Top Safety Pick + Top Safety Pick criteria

2013 Dodge Dart

small car / 4-door sedan

2013 Dodge Dart 4-door sedan

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Small overlap front: driver-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Front crash prevention
Not available

Other available safety features

  • Standard daytime running lights
  • Optional blind spot detection

Key

  • G
    Good
  • A
    Acceptable
  • M
    Marginal
  • P
    Poor
  • Superior
  • Advanced
  • Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2013-16 models

Tested vehicle: 2013 Dodge Dart SE 4-door

The Dodge Dart was introduced in the 2013 model year. Two tests of the Dart were conducted because electrical power to the onboard (car interior) cameras was interrupted during the first test. In the second Dart test, the driver door opened when the hinges tore away from the door frame. In the first test, the hinges were severely damaged and the lower one tore away, but the door stayed shut. In each test, the Dart’s safety belt and front and side curtain airbags appeared to adequately protect the dummy’s head and upper body, and measures from the dummy showed little risk of head and chest injuries.

As a result, the Institute averaged results of both tests and downgraded the Dart’s restraints and kinematics rating to marginal because doors shouldn’t open in a crash. Injury and structural ratings are based on both tests.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
The driver door opened in the second test, which shouldn't happen because the driver could be partly or completely ejected from the vehicle. Still, in the second test, the dummy’s head loaded the frontal airbag, which stayed in front of the dummy until rebound. (Camera views from outside the car suggest that dummy movement was very similar in the first test.) In both tests, the side curtain airbag deployed but does not have sufficient forward coverage to protect the head from contact with forward side structure and outside objects. The side torso airbag also deployed in both tests.

Action shot taken during the second of two small overlap frontal crash tests.

Aside from the intruded door frame when the door hinges were sheared off in the second test (shown), the dummy's position in relation to the steering wheel and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained reasonably well.

The frontal and side curtain airbags worked reasonably well together to protect the head from injury in the crash test (second test shown). Still, the curtain airbag should extend farther forward toward the A-pillar to protect the head from contact with forward side structure and outside objects if crash circumstances were to differ slightly.

Despite extensive intrusion and partial tearing of the door hinge pillar in the second test, risk of injury was moderate and limited to the left lower leg. The hinge pillar intruded far less in the first test, and risk of injuries to the legs and feet was low. Averaged together, injury risk remained low.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CEN1321 CEN1322
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 21 35
Footrest (cm) 9 10
Left toepan (cm) 2 5
Brake pedal (cm) 4 2
Parking brake (cm)
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 2 1
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column 4 6
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 11 10
Upper dash (cm) 10 12
Lower instrument panel (cm) 9 11

Driver injury measures

Test ID CEN1321 CEN1322
Head
HIC-15 84 185
Peak gs at hard contact no contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.2 0.9
Extension bending moment (Nm) 16 18
Maximum Nij 0.23 0.20
Chest maximum compression (mm) 22 23
Femur (kN)
Left 2.2 2.2
Right 1.3 1.1
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 8 4
Right 1 1
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0 0
Right 0 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.58 0.92
Right 0.61 0.69
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 3.2 3.5
Right 2.1 1.8
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 64 68
Right 33 53

How the driver-side small overlap front test is conducted

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2013-16 models

Tested vehicle: 2013 Dodge Dart Limited 4-door

The Dodge Dart was introduced in the 2013 model year.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Action shot taken during the frontal offset crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the steering wheel and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained very well.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the driver dummy's head was protected from hitting hard structures during rebound by the side curtain airbag.

Intrusion into the driver's space was minimal, and all leg and foot injury measures were low. The deployed knee airbag is visible just ahead of the dummy's lower legs.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CEF1207
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 3
Left (cm) 5
Center (cm) 2
Right (cm) 2
Brake pedal (cm) 3
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 0
Right (cm) 0
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) -3
Rearward (cm) -3
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 0

Driver injury measures

Test ID CEF1207
Head
HIC-15 224
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.6
Extension bending moment (Nm) 13
Maximum Nij 0.25
Chest maximum compression (mm) 32
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 0.9
Femur force - right (kN) 1.2
Knee displacement - left (mm) 1
Knee displacement - right (mm) 2
Maximum tibia index - left 0.31
Maximum tibia index - right 0.35
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 2.3
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 2.0
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 67
Right 70

How the moderate overlap front test is conducted

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2013-16 models

Tested vehicle: 2013 Dodge Dart Limited 4-door with standard front and rear head curtain airbags, standard front seat-mounted torso airbags, and standard rear seat-mounted pelvis airbags

The Dodge Dart was introduced in the 2013 model year.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

View of the vehicle and barrier just after the crash test.

View of the vehicle after the crash with doors removed, showing the side airbags and damage to the occupant compartment.

Smeared red and yellow greasepaint shows where the driver dummy's head was protected from being hit by hard structures by the side airbags.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the rear passenger dummy’s head was protected by the side airbag.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CES1208
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) -19.0
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID CES1208
Head HIC-15 135
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.6
Compression (kN) 0.4
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 42
Lateral force (kN) 1.5
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 45
Average deflection (mm) 42
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 4.80
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.80
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 1.6
Acetabulum force (kN) 2.0
Combined force (kN) 3.5
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 1.1
L-M moment (Nm) 132
A-P moment (Nm) 42

Passenger injury measures

Test ID CES1208
Head HIC-15 218
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.2
Compression (kN) 0.6
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 28
Lateral force (kN) 1.3
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 23
Average deflection (mm) 18
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 2.63
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.19
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 0.4
Acetabulum force (kN) 2.0
Combined force (kN) 2.4
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.4
L-M moment (Nm) 143
A-P moment (Nm) -55

How the side crash test is conducted

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2013-16 models

Tested vehicle: 2013 Dodge Dart Limited 4-door

Overall evaluation
Curb weight 3,330 lbs
Peak force 16,554 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio 4.97

How the roof strength test is conducted

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Power leather seats

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry
Technical measurements for this test
Seat type Power leather seats
Geometry
Backset (mm) 30
Distance below top of head (mm) 33
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g) 12.5
Head contact time (ms) 60
Force rating 1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N) 0
Max neck tension (N) 423

How the head restraint & seat test is conducted
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.