Dodge’s 5.7L Hemi Engine: Never Buy These Years

In 2003, Chrysler reintroduced the legendary Hemi engine to American car buyers after a decades-long hiatus. The first of the “third generation” Hemis was the 5.7-liter, gas-powered, 90-degree, pushrod V8 that replaced the older 5.9-liter Magnum V8 in 2003 Dodge Ram pickups. This new hemi was a clean sheet design with a cast iron block, four-bolt main bearings, forged con rods, and lightweight aluminum pistons. The heads were aluminum cross-flow units with two valves and two spark plugs for each cylinder. It was, for the time, an extremely efficient, high-tech, and powerful mill.

From the Ram, where it was the only gas-powered engine available in heavy-duty trucks for nine years, the new 5.7 hemi spread throughout Chrysler’s lineup. First to the Durango in 2004, then over the next few years to the LX-platform cars — 300C, Charger, Magnum — and even to the Jeep family. Chrysler put the 5.7-liter in a ton of vehicles throughout the aughts and teens, and overall it proved to be a stout, reliable power plant.

Even the most reliable engine has its issues, though. Over the past two decades, the 5.7-liter has gained notoriety for a handful of issues — some annoying, some serious — that have slightly tarnished its reputation. There are even whole years of production that knowing car nerds avoid like the plague due to quality and build issues. What years are those? I’m glad you asked.

Despite its general reliability, and the fact it was a Ward’s Top 10 Engine award winner for a number of years, the 5.7 Hemi had its share of issues. The biggest problem it had was the notorious “Hemi tick,” which was caused by failed lifters, causing the pushrods to eat away at the cam lobes, thereby ruining important parts of the mill’s valvetrain. Other issues with the 5.7 included misfires caused by spark plugs wearing out early, and weak exhaust manifold bolts in some early years. While these are significant problems that can lead to expensive repairs, especially that lifter/camshaft ticking problem, the 5.7 didn’t have many more problems than any other comparable engine.

That said, there are a few model years that someone looking at a used, Hemi-powered Chrysler product might want to avoid. The 2005 and 2006 Hemi-powered LX-platform cars, especially the Magnum, experienced significant issues with their 5.7s. The Magnums had a whopping seven recalls with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and had a nasty habit of stalling and hesitation after refueling. Later on in the engine’s life, the 2011 and 2012 engines used in Ram pickups were notorious for the Hemi tick. The 2012 trucks were particularly bad, in fact, and should probably be avoided.

Other than those blips — and make no mistake, those are pretty serious problems — the 5.7 Hemi was a pretty great engine. Thankfully, the rumors of its death seem to be just that. In fact, Stellantis just announced that the 5.7 would come back in 2026.