NHTSA Complaint #10103997 — 1999 DODGE INTREPID

I ALSO OWN A 1999 DODGE INTREPID WITH THE NOTORIOUS 2.7 ALMOST BLOWN ENGINE, DUE TO OIL SLUDGE. THE WAS WELL MAINTAINED WITH REGULAR OIL CHANGES. THE CAR HAS ONLY 76K MILES. FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS THE CAR WOULD SOUND LIKE A DIESEL FOR A VERY SHORT TIME AND DISAPPEAR. I CALLED THE DEALER AND INQUIRED IF THERE HAD BEEN ANY SIMILAR COMPLAINTS OR PROBLEMS. THEY REPLIED THEY KNEW OF NONE. I EVEN HAD THE CAR IN ANOTHER REPAIR SHOP ONE DAY AND THEY DID NOT KNOW WHAT COULD HAVE CAUSED THE SOUND I COMPLAINED ABOUT, BECAUSE IT DISAPPEARED BEFORE I GOT THERE. JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO THE SOUND REAPPEARED SUDDENLY AFTER 4 MONTHS OF NOTHING. THE SHOP OWNER COULD NOT BELIEVE HIS EARS WHEN I DROVE UP LEFT THE CAR RUNNING AND WENT IN TO GET HIM. HE FOUND THAT THE HYDRAULIC TENSIONER THAT HOLDS THE TIMING CHAINS IN PLACE NEEDED REPLACED, BUT WHEN HE TOOK THE FRONT COVER OFF THE MOTOR HE FOUND IT FILLED WITH SLUDGE. I WAS LUCKY THAT THE MOTOR HAD NOT BLOWN YET, BUT I FACE THE EXPENSE OF HAVING IT REBUILT OR REPLACED. I STILL HAVE THE CAR, BUT I HAD TO GO REPLACE IT WITH ANOTHER CAR. THIS WAS AN ADDED EXPENSE I WAS NOT PLANNING ON. R MILLER, DELAWARE. *JB