1991 Dodge Daytona Problems and Recalls (13 Complaints)

The most-reported problem on the 1991 Dodge Daytona is Airbags (8% of 13 owner reports). There are 4 safety recalls. Check the VIN and inspect Airbags — this is the NHTSA file, not a score.

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-09-07 13 complaints · 4 recalls

What problems show up on the 1991 Dodge Daytona?

1 of 13 filings named Airbags (8% of the file). That is what owners wrote, not a shop diagnosis of the vehicle in the driveway.

Second is Engine (1 reports).

There are 4 official safety recalls on this year. They were filed about Brakes, Parking brake, and Body / frame. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov — a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific truck.

The 1990 has 26 reports on file; this year has 13. 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 1991 Dodge Daytona

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. This year has 4 campaigns on file below.
  2. Airbags. Confirm the airbag light behaves normally and that open airbag recalls are closed.
  3. Engine. Have a shop check for oil consumption, coolant leaks, rough idle and unusual engine noise.
  4. Fuel system. Check for fuel smell, leaks and whether it starts and idles cleanly.
  5. Skim a few owner reports below for Airbags. 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: Airbags 1 complaints · 7.7% of the file
Crashes, fires, injuries and deaths in those filings:
  • Crashes 2
  • Fires 0
  • Injuries 2
  • 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 Airbags (AIR BAGS) appears in 1 of 13 owner complaints (7.7%) in this vehicle snapshot. Airbags (AIR BAGS): 1 complaints, 7.7% of reports Airbags (AIR BAGS) 1 crash reports 1 · 7.7% Engine (ENGINE): 1 complaints, 7.7% of reports Engine (ENGINE) 1 · 7.7% Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM): 1 complaints, 7.7% of reports Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM) 1 · 7.7% Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN): 1 complaints, 7.7% of reports Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN) 1 · 7.7% Suspension (SUSPENSION): 1 complaints, 7.7% of reports Suspension (SUSPENSION) 1 · 7.7% Tires (TIRES): 1 complaints, 7.7% of reports Tires (TIRES) 1 · 7.7% Unclassified NHTSA leftover: 12 complaints, 92.3% of reports Unclassified NHTSA leftover 2 crash reports 12 · 92.3% 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)
Airbags (AIR BAGS) 1 7.7% 1 crashes · 0 fires
Engine (ENGINE) 1 7.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM) 1 7.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN) 1 7.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Suspension (SUSPENSION) 1 7.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Tires (TIRES) 1 7.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Unclassified NHTSA leftover 12 92.3% 2 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; the first recall shown was reported in Sep 1990. 1995-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1995-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1995-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Sep 1990 Apr 2001 Recall campaign 90V162000 ◆ Recall campaign 90V162000 Recall campaign 90V169000 ◆ Recall campaign 90V169000 Recall campaign 91V078000 ◆ Recall campaign 91V078000 Recall campaign 92V016000 ◆ Recall campaign 92V016000 Investigation PE91141 ● Investigation PE91141
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 1
1995-Q3 Owner reports 1
1995-Q4 Owner reports 1
1996-Q1 Owner reports 1
1996-Q3 Owner reports 1
1996-Q4 Owner reports 1
1997-Q1 Owner reports 1
1997-Q2 Owner reports 1
1997-Q3 Owner reports 1
1998-Q1 Owner reports 2
2000-Q3 Owner reports 1
2001-Q2 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 90V162000
Recall campaign 1 90V169000
Recall campaign 1 91V078000
Recall campaign 1 92V016000
Defect investigation 1 PE91141
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-09-06 Open source record

Safety Recalls (4)

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

In short, these campaigns were filed about Brakes, Parking brake, and Body / frame.

  1. Recall campaign 90V162000

    Brakes

    Report date
    Component:
    Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES)
    Consequence:
    THIS COULD CAUSE REDUCED BRAKING EFFECTIVENESS AND COULDRESULT IN AN ACCIDENT.
    Remedy:
    PROPERLY TORQUE FRONT BRAKE CALIPER GUIDE PIN BOLTS TO 250 POUNDS.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
  2. Recall campaign 90V169000

    Safety recall 90V169000

    Report date
    Component:
    Unclassified NHTSA leftover
    Consequence:
    Not available in the source record
    Remedy:
    INSTALL CORRECT PLACARD CONTAINING PROPER PRESSURE INFORMATION.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
  3. Recall campaign 91V078000

    Parking brake

    Report date
    Component:
    Parking brake (PARKING BRAKE)
    Consequence:
    INSUFFICIENT BRAKING ABLITY COULD RESULT IN INADVERTENTVEHICLE ROLLAWAY WHICH COULD RESULT IN A VEHICLE ACCIDENT.
    Remedy:
    REPLACE MISMATCHED PARKING BRAKE CABLE WITH ONE OF CORRECT LENGTH.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
  4. Recall campaign 92V016000

    Body / frame

    Report date
    Component:
    Body / frame (STRUCTURE)
    Consequence:
    THE ERROR IN THE OWNER'S MANUAL MAY LEAD A FRONT SEATPASSENGER TO MISTAKENLY OPEN THE CAR DOOR WHILE THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION,BELIEVING THE INSIDE DOOR HANDLE WOULD NOT OPEN IF THE DOOR WAS LOCKED. THISCOULD RESULT IN AN INJURY TO THE FRONT SEAT PASSENGER.
    Remedy:
    NOTIFY THE VEHICLE OWNERS OF THE ERROR IN THE OWNER'S MANUAL AND INFORM THEM OF THE ACTUAL OPERATION OF THE FRONT DOOR LOCK SYSTEM.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
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 13 complaints · page 1 of 1
2001-05-10Tires (TIRES)
NHTSA ODI 561145
CrashFireInjuryDeath
THE LEFT FRONT TIRE BLEW OUT, AS THE DRIVER ATTEMPTED TO PULL OFF THE ROAD THE VEHICLE HIT A POT HOLE IN THE MEDIAN AND THE DRIVER LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE STRIKING A CABLE DIVIDER (OHIO TRAFFIC CRASH REPORT). NLM
2000-07-06Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 864926
CrashFireInjuryDeath
CONSUMER WAS AT A STAND STILL & WAS REARENDED BY ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE HEAD REST FLEW INTO THE BACK WINDOW & CRACKED IT. THE DRIVER SEAT BECAME UNANCHORED & WAS IN THE BACK OF THE CAR UPON IMPACT. THE VEHICLE WAS TOTALED. CONTACTING THE MANUFACTURER. *AK
1998-03-10Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 532244
CrashFireInjuryDeath
BOLT ON THE SEAT RECLINER MECHANISM FAILED, CAUSING INJURY TO CONSUMER WHEN SEAT FELL FORWARD DURING STOP.
1998-02-03Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 523961
CrashFireInjuryDeath
AIR CONDITIONER COMPRESSOR MALFUNCTIONED, CAUSING AIR CONDITIONING TO STOP FUNCTIONING. *AK
1997-08-28Suspension (SUSPENSION)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 518895
CrashFireInjuryDeath
VEHICLE WAS MAKING GROANING NOISES DUE TO TRAILING ARM FAILURE. ALSO REAR END SLIDES AND SPINS OUT OF CONTROL. *AK
1997-04-07Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 809680
CrashFireInjuryDeath
ELECTRICAL SHORT; IN FOR REPAIR OF FUEL TANK SENDING UNIT, CAUSING THE FUEL GAUGE TO REGISTER INCORRECTLY. AFTER REPAIRS, EXPERIENCED OVERHEATING DUE TO AN ELECTRICAL SHORT UNDER THE DASH AND WHILE DRIVING SMELLED PLASTIC MELTING/FUSE FAILURE. *AK
1997-01-30Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 806662
CrashFireInjuryDeath
IN COLD WEATHER THE REAR HATCHBACK WOULDN'T HOLD . HATCHBACK FALLS ON CONSUNER'S HEAD, MAY CAUSE HEAD INJURY WHEN LOADING OR UNLOADING CARGO. *AK
1996-11-04Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 804507
CrashFireInjuryDeath
THE HATCHBACK WILL NOT STAY IN THE OPEN POSITION. CONSUMER HAS BEEN HIT ON THE HEAD TWICE WHEN GETTING ITEMS OUT OF THE VEHICLE. *AK
1996-07-01Engine (ENGINE)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 505820
CrashFireInjuryDeath
DRIVE BELT REPLACED DUE TO NOISE.
1996-02-21Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 979522
CrashFireInjuryDeath
BOLT THAT HOLDS THE DRIVER SEATBACK UP BROKE, RESULTING IN COLLASPING, REPLACE BOLT ONCE, REPLACEMENT PART BROKE ALSO. *AK

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common problems on the 1991 Dodge Daytona?

Owners named Airbags most often — 1 of 13 reports (8%). That is the NHTSA file, not a diagnosis of every vehicle.

Are there recalls for the 1991 Dodge Daytona?

NHTSA lists 4 safety recall campaigns. They were filed about Brakes, Parking brake, and Body / frame. 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 1991 Dodge Daytona?

Look up the VIN for open recalls. Confirm the airbag light behaves normally and that open airbag recalls are closed. 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