1998 Dodge Intrepid SE from North America - Comments

I have a 98 Dodge Intrepid, and cannot get oil change due to stripped & defective oil pan. I've put in universal plug (didn't plug it) and had it re-threaded (can only be done once, and no oil can be changed after). I need a new oil pan and unbelievably NONE are available. My dealer has over 100 of them on backorder now, and everywhere I've looked on the internet tells me they are completely unavailable. I wrote to Chrysler/Dodge, and no response. IF there is a class action on the company's disinterest in offering replacement parts, I'd like to know and I'd like to join.

Our 1998 Intrepid oil light came on before we had 36,000 miles. The dealership could not explain it. My cars smokes now, and we change our oil every 3,000 miles. My driver side automatic window has stopped working twice. I am interested in a class action suit.

I own a 1998 Dodge Intrepid with 95k miles. I have not had this problem of "Oil Sludge" or anything like that. I was told by Firestone I have a very clean engine. But then again, I change the oil every 2000 miles on every car I've ever owned. I purchsed it with a little under 79k miles. She immaculate.

Only problems that have occured since I've had it is...

*Drivers window mounting brakets broke (Don't let anyone *lie, you can get those parts easily I paid 2/each for them)

*Oil Sending Unit crapped out

*Power Brake Booster crapped

*And just yesterday my speed sensor crapped.

I think if you properly maintain your vehicle, don't drive it with lights on it will be fine. Don't take it offroading and you won't have suspension problems.:p.

Although I do question Chrysler Transmissions, I've seen to come in luck with this one, but then again, like you're supposed to I change my filter/fluid every 25K for the trans.

All in all - Maintain your car right, no matter what it is. It WILL treat you right. It's always better to do the oil change early then later. Take it safe like I do and do it every 2k miles.

Purchased 99 Dodge intrepid 4 years ago with 63k miles on it, in the first 6 months of ownership the transmission was replaced and the cam position sensor was also replaced. Drove it for about 1.5 years when it reached 77k miles and the oil light in the dash started to flicker. Replaced oil sending unit, light continued to flicker at stop lights unless you placed the car in neutral, then it would go out.

Parked the car and bought a 2000 LHS with the 3.5 in it. This car had 48k miles and now has over 80k on it with no problems at all.

Intrepid has been sitting for about 2 years now, as no local mechanic will touch this car for less than $1,500. I removed the oil pan and the engine has no sludge buildup whats ever. I now have it tore down myself and I'm replacing the oil pump, water pump and timing chains and guides. In the hopes I'll have good oil pressure and an engine that will last me at least another 50 to 70k miles. I had broken my timing chain cover by accident when I had removed the oil pan, and it was nearly impossible to find a replacement. I had to make a 100 mile round trip to get one. It seems that local salvage yards trash the 2.7 motors rather than trying to salvage anything from them.

My engine has a light brown stain on it's internal surfaces, a sign that the oil has been ran hot, but no sludge buildup at least. These engines only hold 4.5 quarts of oil and are prone to running hot due to the small openings in the front grill. I seriously plan on putting a functional pair of hood scoops on this car once I get it up and running again, to help funnel the heat away from the block. I believe the sludge problem in these engines are from excess heat and / or failing internal water pumps. Once coolant gets into the oil, these motors are on their way out. The timing chain cover I did eventually get was from a 2000 Concorde. Sludge was so bad on it I had to soak it in gas for 2 days and use a brass wire brush on a power drill to remove it. It wouldn't matter how large the oil passages are in this engine, once you get sludge that can't even be shaken off a scrapper, there is no way it will pass through the engine's ports.

In closing, those of you waiting for a class action lawsuit, I think Chrysler has kept you on hold for 10 years now so I wouldn't count on anything happening soon. If you own a 2.7 that is running well, keep taking care of it. I've talked to many people with the 2.7s that have over 150k and are still running strong. If you have a sick or dying 2.7, know that about 80% of the Intrepids had the 2.7 vs about 20% that had the 3.2 option, so if you are thinking of engine replacement, it is doable, but people that own these replacements are not letting them go cheap. You'll be lucky to get a full drop out ready to replace 3.2 for any price near $1200 to $1500. You'll have close to two grand in it by the time your done. 3.2 and 3.5s from Concord, 300's and LHS's will also work (as long as you get the correct years), just be sure to NOT get one with the security ignition key feature unless you also want to replace the steering column. The 2.7 ECU will work but it will never run 100% unless you swap it out for the 3.2 or 3.5 ECU.

Best of luck to all of you fellow 2.7 owners.

I too own an Intrepid with a 2.7L engine. My check engine light turns on after 60KMH, but nothing wrong with it at all. Also if I slowly hit the gas to the floor, the car doesn't shift down, but hitting it quicker causes it to finally shift down. No power loss or any other issues. My email is shak541@gmail.com.

My daughter bought a 98 Intrepid with 152000 miles on it a couple months ago without really doing any research on it. When I started researching and found out all the problems that people were having with them, I was worried. Well she decided to move back home with me from Green Bay WI to Los Angeles CA, and so road trip. After having a mechanic check it out, we replaced the battery and had an oil change with Mobil 1 to hopefully avoid any engine sludge. Replaced the belts and the oil pressure sensor. She drove from Green Bay to Milwaukee where I took over driving and made it to Kansas City MO in 8 1/2 hours with no problem. The next leg is what really worried me. Kansas City to Los Angeles. We flew cross county in 26 1/2 hours, 1600 miles. I only had to add one quart of oil and some coolent the entire trip. Maybe we got the only 2.7 litre engine that was built right, but it performed like a champ. I'll still do an engine flush when we hit 5000 miles, and keep running synthetic oil. The minor stuff I still need to fix, like window regulator, window mounting brackets, trunk hydraulic lifters, windshield washer pump, brakes, etc. Nobody said it was perfect.

I bought my '98 Intrepid in 2002 with 34k miles on it.

I now have 137k miles on it. Problems I've had are -

- Oil sending unit replaced once, is now on its way out again.

- Belt tensioner pulley self destructed - replaced.

- Have had the positive battery cable corrode off 3 times now due to crappy placement of battery in front of RF tire; collects salt in the winter. Doesn't matter how much protectant you use.

- Replaced starter once.

- Engine has always used 1/2 to 1 quart of oil between changes at 3000 miles.

- Coolant bleeder is leaking - needs to be replaced.

All in all, I've been pleased with the Intrepid, but am aware that the 2.7 is living on borrowed time. Other than the positive battery cable problem and oil usage, I don't consider any of the other problems unusual.

I too own a 98 Intrepid, but have not experienced none of the other problems that others had, because the dang engine went out less than two months after I bought it. I didn't get a chance to enjoy it. 5000K gone just like that. Now it has been sitting in my garage since 2002. I was going to get the engine replace, but after all of these comments I will not pursue. It will go to the junk yard this week.

Well well well now I feel better to know that is not only me having such amount of problems with the sadly famous Dodge Intrepid.

To start with I have a 202 2.7 engine. I have spent more that $5000.00 on repairs from the transmission, to the oil pump, including the coolant air bleeder that has been changed 3 times. Now the car is on my driveway with the coolant air bleeder broken one more time. This will be the 4th one. I hope I will be lucky to sell it or trade it in after it gets fixed. No wonder why we see every day more Honda, Toyota and Nissan on the roads, and GM going to bankruptcy.

My first car was a Toyota Corolla, and it never had any problems at all until I kill a deer. After that I bought an Oldsmobile and had a lot of problems. My promise was never to buy an American car for the rest of my life.

Right now I have a 2008 Toyota Corolla, very efficient and I'm very positive that my headache will go away.

Hey, I also have a 98 Intrepid, and almost within a week of the day it hit 98k miles, problems came, it was great before this. Except windows, not all them work at the same time, almost never did.

First, the check engine light came on, while on my way to work. Then it just went to 3,500 rpm, it over heated a little, had the TCM and some

other transmission related things.

Drove it for a week with the light still lit till the parts adjusted (mechanic said). Two days after having the light off, came back on along with battery signal. It just died on me again on my way to work, had to change the alternator twice in 4 days.

Finally the engine is OK, runs good, check engine light is off, but now the airbag light came on, and with it the right headlamp won't work, front speakers don't work, direct light doesn't work either. This is really weird that for most people these same problems happen at 98k miles.

If you know more info, please let me know. jluevanotm@aol.com

I had rented several Dodge Intrepids over the years, and was reasonably impressed with their roominess and handling to purchase a used 1998 Intrepid on eBay in November 2005. 96K miles on a 2.7L engine, well-maintained by a young military officer, what could go wrong?

The first day I bought it, I hit a deer on Interstate 80 in Winnemucca, NV, put a 12" hole in the windshield, tore up all the sheetmetal on the left side of the car, and splattered with with deer hair, guts and deer$h!% inside and out. This was a bad enough start, but little did I realize that this would be the LEAST expensive issue I had with this car.

Fast forward a few weeks later, after repairing the windshield, passenger side mirror, $30 in quarters at the local carwash, and 2 hours scrubbing and vacuuming the interior: engine light comes on and motor seizes. Check dipstick: NO oil, yet had checked level few days previously and all was OK. Let the car sit for 1-2 hours, started it again. Ran, but made the worst racket: think of noisy valve lifters amplified 100x. Got it back to my place of employment, checked the dipstick: coated with sludge and little shiny metal flecks... NOT a good sign.

Got a quick diagnosis from describing issue over phone to local mechanic: new engine! Had other transportation so decided to cut my losses: NOBODY (junkyard, mechanics) would buy or take this thing - couldn't even give it away. Offered it for free to local Mexican mechanic, who fidgeted and rolled his eyes and made every excuse in the world why he did not want this car. Given that I had purchased it from out of state and was never able to smog it, much less register it, I was in a bit of a quandary. I finally arranged with 2 local unsavory characters to make it "disappear" for good, no questions asked. I figured they needed the $100 anyway...