Common Problems With The Dodge Hornet (According To Owners)

There was no question that Dodge's newest sporty crossover, the Hornet, would be a fun drive. It is, after all, a rebranded Alfa Romeo Tonale, a car SlashGear's Dave McQuilling highly praised for its spirited disposition. "Dropping it into Dynamic mode and finding a windy bit of backroad brings a bit of fun back to your daily drive," McQuilling said of the Alfa Tonale PHEV's sporty driving feel. SlashGear's Cherise Threewitt confirmed this, saying the Dodge Hornet R/T PHEV was a "fun little thing, quick and smooth" in her 2023 test drive.

However, questions were brewing about the Hornet's future reliability. The Dodge brand is under the Stellantis umbrella, and it rides on the same boat as Jeep, Chrysler, and Ram, which all belong to the Consumer Reports list of the least reliable used car brands for 2024. Discussions on the r/askcarguys section of Reddit reveal potential buyers "avoiding" the Dodge Hornet and that some dealerships are peddling Hornets at "give away" prices in hopes of closing a sale.

SlashGear's Cameron Aubernon drove a 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T PHEV, and the cons list includes persistent electrical gremlins. "The 360-degree camera is useful when you're parking, but not when it suddenly deactivates mid-maneuver, as I experienced," Aubernon said. Dodge issued a set of recalls for the Hornet concerning the rear pedestrian alert sensor, 12-volt battery cables, and high-voltage connectors not long after launching the car in 2023, which are primarily the reasons why the Hornet received an average predicted reliability rating from Consumer Reports.

Dodge and Stellantis have yet to resolve the Hornet's glaring electrical issues. A quick browse at HornetOwners.com under "General Discussion" reveals brand new Hornets breaking down just months after purchasing. "I had it towed to the Dodge dealership, and the mechanic told me 200 different codes are going off," said one disgruntled Hornet owner. Another owner listed "too many trips to the dealer for service" among the significant gripes of owning a Dodge Hornet, which includes satellite hardware errors, a faulty forward collision warning system, and a blacked-out digital instrument cluster.

As if things couldn't get worse, the NHTSA issued a recall for the 2024 to 2025 Dodge Hornet PHEV and Alfa Romeo Tonale PHEV concerning "a brake pedal assembly that collapses while driving" that "can cause a vehicle crash prior without warning." About a month after the recall, a Hornet owner popped up at HornetOwners.com and described the dead brake pedal issue in horrifying detail. "I kept pounding on the brake, and nothing, it was to the floor," said the owner. "So, I just held on and rear-ended a newer Ford Edge." 

The Dodge Hornet isn't getting favors from J.D. Power, either. It scored 73 out of 100 in consumer-verified ratings but only got 66/100, or a Fair score in quality and reliability. While the Hornet is a stylish, quick, and fun-to-drive crossover, persistent reliability issues are holding it back from being a great, or even safe, vehicle.