1999 Dodge Intrepid from North America - Comments

O2 sensor went bad at 45,000 miles.

Engine seized at 50,000 miles and had the engine rebuilt @ $2500. 8000 miles later the engine seized again and threw a rod.

Replaced the engine with a used 22,000 mile engine at the cost of $3500.

Stabilizer bar in front end had to have the bushings replaced because of a loud knocking noise.

Replaced driver side window motor that had worn brushes. Now new motor is having a difficult time raising the window, sometimes need some manual help.

Currently at 61,000 miles on the car and 23,000 on the engine the check engine light is on and diagnostic code comes up 130/po160. Called the dealership and the service manager could not tell me what the codes meant. I had to bring it in to let a mechanic look at it. Looked up the OBDII codes on the internet and the O2 sensor circuit malfunction (bank 1 Sensor 1) and the O2 sensor circuit no activity detected (bank 2 Sensor 2). So now what?

When I was experiencing trouble the first time with the engine I notified Dodge and they stated that they were not having any problems with this engine. I spoke to a Dodge mechanic and he stated that they are getting "crate" engines in all the time and are constantly replacing this engine. At that point in time trying to find a used engine was impossible. Every salvage yard I contacted stated that as soon as they get one in it is gone. The second time was a little easier to find one, but the least expensive one I found had 60,000 miles on it so I opted to pay $2700 for a 22,000 mile motor and another$800 misc. fees. Oh yea, the area rep stated also that he knew of no problems either.

Was your engine a 2.7? Those have some known problems, but those problems are easily avoidable. It's really your fault for not looking further into preventative maintenance. Also... You know what "oil" is? It's keeps engines from seizing. You need to change it every now and then. If your engine was a 2.7, the easiest way to avoid the problem is to use Synthetic. www.2gss.org deals with Stratus's, but they have the 2.7 also. Look for "2.7" in the forums, and you'll find out not only how to prevent seizure, but what causes it, how often it happens, as well as how to see if your engine is even susceptible for it.