CarComplaints.com Notes: The Dodge Stratus, Intrepid & 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. Also the 2.4L engine doesn't have the oil sludge problem.
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 TELL YOU WHAT I LOVE THIS CAR ITS MY BABY IVE PUT ALOT OF MONEY IN IT BUT THIS DAMN DASH IS KILLING ME YOU CANT GO TO A JUNK YARD OR EVEN BUY A USE ONE BECAUSE THERE ALREADY BUSTED AND IM NOT GOING TO PAY 1400 FROM THE DEALER SHIP SO IT WILL BREAK AGIAN. ONLY THING I CAN TELL YOU IS GO ON E-BAY PAY 30 DOLLARS FOR THE DASH COVER THEY HAVE IT IN EVERY COLOR AND THATS WHAT IM ABOUT TO DO I GUESS THANKS FOR LOOKING
When I purchased the car there was a small crack on the dashboard by the windshield, on the side of the dashboard closest to the windshield, between it and the defrost vent. I didn't think much of it until about a year later. My dashboard now has two cracks in it. They run from the windshield all the way to the radio on one side and the dome shaped part in front of the steering wheel. The only way to fix this is to replace the whole dashboard. I don't see the point in doing that because who's to say that the next dashboard wont do the same thing?? And who wants to try to replace a dashboard, the car will never be right again after the replacement!!!
- sammo,
Lathrop, MO, US
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I TELL YOU WHAT I LOVE THIS CAR ITS MY BABY IVE PUT ALOT OF MONEY IN IT BUT THIS DAMN DASH IS KILLING ME YOU CANT GO TO A JUNK YARD OR EVEN BUY A USE ONE BECAUSE THERE ALREADY BUSTED AND IM NOT GOING TO PAY 1400 FROM THE DEALER SHIP SO IT WILL BREAK AGIAN. ONLY THING I CAN TELL YOU IS GO ON E-BAY PAY 30 DOLLARS FOR THE DASH COVER THEY HAVE IT IN EVERY COLOR AND THATS WHAT IM ABOUT TO DO I GUESS THANKS FOR LOOKING
- myrtisbadass, Chattanooga, TN, US