Faults:

Looking at other reviews of this car, I am not the only one who hates the brakes...

Just regular maintenance.

General Comments:

I have never written a review before, so please bear with me! :)

I bought this car as a replacement for my 2001 Nissan Sentra, which was nightmare from the day I bought it, and also because of an addition to our family.

I was able to pick this car up very reasonable at the "Year End Clearance" sale. I believe that for the price I paid, I got a fantastic deal. Has power everything, lots of nice features. The 2.4 four cylinder is pretty quick and gets awesome gas mileage, I get 30+ on the highway back and forth to work. Has tons of rooms for two car seats and baby luggage. Handles great in the snow.

The only thing that I can really complain about is the brakes. They seem to wear quickly and pulsate when coming to a stop. Otherwise, I have never been so happy with a car purchase. My Stratus has never really needed more than routine maintenance and has been a pleasure to own and drive. It still looks good after 5 years and 115,000 miles, and I hope I can get another 50-75K out of it. The dealer I worked with has also been great. This is my first Dodge, but it won't be my last!

Faults:

Horribly loud squeak in my rear (drum) brakes since 21,000 miles.

Cracked resonator @ 38,000 miles.

Knock in front suspension (possibly my axle) @ 45,000 miles.

Strong shake in steering wheel at idle.

Rear speaker wire started to burn.

Excessive brake fade.

General Comments:

I bought this '05 Dodge Stratus SXT at 21000 miles in 2007, and have not been impressed by it in the 2 years and 28000 miles miles that I've been driving it.

Right after I bought it, a squeak developed in the rear brakes. The problem was never found after numerous brake checks. My rear brake shoes had plenty of life left and the drums seemed to be in good condition at the time. The only thing I can think of to do is to replace the shoes and see if they work better, or see if the upgraded disc brakes from the R/T can be put on my SXT. Does anyone know a remedy to this problem?

As for the cracked resonator, that appears to be a problem that someone else had and there's nothing that can be done except for me to replace it. I might just get an aftermarket, high-flow resonator and put give this slow car some more power.

The knock in my front suspension confuses me. I've lifted my vehicle and cannot find any loose bolts or anything in there. I'm assuming it's my axle and that's what my auto tech professor thinks it might be as well. I haven't taken the time to really find the issue causing the noise, but I will. And when I do, I can only hope that someone steals my car before I have to fork over the money to fix it.

There's an excessive shake in the steering wheel at idle which is just a sign of a cheap car, or bad engine mounts. I only hope it's just the sign of a cheap car because engine mounts will not be a fun project for me to replace.

The only thing that I do like about the car is the stock sound system. It's not bad for being stock. Bass is pretty good with minimal distortion after the proper adjustments. The only issue with such a hard-hitting sound system is that the speaker wires weren't made to handle the power produced and the plastic wiring sleeve starts to burn.

The excessive brake fade is just due to cheap brakes. I think I will replace them with slotted and/or cross-drilled rotors when the time comes. Again, I hope this car is stolen before I have to sink any money into it.

Oops, forgot to mention the horrible depreciation of the value of this car. I bought it with 21000 miles miles for $13,000... 2 years later, after interest, I owe $11,000 and the car is only worth FIVE THOUSAND!!! What the hell?