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Wayyy tooo go dodge

nboy22

nboy22

Diamond Member
I got a used 2002 Dodge Stratus at 29,000 miles. Still had a little bit of the warranty left when I got it, but not much. This car has the 2.7 liter engine.

Right at the end of the warranty, a solenoid in the transmission was malfunctioning (I didn't notice any problems but the dealer said it was malfunctioning) So it turns out the day after the warranty was when the appointment was scheduled. So they ended up giving me the part for free but made me pay for the labor. This was back when I lived in Idaho, and This was just the beginning.

I moved down to Tempe/Phoenix about 2 years after that, no problems with the car.

First problem: Blower resistor for the A/C blows out making it so that you can only have the A/C on OFF or HIGH, no in between. This was a simple 35 dollar fix, and I replaced the old one.

Second problem: Day after my birthday, 2007, my thermostat decides to die on me in the middle of a busy highway-type road. So I ended up putting water in it from some leftover water bottles and waiting for it to cool down just a bit so I can drive it to the nearest gas station. Got it towed and it was a $230 fix.

Third Problem: Drive my car around one day, perfectly fine, go home and turn it off. Next day I hop in, turn it on, and it won't shift out of first (auto transmission). Turns out the Tranmission control module blew out on me. At a nice hefty fee of $400+ dollars. How does that even blow out just sitting there? What a piece of shit.

Fourth Problem: One day my car just decides to make some weird noises when the A/C is on. Me wondering WTF, takes it to the dealer, who proceeds to tell me it will be a $1200 fix, and we need to replace the whole fucking A/C. $1200...... jesus.....

Fifth problem: Occurred last night, after having a year of no problems. I was driving to a friends house in Gold Canyon which is less than 40 miles away from where I live. My temperature light came on, I thought it was gonna be the thermostat again. So I go ahead and get in the left hand turn lane to make a left, but the light was too long and my engine became shaky and smoking a little, so I put it in neutral, turned it off, and had my girlfriend hop in, I pushed it past the next green light and had it towed last night to the tempe dodge dealer, which conveniently had their gates closed, so I just towed it to my apartment. Luckily my apartment is only 2 miles away.


So Here I am, waiting for the next tow truck to come get my car to tow it away to the tempe dodge dealer so I can get some more bad news. From what I understand it's either the whole engine blew, or a headgasket. THe oil had a creamy coffee look, indicating coolant and oil mixture.

Please, whatever you do, never buy dodge again. I really, really, really hope chrysler/dodge just dies.

Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention, I have only 69,000 miles on the car.
 
Why did you keep driving when the temp light came on?

When it coems on you STOP. Pull over to a safe place and leave it there. Don;t pull the "I just need to go another mile or so..."
 
My 2002 Dodge Neon had a bad solenoid too. I don't even know for how many miles but it was for a while. It runs great now but I have lost some confidence in my car.
 
Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Why did you keep driving when the temp light came on?

When it coems on you STOP. Pull over to a safe place and leave it there. Don;t pull the "I just need to go another mile or so..."
Click to expand...

Yeah, that part is kind of user error.
 
Originally posted by: Strk
Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Why did you keep driving when the temp light came on?

When it coems on you STOP. Pull over to a safe place and leave it there. Don;t pull the "I just need to go another mile or so..."
Click to expand...

Yeah, that part is kind of user error.
Click to expand...

Maybe I didn't explain enough, the temp light came on, I was going 55 mph, and I was stopping at the light due to a red arrow, I wanted to see if I could just roll through because it had just barely come on.
 
Originally posted by: waffleironhead
$230 to replace a borked thermostat, man they saw you coming a mile away. LOLZ.
Click to expand...

That wasn't actually at the dealer.. I believe that was a sunday so the dealer wasn't open.
 
Originally posted by: waffleironhead
$230 to replace a borked thermostat, man they saw you coming a mile away. LOLZ.
Click to expand...

That's what I was thinking.

On most cars the only tool needed to replace the thermostat is a flat-head screw driver. Remove one hose, pop old part out and pop new part in, replace hose.

Edit: Rockauto has a new thermostat for his car listed at $11.93. Chances are Autozone or equivalent would have one under $20.00.
 
Does no one turn the heater to full and the blower to max to reduce engine temps anymore when their light comes on?
 
My 04 Chrysler was a formal rental I got at 34k, now at 80k. Leaks some tranny fluid, and I also had part of the resistor pack for the blower go out, but since it only makes the 1 setting unusable, I've lived with it. I also have a 95 Dodge B2500 that I had to replace the alternator on last year, and it's at 177k.
So, some people have better luck than others.
 
oh noes a thermostat goes out in a 5 year old car!

thermostat(s) went out in my old nissan and took the radiator with it (went out going 80, coasted the car to a parking lot off the highway). replacing the thermostats wasn't simple as the OEM part from the dealer didn't fit and we ended up replacing the entire assembly.

it also wouldn't shift at all because the lock broke itself. fixed under warranty, no idea what it would have cost

transmission fell out of gear twice in one day, and it was an automatic. only did it those two time though.


 
I've done two thermostats and more was involved than specified above, specifically tight confines and undoing some bolts with a ratchet, but it's not really difficult to do.

Hopefully our repair isn't too bad. In any case, if you ever see your oil light come on or the car overheat, pull it over regardless of where it is and stop the engine.
 
my 1997 dodge ram is still running strong. 12 years old with 80k+ on the odometer. i'm just starting to have problems with rust, but that was expected with the truck spending most of its life in the salt-happy northeast.
 
I had an Stratus (I cannot remember the year) and the solenoid failed when I was out warranty. The dealer (In Mexico) wanted to charge me like 1300 dlls for the repair. I bought a Ford Fiesta instead and got the Stratus to an independent mechanic, he got a replacement from a crashed Stratus, as soon as I got the car I sold it.

I still miss that car 🙁
 
Parents owned a Stratus now for 6 years or so? Maybe a little longer. Had rotors that warped the first few months it was on the road. Fixed them. Warped again a few months later. Numerous other problems on the car that just shouldn't happen on a new vehicle. I'll never buy Dodge.
 
Originally posted by: theexitwound
Parents owned a Stratus now for 6 years or so? Maybe a little longer. Had rotors that warped the first few months it was on the road. Fixed them. Warped again a few months later. Numerous other problems on the car that just shouldn't happen on a new vehicle. I'll never buy Dodge.
Click to expand...

Thank you, at least someone sees it from my point of view.

They just called me, told me it's an $1150 fix for a bad water pump. They also told me there is no guarentee that this water pump is the only thing wrong.

Wonderful, again, thank you dodge for making the biggest piece of shit. My friend's 1978 ford fiesta had better reliability.
 
Originally posted by: nboy22
Originally posted by: theexitwound
Parents owned a Stratus now for 6 years or so? Maybe a little longer. Had rotors that warped the first few months it was on the road. Fixed them. Warped again a few months later. Numerous other problems on the car that just shouldn't happen on a new vehicle. I'll never buy Dodge.
Click to expand...

Thank you, at least someone sees it from my point of view.

They just called me, told me it's an $1150 fix for a bad water pump. They also told me there is no guarentee that this water pump is the only thing wrong.

Wonderful, again, thank you dodge for making the biggest piece of shit. My friend's 1978 ford fiesta had better reliability.
Click to expand...

Again how is it dodges fault you kept driving with an engine temp "dummy" light on?
 
Well, at 69,000 miles on the car, you probably would've had a timing belt replacement at 60,000 miles which you usually change the water pump out when you get your timing belt replaced, because the pump is covered by the belts and it's really not a very expensive part.
 
Originally posted by: nboy22
Originally posted by: theexitwound
Parents owned a Stratus now for 6 years or so? Maybe a little longer. Had rotors that warped the first few months it was on the road. Fixed them. Warped again a few months later. Numerous other problems on the car that just shouldn't happen on a new vehicle. I'll never buy Dodge.
Click to expand...

Thank you, at least someone sees it from my point of view.

They just called me, told me it's an $1150 fix for a bad water pump. They also told me there is no guarentee that this water pump is the only thing wrong.

Wonderful, again, thank you dodge for making the biggest piece of shit. My friend's 1978 ford fiesta had better reliability.
Click to expand...

$1150 to replace the water pump? now your story turns from slightly unbelievable to ultimate lies.
 
Originally posted by: waffleironhead
Originally posted by: nboy22
Originally posted by: theexitwound
Parents owned a Stratus now for 6 years or so? Maybe a little longer. Had rotors that warped the first few months it was on the road. Fixed them. Warped again a few months later. Numerous other problems on the car that just shouldn't happen on a new vehicle. I'll never buy Dodge.
Click to expand...

Thank you, at least someone sees it from my point of view.

They just called me, told me it's an $1150 fix for a bad water pump. They also told me there is no guarentee that this water pump is the only thing wrong.

Wonderful, again, thank you dodge for making the biggest piece of shit. My friend's 1978 ford fiesta had better reliability.
Click to expand...

$1150 to replace the water pump? now your story turns from slightly unbelievable to ultimate lies.
Click to expand...

The excuse by the service adviser was that it's the design of the engine they basically have to take the engine out, and take off the whole front of the engine to get to the water pump.

He said "It's one of those wonderful designs."
 
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