1207 Dodge Hellcats Recalled For Oil Loss Issues

A “rapid loss of engine oil” isn’t something you want in any car, let alone a Dodge Challenger or Charger Hellcat with a ruddy great supercharged V8.

That’s the moderately scary wording used on a recent NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) recall, covering some 1207 Hellcats of both Challenger and Charger varieties.

The potentially affected cars come from the 2017 model year only, and the fault lies with the engine oil cooler lines. A batch of rubber hoses “did not meet FCA [Fiat Chrysler Automobiles] US LLC specifications,” the recall states.

I’m sure we don’t need to spell out just how catastrophic a significant oil loss would be while you’re moving, but in case your imagination isn’t quite active enough, NHTSA has gone into quite a bit of detail describing the worst-case scenario:

“In the event of EOC line separation at the crimped portion of the hose to the aluminum tube, the customer may experience impaired visibility due to oil spray on the windshield, engine seizure and/or a potential risk of fire due to engine oil contacting a hot surface. The rapid loss of engine oil and the resulting impaired visibility can cause vehicle crash without prior warning.”

FCA isn’t notifying owners until 22 September, but given the potentially disastrous results of a failure, it might not be a bad idea for 2017 Hellcat owners to give FCA a call now…