1990 Plymouth Acclaim Reviews - Page 2 of 2

Idle problems when it was new, the dealer never could eliminate the problem in 12 tries at it.

Stalled out often even on highway - very scary to lose power steering and brakes at high speed. Dealer failed to fix this problem as well.

Clicking valves at 30,000 miles.

Rear shocks at 60,0000 miles.

Power loss by 60,000 miles, passing and speeding up became more of a chore.

First engine died at 80,000 - my son's fault, he left oil cap off after an oil change.

Second engine never had the zip of the original.

Got rid of the car at 120,000 miles and the whole family celebrated.

Worst car I've ever owned. My family has owned over 35 cars (5 kids). This car was definitely the worst of them all.

This car is quite reliable for about 7 or 8 years. Hoever you may expect to fix the following if you plan to own this car for a long time. In the 10 years I have owned the car I have changed:

- 120k, power steering unit was leaking.

- 120k, had to change front struts, they got too soft, but the ones I changed are still stiff till this day.

- 160k, water pump was leaking.

- 100k, and 200 k changed timing belt.

- 220k, changed the head gasket, my fault, I didn't change thermostat when it went bad, changed the original radiator, it was not leaking but it was clogged up. Cooling after that point was excellent!

- Air conditioning was quite reliable for 5 years from new, the evaporator rusted through, changed condenser and seals, air conditioninig lasted another 5 years.

- Changed the heater core, at 200k it leaked.

- Had to replace the original stainless steel muffler at 165k. At 220k replaced the rest of the exhaust, it rusted through.

- I have changed 2 set of tires on this car. The original tires, Goodyears, were crap, they only lasted me 90k, the second set I used Michelin X ones, they lasted me 130k and 220k. I have changed those tires for the same ones - Michelins. $100 Cad a piece.

- One problem with this car is rust on the passenger rear door at the bottom. Seen lots of these cars rust there only on that door. I have changed that door for another one for about, $100. Otherwise the paint is in excellent condition. There is no rust anywhere else on the car. Some stone chips and dents, the usual (from the highway and parking lot).

Generally it is a very reliable car to drive, I had owned it for 10 years and I had no real problems aside from the A/C. Like any car, nothing is perfect. I found the parts not that expensive and scrap yards have plenty of those cars around for spare parts.

Recently I have changed the brakes in the back from drums to discs, from a 1990 Acclaim Sport Edition. I paid $100 for all the parts in the back at the scrap, real cheap. At the dealer I would have paid at least $1000 easy for all the parts needed. Proportioning valve is $250. Anyways, it works excellent and the braking has improved by 30%.

The car is quite comfortable, but I find the 2.5 has not enough juice, it is kinda slow in acceleration. However it does cruise easily at 140 km/h. After 10 years, the engine runs the same as the day I bought it. It still has excellent compression and it still does 175 km/h top speed.

The insurance is really low now on this car, after all it is 10 years old.

The only thing that I don't really like about Chrysler is that their cars lose value very quickly, and they don't keep it like Honda does.

I WOULD recommend this kind of car for people who know how to fix cars themselves. For people who are new in a country, it is a perfect first car for someone who does not have 10 grand for car. You can buy a '94 Acclaim for 5 grand, more or less depending on the km driven on it.

If you are considering buying this car look into a 6 cylinder engine, much better power and acceleration. The fuel economy is quite acceptable, for the 4 cylinder I get about 540 km on a 40$ tank. The 2.5 turbo should get a little better economy cause it is an MPI engine and has more ponies.

I gues I have rambled on enough about my car so take care everyone and good luck!