NHTSA Complaint #751298 — 1995 DODGE INTREPID

VEHICLE SEEMED TO BE MAINTAINED WELL AND IN GOOD CONDITION. AFTER PURCHASING VEHICLE AND NORMAL DRIVING STARTED EXPERIENCING BURING RUBBER SMELL FROM ENGINE. PROBLEM WAS OIL LEAKING FROM VALVE COVER GASKETS ONTO ENGINE. HAD VALVE COVER GASKETS REPLACED. SMELT BURNING RUBBER SMELL AGAIN, BAD GASKET FOR OIL FILLER CAP TOO. REPLACED, PROBLEM CORRECTED. CAR WOULD SOMETIMES PERFORM WELL WITH GOOD ACCELERATION, SOMETIMES TRANSMISSION WOULD NOT SEEM TO DOWNSHIFT, ACCELERATOR PEDAL WOULD BE TO FLOOR AND VEHICLE WOULD BARELY MOVE. WOULD HAPPEN UNEXPECTEDLY, EXTREMELY DANGEROUS WHEN ENTERING FREEWAY, PASSING OR MERGING. VEHICLE WOULD SOMETIMES SHIFT ROUGH, THEN SOMETIMES WOULD SHIFT QUICKLY AND SMOOTHLY. FLUID OK MOPAR. TOOK VEHICLE TO FIVE STAR SERVICE CENTER, HAD TECHNICIAN DRIVE VEHICLE, I DROVE VEHICLE AND CLEARLY DUPLICATED PROBLEM. I HAD THE PEDAL TO THE FLOOR AND VEHICLE WOULD ONLY ACCELERATE VERY VERY SLOWLY, TECHNICIAN STATED THIS WAS NORMAL BECAUSE VEHICLE IS IN 3RD GEAR. SOMETIMES VEHICLE WOULD EVEN DOWNSHIFT AND HAD GREAT ACCELERATION AS FAST AS 50MPH AND THEN SOMETIMES WOULD NOT DOWNSHIFT OR BARELY MOVE AT SPEEDS AS SLOW AS 35MPH. IT IS NOT NORMAL TO HAVE THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL TO THE FLOOR WITH A 170HP VEHICLE WITH THE VEHICLE BARELY ACCELERATING OR EXTREMELY POOR RESPONSE. I BELEIVE THAT THESE CHRYSLER TRANSMISSIONS OR THEIR CONTROL MODULES HAVE SERIOUS ISSUES. WELL I TRIED TO USE THE VEHICLE ANYWAY, IT SEEMED TO WORK OK OTHERWISE. WHILE DRIVING WITH FRIENDS SMELT BAD SHARP ODOR ALMOST LIKE URINE. COULD NOT FIND SOURCE OF THIS. FOUND OUT TRANSMISSION LEAKING TRANSMISSION COOLING LINES WERE CAUSE OF ODOR. TRANSMISSION STARTED MAKING CLU-CLUNKING NOISE AND FRONT END WOULD LIFT UP EXCESSIVELY LIKE A 727. FOUND OUT TRANSMISSION MOUNTS WERE BROKEN AND FRONT PUMP SEAL WAS ALSO LEAKING. SERVICE WOULD HAVE COST $2,000. TRADED VEHICLE IN, LOST THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. INDEPENDENT MECHANIC STATED THAT PUMP SEAL AND TRANSMISSION IN A CAR SHOULD LAST AT LEAST 125,000 MILES.