This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The contact owns a 2003 Dodge Stratus. The contact stated that while driving 20 mph the vehicle became difficult to control. Upon further investigation, the contact found that the rear passenger's side ball joint failed, causing the wheel to move 45 degrees. The manufacturer was notified and informed the contact that the failure was considered an anomaly. The contact replaced the ball joint himself. One year later, the rear driver's side ball joint failed while the contact was driving 20 mph. The contact replaced the ball joint. The failure mileage was 140,000 and the current mileage was 160,000. Updated 3/27/13
About two months ago the upper ball joint in my 2003 Dodge Stratus vehicle broke while my boyfriend was driving. We replaced that part, and the car was running fairly normal until this morning when the right rear tire folded in just like last time, the ball joint from that tire malfunctioned again.
The rear strut mounts to the body are made of aluminum and are corroded and powdery. They have broken and I can see they are no longer holding anything.
The contact owns a 2003 Dodge Stratus. The contact heard a rattling sound in the rear of the vehicle. She took the vehicle to a local mechanic and they informed her that the rear strut mounts on both sides of the vehicle had fallen off due to corrosion. The mechanic will replace both at the cost of $460. The manufacturer stated that there are 3,000 of these parts currently on back order. The failure and current mileages were 112,000. Updated 09/10/08 updated 09/15/08
The rear strut mounts on our 2003 Dodge Stratus are made of a "pot type" metal. The car has mid 30K miles and the strut mounts are corroded to the point they fell apart. The shock was actually bound up in the middle of the spring. This fortunately was caught by my wife. This is a safety hazard and could result in an out of control situation. Strut could dig into tire. Car can fall on it's own suspension. How can you control a car if it is on an unstable platform?
- Syracuse, NY, USA
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After having my transmission lines repaired due to a leak I decided to take my car out on a test drive on the highway. Well coming into town I began to slow down from 65 mph to 55 mph when all of a sudden my car began to accelerate rapidly. The brakes would not slow it down. The check engine light came on. Fearing for my life I began to gently pull the emergency break which slowed me down to about 20 mph in which I took a turn into a parking lot. When I finally got the car stopped it jerked forward and the engine revved up to approx 600,000 rpms. It stayed like that (parked at home) until several days later when the dealership was finally able to check into it and here is what they "claim". somehow between the time they had it and the few hours that I had driven it since I had it back, they claim that I broke the cover to the idle air temp sensor and that it became lodged in the automatic idle speed motor and would not allow the car to idle down. Now what concerns me is exactly how can I break that cover" I am never under the hood of the car unless I check fluids. The cover to that thing is extremely thick. I believe that the mechanic busted it when he was working on the transmission but they refuse to admit guilt. Also I have heard a crunching sound coming from the rear end in the cold weather. They informed me that the rear control arm bushings are dried and cracked and will need to be replaced. This car is not even 3 years old. Why am I having so many problems with this and putting more money into it then it's worth" it's not fair. And yes I keep up with regular maintenance on it. I have a 4 year old that rides in the car regularly with me. She could of been hurt or killed.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Alberquerque, NM, USA