CarComplaints.com Notes: The Dodge Intrepid, Stratus & other Chrysler sedans are infamous for oil sludge problems with the 2.7L V6 engine. If someone offers to sell you a 2.7L V6 model, it's only worth the price of the scrap metal it's going to shortly turn into.
NOTE: Only the 2.7L V6 has the oil sludge problem. Our "Avoid like the Plague" designation is ONLY for models with the 2.7L V6 engine. All other available engines are very reliable with no major problems.
Even with regular maintenance, the oil sludge defect eventually destroys the 2.7L engine typically around 80,000-100,000 miles. The only true fix we know about is to put in the larger 3.2L engine, which has a great reputation.
This issue was never deemed a safety defect by the Feds, so there was no recall. In the end, Chrysler got away with FOUR YEARS worth of defective 2.7L V6 engines in their sedans.
2.4
hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
63,000 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
City driving, when power brake booster failed without warning, resulting in almost complete loss of brakes. Luckily no other traffic was present, so no accident. Awaiting replacement part.
According to the mechanic working on my 1999 Dodge Intrepid, the power brake booster is defective. Currently, when the car sits in tempatures below 32 degrees for a couple of hours, there is almost complete loss of brake pressure due to air being allowed into the system because of a hairline crack in the unit. When the car has been allowed to warm up (15-20 minutes) and/or the tempature is above 32 degrees, the brake pressure is fine as no air is being allowed into the system because of the expansion of a seal in the unit. When the mechanic called his auto-parts dealer for a part, he was told it was only available from Dodge directly. When he called Dodge, he was told the part was on national backorder and could not even be given an estimated date of when the part would become available. If there is this big of a demand for the part, obviously this is a major problem. I noticed online that there was a recall of 2000 and 2001 neons for brake booster problems, why not for the other Dodge cars?
- Monroe, NJ, USA
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- Benton, IL, USA