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.
Son arrived in the driveway, motor knocking (usually so quiet you barely know the engine is turning). Dipstick says oil is low, due for change (religiously changed every 3000 miles). New oil, synthetic, filter : knocking is reduced, but doesn't stop entirely. Get an opinion from a few mechanics : try Bardall2 oil treatment. Okay. I tried. Knocking continues. Verdict : engine change required. Estimated cost : $3400 installed, including taxes (used engine availability not certain). I may get the ticking (rods) fixed. Maybe. I think it would be better to invest in another machine instead. The Intrepid is still very pretty, sitting in the driveway, all dressed up with nowhere to go but the junkyard. Oh well. Would have liked to see it last longer than 9 years.
This engine was service regularly, every 3500 miles, drive up to the gas pump
and the motor starts making noise, no warning lights on the dash, no nothing. I shut the engine off and that was it! (Timing chain) .
This 2.7 engine has to be the worst design I have ever seen and I believe
that Dodge should take the responsibly and recall all of these 2.7 engines
and replace them, it's a poor excuse to say, O it's outside the warranty period
sorry.
Loved the car. Roomy, smooth ride. Faithfully changed the oil every 3,000 miles. Developed some knocking - more frequent oil changes seemed to take care of it, although we noticed what appeared to be some sludge around the cap of the oil reservoir when it was checked between changes. On vacation, out of state. Horrible knocking comes from under the hood. Pull over at the first place available and turn off engine - never to be started again. Had to call a tow truck, to get it out of an hourly parking lot, lug a baby, suitcases and a car seat blocks to the nearest metra station, take a train to the airport, the only place apparently in Chicago that you can rent a car, and drive home. After paying for storage fees and diagnostic fees to a mechanic recommended we finally donated it for parts. Had never heard of anyone else with this problem until it happened to us. Like my father before me I had always been a loyal Dodge owner but never again. Maybe there are enough of us that went through this that a class action suit might be a worthwhile pursuit?
- jmckemie,
St. Louis, MO, US
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I received my car for an early graduation present in 2006. I blew my first engine about 6 months later. Then I had a couple dollars to replace the engine so i purchased a rebuilt engine for about 1900 dollars. After driving with the rebuilt engine for about 3 months, the newly rebuilt engine blew. Now i am in serious trouble, a college kid with no money and a part time job at taco bell, so i found a way to come up with some more money to replace the engine again. So being the idiot that i was i replace the engine again. Well come January 2008 that engine seized up. I honestly love the way the car runs and the way it feels but i just can not keep putting money into this car. I am very disappointed in the dodge intrepid even though this car meant a lot to me. What could I possibly do to recover my car for a cheaper price and possibly never have this happen again?
Vehicle engine started running rough then quit without any warning. No indicator lights like check engine illuminated. Estimate to get a newer 3.2L or 3.5L engine installed cost more than the vehicle was worth. Previously spent $1500.00 this year on maintenance not including $500.00 for new headlights that were lousy with fog.
Well basically I had just bought the car through my bank, hoping it would be a good college car... but NO! I was wrong... The car was driving great at first until it had gotten its first oil change and then smoke was coming out the exhaust.. just three days later my car over heated , died and the engine had completely locked preventing my car from even starting... after towing it over to Good Year my cars engine was COMPLETELY DEAD!!????? and my only two options were to replace it or repair it!!! after calling dodge to get an estimate on how much it would cost to repair my engine.. he had given me an estimate of 8,500 Dollars!!!!??????!!!!! And to repair would start at 2,000 Dollars starting and up.... Not only would I have been paying for a engine repair but for my car payment for my Loan of 4,000 and insurance of 300 every three months!!!! WOW i hate dodge!!!! American cars that do nothing for the American people!!!
The engine went bad. I took such good care of this car. I changed the oil regularly and literally drove it 3 miles to and from work every day. The exterior is immaculate. The interior looks and smells brand new. But according to the mechanic who looked at my car after if quit running there was a sludge buildup because these engines had a default causing oil to back up. I attempted to sell my car to a junk yard and they laughed at me. They told me they have an entire junkyard of Dodge Intrepid s that don't run due to the 2.7L engine. they look good, but cannot operate.
Dodge RECALL this car already!!!! Obviously, this is a major problem and pain in the royal asssssss! I have three children, so, when I was looking for a car, I was looking for a SAFE vehicle and the dealership assured me that I was getting a great car! NOT!!!! I beg to differ......... I bought this car TWO MONTHS ago and, now, two months later, my engine blew all to hell! How safe is that for my family. This has been a very upsetting and exhausting experience for my family and, APPARENTLY, I can't do anything about it....I'm out my hefty deposit and out a good car. I will never buy or trust another Dodge vehicle again. Why can't this problem be made right???
We paid $5,000 for a used Dodge Intrepid and we had it only for 21/2 years and the engine blew. We have always had a problem with the car and adding oil all the time. It seemed to be a good car other than that!! Now we find out to repair it will cost almost as much as we paid to buy it! DO NOT BE FOOLED!!! DODGE INTREPID CARS ARE JUNK. I called a salvage yard to see how much I could get to junk it and the man told me 25.00 because he had 13 of them already. He laughed and said it is very common that these cars find their way to the junk yard and that the problems are always with the engines blowing on them.
I bought a 1999 Dodge Intrepid and that was the biggest mistake of my life. I am a single mother of five and it's really ashame how dodge has ripped off many people with this horrible car. The engine blew out in this car for no apparent reason.Dodge really needs to recall the engines on these cars.It should be against the law for them to sell this junk....I WOULD ADVISE ANYONE NOT TO EVER BUY A 1999 DODGE INTREPID UNLESS YOU JUST WANT TO GIVE YOUR MONEY AWAY TO DODGE.
Fool me once shame on you fool me twice I'm a fool. I bought a 1999 intrepid in 2002 it had 62000 miles on it and it looked Great!!! Drove great and it seemed like a really safe car to tote my three kids around in. until first the drivers window motor went out....the transmission cable broke the steering column went out and then last but not least my engine blew. I paid $12000.00 for a car that listed at $18000.00 brand new and was supposed to last me at least the 48 months that I had financed it for. But after 14 months I had no running automobile and after I had already put $3000.00 in repairs into it. At that point I wasn't about to pay the $3500.00 that the mechanic wanted for a mew engine so I parked it out at my grandmothers farm kept making payments and insurance payments on it and PRAYED for a tree to fall on it everytime that it stormed!!!! I was told repeatedly from mechanics that Dodge had really screwed up with this engine. Then along came my daughters 16th birthday and my grandparents had a friend that had a 1999 dodge intrepid with 50,000 miles that had only been driven by a 78 year old woman back and forth from church and bing and an occasional trip to the store. $2250.00 was a great price for a car that looked and even smelled brand new. We thought that we could at least get her through the next two years of high school with this car. We bought it on July 18,2007. Have had the oil changed faithfully every 3000 miles. And GUESS WHAT!!!!!!!!!!! Today with little warning at all we had it looked at because it didn't want to start last night and we were told that the engine was shot!!!! SURPRISE SURPRISE!!!!!!!!! I cann't believe that nothing has been done to dodge about these problems with these cars. If anyone wants to get together and file a suit against dodge count me in. I own a 2004 dodge Durango and a 2005 dodge ram now and will honestly say that I will never buy another dodge product again. I even have very close friend that work at the dodge plant in Mo. (sorry Darrin hope you keep your job because your cars suck!).
I'd rather pay the $3500 for a new engine to a lawyer to go after dodge and make them take some responsibility for these cars.
i bought this intrepid from someone and got duped. its been the worst experience for a car i ever had. first the guy i bought it from jimmy rigged the engines so the check engine light didn't come on so I had the car for 4 days and it stopped running on me.
its 2008 march 4 months later and im still trying to find a engine for this car and the cheapest ones are more than the car is worth. i hate dodge i lost my job of 2 years because of transportation to work and im still without a car
THE ENGINE HAS BLOWN IN MY DODGE INTREPID RIGHT AT 130,000 MILES AND 5 YEARS OLD. I ALSO WANT TO STATES THAT BEFORE THIS HAPPENED MY DODGE INTREPID 1999 WAS MAKING A RATTLING NOISE AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND WAS TOLD THAT THEY NEEDED TO CHANGE THE OIL. I STATES THAT READY HAD THE OIL CHANGE, THEN ATTEMPTED TO DRIVE THE AUTO WHEN IT JUST CUT OFF AND WOULD NOT START. THEN A MECHANIC , AFTER CHECKING THE DODGE INTREPID, TOLD ME THAT HER ENGINE WAS BLOWN.
AFTER HAVING THIS PROBLEM I DON'T THINK I AM GOING TO BUY A DODGE AGAIN. AND MAKE IT SO BAD MY FATHER WORKED FOR DAIMLER CHRYSLER CORPORATION FOR MORE THEN 33 YEARS. AND THIS IS WHAT WE GET FOR ALL THE PAIN AND HARD WORK. WOW !!
WHAT ARE AMERICAN CARS COMING TO .....MAYBE I NEED TO START BUYING TOYOTA'S .
We have bought an Chrysler intrepid from a reputable dealer. One we have bought before. After having the car for three years and putting only 15000 klm on it -the engine had alot of repairs adding up to 1700.00$ The car was then serviced about a week ago. We had the oil changed and the air filter changed . Then last Thursday I drove it to work and back on a trip I have to make weekly. Then all of a sudden it the engine started to make this awful sound. Clunking and moving around like it was chocking for air. I pulled over and lucky for me no one was behind me. The mechanic has told us the engine is dead and we need a new one! After only putting on about 20 000 klm in four years!! We have a family and home to pay for. The whole idea that Chrysler knew what they were selling the general public! I want to know where we can join the class action lawsuit -to at least get our money back! We don't know if we can even find an engine to replace this one! Not only do we have major repair bills ths seriously interferes with my job! Am I going to get my lost wages back??? If you have any suggestions please let us know!
Seriously pissed at Chrysler! how can you sleep at night!
There needs to be a class action lawsuit in every state for this. So far there is only one in New Jersey. I am from Pennsylvania and would join one right away if one was opened.
No recall from dodge knowing the engine was a common problem. First had all the lifters replaced , then 3 weeks latter engine blew on the way home which by the way I had to have it towed 120 miles. took over a year to finally get my car up and running. also now the window motors are starting to go out as of 11/03/07 2 so far both are in the front.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Son arrived in the driveway, motor knocking (usually so quiet you barely know the engine is turning). Dipstick says oil is low, due for change (religiously changed every 3000 miles). New oil, synthetic, filter : knocking is reduced, but doesn't stop entirely. Get an opinion from a few mechanics : try Bardall2 oil treatment. Okay. I tried. Knocking continues. Verdict : engine change required. Estimated cost : $3400 installed, including taxes (used engine availability not certain). I may get the ticking (rods) fixed. Maybe. I think it would be better to invest in another machine instead. The Intrepid is still very pretty, sitting in the driveway, all dressed up with nowhere to go but the junkyard. Oh well. Would have liked to see it last longer than 9 years.
- C G., Belleterre, QC, Canada