1991 Dodge Stealth ES from North America - Comments

Timing Belt broke at around 73000 miles. Cost: None (The dealer replaced it under special warranty)

Power windows on driver's side stopped working around 77000 miles. Cost: $420.

Radio stopped playing at 84000 miles. Cost: $320.

Pop-up headlights stopped working at 86000 miles. Cost : about $300.

Connecting Rod broke. Cost: Are you kidding? I threw it where it belongs: the junkyard.

I bought this car in '97, to replace my '92 3000GT SL that I wrecked. The 3kGT had a lot of electrical problems, but I loved the performance. Thinking that Dodge might have tuned up the car in its own way, I bought a '91 Stealth ES for $6500 from a used car dealer. Boy, was I in for a surprise. The car had 76k miles on it when I got it, and a month later the timing belt broke, which the dealer replaced it for free. Then, the power window on the driver side stopped working. The Dodge dealer replaced it for $420, which was a nasty dent in the wallet. Then the radio stopped playing cassettes and CDs, so Dodge replaced it for a mean $320, which really bites. To make matters worse, the left headlamps refused to open a few months after, and that costs $300 to replace the whole headlight assembly. For a performance car, the engine is strong, but poorly built. The car never took any heavy acceleration, but the connecting rods broke anyways at about 86k miles. At that point I sent the car to the salvage and got me a 2001 Chevy Camaro SS. Overall, this car really isn't worth the trouble. If you're looking for a sports car, avoid the Stealth at all costs!

Sounds like the previous driver of your car was the problem and not the car. With all of the engine problems you described, I would have to say that the previous owner was a very hard driver or the mileage was incorrect.

I believe that the dodge stealth is a fantastic car with a bad rep I've had mine for a long time and I basically beat on it more than I should and it has had almost no problems besides the ones it came with. it now has 170000 on it and is running like a champ.

I now have 110,000 miles on my 91 stealth ES and haven't had any major problems with it. My idle control unit quit on me, but I fixed that myself and the part was $200. Other than how quickly I go through tires I love this car.

I bought a Dodge Stealth 93 ES like 2 years ago, but despite my hard driving (and I mean Hard!) an overheat due to a lack of maintenance in the timing belt area, 2 minor encounters with other cars, and a motor oil "shortage" that left a minor noise in the engine, despite that I still need to be careful when I hit the gas, that car still accelerates quite fine, is my every day car, with decent maintenance it will reach 300,000 miles. I'm so happy with that car that I'm planning on buying a not so old TT model stealth of course.

So far and the only problems not related to lack of maintenance is the rear wiper which had to be disconnected because it won't stop doing a sweep every 5 seconds (I don't know why). And sometimes get a hard time with the driver’s power window button, but it always goes up. 

P.S. the Headlamps keep working fine and without noise even after the second crash I had, in the frontal driver's side.

Timing belts are supposed to be replaced every 60k.

Exactly. There's a major maintenance schedule done every 60K miles. including timing belt, water pump, etc... sounds like you got a lemon as the previous owner did not take care of this car.

I have a 1991 ES that I bought slightly used in 1992. It is by far the best and most reliable car that I have ever owned. You can look on-line and there are several places that will rebuild the power window for $160. There is also a place in Florida that will fix the computer for $195 (If you live in Fl or Tx, there are two circuits that can melt and cause the car to run real bad). Overall, if you maintain these cars, they are great. I cannot believe how cheap you can buy one... the lines are still beautiful after all these years and mine (red with chrome wheels) gets a lot of looks and comments.

I am pondering purchasing a 1991 stealth es, but the guy who listed it said that bushings in the transmission (shift synchronizers) are going bad but does not cause a problem if you shift the right way for third into fourth. I have no idea what that means. All I know is the rear end went out on my truck and until I can get that fixed I need reliable transport. Can anyone tell me if this is a common problem with these cars and if so please tell me what kind of $$$ I am going to need to fix it. Thanks. The car has 180,000 miles