NHTSA Complaint #10126028 — 1999 DODGE INTREPID

I WAS DRIVING MY 1999 DODGE INTREPID WITH MY 3Y.O DAUGHTER. WE WERE STOPPED AT A STOP LIGHT. WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN, I ACCELERATED, AND MY CAR BEGAN JERKING ROUGHLY, BUT THERE WERE NO INTERIOR WARNING LIGHTS ON. I CONTINUED TO TRY TO ACCELERATE, AND EVENTUALLY MY "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT CAME ON. I PULLED MY CAR INTO A GAS STATION WHERE IT DIED. I HAD TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED TO MY DODGE DEALER WHERE I WAS TOLD THE ENGINE HAD LOCKED UP. THE DEALERSHIP WANTS NEARLY $8000 TO REPLACE MY ENGINE. I HAVE BEEN DOING SOME ON-LINE RESEARCH AND TELEPHONE RESEARCHING TO FIND CHEAPER ENGINES. FROM ALL OF THE PEOPLE I HAVE SPOKEN TO, AND FROM THE ON-LINE RESEARCH I'VE DONE, IT APPEARS THAT THIS IS A DEFECTIVE ENGINE THAT IS FAILING ON THESE CARS. WE HAVE EVEN WEIGHED THE OPTION OF HAVING THE CAR SENT TO THE JUNKYARD FOR SCRAP, BUT OUR LOCAL JUNKYARD WON'T EVEN TAKE IT BECAUSE THEY SAY THEY HAVE TOO MANY OF THESE CARS ALREADY DUE TO THE SAME PROBLEM. SO FAR, THE CHEAPEST ESTIMAT WE'VE HAD TO HAVE THE ENGINE REPLACED IS APPROX $4000 (FOR A REBUILT ENGINE). THIS CAR IS ONLY 6 YEARS OLD, AND HAS BEEN PROPERLY MAINTENANCED. THIS PROBLEM NEEDS TO BE THOROUGHLY INVESTIGATED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.