Dodge Charger Daytona’s “Fake Exhaust” Lands Driver a Ticket
Electric cars are supposed to be quiet—but Dodge decided silence wasn’t enough. With the 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona, Stellantis introduced the Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust, a speaker-based system that simulates the roar of a HEMI. Some enthusiasts find it goofy, others love the throwback “electronic” muscle sound. But one driver recently found out this “fake exhaust” can still land you in trouble with the law.
Viral Story: Ticketed for Speaker Exhaust
A video went viral this summer after a Charger Daytona owner claimed he was pulled over in Stillwater, Minnesota, and cited for a loud exhaust. The twist? His car was electric. The noise came not from an engine but from Dodge’s built-in external speakers designed to mimic V8 thunder.
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The driver, Mike, was out with his car club when a state trooper stopped him at a light. The officer allegedly mistook the Fratzonic system for an illegal aftermarket exhaust. Despite Mike explaining the car was electric, he was still handed citations. The ticket has yet to appear in the Washington County court system, raising questions about whether it was ever processed.
Can You Really Get Ticketed for “Fake” Exhaust?
This situation highlights a bizarre legal gray area. Traditionally, noise ordinance laws targeted cars with modified mufflers, straight pipes, or booming stereos. But with electric vehicles now simulating engine noise, it’s unclear whether synthetic sound falls under the same rules.
If courts decide volume alone is enough, then yes—even speaker-generated noise could trigger fines. That would make Dodge’s Fratzonic exhaust the first case of an MP3 player “exhaust” being ticketed like a straight-piped Hellcat.
Dodge’s Ongoing Fratzonic Controversy
From the moment Dodge revealed the system, the Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust has been polarizing. Enthusiasts mocked it as artificial, while Stellantis defended it as a way to preserve muscle-car character in the EV era. But this incident adds a new wrinkle: if cops treat it like a real exhaust, owners may face tickets for nothing more than Dodge’s design choice.
Final Thoughts
Whether this was a misunderstanding by the trooper or a glimpse into future enforcement, the story proves how strange the transition to electric muscle cars has become. From straight-piped Lamborghinis to speaker-based Chargers, the line between “noise pollution” and “performance sound” is blurring fast.
If this ticket sticks, Dodge owners might not just be paying extra for an artificial exhaust—they could be paying fines for it too.
