Bought the car from Chrysler dealer (3) months ago put 3000 miles on it was told what a great car this was. First month no heat to cabin changed thermostat no change few weeks later water leaks from engine after reaching operating temp, told it needed a water pump and that would solve both problems $1200. Immediately noticed a knocking after car reached normal temp, changed oil put in recommended weight and synthetic notice knocking worsened and oil light now comes on at idle. Going back to the mechanic claims need new motor only after all this does he suggest I check the Internet on the 2.7L V6 and decide what I want to do. Thanks alot asshole!!!!!

Greetings and salutations, fellow wounded veterans of the angst-filled Dodge Intrepid platoon. I was recently drafted into the ranks of the heretofore thought secret society of failed engines this very month. Had I done a little research before, I would have realized it was merely my ignorance of your existence, not that you sought to conceal your identity. I hate to be repetitive, as the story is quite similar in each instance, but, for the sake of adding another exclamation point to an old, old story...here is what happened:

I had fallen in love with this car since I was a youth, just beginning to embark on my automotive journey. I received a vision through the instrument referred to as television, revealing to me a wonderful new creation that utilized a spacious interior combined with a poetic design, so eloquently named "The Intrepid." The seed of covetousness was planted.

Fast-forwarding several years, my father purchased not one, nor two, but 3 total different models as his company cars over a total period of 9 years. As my father takes immaculate care of anything he possesses, so he continued to do with each of these illustrious Dodge "masterpieces." When the 3 years was up, he was given the option to purchase each car at the wholesale price, should he so desire.

So, in 2007, the year his company's car lease was up, that anxiously-awaited phone call came one winter afternoon. No, it was not Ed McMahon but, rather, my father, reminding me of the desire I expressed to purchase his 2004 Intrepid. The time had come. I hung up the phone and was lost in a dreamlike state for a good hour. As this had been my childhood dream, plus, I had watched my dad go through 3 of these magnificent machines without any trouble, and, finally, knowing how my father can take care of his cars, therefore, no thought occurred to me to explore any possibilities of a problematic history. This marked the beginning of my demise.

To maintain a little brevity within my story, I bought the car with only 28,000 miles in 2007. I took care of it, changing the oil faithfully, keeping up with its regular maintenance, and dealing with minor issues in a timely manner. So, just this month, the oil light starts flickering on occasion while idling. I checked the oil, it was full, of course. The valves started making a sound during acceleration, so I took it in to the mechanic. We both planned on it being a faulty oil pump or the oil sending unit (which I just replaced about a year ago). To my surprise, I received a call the next day, telling me I would need a new or rebuilt engine put in, as the bearings were worn down...the cost, anywhere from $4,000-$6,000 dollars. This was the day the music died.

My love affair with the Intrepid has not dissipated, rather, a passive hatred birthed for the Dodge 2.7L V6 engine.

This is my 3rd Intrepid. I dont know why I like them I just do. I guess the new 300c and Chargers are just to trendy, seems like for as much as people hate Dodge they all seem to have one or the other. Anyways im not here to complain, just give a little helpful info. My first intrepid 99' SE was a good car, until it reached 75,000 + miles. It started with a rattle coming from the hood of the car. I took it to the shop, and was told it was my lifters going out. I told the mechanic at the time, that I just had the oil changed. When he took it into the shop, he said all the oil was on one side of the engine and not reaching the other side. There was a oil sludge build up in the oil pump rail that transfers oil to the other side.

He said I would need to take it to dodge to have it fixed. As I left the shop to head to dodge, it made a loud clank then everything stopped. NO POWER NO CLICK NOTHING the motor has seized. I had it towed to dodge, the told me it needed a new engine, $2000 expensive but doable. So I got a new engine for it and sold it there after.

3 yrs later I don't know why but I bought another one, but had did some research before getting it.I have heard about a lot of complaints about the oil situation, but it wasn't just for the intrepid, it was the concord,lhs,seabring,intrepid. From the complaints Dodge finally fixed the issue with the oil, and redesigned the engine, still has some issues but nothing like it was before.

Even though they fixed the oil issue, if you decide to get a dodge again, first thing you should do is have the oil flushed out of it. replace it with synthetic oil, yes I KNOW it cost more but its worth it. My friends mom bought a 2001 Chrysler concord with 80,000 miles on it. she drive from the bay area California to Sacramento every day. i told her i would do an oil change for her to save the life of the car. We switched it to synthetic and change it every 5000 miles. The car now has 142000 miles on it and still going strong. I have a 2004 dodge intrepid 2.7l engine and I just reached 100,000 miles on it. I only had one issue with it and that was the battery shorted out and cause 8 different electrical sensor problems. other than that, I have no complaints.

So next time you get an oil change, its worth it to fork out that extra $20 bucks and get the synthetic. its a better oil because it doesn't sludge, and you can push it to 5000 miles instead of every 3000.

I've had problem after problem with this car. The oil sensor is bad, according to my auto shop. Additionally, the check engine light randomly comes on--and sometimes turns off when I'm braking, despite no apparent problem. There's a coolant leak--enough to bleed the coolant dry--that it's recently developed and it starts overheating when it gets low. Also I've had the engine die repeatedly when I start it and try to shift or start accelerating. Then it starts up just fine after a few tries. The fuel economy sucks, too. This is a crap car and I won't buy from Dodge again. I'll stick with Toyota or Honda.