NHTSA Complaint #10124536 — 2003 DODGE INTREPID

ON MAY 24, 2005, I RECEIVED MY 2003 DODGE INTREPID (72,000 MILES) BACK FROM THE DEALERSHIP AFTER THEY COMPLETED REPAIRS RELATED TO A LOW-SPEED COLLISION. UPON PICKING UP THE VEHICLE, OPERATION SEEMED 100%. LESS THAN 20 MILES LATER WHILE DRIVING ~60MPH ON INTERSTATE 70-WEST, THE CAR SHUTTERED BRIEFLY AND THEN QUICKLY LOST FORWARD ACCELERATION. WHEN I DEPRESSED THE GAS PETAL, THE RFPM WOULD ACCELERATE ACCORDINGLY, BUT THE TRANSMISSION SEEMED TO BE DISENGAGED. AT THIS POINT, THE 'CHECK ENGINE' WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. AS I ATTEMPTED TO MAKE MY WAY SAFELY TO THE SHOULDER, THE VEHICLE CONTINUED TO DE-ACCELERATE TO THE POINT WHERE THE VEHICLE CAME TO A DEAD STAND-STILL ON THE ROADWAY AND STARTED TO DRIFT BACKWARDS WHEN A TRACTOR TRAILER SWERVED ONTO THE SHOULDER TO PASS ME AND AVOID A MAJOR REAR-END COLLISION. AFTER TOWING THE VEHILE BAACK TO THE DEALERSHIPM, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE AUTOMATIC TRNASMISSION HAD EXPERIENCED CATASTROPHIC FAILURE AND WOULD NEED TO BE COMPLETELY RE-BUILT OR REPLACED. WHEN THE DEALERSHIP CHECKED ON THE AVAILABILITY OF PARTS, THEY DISCOVERED THAT CORRESPONDING COMPONENTS WERE ON NATIONAL BACK-ORDER BY DODGE AND WOULD NOT BE AVAILABLE FOR MONTHS. THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT A NATIONAL BACK-ORDER OF THIS MAGNITUDE WAS INDICATIVE OF WIDE-SCALE DEFECTS FROM THE MANUFACTURER. GIVEN THAT (1) THE COMPLETE FAILURE OF THE AUTOMOBILE'S TRANSMISSION OCCURRED WITHOUT WARNING, (2) THE FAILURE OCCURRED CATASTROPHICALLY WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS TRAVELLING OVER 60MPH, AND (3) THE EXTENT OF THE NATIONAL BACKORDER FOR THE TRANSMISSION COMPONENTS, I AM GRAVELY CONCERNED THAT THERE IS A SERIOUS DEFECT WITHIN THE DODGE INTREPID TRANSMISSION THAT REPRESENTS A SIGNIFICANT SAFETY THREAT TO OTHER DRIVERS AND OWNERS. TRANSMISSION HAD TO BE COMPLETELY RE-BUILT.