Comments: 1-15, 16-22
After having the car for three days, the transmission had to be overhauled, including replacing clutches & torque converter.
Months later, the transmission was shifting roughly and the shifter was stiff. Dodge provided some "non-service".
At 44,000 miles the transmission needed to be serviced because of clunking noises and rough shifting.
At 53,000 miles, the transmission was again overhauled because it would not shift out of low gear.
At 59,000 miles, the transmission cooling lines needed to be replaced.
At 108,000 miles Dodge recommended that the transmission be overhauled again, quoting me $1540 for an "overhaul" and $2275 for a replacement transmission. I eventually went elsewhere and had the transmission overhauled for $900. At 130,000, it was still working OK when I sold the car last month.
Wind noise from the windows, which began in the beginning, was always a problem. Noise from the molding above the glove box was also constant.
At 18,000 miles, the antenna snapped off while driving due to road wind.
The traction control light and ABS light would turn on and off constantly, but Dodge could never detect a problem.
At 19,000 miles, the antenna bent again under normal road wind.
The air conditioning system had numerous problems over the years including the replacement of: a/c damper, freon leaks, suction line damper X2, power blower module connection, replacement of liquid line X2, new compressor X2, condenser lines -o ring gasket/seals X2, the A/C belt came off while driving the car, and a new fin sensor evaporator was needed.
The steering mechanism clunked whenever it was cold out, and eventually Dodge replaced the steering rack and mount, and later the steering rack bushings.
The driver's seat, when moved in its track, began making noise at 27,000 miles. Eventually, the seat rails broke but Dodge refused to fix it because the car was past the warranty mileage.
In 1995, Dodge convinced me that I should install an ECC valve to make the car run better and to achieve better fuel economy. To make a very long story short, it leaked excessive amounts of fuel (twice, after being "serviced" by Dodge).
The water pump went at 55,000 miles.
I lost electrical power while driving on several occasions, and they replaced the power control unit.
Next, problems developed with fuel leaks. I had smelled gas leaks for a year but Dodge could not find a problem. Dodge finally replaced the fuel rails ($315.00) at 75,767 miles, which was after my warranty expired. This was later the subject of a recall (TSB # 790).
The entire K frame developed a crack down the center of the frame, which Dodge would not warranty at 75,000 miles.
I had many tie rod problems, adjustments, and worn out tires as a result.
At 87,000 miles, the passenger side tie rod broke and the entire wheel assembly collapsed, which cost me $1200. The reinforcement of the lower control arms were later the subject of a recall (TSB#837).
The 1994, Dodge Intrepid ES was the most costly vehicle I have ever owned. I spent almost $10,000 on service for this terrible car.
I would never buy, rent or travel in a Dodge/Chrysler vehicle again. I tell everyone I know to avoid the company.
Chrysler has been non-responsive to my complaints and Dodge Service is the worst.
Say what ya want- this car was clearly abused.
Subject to abuse? Are you a Dodge executive or what? Few of the problems reported here are from abuse! I have one of these miserable vehicles and have had many of the same problems. Is using you air conditioner abusive? Maybe setting the temp too low? Excessive seat adjustment perhaps. Maybe we should set it to a comfy position when we buy our cars and then never mess with it again. Transmission problems. Excessive shifting maybe? It's an automatic. Short of quick changing from R to D to try to break it, what can you do to it?
No. This car was a mess from the beginning. I remember the ads when I bought mine. "This changes everything." They were right. My family had been buying nothing but Dodge for 30 years. We don't buy them anymore.
Agreed. Over the past two years this car has put me in the hole. Transmission, A/C, tie rods, bushings, truck water leakage, door seals, intake manifold seals, you name it, it went bad. I babied this car and it still gave up on me. Right now it's in the shop getting the transmission overhauled. I went out and purchased a 2002 accord ex. Please do your self a favor, never buy a Chrysler product.
I have owned a 1993 Dodge Intrepid since 1994. It first came to me as a company car with 12,000 miles, having previously been owned by a car rental company. I am quite lazy about servicing so my poor car has only have a very minimal amount.
Water Pump changed
New coil and leads
Fuel rail leaked, but this was done under the recall (only found out that the dealer had to do this by chance they did not offer this information, they did the other recall work at the same time.)
Transmission has always had a bad clunk when changing into reverse, dealer never found a problem!!
Car now has 122,000.00 miles and the transmission has finally given up.
All in all this car has been great. Has cost hardly now money to own. I guess I just got a good one.
In many cases (actually a very high percentage) of the transmission failures and problems with this transmission is a direct result of using GM Dexron (or other non-approved) fluid instead of the required Mopar 7176 fluid. This has been documented by Daimler Chrysler as well as extensive examples on the internet by independant sources. This transmission actually has a higher than normal (as compared to Ford and GM) reliability rating. There are several reasons for this. The primary reason being that the 42LE does not operate like a conventional hydraulically controlled automatic. Statistics do not agree with your assumptions of the reliability of this vehicle. You can flame me of course, but you cannot change those statistics.
I own a 1995 ES, bought new, maintained at the local Dodge dealership, not abused, and always garaged. The car was fairly reliable up until about 60,000 miles. After that point, the problems my car has experienced range from failed transmission (always serviced at the Dodge dealer with Mopar components), leaking fuel rail (replaced twice), front suspension/steering components, water pump and timing belt failures, paint flaking off, as well as numerous small failures. The reason that I am at this web site at all is that I am trying to find out if the issues I have with my Intrepid are in any way common. Although I can't comment on the statistics mentioned in the previous comment regarding the reliability of the Intrepids, it does seem that there are a lot of common reports of these failures.
I've owned my 1993 Intrepid since November 2000. It's been a great car, I've had to replace the starter wires, and front struts and rotors. Otherwise, just general maintenance. I can't say if it's had any other problems, since I am not the original owner.
I still see this car driving around and up until now wondered if its just mine that has become a lemon. At under 100,000 miles: 2 timing belts, 2 water pumps, tie rods, A/C compressor, an unable to pinpoint sensor defect, possibly the power control unit? And now the fear of transmission trouble due to reading this survey.
I have owned our 1994 Dodge Intrepid since 1998. I have had a few problems along the way, but now I have a huge problem. The intrument cluster does not work at all most of the time. Some times it will pop on when driving, or after numerous minutes. I have had the Body Control Module replaced, as well as having the intrument panel removed and serviced. Any one else having these problems?
Without doing much homework on the Internet, I bought a used 94 Intrepid 3 years back (<90 k miles). AC never worked which could be evaporator problem. But I did not realize this could be a recall item until recently. But now the mileage is over 100 k and recall will not cover it. The automatic transmission was rough when I got it. It lurked at 5-10 mph and there was an impact at gear shifting. I took it to "5-star" Dodge dealer. The transmission was tested and found no problem. They thought it was engine problem and charged me over $400 for servicing throttle body, changing oil and speed sensor (for about 2 hours shop time). The problem was not solved. A few months later I had a transmission service. The problem was mysteriously gone. Some other people had exactly the same experience, which was post at another site on the Internet. About 2 months ago, the transmission would not shift out of low gear. I took it to the transmission shop. It took them more than one day to figure out it was the problem with the computer controlling the transmission. I was charge more than $500 for replacing the $75 computer chip, including a transmission service which is 20% more than if I had a transmission service alone. Later I found on the Internet that this is also a common problem with 93-95 Intrepid with electronically controlled transmission.
Recently I experience a problem with steering system, and I realized that the recall item of Lower Control Arm Bracket has not been done on my car. I have just scheduled an appointment to have it fixed. I hope nothing would happen before I drive it to the dealer next week.
I've owned a 1994 Intrepid since it was new and I now have 144,000 miles on it. Right now it's not a bad car to own. I say that because even though I have had most of the problems listed by others, I do my own repairs and my local junk yard has more Intrepids than anything else. In addition, the parts are cheap (when still available and working). I am still on my first transmission - I've found that as soon as it starts to slip or lock in "limp mode", changing the fluid will help. I've been changing the fluid and filter every so often for years and it still slips, but it keeps on going.
The thump you hear when shifting into reverse is the rear transaxle mount. It's a very poor 1-piece design that turns into a 2-piece design. About $40 at an auto parts store and an hour or so of your time will fix it.
The condenser leaks because of a bad weld design at the supports. A sudden jolt, collision, etc. will crack the metal on the condenser at the weld. I got a replacement at the junk yard for $15. Just make sure you check the car to see if it still has refrigerant in the system. If it does, you know the condenser is OK. Make sure you handle it like the fine china it is until you install it. Also, I had a bad sensor on the line that prevented the compressor from operating. Dodge wanted $100 for the sensor. It came free with the condenser at the junk yard. A/C is working again.
The problem with the steering is not the rack and pinion, it is Dodge's idea of having a steel bolt go through an aluminum sleeve inside a rubber bushing. After a few years the molecules turn into alumi-steel and the only thing that will turn is the rubber bushing after it rips apart. You will notice that it is bad when it's cold out. The rubber is hard and makes a ripping/grinding/crunching sound. It's a little tough to reach, but there are only two bolts to take out. Advance Auto carries a replacement 2-piece bushing for well under $20. I didn't even need to remove the tie-rods on the 2 occasions that I replaced the bushings.
Speaking of tie-rods. Just got a replacement at the junk yard for $5. You just have to look for a good one.
I could continue, but you get the idea. That's the great thing about my car now that it is 10 years old. If you own a well made car, whenever something fails you have to buy new. With the Intrepid, the last one to get junked is the winner. Used parts are cheap and plentiful. Speaking of which, I once owned a Chevy Vega (please, no jokes about my IQ).
I have owned my '94 Dodge Intrepid since the beginning and it is now 2004. It just rolled over 244,000 miles and I drive it everyday as a work car. It is put through traffic jams, stop and go Detroit traffic everyday. it travels an average of 160 miles per day and all I have ever had to do was change the oil regularly and replace the front bearings once at 235,000 miles. I beg to differ that it is a bad car.
I've myself have own this 1994 dodge intrepid in the begginng of 2005.. it has 150,000 miles. I've have put over $2500 dollars in repairs in the car already.. : (I've changed steering rack, tierods, lower suspension bushings, transmission solenoid (this is the 2nd trans in this car),fuel regulator (it was shooting fuel all over), plugs, 4 hoses, rotors, pads, cooling fan assembly (2nd fan died), thermostat, air & trans filter, and other things I can't remember at this time.. : (I like the car, but I've owned other cars in the past and never had as many problems so quick.. I can't afford to keep putting money into a car that just keeps breaking down.. I would not recommend this car to anyone! in my honest opinion a lot of my repairs are not this that are supposed to be changed out for the life of the car.. btw I baby this vehicle everyday.. hope this helps.. RM.
I also have a 1994 Dogde Intrepid. I'm a mechanic and bought mine cheap for the same tranny stuck in low gear problem. Here is a rundown of the problems your discribed. First off the transmission, there is a computer in the driver's fender for the tranny, if this has a problem the car is built to STAY in second gear to avoid damage to the tranny ($50 at a junk yard for the computer). The stearing, Dodge designed there to be a set of bushings at the rack ($8 for the set) to wear out and they take the abuse rather then the rack or tie-rod ends. The A/C has the same problems as any car maker, but I noticed the seal for the high side needs replaced every few years (50 cents). The transmission cooling lines are mounted low so if you bottom the car out the rubber hose to metal line connection will begin to leak, just reseat the connection and its fine. This is a good car, it sound more like to me the garage you goto is the problem here... YOU WERE LIED TO AND MILKED... if you have any questions bobby48735@excite.com.
Oh I forgot to mention about the car just shutting off, if your car is shutting off replace the cam sensor (above water pump, or/and crank sensor (at bell housing) - if these fail it will appear as a wiring or electronic failure, its not! as far as the gauges, the before mentioned transmission computer in the drivers side fender controls these, this could be the problem (also check the ground connection below the battery box. These seem to be the most common problems and causes, I hope this helps someone out!