AI Damage1994 Dodge Stealth: common problems
Owners of the 1994 Dodge Stealth filed 28 complaints with NHTSA, most often about seat belts and powertrain. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 28
- involving a crash
- 2
What fails most often
- 1 Seat belts 32% of all complaints
- 2 Powertrain 29% of all complaints
- 3 Visibility 14% of all complaints
- 4 Air bags 7% of all complaints
- 5 Exterior lighting 4% of all complaints
- 6 Fuel system 4% of all complaints
- 7 Service brakes 4% of all complaints
- 8 Steering 4% of all complaints
- Seat belts: 9 complaints (32% of all).
- Powertrain: 8 complaints (29% of all).
- Visibility: 4 complaints (14% of all).
- Air bags: 2 complaints (7% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Exterior lighting: 1 complaints (4% of all).
Engines and transmissions
US-market versions per EPA. On the right: how many NHTSA complaints name this engine or transmission type.
- 3 L · petrol · 6 cyl
- 3 L · petrol · turbo · 6 cyl
- automatic, 4-speed
- manual, 5-speed
- manual, 6-speed
Drive: FWD, AWD
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 28 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seat belts | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Air bags | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Exterior lighting | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel system | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Other | 1 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
Vehicle was involved in a frontal collision and the driver's air bag deployed, causing major injuries including death. The air bag plastic covering caused the skin to tear from neck to the ear to the bone, causing the lungs to collapse.
Lower control arm failed, causing loss of control of vehicle/accident/injury. (attorney for client)
Driver and front passenger seat belts twist and fold getting stuck within the guide rings causing them not to fully retract or pull forward so that you are either unable or must forcibly click them into the buckle assembly. The constant effort of untwisting them causes them to shred along the outer edges.
She stated that the sunroof glass shattered without warning while the vehicle parked. The dealer was unable to diagnose the failure and they stated that somebody must have thrown something on the sunroof. As of april 11, 2008, the dealer had not repaired the vehicle. The vin and engine size were unavailable.
Front seat belts do not retract on their own. They have to be hand fed back or else they just remain fully extended after being unbuckled. This problem will sometime ever create extra slack in the seat belt while driving (with seat belt buckled). This is a great safety problem.
Whenever seat belt pulls out, it fails to retract on it's own, unless hand-fed into the reel. Many times the seat belt will not properly retract while the vehicle is in motion.
Consumer states that while driving at any speed the vehicle will heavily jerk causing it to be hard for the consumer to control the vehicle. Dealer notified.
The transfer case output shaft also seems to be loose, causing a severe vibration in the car, I do not know if this causes the leak or not though. There are other problems associated with the getrag transmission and transfer case in the stealth rt tt (twin turbo) and mitsubishi 3000gt vr4 that are almost impossible to…
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
Comparison
By complaint count this model year ranks 7,081 of 36,656 model years in the NHTSA data (top 19% most complained about).
On average one model year of the Stealth has 34 complaints (7 years in the data). This year has 28, below average.
What to check before buying
- Seat belts. Belt pretensioners after airbag deployment, SRS codes.
- Powertrain. Shift quality under load, harsh shifts, transmission codes, CV joints.
- Visibility. Wipers, mirrors, defrosters, cracked glass.
- Air bags. Check the SRS light, stored codes and airbag/curtain status after any impact.
Other years of this model
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 1994 Dodge Stealth?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: seat belts, powertrain, visibility. Total complaints: 28. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: seat belts (36%), windows, sunroof (11%), fuel system, fuel smell (4%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 1994 Dodge Stealth?
NHTSA lists 0 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.
Should I buy a 1994 Dodge Stealth from a US auction?
Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.
Other 1994 models
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.