1998 Dodge Intrepid ES 3.2

Summary:

How bout one word GREAT

Faults:

There has been no problems with the car, except for 1 coil pack had to be changed. A lot of people who claim that there car is sludged is mostly because of changing brands of oil and not changing it. The Intrepid ES I have has over 120000 and there is no sign of sludge, or power loss, But most of the problems seems to come from the 2.7 or whatever they are. The 3.2 a lot of people like it better.

General Comments:

Handles quick and tight. Love the car, wouldn't trade it. The only thing that took getting use to was the small whine from the rollers of the 24 rockers under the valve cover.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 3rd April, 2007

1998 Dodge Intrepid 2.7

Summary:

Its been a good car so far???

Faults:

Lights dimming.

Heater core.

Water pump.

Drivers door window regulater.

General Comments:

I like the car for its room and comfort. It handles well, but learning more on the troubles peaple are having with it, it might be time to get rid of it!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 10th December, 2006

14th Dec 2006, 13:36

I own a '97 Intrepid and I have heard from others the same problems that I have had with mine... transmission, water pump, and rear axle... it's been a wonderful car, and it has a lot of miles on it, but I've almost replaced enough parts to make it new... I'll have to keep mine, it'll rule the road until 250k miles flips.

1998 Dodge Intrepid 2.7 liter V6

Summary:

The best car you can find with 164xxx

Faults:

One of the back windows the motor went out and had to be replaced, but fixed by factory warranty.

Front passenger side window fell off track, but we didn't have to buy anything new we just put it back on the track.

Motor went out at 104xxx.

Burns oil due to a valve job that is desperately needed.

A/c went out 2 years ago, but I'm so use to the heat it doesn't bother me.

General Comments:

This is a base 98 intrepid.

I can't say anything bad about it except for the oil burning problem.

Its very roomy and has lots of space.

Still drives like new even at 164xxx.

Most people have major issues with their intrepids all I can say that cost me was the motor.

Great sound system for factory.

Hugs the corners when your going fast and sits low to the ground.

It never leaves the road.

I love it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 8th August, 2006

1998 Dodge Intrepid Base, SE 2.7

Summary:

Looks good, but that's about it

Faults:

Brakes every 10,000 miles.

Rotors turned every 15,000 miles, finally replaced after they couldn't be turned anymore.

Both radiator fans went out at 75,000 miles overheating the car, $500 dollar repair.

Inner tie rods replaced twice. Once at 85,000 miles, second time at 115,000, $110 dollars each time.

Speakers blew out, $75 replacements.

Transmission mount cracked, had to special order from the dealer, and installed by my mechanic - $100.

A/C system not working properly, had to be flushed and recharged every summer - $200 every summer.

Transmission was slipping since 85,000, put in Lucas transmission oil, temporarly solved the problem.

Catayltic converter went out, eventually killing gas mileage. Too expensive to repair, was quoted at $850 to replace.

I put in Mobil 1 syntetic oil, and flushed the car's engine very often since I owned the car. Last year I was driving on a busy intersection in New York City, when the car died on the spot. Spent a week trying to figure out what happened.

Towed the car the dealer, dealer said the timing chain was worn out, even though it was recently changed, quoted at $ 1750 to replace.

Towed the car to my mechanic to do the timing chain and water pump replacement, when the mechanic started to work on the car, he discovered that the engine was so badly sludged up, it was beyond any repair or able to be rebuild. Don't forget I used Mobil syntectic oil, that should have prevented this problem. Mechanic quoted me at $4,000 to replace the engine and installation, and he told me not to even bother with this car, cause it wasn't even worth more than $2500, and that was with a working engine.

Guess the dealer decided to leave the sludge problem out, until they changed my timing chain and water pump, so they can charge me for the parts and labor. So when the repair was the done, and the car didn't start, looks like we found the real problem, and know we can charge for an engine on top of the timing chain and water pump. Thank you 5-Star Chrysler dealership

Went back to the dealer and he quoted me at $6500 for a new engine, the dealer then decided to act dumb, when I mentioned the engine was sludged up. Tried to blame the engine self-destructing, itself on me. Saying bad maintenance made my engine to go, I flipped out on him, in front of all his customers.

I ended up donating the car, instead of sinking more money into. It just wasn't worth it.

General Comments:

The Intrepid has the looks, and is a head turner. However, it wasn't build right. Especially the 2.7 liter engine. When the car was working it was very comfortable, especially for long trips. Other than that, problems after problems after problems.

This car has been labeled by many mechanics as a disposable car, because it has the tendency to never last over 100k miles. I got lucky, mine lasted till 125K. Even with the right maintenance, you will have trouble with this car. I will never buy another Dodge or Chrysler vehicle again, it's too much of a hassle and financial burden to deal with.

It's off to Honda and Nissan for me.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 1st August, 2006

24th Aug 2006, 10:01

I have a dodge intrepid 1998 just bought it on tax money... has had lots of problems knocking sounds in the car while I'm driving it and today of 08/23/2006 went to work and started sparking... what could be the problem of this I'm not too happy I take it that dodge intrepid suck too many problems!! lmorales71792@everestkc.net.

26th Mar 2012, 18:31

You say you changed brake pads every 10,000 miles. You either bought totally crap brake pads, or the brake pads are dragging (possibly due to malfunction with the emergency brake cable, the calipers are binding up on the slide pins, or something).

You also say you had your brake rotors turned every 15,000 miles.

This doesn't at all jive with the schedule for the brake pads. Why on earth would you have the rotors turned if you're not changing the pads?

If the rotors were warped, having them turned wouldn't normally solve that problem (how was the diagnosis made that the rotors needed to be turned?).

Those vented rotors on the Intrepid are pretty thin, they were made to be as light as possible for increased fuel economy.

I'm surprised that you were able to get the rotors turned more than once, without winding up with a rotor that was too thin to meet spec.

You got a really good deal if you had inner tie rods replaced for only $110. Labor for replacing a single inner tie rod normally runs over $100, plus you'd need an alignment, which normally runs about $80.

So, the maintenance schedule you give for your brakes doesn't jive, and the cost for replacing inner tie rods is questionable, and casts a dim light on your "mechanic". This lack of credibility casts a shadow over your reported experience with the 2.7L engine.