1999 Dodge Intrepid SE from North America - Comments

A salvage yard just offered me $2,000 for my 1999 Intrepid "as is," which means with a seized engine, with only 87,000 miles. The day before (when it was still running), the GMC dealer offered $4,000 as a trade in. The bank still needs $5,000 to pay off the loan. What a losing deal!

When I called the salvage yard, I didn't tell them immediately that the engine had seized. When I told them I had a 1999 Intrepid, they asked if I had the 2.7L that had seized - he predicted the problem! He gets this same call frequently.

My wife saw the oil lamp illuminate for 1 minute prior to the engine stalling. Dealer inspected, and confirmed that engine has seized. Their quote for a long block replacement - $10,000!

Even an independent mechanic quoted $4,000 to replace engine with a used engine. They are very expensive, likely due to supply and demand!

I've seen the other problems mentioned in these comments as well - A/C, speed sensor, window motors, interior lights randomly flashing.

If anyone has traveled any legal avenues, please inform us at TRINA.L.HEBERT@prodigy.net.

I've had two intrepids, one 1993 model, one 1998 model. The 93had a lot of electrical problems (bad computer, sensors, coil

&a gremlin that made the horn blow & trunk open by itself)

It also went thru a radiator & upper engine seals.

My 1998 has a smoking motor & bad window motors,also a slapping noise in the engine. This is my last dodge!!!

Good luck sandy.

Wow! I found this site while looking for information on cost repair for my nephew. He has a 1999 Dodge Intrepid and has had problems with it constantly. Like so many others, his air-conditioner has stopped working and his driver side window just shattered while he was driving. After reading the entries here I am very worried for his safety. He has a few years left to pay on this car and he has a baby and can't afford to buy another car. What kind of company sells such a hazardous vehicle and puts it's customers in danger without a recall? Can anything be done?

Well, this is going to sound very rehearsed. Believe it or not I ran across this Website while searching for a crank kit for my 2000 (2.7) Intrepid. This saga began on 6 Sept 2002. I couldn't bring myself to purchase ($3,200) the recommended used (1999 w/67,000 miles) long block complete w/a 90-day warranty. I have seen the end of that movie already! To date the most economical repair available is to purchase the bearings (4+6 each) separately. Approximately $900.00 is the dealer cost for the bearings and does not include cost of the crankshaft or labor to install parts.

I initially had sought to have repairs done one afternoon after hearing strange noises from the underside of the engine while climbing a moderate hill. This car had 77,000 miles on it as of that day, September 6, 2002. I immediately began experiencing stalling of the vehicle as I then proceeded to the nearest Dodge, Chrysler, and Jeep dealership.

I felt totally ambushed when the service department at the dealership informed me that I needed a new $6,900 engine. Ironically I had just had the vehicle at this dealership for repairs of the radiator fan and non-working air conditioning unit in June 2002.

My extended warranty company decided to verify this latest engine diagnosis by sending their mechanic to inspect the vehicle. I had purchased an extended warranty (for an extension to 100,000 miles) to avoid these types of financial burdens. After dropping the oil pan and inspecting the contents the warranty company refused to honor the warranty. The warranty company informed me that the oil pan contained pieces of spun bearings that were undisputable indications of neglectful owner maintenance. Oil changes were frequent (every 3,000 miles on average) and did not exceed manufacturer's recommendations between oil changes on my vehicle.

I then purchased a new car to continue working and had my now disabled Intrepid towed/parked in my driveway on about September 11, 2002. It has remained there since that date due to the fact that I still have a financial obligation of 2 years to Chrysler Financial Corp on it to the tune of $510.00 a month.

This site did not do much toward encouraging me in my search to have my 2000 Intrepid (2.7) grace the highway again soon.

Other problems of note during my ownership have included replacement of two window motors (driver's 2000 and rear passenger 2001), replacement of a speed sensor (2001), and replacement of the driver's side seat bolt (2001). The seat bolt was a real adventure since I had just pulled into my driveway at the time the seat flopped. To add insult to injury, now that the car is inoperable, I received a recall notice for the seat bolt (April 2003). Maybe I'll get a recall on the engine before my time on earth expires.

I have had many of the problems listed here. My 99 Intrepid is my second one. I used to own a 95. There is no better ride for the money. It is also very roomy, but this car is prone to problems. I will be replacing my second starter this weekend. I have fixed the drivers side window bracket so many times, it isn't even funny. I have replaced the drivers side window motor. I had a transmission problem, but getting the filter changed and a flush cleared it up.***Only use the transmission fluid specified by Dodge***other types can cause severe problems. I recently had an interior light that came on at will, but that soon converted to tail lights that come on at will. I now also have a flickering oil light. My car has been babied, but it doesn't seem to matter. I have given up on Dodge even though I loved the Intrepid so much.

Christopher

knowledge5001@yahoo.com.

I have a 99 Intrepid and it is in the shop at this moment having both front windows repaired because the plastic clips broke. I called the local dealer and they were no help at all. They suggested I write a letter to Dodge. I will never buy another Dodge product.

Found this site to be very helpful. I owned a 1995 dodge intrepid for 3 years and it was 100% maintenace free. Unfortunately it was just totalled in an accident.

I went out and bought the 1998 intrepid, have had it for 2 months and has run great except for this morning.

As I was heading down the road, I noticed it wasn't shifting nor was the speedometer working. Drove right back home and checked the oil and transmission fluids, they are fine, car isn't making any noise. Stumbled across a similar posting here and am hoping its just the speed sensor as someone said.

But overall, I have been very impressed with the dodge intrepid. However,.......if I find its a more serious problems as most are saying with the 98's, my review may change drastically!!

Hi. Wayne in Lithonia, Ga. Not so proud owner of a 1999 Dodge Intrepid 2.7. At 47,000, 54,000 and 74,000 miles replaced speed sensors. At 83,000 miles my mechanic tells me that I need a new engine do to sludge build up. Engine knocks on start up other than that runs fine. Uneven wear of tires on the front of the vehicle and constant shaking at low speeds. If there is a class action law suit filed I'll throw my name in the hat also.

My 1999 Intrepid had 56,000 miles on it when the "check engine" light came on. I pulled over and checked the oil, only to find that it was bone dry. The oil pressure light never came on, and oil had been changed regularly. The last time the oil was changed was 3 months ago. Needless to say, the 2.7 liter engine is totaled. Estimated repair $7000 - $10,000. The mechanic is trying to find a rebuilt engine, but has not had any luck. And, like so many of you, the car is not paid for. If anyone has any legal suggestions, please email @ jberry02@gbronline.com.

I've had speed sensor, driver side window and air conditioning problems also. Originally I thought the 99 Intrepid was the best car I ever owned. Now...

The most frustrating thing was that since the word glass was involved in the driver side window failure, the dealer would not honor the extended warranty.

My Intrepid is a 98 base model with the 2.7L V6 engine. I bought is with 45k on in May '2000. The dodge is a great, comfortable car, and ran fine until I rear ended someone in July 2001. I managed to do $4k of damage at less than 5mph. Anyway a month later I got the car back from repair and all seemed well. After a month or so I noticed a ticking from the car. It sounded like a large metal object in the tire, and was more pronounced when I drove by buildings and noise bounced back at me, like a tap tap tap. It got faster with engine speed, was quieter when the engine was cruising and got noisier when it was under slight acceleration. I took the car to a local mechanic and he told me he thought that a valve follower was stuck, and not to worry since it was an expensive job to fix. I didn't go to a dealer. The car ran until one December morning when about 5 minutes from home doing 30mph the engine stalled and the noise grew greatly. I got it towed to the dealer who I brought it from (5 star - wow) and they said they would charge $250 to look at it. Of course I had no choice - owed 10k on the car and needed it to get to and from work. After a couple of days the dealer got back and said it had thrown a bearing and needed a new short engine. In my past I've done lot of engine work, but with these modern cars its hard enough just to find the oil filter, so I asked them to quote. They quoted 6k, and I beat them down to 4.5k since they sold me the car and told me it was well maintained. I should point out that I do not have maintenance records for the first 3 years of life. In September 02 my parents were visiting so my fiancee and I were using both cars. (Her Honda Accord has 160k miles and runs well) I was driving the Accord and following her in the Intrepid. I noticed every time she accelerated away after slowing down for a light or a turn it was followed with a significant puff of smoke from the Dodge exhaust. I took it back to the dealer for a tune and for them to investigate the cause. The dealer called me and asked when did I last have the oil changed - about 4k miles ago I said. Well they told me it was very sludgy and that the drain plug was stripped. So much for my local mechanic - it seems I can't trust him either. They also told me it needed new plugs and a transmission service. I went for the transmission service, and pointed out to them that it had new plugs 14k miles ago, then they backed down on the plugs. They told me there was no problem found on the smoke, and that it could be from water in the gas. I was advised to use gas out and super gasoline. I'll try this and see if it cures my smoke problem. Well I've just got back from inspection and they failed me for visible smoke, so now I'm faced with a fight with the dealer.

I too own a 2000 Dodge Intrepid. I bought the car in Feb. 2003 with 37,000 miles on it. The car was everything I expected it to be, up until April of this year. Again, remember I've only had the car for two months. I was driving on the freeway at about 55-60 MPH when I noticed the car started to pull to the right. It was as if I was losing control of the steering. Thank goodness I was only 5 minutes away from my house. Since that day, the steering has had a lot of play and what seemed to be alignment problems. I took the car to my local Chrysler dealer to check the problem (steering problems, play in the wheel, drifting to the right, etc.) to find out what the problem was. When I dropped the car off, the rep. said it sounds like the car just needs to be aligned. I dropped the car off at 7 a.m. and the car was not fixed until 2:30 that afternoon. The rep. told me that they were having a lot of problems trying to align the car, but where able to fix the problem. When I picked up the car, I still noticed the pulling to the right and play in the wheel. I then took the car back to the dealership to have the alignment checked again because it felt as if it was never fixed. They then looked at me like I was an idiot, but said they would check the car again. Well, they now tell me that it's not an alignment problem, but rather the rack and pinion need to be replaced. This is going to cost me $1200! Why didn't they notice this problem the first time? The car can't even be aligned correctly until the rack and pinion are replaced. So, why did they say the car was aligned and charge me $100. And this part is on such high demand that it would have to be put on a back order. Doesn't that say something? After reading about Intrepid problems on this site and others, I realize that steering problems are a major issue with Dodge Intrepids, but Chrysler is not doing anything about it. If there have been major accidents and deaths due to steering problems, why hasn't the car been recalled? I am ready to file a suit against the company because something needs to be done.

I am the owner of a 1999 Intrepid. Nice looking car bought used with no problems except the driver side window (a plastic clip broke) and problems related to the oil pan/pressure/seal. Around 60k miles it was noted that the oil pan screw was stripped. Then around 80k miles the oil light came on. Plenty of oil was there, but the light was on at low rpms. Took it to the dealer, they seemed to fix it. Problem I then had was oil leaking around the oil pan. They opened up the oil pan and found a gasket from a part near the transmission and the oil pan. They were going to have to take out the transmission to resolve the problem and replace the $2.50 gasket. I passed on that and will likely trade the car in soon (hopefully before the whole thing hits the fan). No more Dodges for this amigo. Oh, and to let you know how bad it got, a fuse blew on the lighter for the cell phone, I was in a rush and needed the charger for a trip coming up and told the Dealer to replace the fuse. $90 later I now know better than to ask the dealer and should take the time to "do it myself". Live and learn eh?

I'm glad to have found this page. Here is my experience with the infamous Intrepid 1999. My only problem before the 100,000 mileage was my electric system, it's haunted by the moody ghost, dome lights, glove compartment light, front passenger window, and other electrical gadgets go on and off as they please, I learned not to bother them, but rather adapt to their mood swings. After the 100,000 mark, the notorious speed sensor went out, which is annoying, but not costly. Last month my starter blew off, this was a headache, but you know what... you can jump start the car for the first 3-5 times, use it wisely to get to a garage. Yesterday, at 130,000, I heard a rattling sound from my engine, which I figured that it's the fan, the car over heated, and today the AC won't work, so this afternoon, my mechanic will enjoy another chunk of my income... taking into consideration that these problems occurred after the 100,000 mark, I think I would say that I'm content with the Intrepid, come on guys... don't forget that the American machine will never compare to the European or Japanese, and we all knew that before we bought this car.

Bought it used and have only had my 1999 intrepid for 6 months and replaced two transmissions, transmission computer, speed sensors and stabilizer bar link. Car shakes until you hit 70 mph and passenger side window works when it feels like it. Dome light went out and I'm not even bothering to look at it. Today I got the burnt smell in the engine compartment and it was one of the radiator fans went out and took the fan relay with it... guess it is time to get rid of this piece of crap.. will never buy a chrysler product again..

Thanks Max

Max92212002@yahoo.com.