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.
I had about 89,000 miles on my 1999 Dodge Intrepid when the reverse quit working. i wasn't hot rodding, mud-bogging(who would mud bog in an Intrepid), or doing anything to harm the transmission. I was leaving a friends house one evening and the damn car wouldn't go anywhere in reverse. It would go into gear, but the damn hub went out and all the car would do was accelerate. What a pain in the ass. It cost me 2,200.00 and it wasn't worth it in the end.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
I had about 89,000 miles on my 1999 Dodge Intrepid when the reverse quit working. i wasn't hot rodding, mud-bogging(who would mud bog in an Intrepid), or doing anything to harm the transmission. I was leaving a friends house one evening and the damn car wouldn't go anywhere in reverse. It would go into gear, but the damn hub went out and all the car would do was accelerate. What a pain in the ass. It cost me 2,200.00 and it wasn't worth it in the end.
- Devon W., Worland, WY, US