1997 Dodge Intrepid Base from North America - Comments

CV joints.

Tie rod ends.

Water pump.

Nothing much else, regular maintenance.

Engine seems to start hard when warm or hot (especially when sitting for over 5 minutes). Nobody has been able to figure this one out over the past 2 years.

Valves click and chatter when the engine is warming up, especially in cold weather. They shut up as the engine warms up. Doesn't seem like something a car with lower mileage should do.

Performance, handling, ride and acceleration are fairly decent.

Fuel economy could be better (21 city/27 highway)

Interior is very roomy and comfortable, but has cheap looking plastics. I like the instrument cluster though. The shift indicator by the floor shift should be illuminated, but isn't.

I have the factory stereo with 6 disk changer. Excellent sound. Quite a bit of bass, even with the EQ control set below flat. I can see how so many people blow speakers if they aren't careful.

Transmission could have been designed much better. I've heard many reports of people having one go to pot at under 50,000 miles, but I've been lucky so far. Also, the shift pattern on Chryslers and many Fords is D-3-1, instead of GM's more sensible D-3-2-1. This is annoying, because it makes it impossible to use third gear unless you are at a steady speed above 35 MPH. If you start out with the shifter in "3" the car will hold second gear until climbing over halfway up the RPM gauge. Also, if you put in in third and drop below 35, the car will lurch into 2nd and hold there. This is also annoying if you climb a long, steep hill on a 2-lane road and get behind somebody going slow. It's also good to change your transmission fluid and filter often, MORE than recommended. I looked high and low for an auto-stick transmission, but couldn't find one and couldn't afford a new car.

If you buy an Intrepid, it's a good idea to avoid the larger 3.5 liter engine. They're a real powerhouse, but there's too many problems with cams and heads self-destructing.

Supposedly there's a rear-wheel drive Intrepid coming out in 2004. Should be interesting.

I have the 3.5 engine, no problems till this past weekend, car stalled, mechanic just told me I'll need a new engine, so I'm am upset and venting via this comment. Car has not quite 90000 miles, been good till now I must admit, but who wants a car in which the engine blows at 90K, I always kept the oil and fluids good. Still owe 5K on it so I have to bite the bullet and pay the price. Very disappointing to me. I've been buying Dodges for about 10 years now cause I like the used car salesman at a Dodge lot, but I have to break the cycle, darn things don't go past 100K.

I have the 3.5 engine with 144,000 miles on it. The car was previously a business vehicle for a salesman. I bought it from him at 130,000. Besides normal maintenance, I've only had to replace the head & manifold intake gaskets since then.

Cylinder #2 has a weak injector, but the occasional injector cleaner keeps it up.

With all that said... The car still seems to have what I refer to as "nervous twitches." Occasionally the car will do something weird for no reason at all and never do it again.

This is in response to the first comment. I also drive an Intrepid and that stalled couple of times. But the Engine is in excellent condition. Did the mechanic do a compression test on all cylinders? If not then he is a not a good mechanic or not telling the truth. In that case take it to a different mechanic and do a compression check first. That will reveal the condition of the motor. Normally this stalling problem goes away if you add Fuel Injector cleaner and/or change the Fuel filter. Intrpid motors are good (unlike the transmission).

sshahryar@netscape.net.

I have a 1999 Intrepid, that I just replaced the motor on this past March 2003 it has 84,000 miles on it. I was talking to someone to day that said there was an defect in the oil pressure system that causes a problem with the motor. Also that Chrysler is aware of this problem.

I have a 1996 Intrepid 3.5L and have owned it since 11k miles. It just rolled over 180k miles. The only major work the car has needed includes: Keeping alignment on this car has always been a problem. The timing belt tensioner/water pump went out at around 150k. About the same time the front wheel bearings needed to be replaced. The motor on the front driver window burned out and needs to be replaced. The check engine light will occasionally come on with a misfire code. Still trying to iron that one out.

I have a '97 intrepid with the 3.5L engine. Ours first stalled at around 65,000 miles and we had to have the pistons cleaned out if memory serves me correctly. It stalled again just recently and $272 later we had a new EGR valve. That stopped the stalling problem and has kept the engine light off for the very first time since we bought it in '99. The mechanic said the EGR valve can cause it to overheat which fixed that problem for about 2 weeks, then suddenly it overheated worse then it ever had and more often. We're taking it to the shop this week to have that problem checked along with the knocking we hear which is probably tie rods we're guessing.

I also have a 1997 Dodge Intrepid. the ERG valve was replaced in my car around 60k which helped prevent engine stalling. Some over heating may be a thermostat or an air pocket in the cooling system if one has been flushed recently. my biggest problem is a check engine light now. we've been getting a multiple misfire code primarily on cylinder # 2. I've had two new water pumps installed into my intrepid and I'm only at 120k miles. I've also cleaned the jets, replaced plugs and wires. rechecked timing belt etc. I have also had an intake manifold replaced due to a hole in it. I'm wondering if this has shifted, or been sucked in at all. Maybe even sealed improperly. any comments are welcome. the diagnostics are getting expensive.

I am a mechanic who owns a 97 intrepid. I purchased this with 80,000 miles. I had a weird stalling problem at 100,000

miles. When sitting at a light it would just stall and sometimes it would be a few minutes before it would go. It always started back up. I took it to the dealership and just my luck it acted up in the service bay. They diagnosed the crank sensor. I replaced it myself and noticed filings on the end of it when I removed it. I probably could have cleaned it and it would have been o.k. but I replaced it. At 120,000 miles I changed the timing chain (regular maintenance) before it slipped and an O2 sensor. The car currently has 130,000 miles on it, uses 1 litre of oil in 2500 miles and zero leaks. I am totally impressed with the 3.3L V6. Gas mileage is about 450 miles to the tank on highway. Recently I read comments about people complaining about power. I took this car up to 130 m.p.h. What do you expect from a good size sedan with v6? Most reviews on this car were very good, but I think you just can't please some people.

I have a 97 Intrepid. It has 190k kms, on it in the last month and a half I have had plugs and wires, bushings put in the stabilizer bar, ball joints, tie rods, right front wheel bearing, and now it is idling rough when I have it in park or sitting at a stop light. The code that shows up is cylinder #1 and #2 misfiring. If any one has a solution please feel free to share.

Thanks.

I have a 1996 Intrepid 3.5L, just routine maintenance, and at 160,000 clicks.. I submarined it in a flooded road.. killed it, but I replaced the motor and now I'm passing the 350,000km mark. The motor has been very good, I drive it hard, and other thing I've needed to replace is spark plugs, and thermostat.