Overview & Reviews

Thus far, Dodge has used the name "Avenger" on two wholly different cars from different time periods. The first Avenger was a midsize, two-door coupe born in the mid-1990s. Noted mostly for its stealthy good looks, the original Dodge Avenger also featured a reasonably roomy cabin and an appealing blend of handling and comfort. It enjoyed some success both with critics and consumers, though at decade's end it faded away with little notice. After a long hiatus, the Avenger name resurfaced in 2008 when Dodge deemed it fitting for the successor to the Stratus sedan.

Unfortunately, the second-generation Avenger has not enjoyed the positive reaction of its two-door predecessor. Despite a midlife overhaul that corrected many of its initial glaring faults, the Avenger has always been one of the least competitive midsize sedans. Consumers will find that most competitors, both import and domestic, offer more space, superior interior designs and a higher level of overall refinement.

Current Dodge Avenger
The Dodge Avenger shares much of its engineering with the previous-generation Chrysler 200 sedan. The differences between the two come down to styling, as the Avenger's more aggressive shape is aimed at a younger audience. There is a choice of two engines: a 2.4-liter, 173-horsepower four-cylinder or a 3.5-liter V6 good for 283 hp. The four-cylinder sends its power to the front wheels through either a four- or six-speed automatic transmission, depending on trim level. The V6 gets a six-speed auto with a manual-shift mode.

The Avenger's trim lines are SE, SXT and R/T. The SE is reasonably well equipped, while moving up to the SXT will get you features like an upgraded transmission, automatic climate control, a power driver seat and a six- (rather than four-) speaker sound system with satellite radio. The sporty R/T comes with the V6 engine as standard, plus 18-inch alloy wheels, a sport-tuned suspension, remote start, heated front sport seats, leather and cloth upholstery, Bluetooth and an upgraded audio system.

The Avenger's interior boasts soft-touch materials and tight construction, but the look is a tad generic, the available in-car electronics are behind the times and there isn't as much space for passengers. As for the Avenger's engines, the base four-cylinder is barely adequate (especially with the four-speed automatic) and sounds unrefined. The V6 engine is very strong, however, and also returns commendable fuel economy. Handling is also pretty good, although again, not quite up to the class leaders.

In total, the Dodge Avenger is a solid sedan if you're prioritizing a V6 power plant and value. But in general, we think you'd be better served by most other competing models.

Used Dodge Avenger Models
The second-generation Dodge Avenger debuted for 2008 and is represented by the current model. However, the Avenger was so poorly received that it underwent a major overhaul for 2011, which included updated styling, a revamped interior with higher-quality materials, added safety features and a more powerful 3.6-liter V6. It has been essentially unchanged since then, other than a renaming of trim levels for 2012 (originally Express, Mainstreet, Heat, R/T and an additional fully loaded Lux trim).

From 2008 through '10, there were three engine options: the current four-cylinder, a 2.7-liter, 189-hp V6 and a 3.5-liter, 235-hp V6. There were also three trim levels -- SE, SXT and R/T. The base four-cylinder-only SE came with air-conditioning, a CD stereo, full power accessories and cruise control. All-wheel drive was optional in that first year on models equipped with the 3.5-liter V6. For 2009, all trim levels received more sound insulation, the 2.7-liter V6 became a fleet-only engine option later in the year and the R/T trim was newly available with the four-cylinder engine. For 2010, the SE trim level was deleted and the Express trim added.

These early model year Avenger sedans suffered from a variety of ailments. Neither the four-cylinder nor the V6 engines were particularly good in regards to performance, refinement or efficiency. The interior was also far below that of the competition, with designs and materials that were best described as rental-car quality. If that wasn't enough to drive buyers away, the Avenger was also stuck with lifeless steering, excessive body roll and underachieving brakes. We highly recommend that you look at different used family sedans.

The first Dodge Avenger was sold from 1995-2000. Employing a platform derived from the Mitsubishi Galant and similar to the one used in the contemporaneous Mitsubishi Eclipse, the Avenger had the Chrysler Sebring coupe as its twin and debuted with two powertrains. The first was a 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 140 hp mated to a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic -- all borrowed from the Dodge Neon. The step-up engine was a 2.5-liter, Mitsubishi-built V6 with 155 hp, mated to a four-speed automatic. The Avenger's trim lines were base and ES.

Initially, the base model opened with the four-cylinder engine, 14-inch wheels, a radio and dual airbags. The V6-powered ES model came with an upgraded suspension, antilock all-disc brakes, 16-inch alloy wheels, rear spoiler, air-conditioning, a cassette deck and cruise control. Base models could add most of the ES's items, while ES models could add leather seats and a sunroof.

The Avenger's biggest changes came in 1997, when meaner styling adorned the body and new 17-inch wheels were made available to ES models. More significantly, both the base and ES now had the four-cylinder standard, with the V6 optional. For the Avenger's final year in 2000, Dodge made the V6 standard on both, and also loaded up the ES with a power driver seat, leather and keyless entry.

The Dodge Avenger was a fairly appealing coupe in its day as long as the V6 was specified. The front seats were comfortable, and unlike in most cars sporting two doors, the Avenger's rear seat actually offered some semblance of comfort for adults. The Avenger also held the advantage of actually looking like a coupe instead of a bland sedan with two fewer doors. However, the Avenger's record for reliability is notably poor. As such, we wouldn't recommend it as a used-car purchase.

User Reviews:

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  Bad choice - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By badinvestment - November 16 - 2:00 am

  Car style nice thats it. Car sound like lawn mower with bad gas, from the time taking off lot nothing but problems. Tire air leak often due to bad tire sensors which was recall and never repaired properly finally had to remove sensors to prevent from putting air in tire every 2 days. 2 sets of brakes, air condition went out, pulley belts, oil pan cracked, interior cheap, paint chips on front hood bubbling on hood and bumper chipping not considered part of warranty low resale owed more than value finally did voluntary repo credit score crashed but I am ok free from nightmare.

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  Mistake - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By Upset - September 28 - 2:00 am

  I bought Dodge Avenger 2008 and have not been happy with it overall. I bought it on Sep 14th, and I had airbag light come on Sep 17th, for no reason at all. Its unsafe, because when air bag light is ON it means that the air bags are OFF, and I was upset about it all weekend. On Sep 20th my mechanic found the transmission fluid leakage! after driving for few days and regularly applying breaks I discovered that all 4 brake pads and the rotors need to be replaced. The actual seating is somewhat comfortable, but it rides like crap! It feels very bumpy, like the car has worn out, or no shock absorbers. I test drove it on a smooth road, now I drive it and it feels so rough. I am disappointed.

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  Dont buy Dodge - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By mboyd0026 - September 27 - 2:00 am

  We bought this car in early 2008. Within the first week the car was parked and upon returning it would not start AT ALL. It had to be towed on a roll back to the dealer to fix. It took a week for them to fix a sensor issue from when it was built at the factory. Then within the next 2 months the transmission started to shift hard and at times stall. Then around 12,900 miles on it the brakes went out on the front. I was told this was normal wear and tear? To date we have replaced the shift module 4 times and the brakes 2 times. The trunk leaks and the car stalls occasionally. Airbag sensor has been out twice. And the tire pressure sensor comes off and on.

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  Gear box - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By Davis - August 13 - 11:30 am

  I have a 2008 Avenger and got in it last night and could not get it out of park. Also the trunk leaks and have not been able to understand what the problem is. On the gears had to override the safe box just to get it to the Dodge House. I am sure for one little plastic piece they are going to want me to buy a hole new gear box.

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  SXT Rental-200 miles of driving - 2009 Dodge Avenger
  By Howie - December 28 - 12:42 pm

  This car feels like something that should be sold only as a rental. That or a car you pick up used a couple years old for 1/3 of its original price. But compared to the competition, this car feels way behind. I drove it 200 miles the other day on all kinds of roads. Summery: Pros-decent comfort, good fuel economy, relatively smooth ride on straight roads, looks pretty good Cons-TONS of body roll in turns..ride is very bouncy like an old Buick, everything in the car feels and looks CHEAP, center console is too close to the drivers right leg, 4 cyl engine is WEAK, noisy and sounds primitive and shifts slowly.

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  Really poor quality vehicle - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By Rick - November 1 - 7:11 pm

  I bought the Avenger thinking it would be a great commuter/family car. I was wrong. The car has been in the dealer 12 time with issues, stranding me on the freeway twice in 42000 miles. Tranny shifts like crap, trunk poors water inside when opened, creaks and rattles all over, hard to clean and maintain. AC has gone out, 2 sets of front roters ready for a third. Time to pay it off and trade it in.

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  Dont do it! - 2013 Dodge Avenger
  By Kumacho - October 28 - 4:18 am

  I have had more than 25 cars in my life. Of those I have purchased 5 new cars. This is the worst new car I have ever owned and one of the worst overall cars I have ever owned. It overheated within 5,000 miles of ownership. An orange grime appeared in the overflow tank and when I took it to the dealership they told me they had seen it numerous times and it was casting material that had not been completely flushed from the system at the factory. The cruise control would refuse to turn on at times and the dealership could never reproduce it so it never was repaired. It just became an issue I had to “live with”. Fit and finish is mediocre at best. The plastic surrounding the radio and middle vents in the dash never matched and again, the dealership stated replacing it wouldn’t change the gaps or the poor fit. The car had a surge from the day I bought it. It also would start up and surge after a cold start, as if it were running too lean. After three new releases of programing for the engine management computer the surge was still there. It would surge at 25-35 mph and at 60ish mph. For 178 horse power this car has undesirable and inexcusable torque steer. Leave a light from a stop and the car will pull hard right. Leave the light under hard acceleration and if you don’t have ahold of the wheel you will do an un-commanded lane change in short order. The transmission never shifted smoothly. Going uphill it would hunt for a gear. Each time the transmission changes gears the torque steer pulls on the steering so going up a hill you are constantly correcting. The airbag warning light went off at 50,000 miles. Source was a terrible design by Dodge. There is a bungee cord pulling down on the wire bundle that leads to the headrest airbags. Place a 220 pound man in the driver’s seat with this bungee cord pulling on the wires and you get broken wires. Doesn’t take an engineer to figure that one out. Overall – Poor design, poor build quality, poor economy, horrible dealer support (or lack thereof) and a car that appears to be built to die in 5 years or less. *UPDATE* Chrysler has stopped production on the Dart, 200 and Avenger. These platforms were substandard compared with others in the same class. Since I created this review; I have traded the Avenger for a Nissan Altima. I traded it with the same company that has sold me my last 5 cars. The best they would offer me for trade was $5,600. Trouble from the day I purchased it, poor MPG, mediocre quality and a horrid resale value.

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  DO NOT PURCHASE AN AVENGER! - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By Eva Soto - August 26 - 11:49 am

  Ever heard "GORGEOUS ON THE OUTSIDE, HORRIBLE ON THE INSIDE". Thats the perfect description for the Dodge Avenger! I bought my vehicle 10 months ago. Im very disappointed - the vehicle is unreliable and the performance is poor. So far its been to the shop twice! First the shifter got stuck on park. I had to pay to tow and replace the entire shifter assembly. Second, the car made squeaky noices when I moved the steering wheel. I had to take it back to the dealer for repairing...Now, Im hearing a rattling noise in the engine...I cant wait to get rid of it!

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  Expensive to repair - 1998 Dodge Avenger
  By LeoV - July 29 - 4:33 am

  I bought mine used with 125000 miles on it, owned it for a year, the private party i bought it from didnt tell me that the water pump needed replacement@$700.00 (they have to lift the engine to replace it). Head gasket was gone, window buttons fell apart, clearcoat on paint peeled, front struts break, leaks oil everywhere, luckily i was able to trade it in for what i bought it for, ($1100.00).

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  WARNING ABOUT BUYING A 2008 AVENGER - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By WORST CAR TO OWN - June 1 - 10:37 am

  I purchased my 2008 Avenger in April 2008. I am very disappointed with it. I have 12,478 miles on it. Brakes grind, door and side pannels creek like crazy...cant find that problem to fix, Im on my 4th mygig radio(Keeps Freezing up). Sluggish tranny(4cyl). Front noises when you turn or go over a bump. AC doesnt work well, numerous blind spots, chrome plasic around shifter inside blinds driver, poorly designed trunk pours water into the trunk when wet and many many more just running out of room. PLEASE DO NOT BUY ONE.JUNK This is just the worst car I have ever owned. Back in 1997 I had a brand new avenger and loved it so I thought I would take a chance with the 2008. What a mistake.