1996 Dodge Stratus from North America - Comments

-My oil light started to come on, but everything was OK w/the oil.

-About a week later, my "door" courtesy light started coming on whenever the car was put into gear, so I had to turn my interior light off altogether so it wouldn't stay on.

-Next, my "brights" icon appeared on the dash whenever my lights were on, whether or not the brights were actually on.

-After that my power locks started acting up. I can always unlock, but once the car is started, I cannot lock my doors.

-Then my radio and clock went. Sometimes I can see a single line of light where the clock used to be (like part of a number is there) and my antenna goes up when I turn on the radio, but there's no display and no sound.

-And, of course, my air conditioning died. I'm petrified that my power windows will go too, and with no air, I'll suffocate this summer.

I took the car to a Dodge dealer, who said that I need to replace the oil switch, ignition switch, multifunction switch, body controller, and radio, but that might not fix the problem. I can't believe that all of those parts would go bad within a few weeks of each other.

The 1996 Dodge was made with problems like any other vehicle. As a lot of us know it's main problems were generally electrical. It's electrical problems mostly due to the fact that someone programmed the on board computer system wrong. Simple mistake, but if gone unfixed could lead to costly repairs. I have heard many complaints from my customers about this issue. Most of them alerted the dealer as soon as the issue started. Some, unwisely, decided to "stick-it-out" and hope the problem got better. As a general rule of thumb, problems don't get fixed unless they're addressed. This electrical problem was small for those who followed that rule. For the others that decided not to get it fixed, were soon disappointed and blamed their bad decision on either the vehicle or the maker of the vehicle. I suggest that if you notice a problem like that beginning, you should take it in immediately! After all, since the company realized the mistake shortly after it's release, they added a FREE FIX for it if you took it to the dealer. It is not, however, the company's or it's subsidiaries job or responsibility to repair this problem free if it's left neglected by it's owner and incurs further problems due to poor maintenance and judgment. The same cannot be said if it were a WIDESPREAD SAFETY issue such as Ford and Firestone's poorly made tires on the earlier model Explorers. If in that case does happen, the company is solely responsible for addressing those issue's immediately. BY LAW.