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UPDATE: 2015 Dodge Charger Hellcat, SRT 392 Customers Reporting Paint Issues, Audit Rumoured

Yesterday we talked about the efforts Chrysler is making to produce an extra 1,000 Hellcats in order to deal with the hefty order backlog created by dealers. Today we’re back on the SRT topic, as it seems that a few customers are complaining about paint issues with their brand new cars.
2015 Dodge Charger SRT 392 paint issue 5 photos
Photo: DFR392 on hellcat.org
2015 Dodge Challenger SRT 392 paint issue: front fascia2015 Dodge Challenger SRT 392 paint issue: boot lid2015 Dodge Challenger SRT 392 paint issue: rear window2015 Dodge Challenger SRT 392 paint issue: front fender
A small group of users of the hellcat.org forum, who have ordered 2015 Charger SRT 392 and Charger SRT Hellcat units, claim they’ve received their cars with paint defects. The issues seem to appear below the clear coat surface, in the color layer.

One user, who has already taken delivery of his 392, even provided some photos, which you can find below. It seems like most of the problems appear in the hood or the trunk area.

Another user, who is waiting for his Charger Hellcat to arrive, has had to face a two-week holdup. The man explains another forum member told him Dodge reportedly introduced a quality audit, thus causing the delay.

At the same time, he claims somebody in his family works for Dodge and has said “they've had issues with paint on a few of the deliveries. This seems to coincide with one member's problem with their paint. Apparently, some of the paint looks like it is running and then was clear coated on top of it. It wasn't an isolated incident I think. He told me it was noticed over the top of the trunk and on the hood.

After having gone through pages and pages of customer discussions, there are a few things we need to explain.

On one hand, buyers have to understand that these Chargers and Challengers are mass produced at Chrysler’s Brampton Assembly Plant. They shouldn’t expect the same finish quality as one would get on the Viper, which is hand-painted at the Corner Avenue Assembly Plant - each Viper taking between 140 and 160 hours to hand paint.

On the other hand, having such paint flaws as shown in the adjacent images means the dealer has to repaint the affected elements on one’s vehicle. Having to go through such a process isn’t exactly what you expect when ordering the car, be it a Hellcat or a V6.

We’ve reached out to Dodge and are awaiting some light to be shed on the matter.

UPDATE: Dodge has not responded, but a member of the forum we mentioned above claims he has discussed the paint issues on his car with the dealer, in the presence of a Chrysler representative.

"Took car to dealer, Chrysler rep was there, to my surprise, initially Chrysler rejected the claim as factory flaws and said dealer was responsible. Dealer assured me no matter who's responsible it will be handled but even I know it wasn't the dealer, car came in the way. Think dealer should be reimbursed if they fix chryslers flawed paint job. Anyway rep looked over car and said they'll accept the claim if she puts a note with it which she will. So we shall see," the Hellcat owner said. Looks like we have some more waiting to do until things become clear.
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About the author: Andrei Tutu
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In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist.
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