NHTSA Complaint #10131148 — 2001 DODGE STRATUS COUPE

1. THE CAR BATTERY OF MY 2001 DODGE STRATUS RT WENT DEAD ON SUNDAY MORNING. I PURCHASED A CORRECT REPLACEMENT BATTERY AND INSTALLED IT ON THE VEHICLE. 2. UPON STARTING THE CAR AFTER INSTALLING THE NEW BATTERY, THE CAR WOULD NOT IDLE BUT WOULD ONLY SHUT DOWN. I TRIED THIS SEVERAL TIMES AND I COULD ONLY KEEP THE CAR RUNNING WHILE GIVING IT GAS. I TRIED DRIVING THE CAR AND IT DROVE OK UNTIL I RELEASED THE GAS PEDAL IN ORDER TO SLOW DOWN, STOP, OR MAKE A TURN AND EACH TIME THE CAR ENGINE SHUT DOWN. 3. I MANAGED TO DRIVE THE CAR TO THE DODGE DEALER, STALLING OUT AT STOP SIGNS, STOP LIGHTS, INTERSECTIONS, AND TURNS. THE CAR WOULD ALWAYS RESTART AND BY GIVING IT GAS AND THROWING IT BACK INTO DRIVE, I COULD CONTINUE. AFTER A DAY, THE DODGE DEALER ANALYSIS WAS THAT BECAUSE I HAD CHANGED THE CAR BATTERY, THE ENGINE COMPUTER LOST ALL OF ITS "LEARNING" PARAMETERS AND THE CAR WOULD HAVE TO BE DRIVEN FOR 2 WEEKS TO LEARN THE PARAMETERS. I WAS TOLD THAT CHRYSLER HAD NO "QUICKSTART" SOFTWARE THAT COULD BE LOADED ONTO THE AUTOMOBILE'S COMPUTER TO ALLOW IT TO RUN PROPERLY. SO THE DODGE DEALERSHIP TOLD ME THAT I WOULD HAVE TO OPERATE MY CAR IN TRAFFIC WHEN IT STALLED EVERY TIME MY FOOT CAME OFF THE GAS PEDAL, AND THAT WAS THEIR SOLUTION TO FIX THIS PROBLEM....TO OPERATE MY CAR IN AN UNSAFE MANNER BECAUSE THEY HAD NO MEANS TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. THERE IS NO WARNING IN THE VEHICLE OPERATORS MANUAL ABOUT THIS POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS CONDITION WHERE YOUR CAR STALLS IN TRAFFIC IF YOU CHANGE THE BATTERY AND I FIND THIS "SOLUTION" UNSAFE AND TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. *JB