2004 Dodge Stratus SE 2.7L V6 from North America

Summary:

Fast, practical, spacious, easy maintenance.

Faults:

On occasion, the engine will just shut off. No good reason either. It will turn back on easily, however. Other times, it simply falls below 500 rpm, then it will simply jump back to normal levels.

General Comments:

This car is so much faster than I expected. I test drove an Intrepid 2.7L and was almost going to buy it because I thought it was fast. But then I saw this stratus, and thought to myself about how with the same engine in a lighter vehicle, it would be faster, and it is! This sedan is awesome! I am confident about merging and passing people in a 2-lane road.

It flies around sharp curves and turns with the greatest of ease, it floats on the highway... you hardly know you are going fast, it just floats!

The brakes are awesome! even in rain, I made a sudden stop, and did not lose one bit of control. It stopped on a dime!

The seats are firm, comfortable, and the climate control system is divine.

Gas mileage, however is horrible compared to my previous car, (1997 Camry XLE) But that should have been expected.

Maintenance is cheap, so far, and that is a good thing seeing as I am a college student, and can barley afford gas.

Also, it seems easy to buy this car used. Rental companies trade them in constantly. You are bound to find a good deal on one somewhere.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 19th November, 2004

27th Nov 2004, 10:58

Yep give me a car that just shuts off for no reason. I'd buy 2, lol.

29th Sep 2005, 15:09

I got one too and I love it, only one thing... mine shuts off for no reason no warning the radio stays on and everything. You wouldn't know it shut off!

14th Oct 2005, 19:49

Check the Power cable (+ red one) on the drivers side under the hood. I forgot to tighten nut one time after maintenance and had the same problem. The cable toggles around and causes car to shut off, happens quickly so even radio keeps presets.

21st Jan 2006, 18:42

For the money this is a decent car. Not the most exciting sedan, but gets the job done. I put almost 30k miles on this car in 1-1/2 years and no major issues since the warranty ran out (sound of wood being knocked on). Although I have that engine shut off issue exactly as described. It typically happens after highway driving when I exit and am stopped a light. Really strange. I don't believe it's that battery connection thing. A disconnecting battery for a second or two should not kill the engine. Wouldn't it be running off the alternator? I will check it though. These cars have that whiny/jetty sound too that many Dodge/Chryslers have. I'll keep it for a couple more years but will not buy another.

3rd Oct 2006, 19:50

I have a 2004 status and mine shuts off when I'm stopped at a red light. I have had it 5 months and its messed up multiple times. now it has nocking under the hood. its only has 32,000 miles on it. I will never own another dodge.

14th Oct 2006, 18:01

I too have a 2004, and have also had the sudden engine shut off. I really love the car, but the one thing that is upsetting is the squeaky brakes. Does anyone else have this problem? The brakes work perfectly, but they sound horrible.

27th Dec 2007, 22:44

I had an 04 sebring touring with the 2.7 v6 and it would do that all the time. I think it was b/c of the engine sludge build up, and then it would surge to like 4k rpms without me even touching the accelerator, so I don't know.

2004 Dodge Stratus SXT from North America

Summary:

Fun and comfortable, but a lemon

Faults:

Headlight sensor needed to be replaced soon after purchase.

At 3,000 miles, a stop/bang developed at 25-30 mph. This was "corrected" but still occurred occasionally. Dealership said there was nothing more they could do for it.

At 6,000 miles, rotors were warped and had to be replaced. At 12,000 miles, rotors were warped and had to be replaced.

General Comments:

Dodge is a master at building comfortable cars. Unfortunately, they tend to build them with inferior materials. (How's your Dodge Caravan faring?)

In doing research on the rotor problems I had, I discovered that warped rotors are a perpetual problem with Dodge vehicles. The fix is actually an upgrade to a better rotor to the tune of 400.00. It makes me angry that they twice blamed it on my driving habits. I have never had to replace rotors in any car I've owned. It was frustrating to have a new car that shuddered each time I applied the brakes. I began to feel that although the car was comfortable and fun, I could not trust the integrity of the vehicle, or the company that made it. I was so angry about this, that I chose to get rid of the car, as the next set of replacement rotors would not be covered under warranty. This was at a 1,500.00 loss. Buyer beware.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 5th September, 2004

11th Oct 2004, 17:41

Unfortunately, This problem does not only apply to Chrysler products. I have a 2003 Ford F250 4X4 super duty with turbo diesel. It has 4 wheel disc brakes. The front rotors went south @ around 16,000 miles. I took it back to the dealership. Of course brakes aren't covered as a warranty item. They cut them and replaced the pads for the tune of about $350.00 At 26,000 miles they warped again. (incidentally I was warned by someone outside an auto parts store who had the Identical truck as mine, About the front brake rotors) It seems as though Ford will skimp on something as important as brakes to keep the overal cost down on the vehicle during production. However they didn't seem to mind 1 bit at charging the MSRP of $40,340 for this vehicle. The shocks self destructed @ 34,000 thousand miles as well. The brake and shock problems are gone. I had to roll up my sleeves and do them myself. With the best after market parts I could afford. So far no problems.

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2004 Dodge Stratus ES 2.7L V6 from North America

Summary:

A nice change from the mini-van

Faults:

When we bought the car in February, we had the battery replaced because the car would not start. It ran fine until the first day of July when the battery decided to die in a parking lot. We got it jumped, and drove immediately to the dealer.

Our thought was that the first time the battery was replaced, it was not a new battery, or the wrong size.

Now runs GREAT once again.

General Comments:

The 2.7 L V6 is amazingly fast! Driving out of town through downtown Cincinnati was a breeze, it is able to make any merge.

Features such as the Trip Computer are great, too. This V6 gets better gas mileage at over 28 (Highway) than our Contour I4 (At about 24)!!! We drove almost 400 miles, through a big city at rush hour on 3/4 of a tank of regular, 87 octane, gas.

Truly a sedan that drives like a coupe!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 7th July, 2004

29th Aug 2006, 14:47

I'm glad to hear that the Stratus with the 2.7 liter is powerful, because the rental Stratus I very briefly drove was very underpowered! Obviously it wasn't the V6 model, but a 2.4L. The 0-60 time was around 16 seconds with 5 people in the car plus luggage. Talk about gutless! I wouldn't buy the car anyway because I don't care for the exterior styling, but the interior (for a rental car) wasn't all that bad. It had normal options like PW, PDL, AC and a CD player. The gauge cluster looked great too, it didn't match the rest of the fairly plain interior. My recommendation, if you are considering purchase of this car, is to go with the V6. The 4 is just so gutless that I wouldn't even go there.