Faults:
Brakes every 10,000 miles.
Rotors turned every 15,000 miles, finally replaced after they couldn't be turned anymore.
Both radiator fans went out at 75,000 miles overheating the car, $500 dollar repair.
Inner tie rods replaced twice. Once at 85,000 miles, second time at 115,000, $110 dollars each time.
Speakers blew out, $75 replacements.
Transmission mount cracked, had to special order from the dealer, and installed by my mechanic - $100.
A/C system not working properly, had to be flushed and recharged every summer - $200 every summer.
Transmission was slipping since 85,000, put in Lucas transmission oil, temporarly solved the problem.
Catayltic converter went out, eventually killing gas mileage. Too expensive to repair, was quoted at $850 to replace.
I put in Mobil 1 syntetic oil, and flushed the car's engine very often since I owned the car. Last year I was driving on a busy intersection in New York City, when the car died on the spot. Spent a week trying to figure out what happened.
Towed the car the dealer, dealer said the timing chain was worn out, even though it was recently changed, quoted at $ 1750 to replace.
Towed the car to my mechanic to do the timing chain and water pump replacement, when the mechanic started to work on the car, he discovered that the engine was so badly sludged up, it was beyond any repair or able to be rebuild. Don't forget I used Mobil syntectic oil, that should have prevented this problem. Mechanic quoted me at $4,000 to replace the engine and installation, and he told me not to even bother with this car, cause it wasn't even worth more than $2500, and that was with a working engine.
Guess the dealer decided to leave the sludge problem out, until they changed my timing chain and water pump, so they can charge me for the parts and labor. So when the repair was the done, and the car didn't start, looks like we found the real problem, and know we can charge for an engine on top of the timing chain and water pump. Thank you 5-Star Chrysler dealership
Went back to the dealer and he quoted me at $6500 for a new engine, the dealer then decided to act dumb, when I mentioned the engine was sludged up. Tried to blame the engine self-destructing, itself on me. Saying bad maintenance made my engine to go, I flipped out on him, in front of all his customers.
I ended up donating the car, instead of sinking more money into. It just wasn't worth it.
General Comments:
The Intrepid has the looks, and is a head turner. However, it wasn't build right. Especially the 2.7 liter engine. When the car was working it was very comfortable, especially for long trips. Other than that, problems after problems after problems.
This car has been labeled by many mechanics as a disposable car, because it has the tendency to never last over 100k miles. I got lucky, mine lasted till 125K. Even with the right maintenance, you will have trouble with this car. I will never buy another Dodge or Chrysler vehicle again, it's too much of a hassle and financial burden to deal with.
It's off to Honda and Nissan for me.
14th Dec 2006, 13:36
I own a '97 Intrepid and I have heard from others the same problems that I have had with mine... transmission, water pump, and rear axle... it's been a wonderful car, and it has a lot of miles on it, but I've almost replaced enough parts to make it new... I'll have to keep mine, it'll rule the road until 250k miles flips.