engine problem
9.8
really awfulTypical Repair Cost:
$3,671.00
Average Mileage:
85,877 miles
Number of complaints:
19 complaints
Most common solutions:
- possibly repair timing chain or new engine needed (6 reports)
- put a new engine in it (6 reports)
- not sure (3 reports)
- replaced with a used engine (3 reports)
- new timing chain, had valves replaced (1 reports)
Helpful Websites About 1999 Dodge Intrepid timing chain broke and bent valves
2007Oct 30
(reported on)Intrepid ES 2.7L V6
- Automatic transmission
- 68,351 miles
everywhere i read,these 2.7 motors have a sludge problem causing devastating engine failure
i use synthetic oil and change it at 5000 kilometers intervals
i haven't fixed mine yet as i want a permanent repair as even rebuilds are having same issues
seems all the oil guides and passages are to small and with the twin cam gets very hot causing excessive sludge to occur
probably why so many have oil light issues as well
diamler says sludge means i didnt change oil regular no mater how many service bills i have
the bastards are gettin away with a lemon engine they stopped making because of this very problem
i came to this site as i was searching for a fix and seen an upgrade to a 3.2 i think
anyone try it?
2007Aug 26
(reported on)Intrepid 2.7L V6
- Automatic transmission
- 48,788 miles
Purchased in 8/2000 my 1999 white Dodge Intrepid with only 9,000+ miles. I love this car. It is nice looking and had been great to drive, until 8/16/07. Through the dealership where I bought my car in 2000, I purchased the ultimate extended warranty package (7 yrs./100,000 miles). On evening of 8/16/07 coming home from work (I work less than 10 miles away from my home), I heard a clicking/pinging noise. No lights came on. I got home and went inside to tell my husband about the problem. He came into the garage and tried to start the car. No such luck. The car would fire, but not crank over. We ate dinner and rechecked after dinner once engine cooled down. Same thing happened--car would not start. I have a son-in-law who is a certified auto technician at a large well-known car dealership and he came over and I described to him what happened. He told me it was probably the timing chain. That it either broke or slipped off. He said I would have to have my car towed to a service repair shop so that it could be determined what actually happened. It was towed in and owner of repair service shop told my husband that the timing chain broke and engine was destroyed (2.7L V6 engine), bent valves, etc. My husband saw it. There was NO OIL SLUDGE present. My car is properly maintained and clean and neat in appearance. I HAVE NOW BEEN TOLD THAT THE 1999 DODGE INTREPIDS WERE MADE WITH THE 2.7L ENGINES AND THAT THEY ARE A PIECE OF JUNK. ALSO, THAT THERE HAVE BEEN MANY, MANY COMPLAINTS BY CUSTOMERS WITH THIS ENGINE. I ALSO READ ARTICLES ON THE INTERNET ABOUT CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS. WHY HASN'T DAIMLER/CHRYSLER EVER ISSUED A SAFETY RECALL? No wonder Daimler/Chrysler has been about bankrupt. Back in 2004 a safety recall was issued for the floor shifter ignition, which was taken care of. Now, Daimler/Chrysler is offering a "lifetime" powertrain warranty on vehicles--trying to win back customers who rid their hands of purchasing a Chrysler product. UNBELIEVABLE. My extended warranty expired on 8/21/07, but claim was made before this date. It's kind of a coincidence that this problem occurred only a few days before warranty expiration with ONLY 48,000+ MILES ON VEHICLE!!! I previously had a Dodge Dynasty LE, which also was a nice car. But, when the 1999 Dodge Intrepids came out, I really liked the looks of this vehicle so I traded in my Dynasty for the Dodge Intrepid. I will NEVER, NEVER PURCHASE ANOTHER DAIMLER/CHRYSLER VEHICLE AGAIN!!!
2007Oct 04
(reported on)Intrepid 2.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 69,000 miles
I bought the 99 intrepid for 3,000 in July of 2007 and got only 2 months of use out of it. the timing chain snapped and wound itself around inside the engine and blew out through the cam cover. It was towed to a service station and the engine was taken apart. I was told that the 2.7 engines overheat causing oil sludgge to build up and overheat the timing chain causing it to break. The body is clean but presently doesn't run and I've been told it will cost 4400.00 to fix. (used engine and labor)
2007Sep 17
(reported on)Intrepid ES 2.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 131,000 miles
THIS CAR GAVE ME TROUBLE FROM THE START BUT I THOUGHT THEY WERE JUST MINOR THINGS. I WAS DRIVING TO TAKE MY KIDS TO DAYCARE AND ON MY WAY TO WORK WHEN MY CAR STOPPED ON ME. I PULLED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND TRYED TO START IT AGAIN AND THE STUPID TIMING BELT JUMPED OUT AT ME RIGHT THROUGH THE PLASTIC COVERING. I FREAKED OTU AND CALLED A FAMILY MEMBER TO HELP ME AND TAKE THE KIDS TO SCHOOL AND GET ME TO WORK WHICH I WAS THREE HOURS LATE FOR DEALING WITH THIS CAR. I KEPT IT IN GOOD SHAPE AND TOOK CARE OF MY BABY. MY FAMILY MACHANIC TOLD ME A LOT OF 99INTREPIDS HE SEES HAVE THIS SAME PROBLEM AND HE WASNT SUPRISED AT ALL. IM SO PISSED. I CANT AFFORD TO BY A NEW CAR CUZ I WAS STILL PAYING ON THIS ONE. I CANT AFFORD RO GET IT REPAIRED. SO BASICALLY IM FREAKIN STUCK AND OUT OF A CAR!!!!! IF ANYONE HAS A LAW SUIT GOING LET ME IN ON IT. IM JUST AS PISSED OFF AS YOU ARE
2007Mar 17
(reported on)Intrepid 2.7L V6 DOHC 24V FI
- Automatic transmission
- 86,750 miles
Just had car serviced at 86,586 mileage, 5 days later when driving home in 35 MPH zone when all of a sudden "Clang, Clang & rough, shaking engine. I pulled over and called for assistance. Mechanic came and took vehicle to shop. I had been told that it is a very expensive repair (Timing Chain) and that this problem exists on 1999 models when they reach the 85,000 plus miles. I have contacted Dodge (via website) to see if this should still be under original drive train 100,000 warranty! I am waiting for their response as to their plans on covering this "faulty" piece of engineering. Is Dodge (Chrysler) going to step up and take care of this? I am 82 years old and cannot afford the cost of either a new car or this repair! I JUST bought this car from Sherwood of Salisbury (Maryland) in December 2006 (with 81296 of original mileage)-to bad the the CARFAX run does not also check on car complaints! Consumers just keep getting ripped off by the auto industry from the manufacturer, dealer and consumer assurance agencies alike... I need help with this issue-any suggestions?
2006Sep 14
(reported on)Intrepid
- 97,982 miles
I bought this 1999 Dodge Intrepid used. Just after i bought it at 69 miles a hour it would hesitate.
I called the dealer i bought it from and he told me to try fuel injector cleaner so i did. Problem continued and when driving to make the first payment engine oil light came on. so i stopped and checked the oil it was a 1/2 quart low.
So i put it in and restarted the car and got a real bad noise from the engine area. took it to the dealer and they told me the 2nd timing chain went out. Well waiting on the warranty company to get to the dealer i requested a oil sample to have checked so i could make sure nothing was added to keep the noise down. the dealer finally told me that it would be $6,600.00 for a new motor. the number 1 rod had spun and caused internal damage. The warranty co said they would only cover $4,575.00 to fix it. Now i will go to the dealer i bought it from and hopefully they will stand by their name and cover all other cost. I will also e-mail my state rep and complain to them after reading all the other articles on this issue. This is only my 2nd time buying a Chrysler/Dodge product the first time was bad i should of learned my lesson.
2007Feb 19
(reported on)Intrepid 4 Dr Sedab 2.7 L
- Automatic transmission
- 75,800 miles
I had been without my car for two weeks while Dodge replaced the engine from the first engine failure. I had the car back for three days and the engine never did sound very good and was sounding progressively worse. I called them and told them I wasn't satisfied and all I get is "it's a brand new engine it's fine". Well, it was loud, rough and sounded like a diesel. I was on my way home when all of a sudden something in the engine broke. There was a CLANG! CLANG! BOOM! as I was going 45 mph down the road. Well, that scared the hell out of me. I am now on my second replacement engine. This engine only has to last until November and then I am getting rid of this car. I am going to buy me a Chevrolet Impala. Anybody know of any complaints on them?
2007Jan 02
(reported on)Intrepid 2.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 60,000 miles
The replacement engine just failed with the same problem. It is toast.
If Dodge doesn't compensate me for this, I will never ever buy a Chrysler product again.
2006Oct 30
(reported on)Intrepid
- Automatic transmission
- 140,000 miles
Ok let me begin with my story i got the car at 140,000 miles on the car for like 5,000$ at some repo and it was in good condition i drove it for like 3 months and i hear this ticking sound and the car wasn't on warranty so i had no choice so my dad is a 40 year mechanic but he retired now i showed him the sound and he knew where it was coming from he said it was the timing chain and so we had no choice so we took it in to a local mechanic he checked it out and he told us we need to change the whole engine he said everything was messed up in there so we changed it for 3,000$ and we had a 100 day warranty on the engine so it was about a month after the day they installed the motor and i took it to the mechanic and he sent me away saying oh they have this thing thats made for lifters its quiets the valves so we bought it and put it in the engine where the oil goes so it stopped and it came back after a week and we took it back to him he's like they have this special oil for cars called synthetic oil cost about 6$ each qt and got a oil change with that then the noise kept coming back and going and when we took it to him the sound was gone but he heard it a few times so like 2 months past after struggling with this engine and it was a week after the warranty finished the sound was going crazy and my car was stalling so we took it to him and he said i dont know what to do so he called the place where he ordered the engine from and had a little argument with them and all and so they said bring the car engine we will take a look at it so they had the car for one day they brought it back and said we did somthing and fixed we asked what they didnt tell us but since my dad was a mechanic he took a look at the engine and he saw that they took the camshaft off and tightened the chain bootlegged like they cut the chain and use a chain bracket kit the close up the chain so its tighter which is wrong to do in the first place, my dads knows this because he knows people that do it anyways a few days passed and i hear the sound once again and im so pissed off and like the next was my bday had alot of things planned i was driving on the road and my car dies no start no nothing so i called the AAA and they towed my car to their shop and they took a look at it they tried to jump it and like they told me they got it to start but they heard a loud noise and the engine shutted off he took a look and told me the chain broke and the valves bent so i told this to that engine place and they tell me your car is out of warranty we cant do anything but why did u open my engine and tightened the chain so its not loose anymore which made it really cheap and it snapped and bent all my valves.... anyways im complaining about dodge that they made a terrible mistake in making the dodge intrepids like this so many people spent so much money on these vehicles is this how dodge treats there customers i dont think so hopefully the dodge dealers all go down and pay for what they get if there is any lawsuit with dodge please email me in the mean time i will try to get a lawsuit on the place where they installed my engine..
2006Sep 02
(reported on)Intrepid LE
- 104,000 miles
I had a previous steering problem, and several transmissions problems. The worst was the timing chain failure which almost caused an accident and I have been told will cost over $4000 to repair. The car now sits in the driveway. I have owned 6 other Dodge cars in the past but after this experience and seeing the number of other engine failures and Dodge hiding it's head in the sand I will NEVER buy another product from them again. I did like the new Chargers and was looking into another purchase until this happened. NEVER AGAIN.
2006May 01
(reported on)Intrepid ES
- 68,000 miles
dodge intrepid are good looking cars but they got the worst engines in them i think that intrepids are the worst cars that was ever made on earth take it from an expert ***********NEVER BUY INTREPID*********
2005Jan 09
(reported on)Intrepid
- 125,000 miles
Well... Where do I start? I think I have said as many swear words that I can think of, some of which are in different languages, and cried as many tears as I can cry. Now I'm just numb. I've just been back to work for a year after my job was cut and 5 weeks ago my husbands job was cut after being employed for 23 years. We were just getting our family back on our feet when this CAR just up and dies on me. I was told a couple of weeks ago by the garage that it was burning oil pretty bad and that they only way to proceed was to get a new engine... The mechanics advised me to keet filling the oil regularly and that it should last me some time to save some cash to buy the new engine. Hmmm... no less that 3 weeks later I was having it towed to the shop where they told me the timing chain was gone and the only fix at this point is the new engine. This is a car that is only 5 1/2 years old and just 200,000 kms.
After reading the stories from other owners on oilsludge.com and other sites, I will NEVER EVEN THINK of buying another Chrysler again. Those bleeps knew this engine would fail on whomever bought it and didn't even give advisories of how to prevent or even delay this issue.
Anyway... thanks for listening.. :-(
2005Jan 02
(reported on)Intrepid
- 65,000 miles
good looking car, bad engine. When the timing chain goes, it all goes! pain in the ass!
2005Nov 20
(reported on)Intrepid
- 90,000 miles
What a piece of crap after 50K miles. After reading other compliants, it makes me even more mad. Car is in shop and paid to have the timing chain replaced only to find out that they bent the valves. Wasted 1100.00 so far and car still is not fixed. Was told that if wanted to salvage the car, best alternative is to replace the engine. Engine estimates are approx. 4000.00 (plus what I put in it already). Last Chrysler product I will purchase.
2005Aug 14
(reported on)Intrepid
- 60,000 miles
Original engine on the vehicle had blown due to oil sludge problem. We had a rebuilt put in. A year and a half later, the timing chain blew through the engine and bent the heck out of the valves. I still owed on the rebuilt and it was 2 days before Christmas. F-it. We leased a vehicle (no problems with the Monte Carlo so far), parked the Intrepid in the driveway and started adding our names to every complaint list available. This engine is rediculously bad. I would not recommend this car to anyone. We'll likely give the car to charity (if they'll take it) and I doubt that we'll ever see any compensation from the manufacturer. All this means is that even after the car is gone, we'll have constant reminders of the "good times" in the form of monthly payments to the bank until the piece of junk rebuilt engine is paid off. For God's sake, don't buy one.
2005May 02
(reported on)Intrepid
- 48,999 miles
Timing chain broke - need new timing chain, tensioner, wated pump, head cover and probably most of the valves - low compression on just about every cylinder, oil pump, etc, etc, etc. DARN DARN DARN
2004May 06
(reported on)Intrepid
- 84,000 miles
With no warning the timing chain jumped on my 99 Intrepid 2.7 engine. Apparently this happens a lot with these engines. The Chrysler dealership told me it was either going to be $2000 (Cdn) for a timing chain, or a new $7000 (Cdn) engine. They also told me that the 2.7 was a piece of crap. Avoid this car/engine.
2004Jul 07
(reported on)Intrepid ES
- 137,000 miles
I kept good maintenance on this vehicle and the miles are easy highway miles. The 2.7 engine is not a good engine. I would not suggest it to anyone. I have talked to several dealers and mechanics and they have supported what I have claimed
We have partnered with JustAnswer to offer online auto repair help and advice from expert professional automotive technicians. You describe your engine problem or ask your question and they try to help you figure it out. The fee is typically $9 to $15, but you can offer to pay more for really tough questions. You will usually receive an answer in 10 minutes or less, and you do not have to pay anything unless you accept the answer.
2007May 20
(reported on)Intrepid 2.7
Replaced a 1998 Intrepid with a 1999. Should have checked this site first but I did like the Intrepid style. First car was totaled in a wreck. Here's the story
My daughter asked to use the car to go about 100 miles out of town. Told her its running fine so go ahead. On the way back and about two miles from the point she left, the car wouldn't shift and engine is revivng. She calls me on her cell phone and I'm trying to walk her through what to do. She pulls off the highway, turns it off with a friend following her. Had she stopped right there I might have had a transmission sensor failure. I told her to take the next exit to get off the highway thinking that was best on a very busy expressway. By the time she got off the exit, going as slow as possible (50mph) the timing change went and she said it didn't sound good. Had it towed to a Dodge dealer and they informed me I need an Engine Assembly (new engine) for $6500 plus the sensor.
I owe $2400 on the car and after calling around the best I can do is $5000 for a different engine. I went from a good running car to nothing in 15 minutes. I considered hauling the car home, but after talking to several mechanics, I'm scrapping the car as it sits at the dealer. The dealer won't even take it, so now I'm finding someone to come pick it up, I need to pay the bank off to clear the title and making a trip to go gather my goods in the car. Goodbye car and $2400 to start again. I had my daughter do what was best for her safety.
Read the other complaints about the transmission sensor failure and realize that the problem can create this major problem in a matter of a few miles. Goodbye Dodge, you knew this sensor was a problem and didn't recall it or do anyting about it.
Terry M.
Bay City, MI, USA
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