As I found myself stuck in traffic on Highway 494 in Bloomington, Minnesota, the vehicle in front of me started to move. I pressed the accelerator on the four-door 2026 Dodge Charger Scat Pack and the reimagined muscle car… stood still. An alert appeared on the digital gauge cluster: “Shift to P then desired Gear.” I followed these instructions, twice, with no result. The car wouldn’t shift. Suddenly, a feeling of dread settled in my stomach, you know the one.
This was the predicament I faced moments after getting behind the wheel of the gas-powered 2026 Dodge Charger I was testing after a 14-hour flight home from Japan. Not the best start.
Traffic inched ahead, horns blared behind me, and I made the decision to turn off and restart the car, hoping for the best. However, the Charger didn’t shut down when I pressed the button. (Score one for traditional keys.) Alarmed, I pressed it again, still nothing. On the third attempt, it finally powered down, and upon restarting, the issue was resolved, allowing me to shift into Drive, and I finally got moving.
For a brief moment, I questioned whether I had imagined the entire scenario, given my exhaustion from the long journey. That notion vanished when it occurred again.
Two days later, while parked and taking pictures of the Charger during my son’s soccer practice, I went to reposition the car for a different angle. I had left it running in Park, but when I shifted the pistol-grip gear selector to Drive, the same alert flashed on the cluster: “Shift to P then desired Gear.” I could’ve sworn I was already doing that. Switching between Park and Drive yielded no results, nor could I get it into Neutral. Once again, the power button failed to respond. Fortunately, it only took two attempts to turn it off this time, which cleared the error and permitted me to shift into Drive.
The Charger’s digital gauge cluster includes a messages page, but this problem left no evidence. According to the vehicle, everything was fine. Twice.
Finally, a couple of days after that, I was waiting at a red light after dropping my child off at school. When it turned green, I pressed the accelerator, and wouldn’t you know it, the same error message appeared, preventing the car from moving. Again, I repeated the routine: it took three tries to turn it off while other drivers honked at me, and when I arrived home and checked, the onboard diagnostics indicated as if the issue had never occurred.
I contacted Stellantis, whose representative informed me this was the first time they had been alerted to such an occurrence. The 2,770-mile Scat Pack I was driving was technically a pre-production vehicle with “production-intent” software, and they assured me they would immediately withdraw it from the review fleet and send it to a dealership in Detroit for a comprehensive system scan, with results forwarded to their engineering team in Detroit for investigation. However, the scan did not identify the issue, so ultimately the vehicle was taken back to headquarters for an in-depth examination.
After nearly four weeks, Stellantis finally provided clarity on what had transpired and why.
“Our team pinpointed the event you encountered, stemming from a body control module (BCM) software issue. During an engine start-stop (ESS) event, the BCM that monitors the hood latch sensor sent an irregular voltage signal to the engine control module (ECM). Because of the unexpected voltage, the ECM could not ascertain if the hood was open or closed. The Charger’s safety protocol forbids an automatic ESS restart with the hood open, resulting in your cluster message and necessitating a manual restart. Our team conducted a software reflash on the BCM, which we believe rectified the issue you faced on this pre-production unit, as this has not been reported on any customer vehicles,” a spokesperson stated.
It’s possible that a malfunctioning hood sensor could immobilize any new vehicle, but Stellantis’ explanation didn’t fully clarify why I encountered difficulty power cycling the car without repeated attempts.
I inquired with Stellantis for a precise definition of what constitutes a “manual restart” as two of the three incidents occurred while I was driving. “Manual restart means the vehicle requires a standard key cycle (shift to park, foot on brake, and press engine start button) due to the automatic ESS restart being blocked by the BCM voltage irregularity. What you experienced is not analogous to the transmission limp mode described in the owner’s manual,” the Stellantis representative explained. This notably indicates that the car didn’t require me to unlock and lock the vehicle to put it to “sleep,” which would have been impractical in these driving scenarios.
In my search online, I could not find other complaints or documented instances of this phenomenon occurring with 2026 Dodge Chargers (though there are numerous other bugs). The NHTSA has no recorded complaints regarding this specific issue. However, notably, the same error has been seen online, accompanied by reports from owners of both the previous-generation gas Dodge Charger and various Ram 1500 models. The underlying cause for those vehicles seems to be a shift interlock or electronic gear selection malfunction typically triggered by a weak 12-volt battery, a failing shifter module, or a malfunctioning transmission control sensor. None of these were factors in the 2026 Charger issue I experienced.
Nonetheless, regardless of whether other customer complaints about this specific condition on this particular car have emerged, it’s significant. Why? Because a vehicle randomly becoming immobile or even failing to power cycle is quite a serious issue! Furthermore, it’s not the first occasion the new Charger has faced problems related to its hood operation.
In 2025, reports emerged highlighting the risk of breaking the latches when slamming the Charger’s hood. The owner’s manual for both the gas and electric Charger models specifies the need for gently closing the hood and applying two-handed pressure with specific hand placements.
The launch of the new Charger has not gone smoothly. Initial assessments were at best lukewarm. Then the vehicles started hitting the streets. Edmunds reported an episode of unintended acceleration, only to discover that their car had what some described as a software glitch, which was later revealed to be, according to Stellantis, a safety feature. It’s not just Edmunds; the internet is rife with issues such as a troubling red wrench symbol, charging problems, and numerous fault codes that even allowed a car to “push through its brakes” into an intersection, along with malfunctioning locks coinciding with check engine lights, all presumably tied to 12-volt battery complications.
In April, Dodge CEO Matt McAlear remarked to The Drive that “it’s way too early” to declare whether the latest Charger is a commercial failure, adding, “I’m still excited. I’m still optimistic about this vehicle.” McLear stated that the reason is that “I believe it provides something that no one else anticipates in the industry and revitalizes segments of cars that are becoming increasingly scarce.”
Since then, Stellantis has returned the specific car I encountered issues with to the fleet and lent it to other media outlets who informed The Drive that the issue I faced has not recurred.
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