19th Jan 2004, 10:15

I presently drive A 91 acclaim with 230k on it. These cars will last to 400k if they are driven easy and maintenance is performed. Overall I find it a very economical car to operate.

27th Mar 2004, 16:19

I own a 1991 Plymouth Acclaim, and so far I had to replace the power steering pump, radiator, brakes and the fuel pump in which I have to replace again as I type this. I'm starting to become great friends with the mechanics and the tow truck operator. They know me by first name bases now.

9th Apr 2004, 12:33

I currently drive a 1991 acclaim, I am 26 years old and I bought it with 50,000 kilometers on it, now it has 375,000 k's on it. the only thing I have has to replace on it were the cam shaft and the timing belt and than other small things like alternator rad brakes, so on. it has been an extremely reliably car considering I drive the crap out of it. I would definately recommend it as a used car.

3rd Jun 2004, 09:36

My 1991 Acclaim has about 146,000 miles on it and has been dependable and fun to drive. It has very little rust for a 13 year old car in Northeast Ohio. Few 13 year old foreign makes have as little rust or are as dependable as my car.

24th Aug 2004, 15:58

I went from driving a Camaro to a 1991 Plymouth Acclaim. The Acclaim has 66,000 miles on it and has been a great used car. It does well on snow and ice and has only one annoying problem... when I use the air conditioner, there is a squealing sound which attracts looks. I do miss the style of a bright red Camaro and, thus, refer to my Acclaim as my "librarian car" since it looks so sensible!

11th Feb 2005, 02:54

It seems to me that Acclaims/Le Barons/Saratoga's/Spirits are quite unstable in terms of quality and reliability. 95% of reviews that I read say that this is a reliable, great car. My '93 Spirit eats a lot of cash (about $2000 in half a year, and it will need as much soon). But I still like it. In Russia, it is no librarian car. More like a gangster car. People think I'm Russian mafia, when in truth I am an automotive journalist for "Za Rulyom".

14th Aug 2005, 18:36

I had an 89 acclaim brand new with 32 miles on it. Numerous problems such as leaks, idling problems, things breaking, clear coat cracking, paint falling off, and bigger things like replacing the engine around 42,000 miles.

Had the car for 7 years. What a piece of junk. Read my post under the year 89...

28th Jun 2006, 00:03

The inconsistent reliability marks are due mainly to the fact that the 4cyl/3-spd auto Acclaims were fantastically reliable and cheap, while the V6/4-spd auto Acclaims were FAR less reliable and more expensive to maintain.

I had a 1992 Acclaim with the 4cyl./3-spd combo and it was a super car! I bought it with 40k miles in 1994 and its life was ended in a car accident in 2001 when it had 182k miles. The first repair ever needed was the alternator at 95k miles. Then the radiator at 120k. Then the headgasket leaked and cracked the head at 156k, which was the most costly of all repairs at $800 and is terribly common with this motor. Then the shocks went out at 171k and were replaced, at which time it started idling erratically. Then its death at 182k. No doubt it would have lasted to 200k or more had it not been for the accident. And note that I never had to get ANY transmission work done on the car in 182k miles! The body held up incredibly well. Nothing every broke in the interior. Everything always worked. Even at 182k miles the car was squeak and rattle free, believe it or not.

This car was subjected to tough Central New York winters for the first half of its life and spend the second half being driven hard by a 16yr. old. Not too shabby for an American car if you ask me! Only real dissapointment from the car was the paint quality. It faded, then peeled over time. Great car overall though and I'd buy another low mileage Acclaim in a heartbeat!

21st Oct 2006, 14:58

I own a 1994 Acclaim which I have had for over a year. I have had numerous problems also. Several months ago the front left axle broke and had that replaced. The car rides terrible at higher speeds and vibrates. I am hoping that it just needs new tires and an alignment. Also recently the car has been cutting off when slowing down at a red light or stop sign. I think that it is the O2 sensor, but have not replaced it yet. I too have had numerous problems with the drive belt. Right after I got the car I noticed that the drive belt was off centered. So I loosened up the tensioner and adjusted it. As soon as I cranked it up the belt slid sideways again. So I bought a new belt and had the same problem. Then after the second new belt I just lived with it. I am considering replacing the belt tensioner and hope that it will finally solve this problem. Only once has the belt actually slipped off. That was at 11pm at night and I was able to work on it on the side of the road and get the belt back on. Now I have noticed that the car is loosing antifreeze. Not sure if it is coming from the water pump or not. I forgot to mention that I have the 3.0 V6.

20th Aug 2007, 00:50

I just bought a 1991 Acclaim with 235000 km on it and its still going strong. But this car has no power, and is very old ladyish. But overall a great buy.

21st Oct 2007, 05:29

I had the same problem when I first bought mine. My belt broke about every other month. Come to find out that it wasn't the car that was a piece of crap, but the belts. A mechanic told me not to buy my belt from one parts store and after switching parts stores my belt has lasted over six years.

24th Jun 2008, 01:34

I have bought a 1991 Plymouth Acclaim, the standard 2.5 4cyl.

I bought this car with 92000 miles on it. It came with these problems. The paint was all oxidized and some paint was just gone.

It made a high pitch screaming noise, and it had what sounded like a motor knocking noise. The squeaky noise was the alternator belt; I replaced that for $18.00, so no more squeak, but still sounded like a go kart.

I drove it from Akron Ohio to Louisville Kentucky and back, which was a total of 664 miles, and it had no problems. It still sounded like a go kart.

Today Jun 23 08, it had a new exhaust manifold gasket. It fixed the go kart noise, and it felt more powerful. It sounds like new and drives like new. Everything else in this car is stock from the factory. The only thing I have done to it is a stereo system.

I bought this car for $450 and put $100 to a total of $550, and the car now has 97000 and runs and drives perfectly.