NHTSA Complaint #727331 — 1996 DODGE STRATUS

WE WERE DRIVING ON I-69 IN TULSA, OK ON SEPTEMBER 5, 1999, TRAVELLING ABOUT 75 MPH IN THE LEFT LANE OF TRAFFIC WHEN THE CAR SUDDENLY AND WITHOUT WARNING DOWNSHIFTED INTO SECOND GEAR. FORTUNATELY, THE TRAFFIC WAS LIGHT ON THE HIGHWAY AND WE WERE ABLE TO GET OFF WITHOUT INCIDENT. AT THAT TIME, WE HAD NO IDEA WHAT IT HAD DONE AND WERE PERPLEXED - WAS IT THE TRANSMISSION? TIRE BLOW OUT? THE CAR CONTINUED TO RUN HOWEVER BUT WOULD NOT LET US SHIFT OUT OF SECOND GEAR. WE READ OUR OWNER'S MANUAL AND LEARNED THAT WHAT HAPPENED WAS A "SAFETY FEATURE" WHEN THE COMPUTER DETECTS SOMETHING WRONG, THE CAR WILL AUTOMATICALLY "DOWNSHIFT" SO NO ADDITIONAL DAMAGE, ETC. WILL BE CAUSED! WE ALSO NOTED TO SHUT OFF THE CAR AND RESTART IT AND IT WOULD RE-SET BUT HTE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WOULD STAY ON. WE TOOK IT FIRST TO THE DEALERSHIP THE NEXT BUSINESS DAY (TUESDAY) AND THEY STARTED MUMBLING ABOUT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDING REPLACED WITHOUT EVEN A DIAGNOSTIC CHECK! WE THEN TOOK IT TO TUNEUP MASTERS WHO DID A CHECK AND FOUND NO CODES, NOTHING WRONG. ANOTHER YEAR HAS PASSED AND MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN BUT NOT WHILE TRAVELLING AT HIGH SPEED. A CODE WAS NOTED THIS TIME FOR THE TRANSMISSION. I AM GETTING RID OF THIS CAR. BAD THINGS ARE GETTING READY TO HAPPEN AND I CAN'T AFFORD IT. MY CONCERN, HOWEVER, IS THIS "SAFETY FEATURE" OF DOWNSHIFTING AT HIGH SPEEDS. I WILL NOT SELL IT PRIVATELY AS I AM CONCERNED A FAMILY WILL BUY IT AND SOMETHING AWFUL MAY HAPPEN. I KNOW, "BUYER BEWARE" BUT IT SEEMS DANGEROUS TO ME. I JUST WONDERED IF ANYONE ELSE HAS ENCOUNTERED THIS PROBLEM WITH THE COMPUTER AND/OR ENGINE? I HAVE KEPT UP ON MY OIL CHANGES, ETC., NEW BRAKES, NEW TIRES, BUT IT JUST SEEMS TO DO THIS RANDOMLY AND WITHOUT WARNING AND THEN THE CAR RUNS FINE AFTER IT IS RE-SET. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS REPORT.