CarComplaints.com Notes: The Dodge Intrepid, Stratus & other Chrysler sedans are infamous for oil sludge problems with the 2.7L V6 engine. If someone offers to sell you a 2.7L V6 model, it's only worth the price of the scrap metal it's going to shortly turn into.

NOTE: Only the 2.7L V6 has the oil sludge problem. Our "Avoid like the Plague" designation is ONLY for models with the 2.7L V6 engine. All other available engines are very reliable with no major problems.

Even with regular maintenance, the oil sludge defect eventually destroys the 2.7L engine typically around 80,000-100,000 miles. The only true fix we know about is to put in the larger 3.2L engine, which has a great reputation.

This issue was never deemed a safety defect by the Feds, so there was no recall. In the end, Chrysler got away with FOUR YEARS worth of defective 2.7L V6 engines in their sedans.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
56,810 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2000 Dodge Intrepid engine problems

engine problem

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2000 Dodge Intrepid Owner Comments (Page 2 of 3)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #25

Feb 092005

Intrepid 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 60,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Bought car used from dealership, next day car ran out of gas, guage registered over quarter full, took to dealership, was supposedly "repaired", 5 days later ran out of gas same place on fuel guage(just over a quarter tank), took it to dealership, has been in the shop for 4 days so far, hopefully they'll fix it this time. Much inconvenience, loss of work. But dealership has covered all repairs. Worried about oil sludge problem.

- Waldheim, 00, USA

problem #24

Feb 182005

Intrepid 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 56,000 miles
2000 Dodge Intrepid with 56000 miles with blown engine. The car suddenly seized up with no warning. I was told the car was not worth reparing.

- Gainesville, VA, USA

problem #23

Feb 202003

Intrepid 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 59,000 miles
At under 60,000 miles on my 2000 Dodge Intrepid, w/2.7L V-6 engine developed an extremely loud engine knock. In speaking with others in the automotive industry, that make their living working on cars, they've all told me that "yes, this is indeed a problem with that engine", and that they're personally aware of numerous others that have experienced the same fate. Chrysler Corp is doing nothing about it whatsoever, and I'm left with a non working car that I still owe $4,000 on, and for a new engine, I'm looking at close to $6,500, and the car can't be sold for that much. Something needs to be done to get Chrysler Corp to step up to the plate, and honor their name, and pay for or reimburse the thousands of consumers across the country that have had the same problems with their vehicles. Just do a search on the internet, and you'll find endless complaints of the same exact thing, low mileage engine failures on that particular engine, the 2.7 L V-6.

- Tulsa, OK, USA

problem #22

Nov 122004

Intrepid 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 62,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Engine made noise upon arriving work parking lot. Sounded like fan blade on shroud. Examined, found no evidence of problem. After work the car sounded fine. Drove home, approximated 10 miles. Noise reappears and very quickly engine seized at very low speed on residential street. Would not turn over properly. Failure is to rod bearings 3, 5 and 6. main bearings and other rod bearings appear to be ok. Heads appear to have sludge on top. Oil pan is relatively clean. Oil and filter have been changed regularly since I purchased car.

- Huber Heights, OH, USA

problem #21

Sep 232004

Intrepid 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 70,000 miles
Engine failure at 70,000 miles.

- Lafayette, LA, USA

problem #20

Sep 092004

Intrepid 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 47,100 miles
2000 Dodge Intrepid 2.7L DOHC - 47000 miles -complete engine failure - less than 30 seconds before failure - engine light came on, then all systems shut down while going 45 mph - car skidded off road - luckily no one was physically injured - just emotionally distraught - cost of replacement engine $3500. We had followed maintance procedures - engine had all appropriate levels of fluids including oil. This could have been a fatal situation under different circumstances, such as weather, road conditions and experience of driver. Car was out of warranty.

- Jacksonville, NC, USA

problem #19

Sep 012004

Intrepid 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 104,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My wife and I were driving home last week, when I noticed a rattle in the engine under acceleration. No oil light. I pulled over and checked the oil level. It was fine. We drove home with no problems. A couple of days later my wife was driving home when the motor stalled and would not start again. We had the car towed to a garage, where the engine was inspected and shown to have bottom-end damage. Final analysis: Replacement of engine. Total cost $5,400

- Pembroke, MA, USA

problem #18

Jul 032004

Intrepid

  • Automatic transmission
  • 120,000 miles
While driving on the freeway vehicle completely shut down. Consumer had the vehicle towed to a repair shop. There, it was discovered that the engine had a build up of sludge, and the check engine light came on and stayed.

- Canada, 00, USA

problem #17

May 032004

Intrepid

  • 53,000 miles
Consumer stated that 2.7 liter engine caught on fire. Consumer was driving and noticed the smoke under the engine. Consumer opened the hood and the engine was engulfed in flames. There was evidence of motor oil all over the engine. Vehicle was towed to the dealer, who insisted after an inspection that vehicle was fine. However, the vehicle had serious engine problems. Consumer's insurance company refused to assist stating that this problem was the manufacturer's fault. Consumer contacted the manufacturer, and was told that warranty expired. This vehicle had only 53,000 miles, and became totally useless.

- Buffalo, NY, USA

problem #16

May 052004

Intrepid 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 74,325 miles
Complete engine failure for 2000 Dodge Intrepid 2.7L engine with no prior warnings. Failure caused engine to die, but luckily road was empty and no injuries or damage occured. After exhaustive research on the web, found this problem to be spreading like a wildfire on the same exact engine. Maintenance on my engine has been on schedule with quality parts and oil. Replacement parts are unbelievably high due to the recent high demand on this engine and its situation. Reports of engine failure due to oil sludge and/or timing chain failure can be found easily by searching for 2000 Dodge Intrepid 2.7 engine problems. Something has to be done regarding this situation before someone actually dies due to engine failure on a busy highway. Most of the time it takes someone dieing before anything happens, but maybe this time something can be done beforehand.

- Spring Lake, NC, USA

problem #15

Mar 052004

Intrepid 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 51,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

2000 Dodge Intrepid engine failed two days after oil change at dealership. Technician stated sludge in engine due to lack of oil change (not true) warranty company refused to pay. Dealer installed new engine at cost of $6485. Many many complaints about Chrysler 2.7 engine with same problem and get the same results from Chrysler. Anything you could do would be greatly approiated.

- Dover, NJ, USA

problem #14

Feb 272000

Intrepid 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 59 miles
Premature engine failure on a Dodge Intrepid 2000 the only 56,000 miles

- Disputanta, VA, USA

problem #13

Feb 252004

(reported on)

Intrepid

  • 69,000 miles
Consumer complained about an engine problem. Consumer heard a knock in the motor, and the motor locked up without warning.

- Pinson, AL, USA

problem #12

Nov 042003

Intrepid 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 80,230 miles
I have a 2000 Dodge Intrepid with a 2.7L engine. My wife, with my daughter, was driving the vehicle in frankfort, Kentucky when the engine began running extremely rough at a stop light. The car would barely move causing her great difficulty in getting out of the intersection. We had the car towed to the jeff sach's dealership in frankfort, ky for repair. We were then told that the engine would have to be replaced due to the engine type.they said that they could re-build the engine but could not guaranteethat the engine would last a week. This vehicle has 80,000 miles on it and is half paid for and Chrysler says that the design causes it to be replaced once it goes bad. The dealership informed us that Chrysler knew it was a poor design but that was the trade off for more power out of a smaller engine. We called Chrysler and were informed that it was not under warranty so there was really no need to call them. In a day where tune ups are not required for the first 100,000 miles on most vehicles, one would seem to expect an engine that did not fail before then either. I have since discovered that this problem is extremely common. Fortunately my wife was stopped and not driving in traffic when the engine failed. If that had been the case she would not have had power steering or brakes with which to control the car.

- Lawrenceburg, KY, USA

problem #11

May 242003

Intrepid 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 22,460 miles
I had a engine seize up after 22,000 miles because of engine sludge. I have had at least 4 oill changes on the vehicle about every 5,000 miles. Manufacturer recommended states that maximun is 75000 miles. I have a 3 year old car with 22,000 miles on it and a seized engine. Can you help"??"

- Rockville, MD, USA

problem #10

Jan 092003

Intrepid 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 50,000 miles
The oil lamp came on while sitting at a stoplight, the engine tachometer read below 500rpm and the vehicle was up to temperature. Once the vehicle accelerated through the light the oil lamp turned off. At the next stoplight the oil lamp again came on under the same conditions. After this the vehicle seemed ok. A few days later the oil light came on under the same conditions. An appointment was then made to have the vehicle serviced. Before taking the vehicle in to the dealership the engine was started and made a light ticking noise. This noise did not continue after the engine was shut off and allowed to cool down overnight. The vehicle was towed to the dealership for fear of damaging the engine further. The dealership found that the oil sending unit was not working properly, and also was leaking oil. They found no problems with the oiling system and assured me that the oil pressure and volume was within Chrysler's specifications. The dealership replaced the oil sensor for time and material being the vehicle was out of waranty. On the way home from the dealership the engine started making a very loud knocking sound although the oil lamp was not on. The car was then taken to a local repair shop and the timing chain tensioner was found to be stuck allowing slack in the timing chain. After replacing the tensioner with a new tensioner from the dealership and reassembling the engine, the knocking noise was noticibly quieter but still indicated a problem. (note: The engine made no knocking noise at all when cold, it only knocked when up to temperature) the repairman contacted a contact at a different dealership and was informed off of the record that they also had an Intrepid in for the same thing, and they had to also replace the timing chain and timing chain guides to rid the vehicle of the knocking sound when up to temperature. The vehicle is curently at the repair shop waiting for the additional parts to see if this remidies the problem.

- Chesaning, MI, USA

problem #9

Sep 012002

Intrepid

  • miles
No summary.

- Winston-Salem, NC, USA

problem #8

Sep 232002

Intrepid

  • miles
Consumer states engine seized without warning while driving on highway. Checked by dlr who could not determine problem.

- Ridgewood, NJ, USA

problem #7

Sep 092002

(reported on)

Intrepid

  • miles
Also experiencing engine problems, all four window reglators replaced, and door panels need replacement, and was never notified of recall on seat belt latches.

- St Albans, WV, USA

problem #6

Jun 012000

Intrepid

  • miles
Vehicle randomly stalls at 65 to 70 mph. Dealer has been contacted.

- Westminister, MA, USA

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