Dodge Demon Owners File Lawsuit Against FCA Over Hood Scoop Paint Issues

The Air-Grabber hood scoop that helps keep that beast of an engine cool on the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon has sparked a lawsuit against the automaker as it may not be up to standards.

Filed on behalf of California owners and lessees of the muscle car, it accuses Dodge of paint issues, blaming a “flimsy insert that expands and contracts when the Class Vehicle is used, which results in a sagging, buckling, bulging and vibrating insert”.

Read Also: Demon Differentials Are Exploding But Dodge Says There’s Nothing To Investigate

According to CarComplaints, FCA is accused of concealing these defects and failing to honor the warranties. This forces Demon owners to look at alternative solutions, such as re-painting the hoods, though doing so will lead to unmatched colors, or even replacing the hoods or original scoop inserts.

The company appears to have been aware of this problem before the lawsuit was filed, as it issued a service bulletin that supposedly calls for a “smaller, non-original hood scoop bezel, which is the only part of the Demon Air-Grabber that is visible from the outside”. Nonetheless, the plaintiff claims that the repairs are inadequate, turning the Demon into a different vehicle than the one marketed.

Dodge presented the Demon at the 2017 New York Auto Show and ended production in 2018. Power comes from a supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI V8 that puts out 840 HP (852 PS / 627 kW) and 770 lb-ft (1,044 Nm) of torque. At the time, the automaker claimed it was the fastest production car in the world, taking 2.3 seconds to hit 60 mph (96 km/h) and boasting a quarter-mile time of 9.65 seconds with an exit speed of 140 mph (225 km/h).