1994 Dodge Colt Problems and Recalls (18 Complaints)

The most-reported problem on the 1994 Dodge Colt is Brakes (17% of 18 owner reports). There are 0 safety recalls. Check the VIN and inspect Brakes — this is the NHTSA file, not a score.

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-09-07 18 complaints · 0 recalls

What problems show up on the 1994 Dodge Colt?

3 of 18 filings named Brakes (17% of the file). That is what owners wrote, not a shop diagnosis of the vehicle in the driveway.

Second is Airbags (2 reports).

This snapshot lists no safety recalls for this year. That is not a clean bill of health. Still check the VIN at nhtsa.gov.

The 1993 has 107 reports on file; this year has 18. A smaller lifetime total is not a clean bill of health. If you need a fairer comparison, use the equal-time view.

What to check before you buy a 1994 Dodge Colt

A useful visit to this page takes five minutes. YearTell does not score years and cannot see the vehicle in front of you.

  1. Look up the VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov even if this page lists none.
  2. Brakes. Have a shop check pads, rotors, fluid and whether the pedal feels firm.
  3. Airbags. Confirm the airbag light behaves normally and that open airbag recalls are closed.
  4. Electrical. Have a shop scan for stored codes and check battery, charging and any warning lights that stay on.
  5. Skim a few owner reports below for Brakes. Look for the same symptom repeating.
  6. Take that list to a mechanic. Do not turn the complaint total into a score.

What owners reported

System named most often: Brakes 3 complaints · 16.7% of the file
Crashes, fires, injuries and deaths in those filings:
  • Crashes 3
  • Fires 0
  • Injuries 3
  • Deaths 0
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Which systems owners named

Share of owner complaints filed against each vehicle system. These shares are not adjusted for how many vehicles were sold.

Which systems owners named Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES) appears in 3 of 18 owner complaints (16.7%) in this vehicle snapshot. Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES): 3 complaints, 16.7% of reports Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES) 1 crash reports 3 · 16.7% Airbags (AIR BAGS): 2 complaints, 11.1% of reports Airbags (AIR BAGS) 2 crash reports 2 · 11.1% Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM): 2 complaints, 11.1% of reports Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) 2 · 11.1% Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM): 2 complaints, 11.1% of reports Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM) 2 · 11.1% Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN): 2 complaints, 11.1% of reports Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN) 2 · 11.1% Seat belts (SEAT BELTS): 2 complaints, 11.1% of reports Seat belts (SEAT BELTS) 2 · 11.1% Suspension (SUSPENSION): 2 complaints, 11.1% of reports Suspension (SUSPENSION) 2 · 11.1% Steering (STEERING): 1 complaints, 5.6% of reports Steering (STEERING) 1 · 5.6% Unclassified NHTSA leftover: 17 complaints, 94.4% of reports Unclassified NHTSA leftover 3 crash reports 17 · 94.4% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

“Unclassified NHTSA leftover” is not a car part. It is a filing bucket and always sits last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES) 3 16.7% 1 crashes · 0 fires
Airbags (AIR BAGS) 2 11.1% 2 crashes · 0 fires
Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) 2 11.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM) 2 11.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN) 2 11.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Seat belts (SEAT BELTS) 2 11.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Suspension (SUSPENSION) 2 11.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Steering (STEERING) 1 5.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Unclassified NHTSA leftover 17 94.4% 3 crashes · 0 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

When reports and recalls showed up

When owners filed reports, and when recall campaigns showed up.

When reports and recalls showed up Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 1995. 1995-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1995-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1995-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jan 1995 Jul 2004 Investigation EA96014 ● Investigation EA96014 Investigation EA99007 ● Investigation EA99007 Investigation DP03002 ● Investigation DP03002
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 1
1995-Q2 Owner reports 1
1995-Q4 Owner reports 1
1996-Q1 Owner reports 1
1996-Q2 Owner reports 1
1996-Q3 Owner reports 1
1997-Q1 Owner reports 1
1997-Q2 Owner reports 1
1998-Q1 Owner reports 1
1998-Q2 Owner reports 1
1998-Q4 Owner reports 1
2000-Q1 Owner reports 1
2000-Q2 Owner reports 2
2000-Q3 Owner reports 1
2001-Q2 Owner reports 1
2003-Q4 Owner reports 1
2004-Q3 Owner reports 1
Defect investigation 1 EA96014
Defect investigation 1 EA99007
Defect investigation 1 DP03002
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-09-06 Open source record

Safety Recalls (0)

Official campaigns. Each one says what could go wrong and what the dealer was told to fix.

No safety recalls are on file for this model year in this snapshot.

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

What owners actually wrote

Short excerpts from the public NHTSA file. Look for the same symptom repeating.

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-09-07
Safety incident filters
Showing 10 of 18 complaints · page 1 of 1
2004-09-30Steering (STEERING)
NHTSA ODI 10094739
CrashFireInjuryDeath
THE STEERING WHEEL CAME OFF WHILE PARKING. DEALER WAS CONTACTED.*AK
2003-10-10Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 10042754
CrashFireInjuryDeath
WHILE DRIVING TRANSMISSION DOESN'T SHIFT PROPERLY FROM THE FIRST TO THE SECOND GEAR, WON'T SHIFT, AND MAKES LOUD NOISE. ALSO, CONSUMER COMPLAINED OF AN AIR BAG SYSTEM PROBLEM. DEALER NOTIFIED.*AK
2001-04-30Seat belts (SEAT BELTS)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 744748
CrashFireInjuryDeath
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK
2000-08-23Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 868494
CrashFireInjuryDeath
ENGINE HEAD GASKET WOULD KEEP LEAKING OIL. HAD TAKEN VEHICLE TO DEALER AT LEAST 5 DIFFERENT TIMES FOR LEAKING GASKET. EACH TIME WOULD BE REPAIRED & THEN PROBLEM WOULD REAPPEAR AGAIN. ALSO, TRANSMISSION WAS FAILING TO SHIFT PROPERLY.*AK THE HEAD GASKET PROBLEM CONTINUED AND NOW THREE HEAD GASKET HAVE CRACKED. THE AIR CONDITIONER, MASTER CYLINDER, TRANSMISSION AND MOTOR MOUNTS ALSO FAILED. *YH
2000-04-20Suspension (SUSPENSION)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 860643
CrashFireInjuryDeath
TOOK VEHICLE TO A MECHANIC, AND THEY TOLD CONSUMER THAT THERE WAS A BIG CRACK IN THE FRAME OF THE LOWER CONTROL ARM. IF DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY CAR COULD LOSE CONTROL. *AK
2000-04-19Suspension (SUSPENSION)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 721655
CrashFireInjuryDeath
VEHICLE WAS BOUGHT USED LAST FEB 24, 2000. ACCORDING TO THE DEALER, THE VEHICLE PASSED SAFETY INSPECTION. LAST APRIL 18, CAR WAS SENT TO A TIRE DEALER FOR TIRE REPLACEMENT. MECHANICS FOUND A HUGE CRACK ON FRAME AT REAR LOWER CONTROL ARM PROBABLY CAUSED BY METAL FATIGUE.. FURTHER VISUAL INSPECTION INDICATE THAT CAR DID NOT ENGAGE IN A COLLISION AND THAT CRACK COULD BE CAUSED BY IMPROPER WELDING DURING ASSEMBLY. ADVISED TO TAKE VEHICLE OFF ROAD IMMEDIATELY FOR SAFETY REASONS. *AK
2000-02-23Airbags (AIR BAGS)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 857434
CrashFireInjuryDeath
AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT WHILE TRAVELING ON THE STREET AT 35 MPH. NO POTHOLE OR BUMP. VEHICLE WAS ROLLED OVER AT THE TIME OF AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT. DEALER NOTIFIED. *AK
1998-10-29Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 829750
CrashFireInjuryDeath
A FUEL SMELL CONSUMES THE ENTIRE VEHICLE, CAUSE UNKNOWN. DEALER CANNOT IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS. *AK
1998-06-11Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 822918
CrashFireInjuryDeath
WHILE DRIVING BOLTS THAT HOLD DRIVER'S SEAT TO VEHICLE CHASSIS BROKE. METAL HAS TORN AWAY FROM CHASSIS. DEALERS NOTED POSSIBLE MANUFACTURING DEFECT. *AK
1998-01-26Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 820908
CrashFireInjuryDeath
WHILE MERGING ONTO A HIGHWAY GOING 50-55 MPH THE CAR JUST COMPLETELY CUT OFF, LOST ALL POWER EXCEPT FOR THE LIGHTS. WHEN VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO MECHANIC, MECHANIC STATED THAT COMPUTER SYSTEM WAS COMPELETELY DEAD. THE PROBLEM HAS NOT BEEN CORRECTED. *AK

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common problems on the 1994 Dodge Colt?

Owners named Brakes most often — 3 of 18 reports (17%). That is the NHTSA file, not a diagnosis of every vehicle.

Are there recalls for the 1994 Dodge Colt?

NHTSA lists 0 safety recall campaigns. This snapshot lists none, which is not a clean bill of health. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov; a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific vehicle.

What should I inspect before buying a 1994 Dodge Colt?

Look up the VIN for open recalls. Have a shop check pads, rotors, fluid and whether the pedal feels firm. Then skim owner filings for the same symptom and take that list to a mechanic.

Does a high complaint count mean I should skip this year?

No. Counts are reports people chose to file and they are not adjusted for sales volume. YearTell does not publish scores or a list of years to skip. Inspect the vehicle.

EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Source: NHTSA ODI / recalls, snapshot 2026-09-07. YearTell is not a government agency.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources