I bought my 2000 Dodge Intrepid used in July of 2006. I needed a car real bad and could not afford a new car because I have a totally disabled husband and partially disabled son. My husband only gets a small disability check and my son is almost totally dependent on me to provide the necessities. I thought I was getting a good deal on the Intrepid and got my mother and stepfather to loan me the money. I almost had it paid for when the car started shutting off on me while I was driving down the road. At first, It just did it a couple of times, so my son opened the hood and tightened the battery cables and checked the belts and other wiring to see if they were okay. It seemed okay for a couple of days but then as I was going to work on the 3 days, it shut off on me and I every time I would crank it, I could drive a few feet and it would cut off again. I had to have a wrecker to come get it and take it to the Dodge dealership. They kept it for a week and told me it was the wiring harness and they would fix it. I was charged $241.00 and they told me it was fine, that they had drove it all over town and had no problem. The next day after picking up the Dodge Intrepid from the Dodge dealship, it started doing the same thing, cutting off every few few. I had to have a wrecker come pick it up again and take it to the dodge place. The shop manager from the Dodge Place called me after checking it out and said it was the sensor, that they had disconnected it and it was fine, I could come pick it up. I got my son to take me to pick it up. I live about 15 miles from the Dodge place. I got about 10 miles from the Dodge place, when the thermostat started going up to the red and the smoke started coming out from under the hood. I pulled over to the side of the road. A friend of mine came by and stopped and raised the hood. He put water in the radiator and told me he would follow me home. I cranked the car and got about 2 miles and I heard a clicking sound, the car cut off and smoke started boiling out from under the hood. I got a mechanic to check it out and he said the engine had blew up. I am boiling mad because the Dodge dealership did not tell me I had engine problems or that there was many complaints concerning the engines in the Dodge cars. I think the Dodge manufacturers should have to pay back every penny to people that have bought the Dodge Intrepid and the engine has blew up. Mad as I can be, MaggieJ

We purchased the car with 17000 miles on it, I faithfully changed the oil yet my husband was driving to work and the sludge buildup caused the motor to seize and threw the timing chain through the motor destroying it. We replaced the faulty motor at our own expense. I contacted the better business bureau but they felt that my complaint should be with the carlot not dodge. I feel that dodge/chrysler know that they are putting out a faulty motor but continue to disregard their responsibility to the consumers that they have taken advantage of. I was told that originally the 2.7L came with an oil cooler on it, however when they decided to mass produce this vehicle for some reason they removed this neccesary piece of equipment at our expense. I had just paid this car off with my home equity not three months before it blew up and I certainly could not afford the new motor.

Back in June 2002, myself, the wife, daughter-in-law, and daughter headed out on a dream vacation in Florida. Eight hours into our trip we heard a knocking coming from the engine compartment. As we are going up an overpass, the vehicle loses all compression and rolled to a dead stop at the bottom. At this point the car would start but sounded horrible. We rented a car and continued our trip. I had to return to get the car with my truck and a tow dolly once I got home. The car would then sit for about 2 years and still making payments because the cost of the new motor was right at $4000.00. After doing plenty of research....it was determined that the catalytic converter was coupled too close to the engine causing the oil to be heated to an undesired temperature in which it would lose it's characteristics and no longer protect the engine. After replacing the engine with a used one (of course taking a chance) I have maintained the replacement, that was stated to have 70000 miles when I bought it, by using a synthetic blend of oil and changing the oil every 2000 miles. So far, at 97000 miles on the odometer I have had no engine trouble, but the transmission went out and the cooling fan burned up. I am a big Dodge fan and would hate to buy anything else, but with the problems I have had with this vehicle, I do believe I will be purchasing something other than Dodge for my wife and kids.

Bought car in 2001 with 20K miles on odometer. Drove for 6 years with no major problems. Odometer was at 81K miles. Regularly serviced as prescribed. WAS VERY HAPPY WITH VEHICLE UP TO THAT POINT. Had had many compliments on the car's appearance. Took vehicle into dealer for oil change and tune-up. Two weeks later, I was driving on a city street and heard clattering noise under hood. Engine shut down and oil light came on. Able to restart engine. A couple blocks later and it was KAPUT. Had towed to dealer. Diagnosis: problems with head gaskets, internal damage, needed new engine. Cost of repair was double the blue book trade-in value. Dealer offered no excuses and no apologies. No brainer for me. I dumped the vehicle as junk. Having read many of the other comments on this website regarding this 'oil sludge/engine design' issue and Dodge's response, I decided that I was fortunate because (a) it didn't breakdown on the interstate putting me in harm's way, (b) I didn't owe anything on the vehicle, and (c) I learned a lesson - 'beauty's only skin deep'. I would be very surprised if Dodge was even making cars three years from now.

I purchased 2000 intrepid about 6 months ago, with about 54,000 miles. Was driving on the highway and heard a ping, then knocking in the engine. Continued driving, hoping I could get to a repair shop when the car just died. Had to have the car towed and the mechanic said the engine was blown. Fortunately, I was not rear-ended on the highway (75 mph). Dodge refuses to take any responsibility for the problem. I've owned 5 Chrysler/Dodge vehicles but will never purchase another. Terrible customer service.

I had my Dodge Intrepid for month. I put a lot of money in my car. I had a auto start alarm worth $200 dollars. I also added me some 20 inch rims worth $2500 dollars. i was driving out of town for Easter weekend with my mother and my kids. While i was driving down the highway. I notice my cruise control went out. Then the next thing i got a loud knocking noise coming from my engine. I just got my oil changed before i hit the road. I had to get my car hauled in. Come to find out that I had all kind dirty sludge in my motor. I have my car still parked out of town in my aunt yard. I found out much as money i put in the car before it broke down. I will have to spend just as much money then that to fix it. I hope that we all can send a list of complaints and put this on the local news. Then get this to CNN. So that Chrysler Corporation can open their eyes and do a recall on these engines. But they rather take a big lawsuit. So if you interested in getting your local news and CNN involved. Please contact me at nupedallasmann@yahoo.com. So lets try to fix all of this.

This is our son's car. As he's in college we wanted him to have a good dependable car. He bought the car for $7000.00 in April 05 with 45000 miles on it. The engine blew this Feb with basically no warning. As the engine was toast and Dodge wanted about $5000,00 for a new short block, I started calling junkyards for a used engine. This was when I first heard that this is a chronic problem with 2.7's. We discussed just walking away but a large amount was still owed on the car, so, we rolled the dice. I found three possibly good engines and went for what sounded like the best with 50,000 mi. for $1500.00. The car it came out of had been hit in the rear, but the engine had been running fine. Another $1000.00 to change out the engine and back on the road... until last week when the oil light started coming on at stop lights... What the hell!!! This is crazy!!! oil problems! I guess getting oil around in an engine is a new concept, this internal combustion thing hasn't been around too long... I mean didn't Daimler(now Daimler-Chrysler) come out with their first car like in 1885 or something? I just can't belive this... I don't know what to do. It sure seems like Daimler-Chrysler should take some responsibility for all the people that have been screwed over with this.

I have multiple problems with this car. The most recent is my engine. I pull into my garage after a 15 minute trip to the store, I turn my engine off and as soon as i open the door I hear what only can be described as a faucet turning on, I look down and I see fluid pour out from under my car. It looked like a milk shake all over my garage. I call my mechanic, he comes to my house, He said " Girl your car is a piece of sh*t." He is my mechanic he should know. On this particular occasion my car did NOT overheat, my check engine light did NOT come on, I did NOT hear a knocking sound, I just see a thick, pink, oily liquid all over my garage. I am a single mom and that was my only vehicle. I still owe money on this car and the repairs are going to cost me more than what I owe the finance company. I'm extremely pissed and this isn't the first issue. I've replaced my brakes about 10 times in the past 6 months, Replaced my rotors 3 times , and replaced the calipers twice, this is some bullshit. Also had to replace the timing chains, my mechanic tells me that I pretty got screwed and I didn't enjoy not one bit of it. I loved my car so much and now I literally want to set that piece of sh*t on fire.. oh yeah told the finance company come get your car.... and shove it up your ass I'm not going to pay for a car I cant drive. Dodge / Chrysler and Mopar should do the rite thing a fix these problems, Your customers aren't millionaires. Dodge take your head out of your ass and admit these cars SUCK!

Well I bought the car when it had 53,000 miles on it and less than 2,000 miles later the check engine light came on and brought it in and they said it was a sensor.... fixed it and then less than a week later that happened again.... replaced second sensor then less than a week later the engine started ticking. We brought it to the dealer and they said we needed a new engine due to oil sludge build-up! It would be approx 4500-5000.00 to fix. Didn't have a warranty because we bought it from a person not a dealer or business. We let it sit in our driveway for months until my uncle who's an amazing mechanic took a look at it and said the engine was AWFUL! The bearings had spun into the engine and there was oil sludge build-up everywhere! He replaced the bearings and a few other inexpensive parts costing a total of 200.00 and cleaned it extensively. The car has been running fine ever since but ONLY USE FULL SYNTHETIC OIL CHANGES WITH THIS DODGE ENGINE.

Bought a nice looking Dodge Intrepid, thought I was getting a good deal. I had the car for about 6 months and a light tapping sound coming from the engine became a very loud knocking from engine. I took it to a mechanic and found out it had oil sludge. I had to pay 1,000 in labor and about 2,200 in parts and had the engine rebuilt. Car was in the shop for a few months as it took me a while to buy all the parts. I got the car back, it happened again, car completely stopped on freeway and car went back to the shop. Another few months and more parts and I have had it back for a couple of months now. No problems YET but who knows what the future holds for this Peice of junk. IT has definitley been a horrible experience so far.

I purchased this car November 2003 and a year later after constantly chainging the oil when required and always on top of any problems the car has had the engine begins to make a loud knocking noise now the car will not run because of engine failure. I am about to deploy to Iraq within weeks and I have no car to leave my wife and child with. Its not fair that Chrysler does not want to do anything about it. I have filed complaints toward this problem and nothing has been done. Chrysler told me that after they charge me over 8,000 dollars to repair the motor, they said it will only happen again. So what is the purpose of paying more than what i payed for my car for it to happen again. I need some answers on how this can be resolved. any information is greatly appreciated.

I bought my 2000 Intrepid with 40,000 miles on it. I maintained the engine myself. Now 3 years later and at 119,000 miles, it sounds as if the crank has spun a main bearing out. I drive 64 miles round trip every day, have 4 children and put into a position of having to replace this vehicle without being able to get rid of it. I am in the process of doing the repairs myself. I have a friend who works at a local dealer ship, and the very next week they had another Intrepid come in with exact same problem. Now seeing all of the complaints on this site as well, I believe Dodge has serious issues and are no longer trust worthy. I would like to thank Dodge from the bottom of my heart for assisting in the distruction of the American industry. With American cars like this, it's no wonder why there are so many lay-offs at American car manufactures because no one likes to pay through the nose for a hand-full of crap.

ENGINE AND BATTERY LIGHT ON. AUTOMATIC HEATING DID NOT WORK PROPERLY. TEMPERATURE SENSOR FOR OUTSIDE INDICATED OVER 140°F WHEN IT WAS -4°F. DO NOT KNOW IF THESE WERE SIGNS ENGINE WOULD FAIL OR SEPARATE PROBLEMS. I COULD START CAR AND AS LONG AS THE RPM'S WERE OVER 3000 ENGINE WOULD RUN. BUT BELOW THAT IT DIED. CAR DIED WHILE ON ROAD AND I COULD BARELY GET IT OFF THE ROAD. GARAGE WHERE CAR WAS TOWED SAID THAT THERE WAS SLUDGE BUILD-UP AND THAT THE ENGINE NEEDED REPLACING. PRICE FOR A USED ENGINE WAS MINIMUM $2200 WITH $1000-$1200 INSTALLATION.