1996 Dodge Intrepid
Summary:
Lemon is not the word... lime is better
Faults:
This car, and everyone else I know, has had transmission problems. It starts with slippage, then eventually you need a new transmission.
The suspension on this car is cheaper than that of my 10 speed bike. The tie rods go quickly, followed by the loose steering rack, the lower ball joint control arms and links. The struts in the fronts are expensive and often grind when you turn.
The body is excellent if you had a horse to pull the car around.
The AC fails on almost all of them.. usually the evaporator leaks and mine also the electric fan siezed up. Went to get one from the scrap yard and guess what? Every one in the scrap yard is also siezed.
Overall this car is a nightmare waiting to happen. The trunk is good... you can sleep in it when you break down, it's so big.
General Comments:
Transmission nightmare.
Suspension that is way too cheap not to repair, but to last.
Nice body and interior style.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 23rd November, 2003
16th Jul 2009, 16:38
My 1996 Intrepid had EVERYTHING you mentioned go wrong with it, and then some! I HATE this car, I finally secured a NEW car for myself and pick it up in 2 weeks - it can't come fast enough!!
The transmission is bad, it stays stuck in a low gear when 1.) I have to stop at a stop sign 2.) Have to slow down to under 30 MPH 3.) Get a red light. Then I have to pull over and restart the engine EVERY time. It burns through so much gas, I can't afford this anymore. The tie rod ends are bad, needs new struts, has a bad axle. 3 years ago the air conditioner system created chaos, that hasn't worked in years. Had to remove the cigarette lighter because it caused the horn to not work, thus it failed inspection. The power door locks stopped working last year.
It will overheat in hot weather if stuck in heavy traffic, so I have to roast to death when I turn the heat on to cool it off. The headlights are very dim in this model, and the loose front end suspension causes the headlights to shimmy and they become loose, one of my lights began to fall out, I had it repaired. It's a HORRIBLE car, every time I see one, it makes me sick. I would NEVER recommend the early-mid 90's Intrepids to anybody. The only thing I can say is the engine is strong, and the car itself has nice body styling.