Dodge Stratus Reviews

Front brakes need replaced every 20K.
Spark plugs need replaced about every 30K.

Power windows are beginning to go out at 80K.

At 90K my transmission goes out. I'm driving down the road and slowing down to come to a stop. KAPLUNK! It feels like I ran over a telephone pole. Now the speedometer won't work and the car won't shift out of second gear.
Once I replace the tranny this car is gone and my relationship with Dodge is over.

Here I come Toyota.

the problem well the car wont run only when you put it in gear. if you want to keep the car in park it will run all day if you put it gear it will stall and not start back up . and as it stands now i dont have a car and dont expect one any time soon .

Included: A new transmission at under 70000 miles (I later found out after buying this car that it was already on its 2nd transmission), so it is on its 3rd transmission now. Not long after trans was repaired car began stalling very consistently, mostly when car was idling or stopped at a light, but also if I was steering into a parking lot slowly and then I would lose all power steering and brakes (UNSAFE!!). Brakes were very costly to repair and I still hear some squealing.

Any time I bring it in for oil changes or maintenance other problems are always discovered. This has been the most stressful 6 months dealing with this dodge product. The car is still in the shop as I write because they cannot find out why it is stalling, even though they have already billed me $611.00 for parts and labour, and yes of course the same stalling problem is ocurring. Very sad that I bought this Stratus, it is not reliable, and I had hoped it would at least service me for a couple of years until I could afford to buy new again, but it doesn't look that way.

The calipers on the front brake system failed at 30,000 miles- $400. Had them replaced and its been a disaster when i run over the pot holes in the city. Sounds like pots and pans falling down from a 2 story building. 31,0000 miles the sway bar bolt breaks off. -$150.00 43,000 I was informed by my wife that the car drives funny, like it has a mind of its own wandering all over the road. This prompt me to take it to the shop, as soon as they had it on the lift, the service tech was shaking the tie rods back and fourth and said your lucky to bring it in now while you did. You could of had a major accident waiting to happen. Spent another $750 on repairs and 2 days out from work to do this.

78,000 The fuel ignition fuse keeps blowing out. I priced a fuel pump and it was $375.00 and $150 for the tow. I replaced it on my own with a help of a friend in 3 hours work I'm quite tired of pumping all this hard earned moneyy for the peace of mind that wasn't ever there in first place. Don't ever buy cars from Dodge. All they know is how to throw you a fast ball with the sales pitch, but when it comes to service all they can do is play guessing games because they don't even know where to begin. And as for the car, well i'm trade it in for $1.00 to get a Honda. I have a 88 Honda i bought new and i have 123,00 on it and i never had to do anything to it except oil changes and brakes liners every 50,000 miles.

Even with a warranty, they couldn't fix it. I had tried countless times to have it fix outside and alot of service techs would say to me, you should of bought soemthing from another motor company.

My Stratus too has had head gasket failure at 58,000 miles, plus the timing belt needed to replae spark plugs. Costing a total of $923.00 Now it is the shop again and the repair shop has had it for three days and has yet to determine what is wrong with it. When the lease is up this car is gone.

I boought the car for $5500 and so for it has cost me more than $10200. Every week i have a new problem with this car. from the steering wheel that cost me $500 to the oil laek problem and right now out side of my house there is a big black mark on the ground because i cant afford to get the leak problem fixed. it cost $1500+ I am a student and go to college.

My father bought the car for me and since then I have paid everything that has gone wrong. I work 40 hourse a week in a neerby store so that I wont have to travel far from home with an unsafe car like my stratus because one bit rain is enough to get the car to shut down. everytime it rains the car wont start because Dodge so called engineers have designed a car that is vanurable to water that is "WATER" not some sort of lithal chemical. I want to know if the designe of a car has to be approved by some government organization or not. I mean this is not the 1800's we are in a modern world doesnt a company have to make sure about a product before making thousands of it? for god sake learn from the Japanese people learn from the Koreans. why are germans so ahead of US???

we live in the United States of America thinking that china doesn't care about human rights. what kind of rights does a stratus driver like me has??? my engin might catch on fire any minute because of the lick problem and I might die. the last time I got my streeing wheel looked at for the third time i spent $200 and then i said ok this car is gone last week when i put the car for sale not one person called. not one person and i can't afford to give the car to some charity. I wish I had seen this website before I bought that Stratus.

Next to go was the cruise control. It wouldn't disengage and I found myself speeding toward the back of a truck at 65 MPH. It took all I had to stop the car. I had to have a mechanic make a raod service call to cut the cruise control line, which was frayed. I absolutely despise this car.

Now I'm broken down again. This time it's the transmission. THe car has about 80K miles on it, but not one mile has been trouble or worry free.

I drive about an hour each way to work and come home at night. Never is it far from my mind what will break down on this car next, especially since the cruise control incident, and what will I do if I'm stranded. I bought a cell phone and have the tow truck's number on speed dial. I have had to arrange for rides and have been late for work many times. I'm on a strict budget and my car payment takes a large chunk, but the repairs have squeezed my other expenses to where it has been a huge financial burden.

When I bought the car in September of 1995 the window door moldings warped from heat or the sun, Capitol Dodge was aware of the problem and said they will take care of this. They did.

I found a dent in the front hood and several spots of paint discoloration, complained about it several times. Their last comment was, why don't you wait and see if it really bothers you. I let it go, sick of complaining.

I will give you a list of the problems, since if I told you about everything word for word I would have endless pages. My Dodge Stratus has 45,000 miles on it now and here is the list.

They replaced:

• blown horn,
• blown radio,
• squeaky brakes,
• tierod ends,
• piston calipers,
• trunk latch release at least 8 to 10 times (my father and husband finally fixed the problem),
• rear seat belts,
• several times in shop for driver and passanger doors leaking water on the floor board,
• visor light,
• scuff plate cracked,
• emission problems, catalytic converter 20,000 mile range.

Just recently -- August of 99 --my car lost power. I took it to Goodyear, they ran a test and replaced the thermostat. I picked the car up the next day and told them it was still running rough, they said it will work itself out. I did not trust their word and dropped the car off around the corner.

The next day I had the car towed to Rafael Tonts Auto, recommended by a friend. He told me I had a blown head gasket due to the manufacturer's original design malfunction and failure.

December of 99 the car overheated, I had it towed to Stevens Creek Dodge; they replaced faulty thermostat. Very pleasant service people there.