Speed sensor failure at 55,000 miles.
Electric window motor failure twice.
Excessive rack and pinion play and hard turning starting at 65,000 miles.
A/C condenser failure at 53,000 miles.
Climate control head (control panel) at 53,000 miles.
If only this car was as reliable as a Honda or Toyota! Really nice ride, no complaints. But...
The biggest problem was the rack and pinion. Definite resistance felt in left turn, got much worse to where I had to wrestle the wheel for a full left turn. Also lots of slop. Dealer shrugged his shoulders, saying, "Never heard of this before. It's news to me." HAH! Wanted $800 for a new unit, got one from a salvage yard for $80. Still had to pay $200+ in labor.
Then had the A/C problem. At same time the readout on the control head was out so dealer stated that it had to be replaced for $400 before they could even work on A/C. Again, got a unit from a salvage yard for $60, swapped the LED panel into my original unit, put it back together and worked fine. That's right. A burned out LED would have set me back $400! My cost: $60 plus three hours of my time.
Lastly, this fan motor baloney. Because a single motor burns out I have to replace the entire assembly for $500 not including labor! Ridiculous! Sure, motors burn out. So replace them. But replace the whole assembly, plastic, fans and all?! For $500!?!?
Am fixing this, selling the car and looking for at Toyota, Lexus, Honda or Acura.
Ditto. I have a 1999 Intrepid base model. I currently have 66,000 miles on it and bought it new in 1998. I thought replacing the engine at my expense at 57,000 miles was the worst of it, but I was mistaken. To date I have had the following problems.
Replace engine
replace rack and pinion
2 window motors
2 engine fans
dash lights twice
transmission sensor
A/C repair twice this year & still not working.
In the last 60 days the car has been in the shop twice, once on a tow truck and the last time with me driving. Now it is going back for a third time for repeat repairs. I've also had the battery replaced twice which is not big deal except that the location requires that it be changed through the fender well requiring my taking it to a mechanic rather than just swapping it out. My 1971 and 1973 Dodge Coronets were far better cars than my Intrepid. I retired both of them long after the 100,000 mile mark. Dodge seems to moving forward in design and in reverse with quality and reliability.
Wow. I'm at 76,000 miles and I just heard that replacing my failed Intrepid window motors will cost me $700. I did a quick Google search to see if anyone else has had this problem and found this site.
How true!
My speed sensor went out at 55,000 miles, too, and the window problem just cropped up. Also, the struts that hold up the trunk when it's open no longer work and I run the risk of getting brained every time I have it open.
Oh yeah, the service guy said 'What do you expect.. the car is 5 years old'. Never had these problems with my Honda which is over 10 years old and has over 100,000 miles. Think I should have stuck with Honda or Toyota.
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