Dodge Stratus
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Stratus/Plymouth Breeze Experiences topic. Those
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L8_Apex
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Stratus/Plymouth Breeze Experiences topic. Those
of you joining us from that topic are welcome to
continue your discussion. I dropped the Breeze
from the title because, well... the Breeze is being
dropped.
If you're new to this topic, you may want to
follow the above link for additional archived
posts.
Thanks,
L8_Apex
Sedans Host
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http://sites.netscape.net/dankmank
If I may ask!
Best,
Mark
I have to say I'm glad I bought the car despite some not so favorable reviews. The car hasn't given me one bit of trouble over the 2 years. So why am I selling? Well, I got that new job and I'm buying my bimmer.
If interested e-mail: jennieves@aol.com
I think evaporator was the term used. I don't remember if they cleaned it or put some sort of deodorizer.
After those two incidents it hasn't happened again. I also have had 3 blown amp fuses in the 3 years I owned the vehicle. Dealer can't find any reason and suspects it might have been the cellular cigarette adapter but I doubt it.
The best fix is through the dealer. They have a wand they use that gets down into the A/C system and shoots the disenfectant right in there.
The problem will come back, but I found a way to postpone it a little. For the last 2 miles of my trip I turn off the A/C and leave the fan on. I am trying to get the condensation off the evaporator. Since I have been doing this, the problem has not come back. I usually only do this on the way home, when it would sit in the garage overnight.
After they're stripped, the surfaces get a paste wax sealant. At that point, they look virtually brand new.
I find I have to repeat the treatment about every eight to ten weeks; more frequently if I go to a conventional carwash. Whatever they use in those carwashes, it leaves behind splotches that annoy me no end. But sometimes, when you run out of daylight...
Works on our '98 Caravan SE as well.
Best,
Mark
Also tsb 750 concerns front lower control ball joints. I had the right side one fixed at my expense. I received no recall on this problem. My service manager told me to get the vin # and he would see if that numbered car was on the recall list. so I'm going to do that. has anyone else had this problem?
Leo
You could either post it or e mail me at LeoDaLion70@hotmail.com. Again, thank you
I do have a bit of an odor with my A/C, so I think I'll have someone check that out. It's not horrible, but it's not how most ACs smell.
Anyway, I just wanted to let you prospective buyers that the 1997 ES (with 6 cyl autostick) is a pretty decent buy.
Love this car.
As always,
Mark
Our stratus was full loaded,and had the 2.4 l engine,the only minor problem was weak brakes,it had 4 wheel disc brake,and we think it needs more power.
So far in more than three years it went back to the dealer to normal maintance,and to fix a noise coming from the rear brakes,and bad odor coming out from a/c three times.
What a wonderful car,we are not sure today if we made the right thing selling the Stratus!
I have also looked for a good Dodge web site to ask questions and technical advice, opinions, etc. The best site I have found is www.moparchat.com This site is clearly the best in quality, with over 60,000 posts! Good luck either way Trevor!
Does anyone have any knowledge of this procedure?
Anyway, a Helicoil is a good method of thread repair. It is approved by Chrysler and other manufacturers. You need a Helicoil installation tool and tap and the right assortment of coils. You also need the correct drill to match the coil you need to install.
It is a fairly straightforward procedure where you find the coil that matches the thread size you need for the spark plug. You drill out the wasted threads with a drill that is matched to the coil. You then tap the threads with the appropriate tap size. Then you screw in the coil and set it in place by breaking off the tang on the end of the coil.
The coil then becomes the new threads and they are just as good, if not better then the original aluminum threads. If done correctly, you will never have a problem with this plug again.
First, the rear window heating was completely inefficient. It was fogged, and cleaned somewhat only after I opened two windows. Much better to drive with open windows in light frost, than without rear view. I immigrated from Russia, and the temperature is OK for me.
But later, after some snow accumulated on the rear window, even this did not help. Used the side mirrors only.
Second, the car does not hold a road covered by snow. Even while it was a thin layer, one inch at most, and the road itself was cold (sub-freezing).
Even on the straight parts of roads I crawled at 20 mph at most, and turned at less than 5 mph. The drivers behind me were unhappy, some of them tailgated or beeped. Nevertheless, the ABS engaged a lot of times, probably ten to fifteen in one mile. By the way, when ABS works, the pedal pushed my feet rather strong. Like a small animal trying to get free. The first time or two I even stopped braking instinctively.
I am surprised that such a car can be used legally on the public roads. I feel more secure in my old car, a 1988 Ford Taurus, without ABS.
I also did not like how the transmission shifted, but this is not important.
On the plus side, the styling is cute, the instruments are convenient, and engine purrs.
We have had 20+ inches of snow/ice so far and it was a non-issue to drive the car. I drive on the a combination of unplowed backroads and highways that are poorly cleaned.
ABS does come on, but only if you push it to the limit. (pedal noise is nowhere near some other cars I have driven)
Clean the windows and mirrors once and they stay clean for the duration of the trip, if you use the defroster.
I really do not see any issue, unless you decide to drive outside what is considered normal driving in the snow. I am completely confident I will get to my destination, when I drive that car
Concerning defroster:
Now, several day later, I think that the rear defroster probably simply did not work. Was broken or something. The rear window did not defog at all, until I opened the windows, and a bit later snow accumulated on the window, while I drove.
Cannot not know exactly with the rental car, if it is normal for the model or it was broken. Returned it without even trying to diagnose. But I definitely pushed the defroster button and it light up.
Concerning the ABS:
I did no complained it to be noisy. The GM cars have more noisy ABS. The ABS pushed my foot through brake pedal very strongly, but this not important. Every car have some idiosyncrasies. Just better to know and expect.
What I did not like is how often the ABS engaged. At least 10 times, more probably 15 to 20, on one mile (the last), with at most 2 inch of snow accumulated. And the road was frozen, not warm, the snow did not melt underside.
It means, every time when ABS engaged, the wheels did not hold road well when braking. They tend to slip too easily.
I have three cars in my family: 88 Ford Taurus Wagon, 98 Chevy Malibu, and 00 Buick Regal. Malibu and Regal's ABS would engage at most one time in such road conditions, even while I drive them much more aggressive, than the rental car I do not know.
With its narrow tires, Ford slips even less than the two other cars - but, without ABS, is more dangerous when slips.
Additional info:
A neighbor in our apartment building get into accident. with her Dodge Status this winter. The lost grip when turning on the snow, she lost control, car spinned 180 degree and hit a pole by the rear bumper and the rear-right fender.
She rented a Malibu while her car was in body shop. We discussed the cars, share our impression recently on the parking lot.
She do not like the Malibu in general, consider it to be too heavy. Likes her Dodge much better. Though, even she say that Malibu is holding road much better in the snow.
Spinning a FWD car in the snow is not an easy task, unless you are on ice or going at high speeds. I think your neighbor was just simply going too fast or reacted wrong to the skid. She probably planted her foot on the brake in the skid (my guess). FWD cars just require you to power out of a slide. Point the wheels where you want to go and hit the gas. It will pull you out of the skid. Don't follow the old rule of steering opposite of the skid. That is for RWD cars only. ( I am not telling you specifically, just making a general comment)
The only time I can get the Cirrus to come around is to kick on the parking brakes in a curve. Yes, I like to learn the limits of my vehicles. Right now I own 2 RWD, 1 FWD and 1 4WD vehicles. All I have driven in the snow and have learned how they behave.
I think that more people need to go to a nice flat parking lot in the snow and practice how to drive. Just make sure it is an area clear of any manhole covers or concrete stop bumps. My wife though I was nuts, until I made her do it in the Cirrus. She probably still thinks I am nuts, but at least she understands how the car behaves in the snow.
Best,
Mark
The car was not totaled after hitting someone at 45MPH? How about after the second time? There is not exactly a lot of material in the front end of a Status to absorb that kind of impact. Any physical damage to yourself?
When you say the brakes failed, what happened? Pedal to the floor, lack of assist (hard pedal)? Just curios. Did you have the ABS option? I am just trying to put an image in my mind as to what happened mechanically.
I know that one time that someone stopped dead in front of me on the highway, I had to stop from ~70MPH to 0 real quick. I planted the down the brake pedal and the car stopped incredibly fast. I do have 4 wheel disc ABS. The front rotors did warp a little from the panic stop, but that was the only problem. Considering I smelt my brakes cooking after I stopped, I was not surprised. I was just glad the guy behind me swerved and missed my rear end.
Day1
Drove the car at the dealer and all seemed well with the world. Was looking forward to the next 42 months on a lease getting to know what I thought was going to be a fun family ride.
Day2
Drove the car going to a party some 180 miles roundtrip and suddenly my front right tire (Michelin) developed a bubble on the side wall along with some other unusual noises at the front end.
Day3
Brought car back to dealer and they had to order a new tire. I also asked them to check the front end for the unusual sounds of the jungle I was experiencing.
3 Days Later...
Got car back with new tire and also the assortment of front end noises.
Next Day (Day 7)
Called dealer and expressed my concern that noises were still present. Dealer sent me to a local STS shop to check tires again. Both front tires required rebalancing and the STS technician identified the additional noises as possible factory f'ups. Unconfirmed yet, but he contemplates that it could be the transmission mounts, or the engine mounts or just a crappy transmission. He also suggested I promptly bring vehicle back to dealer.
Day 8
Brought vehicle back to dealer who seemed surprised to see me once again. The sales manager was very courteous but did not acknowledge whether there was any communication between sales and service as to whether they checked to see that my issues had been addressed.
I also mentioned to him that there were significant paint blemishes I suddenly noticed on the inside of the doors and the rear right passenger door in particular, actually looked like it was only partially painted since much of the primer/undercoat (light brown) was prominently showing. He suggested that is the case with most inside door paint. I suggested that this is the first new car (and I've had 6) where this was actually noticeable to the point of being a nuisance.
Day 9
No call yet as to the status of the vehicle, but frankly I expect the worst...
All comments/replies/help/thoughts welcomed...
jmat,
that is very disturbing. considering my wife drove my stratus many times during her pregnancy. why don't you look into suing them? that is horrible!
Feb. 2nd - after a grueling week of talking to the dealer's service department, they are still waiting for replacement parts to fix what they described as an "unusual" problem. The front left strut was either damaged or simply missing some parts (possibly rubber bushings). They were not specific as to which, and it looks more and more like this car may have been assembled from "left-overs". Could be that Daimler Benz had all but drained Chrysler of money so this is the result of it or maybe the Stratus is just a lousy car. The NHTSA already has a half dozen recalls on the 2001 (although none applied to my vehicle) and the other night one of the network channels did a show on the best and worst cars to withstand 5 mph bumper damage. The 2001 Stratus seems to be at the bottom of the list -- funny enough so was Mercedes.
To se results follow this link...
www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/testing/ncap/cars/1724.html
My brother just bought a new one (an SE 4Dr, with the V6 and all sorts of options, including side airbags...) so we will see how this one is, considering that the '95 ES was awesome. I put 132000 miles on it, and still traded it in for $700, considering I had been in a major accident with it, which caused the power steering pump and rack to be useless. Nonetheless, I did not have any major repairs, beyond the norm, except for the head, and the timing belt. Once, the wiper switch died, initially, but the dealer fixed it promptly.
Anyway, check out my posts for the R/T coupe! Maybe you won't feel so bad after that! Enjoy,
phatride01