1995 Dodge Intrepid review from North America

The day after we bought it the plastic portion of the dipstick fell off. We were able to retrieve it ourselves by heating a nail, inserting it in the plastic part remaining in the oil tube, creating a hole and using a pair of manicure scissors to pull it out. ($9 for new dipstick)

More recently we have been having problems with the injectors. There was a ticking noise that started at 65000 miles. Over the next month (1000 miles) it continued to get worse until it was a ticking noise combined with a high pitch squealing. We took it to a mechanic that suggested we do a mechanical or chemical clean. We did the chemical clean (cheaper) and changed to synthetic oil. We were assuming that there was not enough oil getting to the lifters. The noise quieted for awhile, but now at 70000 miles we took it to the Dodge dealer for a factory recall on the floor shifter, and had them look at the lifters. It cost $150 just for them to open the valve covers to determine if oil was getting to the lifters. Their diagnosis was that there was a spun cam barring. It is supposedly easier and cheaper to have the entire engine replaced than to fix the cam barring. ($3400 to replace engine if done by Dodge, we bought a salvage engine and had a small mechanic shop drop it in for total of $1000). The most frustrating part of this is that we have only had the car for 4 months and have put on 10000 miles (which yes, is a lot), and already need a new engine.

Safety recall on a pin in the floor shifter. - free.

Bought it with hydraulic hood opener that was broken- never fixed it.

The car's interior was in excellent condition when we bought it and has still held up with frequently transporting a dog.

It is a comfortable ride for long distances and we have gotten up to 40 mpg on our long distance drives to Canada.