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.
7.5
pretty bad
Typical Repair Cost:
$2,310
Average Mileage:
99,700 miles
Total Complaints:
22 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
not sure (15 reports)
engine replacement with a 3.5l (3 reports)
overhaul of motor (2 reports)
replace intake tensioner and valve gaskets (2 reports)
Pretty Damn Pissed. i am 19 year old college student, two jobs, no support from parents, everything is done independently. Bought my first car January 13,2012 from a private owner. First he was asking for $1500, but due to minor hood and rear damage i managed to walk away paying only $1200 with $50 of that paying for 2 new tires. Thought i was doing very well until i drove the 99 intrepid home from the Auto Shop the following evening. Come to find out the car wasn't even worth the already low price of $1150 i paid for it. The owner knew the motor was bad but was content with his response when I asked if he had any engine problems. to mask the loud ticking and rattling noise throughout my test drive, he filed the oil valve with a thick oil treatment called Lucas. I have already put $1100 into the car and the problem still remains unfixed. I've been told that it will cost another $700 to fix before the car will be capable of passing emissions.... FML... I'm taking this F*cker to court
YA , the car was nice back in the days/years when it was newer. recently my grandma had given me her favorite car for $200 thinkin i was gettin a steal. well now that i realized why she didn't want to pay to get it fixed because she would rather be paying for her Yukon instead. ya well i got myself into this situation an well i guess hope to put my tax return to good use an have my ride on the road again. I wish i had Googled this before hand. well its a nice care too BAD the dealers had to put defective 2.7 liter engines in them. where's the freakin RECALL. Also the 07 Dodge Ram suck at the sand dunes on rez. I Hope they recall the tranny so.......................
geeze.. i guess i should have read some reviews on this car.. i just bought this 1199 intrepid off my mother... and she never had a problem with it.. she always had the oil changed and took really good care of this car.. its an awesome car...WELL... almost the other day i was coming home and stopped to get gas and noticed the engine making an awful ticking noise.... so i checked the oil and the oil reads fine.... but i guess from the sounds of it.... its gonna be an engine replacement or just throw the fricking junk dodge away... take my loss now.... i just want to know how and why this car does this.. one mile run great and then the next mile make these terrible noises.. any ideas?
I bought this car from a mud lot dealer who sells decommissioned government vehicles; I brought my friend (a mechanic) to look the car over and give his opinion. He did warn me that Government vehicles are often driven hard but conversely are routinely well maintained during the period of their possession by the State. While investigating this car further through its paperwork, we discovered that this car was issued solely for the use of an upper management type in state government. It was so softly used that there was no wear on the interior, trunk or driver's area, it all looked new. The driver(s seat area appeared to have no wear on it at all. I bought the car and drove around on my mechanic friends transporter plates for about a month as I had to leave the country for 6 months and didn't want to add the car to my insurance policy until I returned the following year. If I put 100 miles on the car it was a lot. After returning home to the States the following year, I started the car up for a week every day for about 15 minutes fully expecting to register it and use it. At the end of the week I started hearing a ticking sound; The oil was good and the impeccably clean engine compartment was devoid of leaks or other visible anomolies. My mechanic friend came over and picked up the car. He diagnosed the car as having a timing belt problem but informed me that I'd have to get on a waiting list as his garage burned down during my absence and it would be some time until he could get back into the rythm of things. I told him to hold onto the car as it did me no good taking up space for the few months that I was home; and to take his time in repairing it, as I always had the other car. I went abroad again for another 6 months. When I returned in October of 2008 the car was reportedly done, I paid him and started the car preparing to leave . Within seconds it started knocking...not ticking, knocking! I left it running and signaled for him to come over. He was shocked and told me he'd used the car just the day before to run down to the parts store and at the same time test drive the car and "it drove as smooth as silk". That evening he called me at home. The bad news was that the crank was bad and I either buy a short block, a crank kit or consider risking a good used motor or really dig down deep for a rebuilt one. Prices from started from $950.and ended at $3500 In every case the cost would now bring me over the value of the car. Times being what they are I no longer had the money to move forward; We agreed to park it in the back by the woods. Essentially the car is junked today and has been sitting in his yard since October waiting for someone to offer me something for it as parts. I lost $2800 total to date.
- Laurent I.,
Hudson, NY, US
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First, the check engine light came on. I took it to the dealer where I got it from. I was told that the egr valve needed to be changed, did this. Then I drove it for 1 week and the check engine light came on again, and I started to hear a clicking noise. Took it back to the dealer to find out that there was a problem with the crank shaft and that the engine needed to be replaced. This is a very costly repair. I made the mistake of buying the car as is thinking that I was getting a good deal. The dealer got me, that's on me for not checking the history of the vehicle before I brought it. After the fact, I checked carfax and found out that there were 16 hits on the using the vin number. The next situation was electrical, the windows stopped going up and down. Took it back to the dealer during the same time frame, and was told that something electrical is going on with the car. I believe that the dealer knew that the car had all of the problems, but I was the sucker that got stuck with the car. All of the above problems happened within 3 months of me buying the problem vehicle. After the fact, I researched the vehicle using the vin number and found out that the car had 16 hits. I believe that Dodge knew that the problem existed for the 1999 Dodge Intrepid and i want justice from them. They should have let the people who brought the vehicle know that they were producing a product that would develop into a very costly problems. I want justice from the dealer and from Dodge. I need justice.
i bought this vehicle for $5000 us it was a beautiful car, no noise when it ran, my mechanic, whom hated the person who sold the vehicle to me said it was the best car the "sleaze bag" had ever sold i was on cloud nine. i got a great vehicle at a decent price. then within a couple days the coil packs go out $60, then all the electrical stops working $500 dollars. still ok now 5 months later 140k miles the engine starts knocking it's like ok it could be a bent valve or a damaged rocker arm we'll see what the mechanic says my beloved mechanic says oh i forgot to tell you that the rod blowing is a common problem in the 2.7 liter engines your car has. ok i can see him not saying anything about that when i bought it but 900 dollars to replace the rod or 5000 to replace the engine, his suggestion is buy a new car it'd be cheaper!
Thanks dodge another well made product, i wish i had seen this car had been recalled 4 times in the 8 years it's been in existence i'd have never bought the PoS anyways on the phone with the dealership even though and i quote "yes this has been a fairly common problem, We cannot repair the car or replace it due to there being no recall on the car" WTF why not they sure recalled it for everything else....
My husband bought the intrepid for me because I sold my good running car for something that I thought I would enjoy. I should have listened to my husband! We have had the car for 5 months now and drove it only 2 times. The very last time we seen the car move was on the tow truck. My husband was stuck at work an hour away from home because the engine went out. He was furious! We could not believe it. We spent alot of money buying this car and now we have to pay an extra $4000 to get it running again. We don't have that to throw away. This is an extreme problem that needs to be taken care of. Too many complaints should lead to ACTION.
Engine was replace in February of this year. Have put 18,000 miles on it and have done the oil changes every 3,000 miles as recommended and then the ticking started the day before yesterday. Last night it progressed to clanging. It is in the shop first thing this morning. I am waiting on the verdict and I am sure it will not be good. No warning lights or anything. This will be it for this car and me. I am saying goodbye to it. I have had all I am going to take. I am going to the news media and painting a big yellow lemon on this piece of crap car. Better yet, I will paint a big piece of crap on it. May as well paint it what it is.
Ya i thought that dodge is a respectable Company, and yes they are when you only buy the car... I will never buy again a car from a company that knows about a problem and never solve it... bye bye dodge.
My super clean car went ticking on the road.. for no reason.
I've noticed i'm not the only one having this problem with the intrepid. I took it to the shop cause it was knockin and the guy told me that the conecting rod was shot and he had to rebuild or replace the engine. I'm currently putting together all my information and intend to file a lawsuit so if your interested email erocstewart@yahoo.com.
In 2003 I purchased a 1999 Dodge Intreped with 35,000 miles on it. It ran OK, and I was happy with the car. Then my brother purchased one with 65,000 miles. Within one week his engine was blown, oil sludge! He couldn't find a used engine and no mechanic would touch it. That's how I found out about the 2.7 liter engine. Now my Intreped with 59,000 miles has started ticking (won't be long before it's junk). My mechanic has said he won't work on it because it's just going to happen again and he won't be able to offer a warranty on the work. He then explained in detail the problems with the 2.7 engine. The best advice he could offer was sell or trade in the car. I still owe $5000. on the loan. There is no way I'm gonna sell this piece of garbage to a private buyer. I'm left with trading it in and hope I get enough to pay it off. I guess I'm lucky, at least it hasn't blown up yet. I still have my brothers engine sitting in my garage, I intend to mount the piece of garbage 2.7 into the bed of my new FORD pickup hang an appropriate sign on it and ride around Dodge/Chrysler dealerships in my area, I'm sure this will do nothing more then make me feel better, but if it drives even one customer from Dodge/Chrysler I'll be happy. I should mention that I have owned 5 new Dodge/Chrysler products in my life and was happy with each of them, however I will never own another one and at every opportunity will discourage someone else from buying one. RECALL THIS ENGINE NOW!
2.7 V6 Chrysler's high brass needs beaten to death in their sleep for allowing this motor to enter the marketplace. They can use the old sludge excuse caused by the customer all they want but numbers speak in high volume. A simple Google search will show that alone! Amazing how only those cars with a 2.7 seem to land into the hands of bad owners? Come on you Nazis admit you screwed up at the design table! Well, people have better things to say about your 3.5 and it sure is job security for the shops who convert the 2.7 to a 3.5. I just had mine towed to a shop last night that will perform such a task and they had 2 others right there in the parking lot with the same issue. It sure is funny to see three Intrepids all within ten yards from each other with the EXACT problem! I hate Chrysler/Dodge you almost went belly up once so I can only hope to see you actually fall out of the market soon. Stay with your current path of building attractive junk so you'll lose in sales more and more each year!
First off, I will never buy a dodge product again. First its my car smoking like a chimney out the muffler. Second it downshifts hard, and now third it has this annoying ticking sound under the hood that I have no idea what it is or how much it costs. My friend that i work with has a dodge like mine but a 2000 and her transmission went out on her. My only suggestion is get rid of any dodge product you have and dont buy another.
car has been serviced regularly, this is my first new american car. if they can't last more than 70K miles without going to hell, I should have bought a 1967 VW bug!!! My mechanic says the knock is in the bottom end and not a lifter stuck. When will the recall happen, my extended warranty just expired!!!
I have made manteinance as manual says, there is a ticking sound, are the valves... major composture... check this site. I am not the only one, what can we do!!! Nobody wants to buy crap, thats what it is...
I only had the car for a month when I heard this ticking noise coming from under the hood, and there was excessive burning of oil from my tailpipe. I was checking my oil every other day to make sure the oil level was full, but about every 2 days the oil level would decrease about a quart and a half. About two weeks into owning my car, I was driving on a busy highway, and my car started making the loudest ticking noise ever, then the oil light flickered, and my engine stopped. I opened the hood, and sure enough my engine was bone dry, no oil at all. Ironically, I had just put 2 quarts of oil in it that morning. My engine is blown with estimates of repair ranging from 2,000 to 4,000 dollars. I am left with no means of transportation and having to stare at a piece of sh*t car that I would love to beat with a sledgehammer. Thanks a lot Dodge-----YOU SUCK!!!
I have seen so many of these cars since I have bought one. The ticking is annoying, but it seems to run real smooth. It seems to burn a little oil but other than that it runs real smooth. I had to have the fans replaced at a cost of $437.00 to the dealer. I believe I have made a good purchase.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Pretty Damn Pissed. i am 19 year old college student, two jobs, no support from parents, everything is done independently. Bought my first car January 13,2012 from a private owner. First he was asking for $1500, but due to minor hood and rear damage i managed to walk away paying only $1200 with $50 of that paying for 2 new tires. Thought i was doing very well until i drove the 99 intrepid home from the Auto Shop the following evening. Come to find out the car wasn't even worth the already low price of $1150 i paid for it. The owner knew the motor was bad but was content with his response when I asked if he had any engine problems. to mask the loud ticking and rattling noise throughout my test drive, he filed the oil valve with a thick oil treatment called Lucas. I have already put $1100 into the car and the problem still remains unfixed. I've been told that it will cost another $700 to fix before the car will be capable of passing emissions.... FML... I'm taking this F*cker to court
- qurrie, Denver, CO, US