Comments: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-60, 61-74
I bought my 97 Avenger es from my neighbor who parked after the lug-nuts were not torqued properly. It ran great, but now I have a clogged EGR Valve. I'm about to get that fixed. Now when I stop fast or let of after a pulse on the gas like waiting in line the transmission jumps out of gear into neutral. I'm not sure if it is just low transmission fluid. Other than that runs like a champ. I had a guy that wanted my car so bad that he was going to give me a supped up 89 Camaro that won against a LS7 corvette. Does your 0 to 60 seem to have more to be desired. My gas mileage is only like 16 though and I let off really early before a light or turn.
I have a 97 Dodge Avenger and am having the same stalling problem. I am about to pull my hair out. I have replaced the ignition module, which meant I had to replace the entire distributor since they wouldn't sell it to me alone. Still stalling, but now even running worse. Idle seems very high and is driving like I'm running out of gas. Real bad bucking and no power. occasionally it'll kick in and I'll have power, but more often I don't. Going up hill is horrible. I have replaced the air filter and gas filter. Still stalling and still driving like crap.
I had a 95 Avenger that ran beautifully, but it got stolen and totalled. So I thought I would get another one. This one definitely a dud.
Any help or suggestions would be highly appreciated.
I just bought a 99' Avenger 2.0.l 5-speed and yes, it stalls and sputters too. I bought a new Idle Air Controller that seemed to help a little, but I'm still having problems. somethings wrong with the TPS, but I just bought a new one. The code scanner says that it's getting high voltage and it says it's at 16% open jsut sitting there idling. What could be the problem? I even ran a new tps sending wire, but still the same thing. I need some help.
I have a 97 Dodge Avenger that I purchased August of 05, and it ran great for the first 6 months. Then it started the stalling thing... Only in the mornings when it was cold. I'd have to let it warm up for like 20 minutes before I could drive it, or it would just die as soon as I touched the gas pedal. I actually didn't fix anything on it at all, which I know is horrible, I just kept driving it.
Then in August '06, it completely died on me on the freeway at 70 miles an hour, and I had to roll off into a parking lot. It would only go to about 40 miles an hour before it would start to idle real high, like it was stuck in gear. I left it there until I could pick it up the next day, and when I turned it on and went to drive it, it drove fine! So for the next month it gave me no problems, and then again it started idling high like it's stuck in gear.
In November '06, I parked it and it's been sitting since. Now I'm anxious to have my car back, and went to pick it up last weekend, and it started great! After all this time I only had to replace the battery cables and connectors, and it was even shifting. Although it did need two new tires, they were needed when I parked it. So I parked it at a friends house until I could get the tires the next day.
Went back to get my car, and it started great and ran great. Pulled off and got around the corner and it just died. Smoke started coming out my steering wheel and the passenger side of the hood from some box the throttle cables hooked to. I started the car right back up and now my gas pedal won't work! Now if I push it, it doesn't do anything... you can't push it! Like it's stuck or something, but it's more electrical! We pushed it back to the house and it is still running great; even when I pull the throttle it revs great! But the gas pedal won't move!
We turned it off to look at it, and when we turned it back on to push it we put it in reverse to let it move itself some and it started smoking again from the same places! It still runs great but what's with the pedal???!!!
HELP ME PLEASE!!! I LOVE MY CAR AND REALLY NEED SOME ADVISE AS TO HOW TO FIX IT. I've figured that the idle air control valve and the crank shaft position sensor need to be replaced, but this won't help my gas pedal.
WHAT SHOULD I DO??? BESIDES SELLING IT! I ALREADY KNOW... IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS PLEASE EMAIL ME @ jeneykayr@yahoo.com....
PLEASE HELP, I LOVE MY CAR, IT'S MY BABY!! As a single mom, this is the one thing I've purchased on my own, and it means a lot to me.
I've got a 97 Avenger and about a month ago my passenger side door handle broke, and I figured no big whoop since I can still get in on the driver side.
Well today while trying to leave for work the driver side door handle broke, I finally was able to get in and on my way to work.
Just wondering how easy it is to replace them, and what if any tricks to getting it done quickly.
I payed $3,250 for my 97' Avenger with 86,000 miles about 1 month ago first car I'm only 16 haven't had none of the transmission problems or engine problems thank God, mine is running fine only cosmetic damages to the car, only problem I've had is I need to make a copy of my key because the guy I bought it from only had the one key no body carries the key not wal-mart not home depot looks like I have to go to dodge.
Does anyone know who has the key besides dodge???
I'm having the same issue with the stalling. It will only do it when I stop though, or I am backing out. Anytime I start to slow down or completely stop, it will idle really hard and then die, unless I throw it into neutral. I changed the spark plugs and wires about 2 weeks ago and it ran like a charm for a week, then started acting this way again. Anyone know what's causing this? Also, for some strange reason it seems to run better when the air is on. So random!
Thanks!
I purchase a dodge avenger two years ago.
My engine light came on and I went Auto Zone they did a diagnostic check.The results were oxgen sencor.
I can`t seem to locate it or
a book a about a 1997 dodge avenger.
HELP!!! PLEASE Vanessa.
I own a 1999 Dodge Avenger ES 2.5L, I really like this car, but it has come with it's share of issues. I hope that I ca help answer some of the problems that I've had.
One of the useful things to know about these cars is that they are basically an extended heavier version of the Mitsubishi Eclipse. The Avenger and the Sebring are the exact same car except for a few features and body paneling. The engine, transmission and most everything else are Mitsubishi. AFAIK in 2000/1 the Avenger was dropped, and became the Sebring R/T, until this year when the new model Avengers were introduced.
Some of the problems that I've had are.
Problem: Transmission suddenly dropping and ONLY using first gear.
Solution: Transmission Range Sensors. There are 2 TRS sensors on the Avenger (2.5L at least) an Inner and Outer one. They are relatively inexpensive (~$18 a piece) and easy to replace, they are located on the transmission, the easiest thing to do is remove the airbox. One is located to the left, the other is almost directly underneath the airbox. The first time I did it, it took me an hour, the second and third times, maybe 30 minutes. For some reason, they keep failing on me about 1 a year, not sure why, but when they're replaced, it runs like a champ.
Problem: Car randomly stops running. Sometimes it starts up again right away, sometimes it needs to cool down before it starts again.
Solution: For me it was the Crankshaft sensor. When I was researching this, there seemed to be a few common solutions.
-Crankshaft sensor. Located ~12 inches under the distributor.
-Camshaft Sensor. This is integrated into the distributor and to replace it you must replace the entire distributor.
-ASD Relay. Evidently this going bad is pretty rare.
Problem: I've also had the handles break off,
Solution: I ordered the new ones myself, but they came in unpainted. After looking at the work involved with doing it myself, I just ended up taking it into the Dealer and for around $500, they painted and replaced the handles for me.
Current issue, is that the car vibrates badly when braking, after making sure the most common thing was actually not causing it (Warped rotors are the most common cause), I believe that I have it narrowed down to the Tierod ends. Which my gearhead friends tell me is not too terribly difficult, and a weekend warrior like myself should be able to do it in a day.
One of the other posters mentioned that they can't find a book on the Avenger, I use the Chiltons Manual for the Sebring/Breeze. Other great resources are the Dodge Forums, http://www.dodgeforum.com and ASOG (Avenger/Sebring Owners Group) http://www.asog.net/
Overall my heart really likes this car, it rides great, has decent power and has lots O nifty features, and for some reason, it feels really "safe", but my brain tells me it's just OK, I've had more "little" issues with it than my others ('90 Ford Escort/'89 Honda Accord/'00 626) My next car probably won't be an Avenger, and I'm not sure if I would really recommend one.
I have a 97 Avenger ES that I bought roughly a year and a half ago. It is chillin in front of my house because it stalled. It was running rough during the summer, but stalled at the end of July. I got fired from my job cause of this car and it's problems. I checked the mechanic's book for the car and it said a flashing check engine light meant a bad catalytic converter and engine failure would soon occur so I'm guessing that's what it is. It started up on thanksgiving, but I couldn't turn the steering wheel. I had the power steering pumped replaced when I got the car and it was doin the same bs when it started. I had the battery replaced and the front brake pads, rotors, and calibers which cost $655. I bought new spark plugs, wires and distributor cap and rotor, but have yet to install them. I also bought a valve cover gasket cause it is leaking. Does anyone have any suggestions or had the same problems?
Reading these posts have been a riot. Part of me feels nostalgic and relieved that I was not the only one to run into these problems. The other part of me wants to cry cause I have sank too much money into this car right now to want to just get rid of it. 97 Dodge Avenger 4 Cylinder. APRX 120,000 miles.
I've done a lot of maintenance to the car and part replacement. (Breaks, Tires, Timing Belt... maintenance tuning, oil changes... the works)
Other Problems:
Lower Lateral Control Arms - Recall
Radiator... first replacement.
Foggy Headlights (This is a widespread Dodge Problem)
Two (2) Broken Handles (This one makes me laugh to hear about)
EGR Valve (Blown out... caused the stalling)
Valve Cover Seals
Head Gasket Seal.
Anyway... my story starts as all others. I bought the car back around 2001 and got it for a decent price. Everything was good for a while, maintenance necessary here and there and I like to keep my car maintained so this was just part of the whole owning a car ordeal. I never ran it too hard but didn't baby the sucker either. It's a car, it has a function, I drove it.
Things started out alright. Radiator blew on me one day after getting a new sound system. Lots of wonderful coolant all over the place. Replaced... simple enough.
Received recall for control arms in mail. Sorta forgot about it. Maintenance maintenance... breaks... timing belt... and had grinding on front drive train. Mechanic looked at it, lower lateral control arms. Brought it to Chrysler Dodge for recall. Replaced.
I've had a lot of oil leaks here and there, seals... etc.
The most comical of all problems is what I laugh at the most reading and that is the door handles. One morning I was getting ready to head into work and I unlock the door, left the handle, and it snaps off into my hand. I knew I didn't pull to hard on it, just enough to open the car, but started to doubt myself. Well, put it off... passenger side was good enough for a while. Getting out of work with my brother one day, (and I had cautioned him about that being the only good handle only a few hours before and from the day driver side broke) he pulls the handle off. Fishing through the window to open the doors with wire was an event. Crawling through the trunk and leaving the back seats down was good to last till I got the handles replaced.
That alone annoyed me. That is something that never should happen. Then, there are the foggy headlights. WHY Can't THEY MAKE A CLEARCOAT OR LENS COVER THAT STANDS UP TO WEATHERING!!!??? I wet sanded them for a few hours... lasted about 6 months. Now they are all screwed up again.
More recent deals, stalling this past year. I have a manual transmission which I knew wasn't the problem. Chrysler/Dodge service center took a look at it. ERG Valve, Valve Cover Seals... also got a tune up at that time. Not too serious. 6-7 Months Later... smoking from the tailpipe. Leaky head gasket. Replaced gasket, water pump... etc.
Get it back, still smoking. Chrysler told me it was oil in the exhaust... brought it back twice... same story. New tires and they notice it and think their might be some coolant in the line. Pressure tested at another place... gasket fine but could be... lets see... valve seals... cylinder rings... fun fun fun fun fun.
On top of it all... the clear coat is peeling off the car. Not only am I sinking money into the engine... but after the fact... the car is going to still look like crap. Is a paint job worth it? I keep asking myself that and keep thinking... no.
I spoke to Chrysler today about the last servicing and how upset I was about it still smoking after 500 miles since the head gasket replacement. They want to take a look at it of course and say they will give me a break on labor cause what I brought it in for and what they repaired did not solve the problem. They are thinking I need a top end rebuild... machining parts and all that wonderful stuff. Still need to look at it though. I am wondering what sort of estimate I'll be looking at this time.
This will be possibly the last thing I repair on this car. If I get yet another headache after this, I'm going to call it quits and either trade it in, or just drive the damn thing with whatever problem till the tires fall off.
The worst sting of all is that the deeper you get into repairs the more you feel obligated to hold on to the car, and the more you're starting to run over the value of the car itself. The only thing you have left to bet on is that you can get the mileage out of it for the cost of repairs to make it worthwhile.
That is the only bet I got.
I will never buy a Dodge or Chrysler vehicle again so long as I live.
97 Dodge Avenger... runs on cash... not gas.
Well, I have read these posts and I have to say I bought my 97 2.0 in 98 after the original owner traded it for a 4 door (she was pregnant). I have only done general maintenance and a few recalls; except for the stalling problems, yes, my car has had that for the last 5 years. Gets worse when it is hot but it was 2 sensors, camshaft and crankshaft that needed to be changed. I just never bothered until I finally had too. Didn't take that long for either. I spent about $100 on the 2 sensors and really only needed one but thought might as well get them both! My car has been great 150,000 plus miles and still great! I had it in for a tune up and the mechanic was freaking out over how smooth the engine sounded for a 4 cylinder with that many miles.
My mother has a 92 Toyota Tercel bought it new and it's had at least 3 engines and everything else replaced on it within the first 5 years. I guess every car maker has their lemons. Lucky for me it isn't my Avenger!
I've owned my 1999 Avenger for 3 years now and had nothing but normal maintenance problems with it until now. After finding out that in order to get a proper front end alignment you must replace the stock upper ball joints with $120.00 (a piece) adjustable ones just to set the caster and camber I started to become less enamoured with the car. I'm 51 and have been a mechanic all my life, even rebuilt a few cars and have never seen anything so stupid as a company that designs a front end that you can't adjust!
I had 1 door handle break and was lucky enough to find a new one for $30.00. Bought a can of red base coat and a can of clear and it looks like new. Installed it myself and I can tell you, it's not a job for a novice. They have the rods in a very tight area and you still have the electronic parts in there to navigate around. Still to me, it was a minor problem. I will add that the door handle breakage problem (like most all of Chrysler's problems) began thanks to Lee Iacocca way back in the early 80's.
Next came the emergency break cables. I had to replace them and found out to my horror that the parts stores (Advance, Beacon and Auto zone) do not carry them at all! I had to call every Mom and Pop parts store in the area until I finally found one that could order them. The dealer charges $45.00 for one and $48.00 for the other. I bought both for $45.00 at that parts store. If you can't find them at your local parts store, just keep calling, some small parts store out there will be able to order them for you.
I have the normal headline falling problem from the sunroof's cover. Double sided tape does a great job holding it up. It's better than that spray on crap too.
I'm beginning to experience the stalling problem. My check engine light came on so I had one of the mechanics where I work put his computer on it. He used to work for Chrysler so he knew the codes and his computer was already made for Chrysler vehicles (actually, this one being a Mitsi, he had the codes for it too) so I had the check engine light answer right away. It said I needed a camshaft position sensor replaced. A check at Chrysler found that I had to buy a whole new distributor just to repair the cam sensor and that cost $800.00 not installed (I get a 15 percent discount). The mechanic at work shut off the light and said to just keep driving it and see what happens. That was months ago and the stalling began a couple of weeks ago. It's intermittant and seems to stall twice in a row then stops stalling. Sometimes when I'm driving it does it but restarts itself if I keep coasting along. It stalled this morning twice at a stop sign and had to be restarted twice, the second time it seemed to not want to restart but did with a little coaxing.
One thing I've always done is to use "Seafoam" twice a year in all my cars and tractors but was remiss this past year in using it. On a hunch I dumped a can in yesterday and the real bad stalling began. Coming home from work today it didn't stall at all so I'll keep driving it to see what happens.
Since the North East states must use that reformulated gas, all motorized vehicles must run on it and so do my tractors. Both have been experiencing problems thanks to that gas deteriorating the rubber fuel lines. I'm making a bet it also has something to do with the Avenger's stalling as well and it may be why no one can figure out why they stall. If it stops, I'll post again to let everyone know and hopefully it will help some of you.
I have to add that this car has been stellar as far as reliability is concerned until now. I bought it with 60,000 miles on it and now it has 92,000 miles on it and I haven't had to change one plug. I'm not happy at all with the stalling and the fact that buying anything for this car is an exorcise in futility but that's Mitsubishi's fault, not Chrysler. I have no plans to buy another Mitsi after this car because of the lack of availability of parts as well as the high cost (original replcement rear muffler alone is $250.00!). I do have to say that the car was fun up until now though.
I've just talked with the mechanic where I worked again about the stalling problem I talked about on an earlier post, here's what he told me...
The camshaft position sensor and the crankshaft sensor are on the same circuit feeding to the computer. If the crank sensor malfunctions or goes bad it can read out as having a bad camshaft sensor then the computer will send the system into default mode so that you're not stuck out on the road. This is why the Avenger loses gas mileage and doesn't run very well after the initial malfunction takes place. The stalling without a code reading in the computer is another symptom. Changing out the crankshaft sensor should solve the problem and will cost you around $60.00 for the part. Don't go blowing the $1000.00 for a new distributor until you've changed out the crank sensor and made certain all other minor problems have been repaired.
When any car gets older, sooner or later they begin to display what's called "progressive failure". What this means is that all moving or operational parts are wearing at the same rate. It's when one of those parts fails and is replaced by a new part that all the problems of progressive failure come to light.
In other words, if you change out the crank bearings and don't change the rod bolts, later on you're pretty certain to throw a rod because the rob bolts have stretched and weakened over the miles. The major problem came to light because you changed the bearings and re-torqued the rod bolts stretching them even farther. It's the same if you reworked the heads but not the bottom end. Failure to do both will result in the higher compression exposing the wear of the bottom end through excessive blow-by on the rings and a crank case under compression, low end noise, bearing failure etc. All these parts were worn together and now only half were changed so the rest are still old.
What I'm getting at is this, if you have a bad crankshaft sensor then it stands to reason that there may be other problems along with it. Unless you personally owned and cared for the car from the time it was new and took absolutely perfect care of it, there may be other problems on top of the crankshaft sensor so check for multiple problems. If it's still stalling after changing the crank sensor you may also have a bad cam sensor or plugged fuel lines or injectors. There are a number of reasons for an engine to stall and it could be any of them.
Find a reputable mechanic who isn't just a "parts changer" and can diagnose the stalling problem. Let him know that you've changed out the crank sensor if you did. If he's good he'll find the problem.
I bought my 97 Avenger with 12 miles on it. It now has over 190,000. I absolutely love my car. I really hate that you are having issues. It has been the most reliable, cheap car I have ever owned. I have put it over the road. I don't drive slow and I certainly have never babied it.
The only big cash repair was a head gasket. Chrysler knew about the faulty gaskets, but would not repair for free or recall it. That happened just after 75,000 miles. Otherwise, it has been a dream.
But, alas, all good things must come to an end. I live in WV where salt is the name of the game in the winter. It ate my frame, of which I had no idea until a strut broke.
I was actually searching for another Avenger when I came across this blog. I don't know if it is still active, though. After reading this, I believe I got the cherry of the bunch and maybe should look for a different make/model all together.