Dodge Claims That the Charger Daytona's Unintended Acceleration Is a Feature Rather Than a Flaw | Carscoops

      Stellantis refers to the "feature" as Drive-by-Brake, functioning precisely as the name implies, following an incident involving Edmunds' long-term test vehicle.

      Recently, Edmunds encountered unintended acceleration in its Charger Daytona test car. Similar problems have been reported online, prompting a response from Stellantis, the automaker, which states that this is a safety feature that has been present in combustion vehicles for many years.

      For many people, a vehicle that accelerates on its own poses a significant safety risk. Just ask Toyota; the headlines regarding unintended acceleration were not the company's finest moment. However, Stellantis claims that this is a carefully designed safety feature, one that hasn't been widely discussed until now.

      In fact, the issue came to light after Edmunds experienced it firsthand with its Dodge Charger Daytona long-term tester, which started to accelerate without any input from the driver.

      To put it mildly, the introduction of the Charger Daytona hasn't unfolded as Stellantis might have hoped. Nevertheless, it is still a car that merits testing and reviewing, which is why Edmunds has one. They likely never anticipated it would accelerate by itself one day.

      An Unexpected Incident

      According to the driver at the wheel during the incident, things went awry almost immediately:

      “I was merging onto a main street from a strip mall parking lot when warning lights illuminated on the Charger’s dashboard, indicating issues with the stability control, frontal collision warning system, regenerative braking, and more. There was also a brief message—possibly about the forward collision warning system—stating that the car would enter low power mode. This was concerning. I could tell something was off because the car accelerated slowly.

      Once at speed, the Charger exhibited the behavior that has become the subject of discussion. It continued to accelerate even after the driver lifted their foot from the pedal. While this is unusual in any car, it’s particularly strange in an electric vehicle, where regenerative braking typically slows the car down more effectively than in a combustion engine vehicle.

      The driver noted that this wasn't rapid acceleration, but rather similar to the gradual increase in speed you'd experience in an automatic car when releasing the brakes from a stop. Instead of just a slight speed increase, it gained approximately one mile per hour for each second the brakes weren’t engaged. However, the brakes did function, though the driver indicated they needed to apply more pressure than usual.

      “I allowed the car to accelerate on its own as an experiment. It reached about 45 mph before I had to brake again for another stop sign. That was enough. Using the universal solution for tech issues, I veered onto a side street after the stop sign and parked. Thankfully, the acceleration ceased when I shifted the transmission into Park.”

      Stellantis maintains this is the intended design, but we'll return to that point. First, it’s crucial to mention that Edmunds isn't alone in this experience. Thomas Hundal from The Autopian compiled a list of similar reports found online.

      This included a complaint directly to the NHTSA, where a driver claimed that their car accelerated even after they were off the gas pedal. They concluded their complaint by noting, “I regained control using the brake alone.” In response to this evidence, Stellantis provided a significant statement.

      All of This Is Intentional, According to Stellantis

      Here’s the statement in full before we analyze it:

      “In the rare event of an accelerator pedal malfunction, Stellantis has established a ‘drive-by-brake’ safety feature that allows the driver to control speed through the brake pedal. In this case, the feature functioned as intended, enabling the driver to safely maneuver the vehicle off the road. This feature has been present in Stellantis internal combustion engine vehicles for many years and has now been integrated into battery electric vehicles.”

      That’s correct, everyone—there's nothing to see here. “The feature functioned as intended.” This is particularly shocking since the car does not inform the driver about what is occurring. It doesn't alert drivers that they should use the brake pedal to drive. While many electric vehicles now incorporate one-pedal driving using active regenerative braking to decelerate when no input is detected, the Charger Daytona seems to have technology that does the opposite.

      It’s worth mentioning that while Stellantis claims this feature has transitioned from combustion vehicles, we cannot find any references to it. There’s no mention of it in previous press releases, owner’s manuals, or any other documentation we've reviewed up to now, though we are still investigating, and we’ll update the story if anything new is found.

      For now, several outlets are attempting to inform Charger Daytona owners that if their vehicles accelerate unexpectedly, it’s entirely normal. Frankly, this doesn't seem like a completely terrible feature, provided that owners are aware of what to expect and when. We have reached out to Stellantis in hopes of obtaining further information regarding this situation, and we will keep you updated if we receive a response.