine, 3.6L Pentastar, is the only good thing about this pile of flaming poo. The transmission is so lazy I'm amazed it even bothers to show up. Rattles and creaks. Quiet and above average in comfort. Mileage is horrendous! I've never gotten more than 19 mpg combined. On long drives (flat highway 65 mph) you can get up to 29 mpg, but that only happened one time. Chews up tires like Rolaids. 47,750 miles as of this morning and I'm just so disappointed. Going back to VW. Diesel.

I drive a 2012 Dodge Avenger and it is Fantastic!!!

My first experience driving this car was thru Enterprise Rental. I had it for a full month and decided this had to be my new car! The rental was a 2014, but when I noticed that the 2012 looked almost exactly the same, I chose the 2012. My 2012 has 38,000 miles on it and drives like a dream! It has satellite radio in it with a power driver's seat as well as great rims, a beautiful white body, and black interior. I love this car! A special thanks to Lahti's of Leominster, MA! I bought this for 12,900 at 32,100 miles. I typically get about 26-27 miles to the gallon,sometimes as low as 24.5/city. It has gotten as many as 29.7/highway(possibly 31/highway). Mine is a 2.4 liter & drives like a 6!

V6 Flex fuel 3.6

We bought the car with good intentions of keeping it for years, Until the winter came, Then we wanted to drive it off a cliff. Traction control REALLY sucks. It don't matter if it's rain or snow the rear end of the car goes ALL OVER THE PLACE. It's hard to keep control of it. We thought it was the tires, SOOOOOO. We bought brand new 65,000 mile ALL SEASO tires at Les Schwab. Well guess what ? It still did the same thing. We took it back to Les Schwab to have it checked out and was told there is nothing wrong with the tires and they have had MANY Dodge Avengers in because of the same problem. It's pretty sad that I have to drive at 15 mph and everyone else is passing by me like if I was standing still. As far as performance,,,It's got GREAT POWER, especially when climbing 8% grades in the mountains. I pass people like THEY are standing still. I put a FLOWMASTER exaust system on it and it sounds like a muscle car. People are always turning their heads. I ALSO have the issue with cold air blowing out of the passenger side and dealership won't do anything about it. Now with that being said, We will NEVER buy a Chrysler vehicle again. We can't wait to trade it in for something different. My advise to you would be,,,DON'T BUY A DODGE AVENGER BECAUSE YOU WILL REGRET IT.

bulletproof [non-permissible content removed]

I've owned this car since 2013, purchased with 32k miles. It is now 78k miles and have no serious problems. It is reliable, but there are a lot of problems. *I could almost outrun this car until it hits 4500rpm. It is super-slow. Lead brick with wheels slow. *Electronics have a lot of issues. *Transmission is absolutely awful. It doesn't know what gear to get into. Stomp the gas and you can almost see the engine say '???????' *It says curb weight is ~3400 lbs, but it feels much larger and heavier. *Very harsh, rough ride. For a suspension this tight, it needs to be more powerful.

2012 Dodge Avenger heater blows cold air

I bought my car brand new and it has been in the shop 5 times to be fixed. The heater core and radiator were changed a few months after I bought it because the heater was blowing freezing cold air out of the passenger side. The repair shop told me it was because when they put the sealant on the car when it was built they used too much and it went into the radiator and through the cooling/heating system. Obviously that was not true and It is now again blowing freezing cold air on the passenger side. This is horrible. It is 5 degrees outside here and I cannot even get my car warm to get my son to school and me to work. This really needs to be addressed and fixed by DODGE, not the car owner. I have seen 100's of complaints on this issue with the same car. I am at a point where I really just want a different car because something keeps happening with this car. The electrical system had to be replaced due to faulty issues, wipers didn't work properly they would go on by themselves, then they would not work at all. In the winter time when I start the car it sounds like there is something screaming under the hood. There is a clicking noise in the car when it is hot outside and the repair shop cannot find anything wrong? The breaks had to be replaced right after I got the car because they squealed when in reverse. I had to take the car back a few weeks after they changed the breaks because of the squealing because guess what, they started squealing again. I was told it is normal because of the new break pads they use on Dodge vehicles. They said there is a coating on the pads that make them ALL squeal. That is NOT TRUE.

11 year new car drought

11 year Cherokee owner, I tried to buy cars in that span but none were right. I wouldn't have bought this one had I been unable to keep the Ch. This Avenger allows me to own both and alternate seasons with them. Once I got used to the new 6 speed 4 cyl. that is so prevalent, I grew to love this car more every time. Gauges instead of dummy lights, steering wheel radio and voice control bluetooth, reliable power windows (so far, heh), the styling is really nice, and, the highway noise just doesn't exist. The steering is fine. Headroom could be better. I6 to 4cyl. I think it should be quicker on the uptake from dead stop to go. All considered, I am more than pleased.

Awesome MPG!

Copperhead Pearlcoat SXT Plus 3.6L V6 With only 308 miles on it as of today, my average MPG is 30.3 which includes city and hwy. I LOVE the 283 HP (smoked a similar import yesterday!) Another interesting fact about my Avenger is that Dodge is no longer carrying the Copperhead Pearlcoat paint line. It was discontinued on April 1st, 2012. Thankfully I was able to purchase mine last weekend! The interior is a huge improvement for any of the DCJF lines, no more cheap plastic or uncomfortable seating. I am a very picky and easily annoyed driver/owner and for once, I have NO complaints! I hated my Jeep GC and was hesitant to purchase another DCJF, the Avenger proved me wrong!

Great car for the price

Bought mine new with 3 miles on it in 2012 and have loved every minute driving it. I have a long drive to work and take business trips from time to time and if I leave it in cruise control on the highway set between 65-70 mph, i have gotten 36+mpg average on the highway. I have had trouble getting it to start in the cold, but only the one day when the temp here in NY dropped to -20 overnight and i realized that it was because i had left something plugged in and have had no trouble since. I have had no problems with it and i just today turned 48k miles on it and it still drives like the day i bought it. no problems whatsoever.

Screeching noise

My avenger makes a horrible screeching sound when I back up in low speed and apply brakes. My backing plate, rear rotors pads and clips have been replaced only to make the sound worse and now noise is heard when I go forward also. I have notified Chrysler only to be turned away because no dealership can find a problem. Yet all heads turn when my car is leaving

I'm very satisfied with this car

I test drove several mid size cars. And finally decided on the base model 2012 Dodge avenger for the following reasons. First It is a 2012 top safety pick. I think the avenger is really nice looking.... I chose the bright silver exterior with black interior. It has nice quality materials and craftsmanship. The 2.4 engine has all the power I need and gets great mpg. If you want to race once in a while get the v-6 version, it has over a hundred more horse power... be careful "laughs". I also like the way the avenger feels on the road... It has a very comfortable ride. It also handles curves well, the steering and brakes are responsive. To sum up the review. I love driving this car!

look elsewhere first

bought a used 2012 avenger 7/11/15 and by 10/15 need front breaks and now i either need a new transmission or something called a powertrain control module.will never purchase a dodge product new or used again to many problems to have on a car i had just over a year

Junk

I bought the car brand new and now have 21000 miles on it. Worst car I ever owned. Has been in the shop multiple times for the hvac system not working properly. Now the ride has gotten worse. It feels like the rear struts went bad. The 4 cylinder engine is okay on power but not something to brag about and I dont get anywhere near the estimated mpg as the sticker says. Also had problems with the speedometer and transmission intermittently not working properly. The trade in value of this car is low. For the age of the car I expected more. With this car it truly is buyer be ware.

Meh

Brakes make high pitch noise (even after having them checked for problems), the traction control is WAY too sensitive, has had three recalls since we purchased it, and the blind spots are amplified by the obnoxiously big pillars. However, the interior is comfortable, it accelerates well, and has a pretty quite ride on the inside.

good for about 5 years

I won't buy another Dodge. My heat went out had to have it fixed. Im always cold and live in a cold area so that sucked. Worst thing tho is that it stalls. I had it fixed and it lasted about 3 years and started again. Also the tranny goes out after about 8 years. I'm selling mine. I'm not willing to put more money into it.

2012 DODGE AVENGER

I just love my 2012 dodge avenger r/t I have not spent a penny on it since I bought it.i get more double takes from people..wow nice car is it new? I would buy another again but they don't make the avenger anymore:-( still a damn nice car.

Dodge avenger is crap

Honestly how the hell do people get away selling these things might as well own an aspire got the fix the damn thing ever month the car is terrible.

Bought new, no odd repairs, drives great

We sold the car in 2017 with 62,000 miles. It was always reliable though lacking in power but it’s a 4 cylinder we bought primarily for mpg. For a car that got around 27mpg average it was a great vehicle. Comfort was there and the car itself looked very sporty.

Buy it for the Motor - Drive it for the FUN!

I waited to write this owning my R/T for almost a year and having over 8,000 miles on it. This car does ROCK & some Mopor aftermarket parts (I added a performance throttle body) can increase the HP to over 300. Some other reviewer talks about smoking other cars and such and still getting 30mpg, this is BS. You can't be racey and fuel efficient at the same time. If you take it easy, you will get 28-30mpg. Over 30? No. The car performs great, handles will and is a lot of fun. I tested just about every car in this class - Malibu, Fusion, Altima, Camery - none of them have the power of this engine. If you are considering any of the cars above, check out the Avenger.

My favorite car I have ever owned.

This is the 6th car I have owned and I can honestly say that I am finally driving the exact car that I wanted to be driving. Before I bought my Avenger I had always settled for what was available (hand me down cars) as well as what was cheap and reliable. I drove a Corolla for 12 years and that made the decision to settle for nothing less then a 6 cylinder engine that much easier. I drove most the cars in this class (G6, Malibu, Camry etc...) as rental cars but when I rented the Avenger I was sold. Most people on the road do not understand that it has a 3.6 liter 283 hp engine inside. Easily enough to beat all of the cars in its class. Fun car for sure.

Great car

I’ve had this car for 4 years now, a 2012 se, bought it at 3 years old with 64k miles on it. It has had a couple of issues, but mainly just expected repairs like changing the brake pads. I have been in 3 small wrecks with this vehicle, the largest one was when someone ran a stop sign and hit me right above the driver side tire leaving a large dent, and I’ve been backed into hitting the hood and after insurance fixed those dents I was surprised my trusty avenger had made it through it all, that was a couple years back and I still rarely have issues with it. I live in an area with lots of rough roads and this car has made it through some mud surprisingly well for a fwd sedan. I like the simple interior because I don’t like the large electronic screens that come in most newer cars, this of course is a preference some may want more technology but that can be found in the avenger rt. My favorite part of this car is probably the sound system. For a long time I thought the previous owner had added some speakers because the sound is great but after doing some digging around I have only found stock speakers but they have great bass. In terms of speed, it isn’t super fast but it definitely gets up and goes when you need it to. It isn’t super exhilarating to drive but it is quick enough with a little bit of engine noise that I would say is a small step above lots of other affordable midsize sedans. If you want an affordable but slightly fun car, I say go for this one.

Never ending issues

So, in two days of having a 2012 dodge avenger my radiator went out. A month later my water pump was leaking. Another month later, my oil pan was leaking. The next month, my car was leaking gas. The month after that a cylinder misfired. It was never ending issues. I would never recommend a dodge to anyone.

Love my Avenger!

Love this car!

This is my 2nd Dodge Avenger. They seem to get better and better each time. I only have 600 miles so far on this car, but I can see already how good it is. The biggest improvement I see so far is the interior quality and ride quality which is far better than the 2010 that was traded in. Almost no wind noise at highway speeds. It handles much better than I would have expected. So far, I have not found any flaws with this car...its perfect. Too early to gauge highway MPG, but I expect it to be better than my 2010 which got 37.5 mpg on the highway. I am very please with this car and suggest anyone who has not driven one yet, give it a try.

Very Good C ar

This is a very good car foe the price. GOOD PEP, HANDLING AND mpg

So far so good

I bought the car for my wife who loves it. Despite people saying its not good in the snow,it has done well.(this separates the drivers from the others). On long trips,the driver seat feels more like the seat in an F-14. Not so comfy from maine to connecticut. Do your home work,look it over really good. For us its been a reliable car with no major malfunctions. Shes happy-you know how that goes!!

128k Miles....Going strong!!!!!!!

I absolutely love this vehicle. It is my first domestic vehicle ever owned, and I've been nervous. I've only had one major repair; the alternator at around 115k miles. That was 1200 bucks because replacing the alternator is labor intensive due to its location. I've had other problems like the passenger window switch quit working, the radiator filler neck broke, and the gas cap caused a vacuum leak. These repairs were so easy to do though ...and cost under $20 each DIY. Considering her mileage ...and the level of use I put her through.... she's amazing. Fun to drive and I get compliments on it all the time. I have the alloy wheels from dodge so it looks real fancy.

2012 SE 3.6 - 80k Bought used

Bought my Avenger 3 months ago, so far I still love it. Replaced blend air actuator, and stereo so far. Good gas mileage for it's size and having the 3.6 pentastar. Plenty of pep, fun to drive.

2012 Dodge Avenger

One of the best I have ever owned