1997 Dodge Avenger ES review from North America

Multiple tires; 95% of the tires replaced were front tires.

Very frequent brake repairs once every year or so.

Always had problems shutting the drivers side door in cold weather. The window would lay on top of the glass seal instead of under it. Also the window would rattle when the door was shut.

Water pump leak at 90,000 miles (timing belt replaced at that time).

Clear coat of paint started to chip around this time also. After the clear coat gone, the paint chipping was next followed by rusting.

Front lights fogged up.

Two cracked blinker lights.

Leaking windshield seal.

Gaskets replaced - this was recommended after a routine oil change, the car ran great until then. All of the following happened very shortly after the work was done:

My trip meter stopped working.

Stalling in cold weather, stumbling up hills. Driving down a major road, it suddenly just revved high in 1st gear. Took it to a transmission specialist, who said it needed to be drained and refilled. Ran fine for awhile after, but continued stumbling and high revving in cold weather.

Crankshaft leak (during this time the oil gage was never consistent).

Check engine light on all the time, most recently anti-lock light on after braking.

Smell of gas from exhaust. Occasional gray smoke as well from the exhaust, accompanied by an almost stalling sound in the engine.

I love the handling of this car at high speeds, and its smooth handling in and out of traffic.

The color choices of this particular model are not very appealing.

On the highway, the extra power is there when needed. Although it's kinda slow getting up to speed, after the car gets past about 60 you have to watch it cause it will get past the speed limit very smoothly without you even knowing.

I am a proud owner of a 1997 Avenger ES with about 137,000 miles and counting. It is the best graduation gift anyone can receive. I am so glad I stumbled across this site, because I was losing faith in how much more my favorite car could take.

Like I had mentioned before, I had taken my car to a transmission specialist after a scary stalling/high revving incident. He gave me (at the time) scary news that my transmission might not have much life left, he had found metal chips in the drain pan. (Of course then he hit me even harder when he told me the price tag of a new and refurbished tranny). Yikes! Reading from some of these reviews and tidbits, I will now look more towards the crank sensors and the idle air intake valve. I did remember reading about faulty sensors in my Haynes manual that I purchased at Advanced Auto Zone.

Despite all its faults and being through two major hurricanes, it still has some kick to it, and is a blasty blast to drive.

**** About the key copying - try the Mitsubishi dealer or a hardware store. ****