A Dodge Charger Daytona EV that won’t start is usually a dead 12-volt. That’s especially true after a Front Range cold night. The app can still show a healthy traction pack. The dash stays dark, the chime never plays, and the car won’t ready. That’s a low-voltage wake failure, not an empty floor pack.
The cold soak is doing the damage
January’s normal low around Denver sits near 18 degrees, per NWS Boulder climate normals. The January 2024 arctic blast dropped Denver from 47 to minus 19 in about two days. A Daytona that sat through that kind of night is a classic 12-volt no-start. The car was fine when you parked, and in the morning it’s a brick.
The traction pack hates this weather too. Recurrent Auto’s winter study found EVs keep about 78 percent of max range at 32 degrees. At 20 degrees, that average falls to about 70 percent. That’s driving range, not the wake circuit. A dark dash with range still in the app is the 12-volt talking.
Denver’s official elevation is 5,280 feet at the State Capitol. Street parking, a garage, or a DEN lot can all soak the small battery overnight.
Why the motors have nothing to do with this
The Daytona EV is Stellantis’s electric muscle car on the STLA Large platform. It’s a 400-volt architecture, with Scat Pack trim up to 670 horsepower.
The 400-volt pack feeds the motors. It doesn’t run the door locks, the cluster, or the modules that bring the pack online. A separate 12-volt battery does that work. Press start with a weak 12-volt and nothing comes up.
If the app reports range and the car is a brick, skip the charge port. See which EV battery matters on a cold roadside for that split.
Jump the hood posts, not the trunk first
The 12-volt lives in the trunk on the driver’s side. It’s behind or under a side trim panel. You shouldn’t need that panel for a jump. Stellantis puts remote jump posts under the hood. You can clip on without opening the trunk.
Connect a jump pack’s positive clamp to the positive post. Clip the negative clamp to the negative post. Wait a moment, then try to start. Post covers and labels vary by year and trim. Read your owner’s manual before you guess in a dark lot.
The snag is the electric trunk release. With a fully dead 12-volt, that release has no power. Jump at the under-hood posts first. Once the car wakes, the normal trunk release should work again. Then you can reach the battery. If it needs more than another jump, see the 12-volt replacement signs. For clamp order, use this EV 12-volt jump walkthrough.
Symptom cheat sheet
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Dark dash, no chime, trunk stuck | 12-volt is fully down | Jump at the under-hood remote posts |
| App shows range, car won’t wake | Low-voltage system, not the pack | Don’t chase the charge port |
| It starts, then dies within a day or two | 12-volt is worn out | Plan a 12-volt replacement |
| Trunk sealed and the car is silent | Electric release has no power | Jump first, then open the trunk |
| It drove, then quit on the road | Traction pack may be empty | Ask for a mobile charge, not a jump |
Where Denver drivers actually get stuck
A week in a cold DEN parking facility is a documented 12-volt pattern. Peña Boulevard is the only road in. It’s an 11-plus-mile city-maintained freeway across open plains. You come back from a trip, the pack still has energy, and the car won’t unlock. That’s a jump or an on-site 12-volt swap, not a pack fill.
Long dwells do the same thing closer to town. A Daytona can sit all day at the Tech Center. It can fail to ready when you walk back. Park Meadows in Lone Tree is the same story after a long sit in the garage.
Street overnight parking around the core, including Capitol Hill, gives the small battery a long, cold sit. If it started last weekend and it’s silent now, start with the 12-volt.
If you ran the pack down on I-25 or I-70, a jump won’t help. That’s an out-of-charge recovery. The car needs miles put back into the traction battery.
CDOT Safety Patrol will jump a 12-volt on covered metro freeway segments. Weekday hours are 6:00 to 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 to 7:00 p.m. Weekend hours are 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. It covers parts of I-25 South from 120th Ave to Arapahoe Rd. It also covers I-70 East from Wadsworth to Airport Blvd. Portions of US-6, C-470, and I-225 are in the program too. The patrol’s published pages mention nothing about charging an EV. They don’t bring a Level 2 source to the car.
If you’re on the shoulder, keep hazards on. CRS 42-4-1202 lets a disabled vehicle sit off the traveled lanes. That’s only when it truly can’t be moved. Colorado has no separate EV breakdown statute. Same shoulder rules as any other car.
E-470 drivers can pull to the shoulder and dial *470 for a jump-start. That program is also silent on EV charging. After a show at Red Rocks in Morrison, treat a dark car as 12-volt first.
What a local operator can actually bring
Charge Pro DEN is a referral line. We match stranded EV drivers with independent mobile rescue operators across the Denver metro. We don’t own trucks. We don’t employ technicians. We don’t do the work. The non-Tesla EV rescue path covers Stellantis cars, including the Charger Daytona. The pros we connect you with are licensed and insured.
They bring 12-volt jump gear, and they can replace a dead 12-volt on site. If the pack is the problem, they bring a 240-volt Level 2 source. Non-Tesla EVs use a CCS or J1772 adapter. That charge typically adds 10 to 20 miles of range. Charging time is 15 to 30 minutes. That’s charge time, not a promise of when someone arrives.
The operator quotes you before starting and bills you directly. We don’t set prices.
If the car dies again after it starts, treat that as a failing 12-volt. Read this follow-up on a 12-volt that dies again.
Home charging is a separate question. Xcel Energy serves much of the core metro. CORE Electric Cooperative serves the Douglas County south corridor, including Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Parker, Castle Rock, and Castle Pines. United Power covers much of the north and northeast. It splits streets with Xcel in Thornton, Westminster, and Broomfield. Longmont has its own municipal utility. Confirm the utility by address. A dark morning no-start is still usually the 12-volt.
Frequently asked questions
How do you jump a Dodge Charger Daytona EV?
Use the remote posts under the hood. Don’t fight the trunk first. Positive clamp to the positive post, negative to the negative post. Pause, then try to start. Confirm post locations in the owner’s manual for your year and trim.
Why is the trunk stuck when the Daytona EV is dead?
The trunk release is electric. The 12-volt battery also sits in that trunk. With no 12-volt, the release has nothing to work with. Jump at the under-hood posts until the car wakes. Then use the normal release.
Can it refuse to start with a full traction battery?
Yes, that’s the usual 12-volt picture. The app can look fine while the car stays dark. Charging the pack won’t wake the modules. Jump the 12-volt and see if it readies.
If your Dodge Charger Daytona EV won’t start in the Denver metro, call Charge Pro DEN. The number is (720) 738-6950. We’ll connect you with a local operator. That operator quotes before any work starts.