Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| OTHER | |||
| 07/15/2002 | 74153 | ||
| I had nothing but major problem with my dodge stratus it's only a 1997 with 86,582. i bought it used with 23,000 in january of 1999 from a car dealer. i have spent $2,335.30 in repairs in 2002&2003 in may & june of 2003 i spent $1,678.31 & $656.99 in july 2002 starting with brakes being contamied ,water pump ,radiator replaced,and it's being driven locally never been out of this state. i feel this is a lemon car because of the major repairs and the mileage is only 74,153 when i started having repairs and keep having major repairs totally $2,400 only had it 3 1/2 yrs. i filed a report with the lemon law in washington state. | |||
| 01/02/2001 | 1 | ||
| Rust and paint bubbling on front of hood. i have observed that this is epidemic on stratus. *nm | |||
| 01/14/2003 | 69963 | 09/13/2000 | |
| Blown head gasket at 69,900 miles. leaked oil, never overheated. possible cracked head. | |||
| 2 | |||
| The head gaskets on the car have gone out twice, once at 37,000 miles and now at 65,000 miles. now the dodge dealer is saying that the timing belt pulley has locked up and has shredded the belt and the exhaust manifold is cracked. the service department has told me that the pulleys never go out at this low of mileage. however, i have read numerous complaints about the same thing happening to other 1997 stratus owners. i have also read the numerous complaints about the head gaskets. the catalytic converter also went out on the car, i wonder if this was due to the oil leaking on it from the blown heads. this part is still under the emissions warranty, but what if it happens again after 80,000 miles? i cannot imagine why dodge has not recalled these vehicles when so many people have had the same problem? maybe they are waiting on a certain number of deaths from the loss of vehicle control due to the timing belt failure, or from fires caused by the oil dripping on the catalytic converter. i can not afford to replace the head gaskets every 30,000 miles and i can't afford to trade the car because i owe what the car retails for. i hope someone will help those of us who were unfortunate enough to buy this lemon before lots of deaths occur. if dodge doesn't want to help us. i think a class acton law suit would be very appropriate. dt | |||
| Vehicle was going 50mph when the oil light illuminated and vehicle stalled. imternittently vehicle will restart. this was second time that vehicle has stalled. also, vehicle is leaking oil caused by time belt problems. please probide more information.*ak | |||
| While driving oil light came on and vehicle stalled losing all power. took vehicleto dealer, and dealer replaced timing belt and pulley. timing belt has been replaced twice. also had computer replaced. *ak | |||
| 04/22/2001 | 0 | ||
| Consumer started to notice oil on ground, and oil gauge went down to gauges.*ak | |||
| 1 | |||
| The head gasket failed resulting in oil leakage, the oil indicator never worked properly. *mjs | |||
| 02/14/2000 | 20 | 01/01/1998 | |
| Tachometer stops working and returns to 0 rpm at same time odometer light goes out. stays that way for periods of one minute to 30 minutes. then both start working again, with no loss of miles being recorded. checked fuses and ground wires, seem to be ok. dealer wants $400+ to check problem. not safety problem, just inconvenient. | |||
| 09/12/2000 | 1 | 08/01/1999 | |
| Someone i worked with has the same car (year/model) and had the same problem. i will be investigating this on my ouw as well and contacting dodge directly. no safety defect listed. *ak | |||
| 10/19/1999 | 1 | 10/01/1999 | |
| No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak | |||
| 11/01/1997 | |||
| Carpeted floor mat got caught in cotter pin in bottom of steering column while turning in a parking lot. *ak | |||
| 06/15/1999 | 4 | 05/01/1997 | |
| Riding down the road when my engine check light came on, i took it to the service department and they said it was my gas cap. i changed my gas cap and the same problem has occurred four times. each time i have taken to a dodge dealership service department. they fixed the problem and a day later the engine check light comes back on. the last time i took it in for the same problem the service manager said that they can't do anything about it but it is safe to drive. the engine check light is still on till this day and it has gone off yet. *ak | |||
| When air gets into the gas tank it sets the engine check light on/off due to the cap being loose. dealer has been contacted. *ak | |||
| 07/10/1998 | |||
| Battery light came on and stayed on while driving, the dealer was contacted and appointment was scheduled. while driving car 13 miles for repairs, 50-55 mph, the engine light came, on and the engine caught on fire. fire department came. the dealer cannot duplicate the problem. *ak | |||