1995 Dodge Intrepid ES from North America - Comments

I have had problems with most of the major systems on this vehicle. The transaxle was replaced once just before I bought it (84K), and again 1,000 miles ago at 113,000. The air conditioning has had constant problems, repaired twice to the tune of $500 per instance (evaporator once, compressor/receiver-drier once). All four power window and lock units have been replaced. The sunroof motor has been replaced. The ABS controller has been replaced ($1,200). The paint faded and peeled off, so the entire car had to be repainted. The valve covers leak. The engine cooling system has constant leaks--fix one and another shows up. Just add coolant every morning (yes, it's THAT bad) and save yourself some money. As a plus, the power (HEATED) mirrors are excellent, nice to keep ice off of them, and have never failed. The body controller, PCM, and TCM have all failed, costing about $1,000 apiece. The radio "locks up" during operation. The rack and pinion has been replaced, and the tie-rod bushings. My mechanic said this happens often with these models, and the tie-rod ends need replacing about every 45-50K. At $300 a pop, it adds up. Squeaks and rattles EVERYWHERE. The passenger-side air bag door is warped, the dealer said it's from the heat. This vehicle has ALWAYS been kept in a garage. And during the day, it sits in a parking garage, the previous owner was the same way. Heat? I don't think so. The EGR system had to be replaced, $200. The car has constant front-end problems. The power steering whines in turns. It wears tires like candy.

I bought this car after my 1996 Saturn SL2 was totalled after a drunk driver forced me off the road and into a tree at 45MPH. My Saturn protected me--I was able to open the door and walk away. I bought my Saturn with 40,000 miles on it, and when it was totalled it had 120,000 miles on it. I had to replace the struts on it once, and then the normal maintenance items (fluid changes, brake pads, etc). Never did this car refuse to start, and NEVER did it have any other problems. I put about $200 into non-maintenance items on this car the entire time I owned it. And plus it protected me in this horrible accident.

My Dodge has left me stranded 10 times. And I paid $4,000 for the Dodge, and have spent about $4,000 in repairs for it. I have been reimbursed for many repairs by Chrysler, but I still find the car's constant problems unacceptable. Always something wrong with it. I have learned my lesson, so last week I traded the Dodge in on a 2002 Saturn L300 with everything.

Dodge makes great trucks, but stay away from Dodge cars. The Neon, Stratus, Intrepid--they all have similar problems.

We are the poor, unfortunate owners of a 1995 Dodge Intrepid. We needed a second car, and I RUE the day we saw this piece of junk for sale in a used car lot. It had 80,000 miles on it when we bought it. We were told that the transmission was replaced at 54,000 miles.

At approximatly 116,000 miles the transmission began having problems, namely, shifting out of high gear at motorway speeds, and changing down into 2nd gear! This resulted in great fun for the engine also, that overheated!

The car was taken to a transmission specialist and had to be totally overhauled to the tune of (wait for it) $1700!!

The transmission re-build lasted six days and it went out again. Yes, it's back in the shop with more transmission problems! I'm not parting with another $1700 to get this lemon fixed. In fact, we have had nothing but problems with this vehicle. The transmission being the most serious.

I will never buy a vehicle again with the Daimler-Chrysler name on it. And in respect of our personnel experiences with this car, I wouldn't recommend Daimler-Chrysler cars to anyone!

A few years back I saw a 95 intrepid for sale at a pretty good price. at the time I was driving a honda prelude (i will swear by those cars till the day I die), and was having problems pushing the clutch due to knee injuries. so I decided to check out the intrepid. the trans was shot, so I told the dealer to get it fixed, and id buy the car. oops. six monthes later the leaking water pump finally rusted out the timing belt and pulley mechanism, leading to a $500 dollar repair. shortly thereafter, the starter went (the first of many times.) the heat hasn't worked properly since I bought the car, theres leaks in the cooling system, I have to add fluid at least twice a week and bleed off built up air weekly. the tie rod on the front passenger side fell off. the rear struts are shot. the engine leaks oil like a seive, and the oil pump apparently doesn't want to keep oil pressure up anymore, so my oil light flickers when the car is in drive and isn't moving (and yes, I've checked the oil, I keep it full). the last straw was when the shifting started getting jumpy one day on the way home from work, then just quit all together on the freeway at 75mph. so, my intrepid is sitting at a truck stop now, waiting to be stolen, vandalized, or otherwise disposed of. I'm not sinking another dime into that car, including getting it towed somewhere. I've put more into it than I paid for it. time to buy another prelude.

I am the owner of a Dodge Intrepid ES 4 door sedan. Mechanics seem to be well-aware of the problems I have had with this car. Still, my objective is to rebuild her till it is practically new. A number of mechanical and cosmetic problems have cropped up since it was bought in 1998 with roughly 60,000 miles on the ODO. First, I would like to say that the good ole days when you could expect cars to last as long as you took care of them are over. Contemporary cars constantly need replacements because of how mechanisms are made and the complicated mechanical and asthetic designs. Therefore I approach this whole process with a realistic attitude. When talking of mechanics, the transmissions on intrepids are "known problems" to every mechanic I have spoke to. My car would not go to higher gears on highway drives unless I turned it off and back on again. Eventually, it would not go out of limp mode. Recently, I had the transmission fixed for $1590 which is far less than I expected. The 6 Cylinder 215 F 3.5L MFI engine is a powerful soldier, but will eventually wear and tear just like anything else. I have had work done on that motor several times, timing belts, tune-ups, front and back cylinder gasket jobs ($3,000). Now this car stands at 216,000 miles. and I believe I might replace the motor, if possible, next summer (I expect that to cost an additional $3,500 at least). Overall, given the mileage and such, I would have to say that this is a success story although I have had many of the problems others have had. The end result is that this car is a good looking car that ends up not looking old (in terms of contour of body and design). It is either get locked into some other car that costs monthly payments, higher insurance, etc. or fix this one of which I am overall happy with - even given the problems. Soon I will paint the car silver, put new all weather Goodyear American Eagle tires on it, and replace the damage that heat does to the exterior and interior plastic parts (i.e. behind the back doors, weather stripping in the doors, knobs that break easily on lights and A/C and heater controls, reclasp the dash cover, as well as replace the plate under the windsheild wipers). All, but the motor work will be done this summer. Overall, I cannot complain too much given the problems others have had.

I purchased my 1995 Intrepid for 550 bucks, and have had little or no problems with it, short of a couple leaking freeze plugs (took me a buck and 15 minutes to replace), and a new set of front pads and rotors, which I easily installed in an hour at the tune of 100 bucks.

The car has 130k on it and it runs like a dream. Doesn't burn a drop of oil!

Cars today aren't like the cars of yesteryear. The days when you drove a car for 250000 miles with no problems are long gone. That was one of the early pitfalls with American cars. They were built too good!

If you are looking for a second hand car, expect some problems! I have purchased many a second hand vehicle, and most all of them outlasted anything new I purchased.

I still remember my old Mercury Montery that cost me 125 bucks. Put two rotors on it and new pads, new muffler and drove it for 5 years! Never even changed the oil! LOL! If you aren't car savvy, find a friend who knows what to look for.