NHTSA Complaint #10052652 — 2001 DODGE INTREPID

DEC 1, 2003 OUR 2001 DODGE INTREPID HAD ENGINE FAILURE WITH NO WARNING WHILE MY WIFE WAS DRIVING TO WORK. AFTER STRUGGLING TO GET THE CAR UNDER CONTROL AND SAFELY OFF THE ROAD, WE HAD THE CAR TOWED TO A SERVICE CENTER WHERE THEY REFERRED US TO THE DEALER WHERE WE BOUGHT THE CAR. THE SERVICE CENTER INFORMED US THE ENGINE WAS BLOWN AND WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED BY THE DEALER. WHEN TOWED TO THE DEALER, THEY WANTED $500.00 TO TAKE APART THE ENGINE BECAUSE AS THEY SAID THE CAR HAD NO OIL. AFTER TAKING THE ENGINE APART THE DEALERSHIP INFORMED US THE CAR DID HAVE OIL, BUT WAS BLOWN DUE TO SLUDGE IN THE ENGINE. THE CAR ONLY HAS 36,363 MILES, HAS HAD THE OIL CHANGED AS THE OWNERS MANUAL RECOMMENDED. UNFORTUNATELY, WE WERE TOLD BY THE DEALER THE CAR WAS "OUT OF WARRANTY". THEY QUOTED $9900.00 TO REPLACE THE ENGINE. WE WERE ALSO INFORMED BY THE DEALER THAT THIS PROBLEM WAS NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY ANYWAY BECAUSE IT WAS DUE TO "OWNER MAINTENANCE AND NEGLECT, EVEN THOUGH WE PROVIDED THE RECEIPTS FOR THE OIL CHANGES. I WAS INFORMED THAT HAD THEY PROVIDED THE SERVICE, DODGE/CHRYSLER WOULD HONOR THEIR WORK AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY, BUT SINCE IT WAS PERFORMED ELSEWHERE I WAS ON MY OWN. I CALLED ANOTHER DEALERSHIP ACROSS TOWN AND WAS INFORMED THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS PARTICULAR VEHICLE AND THEY SEE SEVERAL A MONTH. THE SECOND DEALERSHIP QUOTED $5500.00 DOLLARS. AFTER GETTING THIS INFO FROM THE SECOND DEALERSHIP, WE DID SOME RESEARCH AND FOUND THIS TO BE A VERY COMMON PROBLEM AND THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR VEHICLE'S ENGINE (THE 2.7L ENGINE). I EVEN FOUND A LETTER FROM MITSUBISHI, WHO DESIGNED THIS ENGINE FOR CHRYSLER,R STATING THE ENGINE RUNS TOO HOT FOR THE OIL CHRYSLER RECOMMENDS TO USED. THE LETTER STATES THIS WILL HAPPEN BECAUSE OF HIGH ENGINE HEAT AND RECOMMENDS USING A SYNTHETIC OIL INSTEAD OF THE 10W/30 CHRYSLER RECOMMENDS IN THE OWNERS MANUAL. *LA