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Dodge Intrepid

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Comments

  • ajwoodsajwoods Member Posts: 5
    Thanks for the information concerning the TSB about the oil pressure light.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    I though you all might get a kick out of...

    image

    This was taken at the All-Mopar Nationals at Carlisle, PA last summer. The LH cars stretch all the way down the hill, to the big, pointy tent. The silver one that's closest is mine.

    Evidently the Intrepid, Concorde, and 300M have a pretty loyal following. When you go to the GM Nationals or the Ford Nationals, you don't see huge turnouts of Impalas or Tauruses like that!!
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    is an Intrepid police car...
    image
  • mike372mike372 Member Posts: 354
    pretty neat. Your car still looks good in the pic even with all those miles! And I too saw an Intrepid police car at a Dodge Dealer that sells a huge amount of fleet cars (Warnock Dodge). Well, it looks like I will buy those Yokohama Avid Touring tires for the Civic. Probably from Tire Rack which I believe is the place you bought them if I remember right. The prices are good. Are yours 'Avid' or the more expensive Avid T-4. Are they really good in the snow? That's pretty important to me. The Yokohama LS-4's are out and I dont really want the Pirelli's again, mainly due to their rather poor snow driving performance.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    are just the regular Avid's, which, in the Intrepid's 225/60/R-16 size, are $56 each at TireRack. I just checked, to jog my memory.

    I think they're fine in the snow, although I did have some friends warn me, that with a treadwear rating that high (turns out it's 620) that it's going to be a harder tire that might compromise some wet weather traction. I haven't had any problems though. While I've been happy with them, I'm sure there are better tires out there. I mainly wanted something that wouldn't wear out fast.
  • emaleemale Member Posts: 1,380
    mike,

    i think you are reading way too much into what the local dodge service guy said to you. the tech i know said with todays engine's super tight tolerances, he'd run nothing less than synthetic oil. am i supposed to take that as todays engines would die an early death on dino oil?? catch my drift? btw, i don't run synthetic in anything i drive...and never have.
  • Jason5Jason5 Member Posts: 440
    Mike372...assuming for a moment that I have a pulse and an IQ north of what gets voted into the Oval office--you miss the point. I am related to one of the service managers and know the other well. They are honest folks, who aren't inclined to blow sunshine up anyone's hinter regions. Sludge etc..no issues there from their perspective.
        Andre--making me wish I had driven the 90 minutes to Carlisle and taken in the show. Looked good..
         Emale et. al... Looks like we're having some bad weather today--so I'll postpone the trip to Philly for tomorrow or Thursday. Best wishes to all...
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    faring with this weather we've been having? We mainly just got freezing rain down here, but I heard there was some serious snow up futher north.

    There was black ice aplenty on the roads around here last nite, plenty of chances to play bumper cars! I slid around a little bit, but nothing too major. I guess it was a good test of my Yokohama tires!
  • emaleemale Member Posts: 1,380
    andre,

    not too much snow here in SD...but it has been colder than all get out! looking at flying to florida to catch some sun...
  • mike372mike372 Member Posts: 354
    NW New Jersey. Just alot of rain and, at times, freezing rain. But the roads for the most part were OK. You just had to watch your speed. Maybe I'll move to Maui or Kauai, the weather is awesome as I just got back from a 12 day trip. Unfortunately, I cant figure out how I will get my Trep there. Well, I am down to two tires, the Avid and P400. From the reviews, it does not seem like the Avid is significantly better in snow than the P400, and I cant figure out how it got a 7.1 rating on Tire Rack. The tread design looks more like a touring tire which I believe it is. I was sold on the Aegis LS4 until I found about the extremely low tread life. Plus some people were compaining about tread separation and other problems with the Avids. But I guess complaints are common for most tires.
  • mike372mike372 Member Posts: 354
    (and for the obvious few who are not but I will not mention names), there is an interesting article in the car care section of the current issue of Popular Mechanics on oil sludge. The author stated that excessive amounts of sludge could be caused by 'too many short trips, a broken or missing thermostat, a bad PCV valve or an excessively hot running engine'. He also stated that a 'few engine designs are notorious for excessive sludge.' So I wrote him a letter asking him if the 2.7L Chrysler engine is one of those engines prone to developing sludge. So I will wait and see.
  • buyer777buyer777 Member Posts: 70
    Nice pic of the old "Green and Black" police cars I grew up with in the 60's and 70's!!
  • Jason5Jason5 Member Posts: 440
    Interesting...keep us apprised. I will take a moment to point out--however--that the antecedents of "oil sludge" he mentions are exclusively at the control of the driver and reasonable maintenance and not inherent design flaws..
  • homerkchomerkc Member Posts: 113
    Let me weigh in on tires. I put Yokohama Avid Touring tires on my 2000 Intrepid (27000 miles ago) and they have been great. They are quiet, have plenty of tread left, and were cheap to buy. They aren't even particularly sensitive to rotation, as I have not been regular in that maintainance. My son put them on his Grand Marquis, with good results (they tightened up his steering at highway speeds.) Someone mentioned Firestone Affinity LH30's - I bought some for my daughter's Grand Caravan before taking it on a long trip. They were impressive, with good response. AND, in van size (215/65-16), they have "A" ratings for wear AND TEMPERATURE. I have never seen another tire A rated for temp. I put top line Bridgestone LS's on my wife's new Venture, but now I'm sorry I didn't get the LH30s.
  • mike372mike372 Member Posts: 354
    How are the Avids in snow, if you live in a region blessed by this stuff. The tread design does not look too promising for snow traction. You are right, they are inexpensive to buy. My only concern is snow traction, since my girlfriend drives EVERYWHERE in the snow with her Civic, and the Pirelli's are over half worn now, and when they were new they were not great in the snow. But they are considered an all season touring tire, as are the Avids.
  • homerkchomerkc Member Posts: 113
    The Avid Touring tires on my Intrepid have done well in the snow. Be careful, however, as Yokohama sells other tires with the Avid name. I put Avid T-somethings on my old Golf, and they were terrible. Traction was poor, and wear was worse. I couldn't believe how fast the tread disappeared!
  • mike372mike372 Member Posts: 354
    Yes, you have to be very careful as to which Yokohama you buy. I almost bought the Aegis LS4's until two tire shops said the tread disappears. They were top rated by CR, however, CR did not judge the tires by their wear. They were judged by certain performance characteristics. Even the reviews on tire rack gave the LS4's dismal ratings for tread wear.
  • Jason5Jason5 Member Posts: 440
    If memory serves we had a tire discussion a while back--thought I'd share my experience. My Eagle GA were sufficiently worn as I bumped up against 30,000 miles. I went searching and eventually settled on 4 Goodyear Allegra's (Treadwear 560, Traction A, Temperature B) for my 2000 ES. I purchased them through Sam's Club. I've been extremely pleased--now at 81,500 miles I have considerable tread left. The tires are quieter, ride better, and have good rain and snow traction--the only trade off is that they are not quite the handling tires the GA's were. I heartily endorse these tires--and the folks at Sam's Club. Relatively inexpensive, competent AND a replacement policy.
  • smithedsmithed Member Posts: 444
    A general question to all. Now that the 'Trep is 5 years old, I have been thinking of adding one of those wood kits to the dash to add something. Who has done this? Were you pleased with the outcome? Would you do it again? How hard was it? Any recommendations about online companies to use or avoid?
  • mike372mike372 Member Posts: 354
    are definitely not the greatest wearing tires - I think there is a consensus on that fact. About 30K to 35K miles, thats it.The Allegra's seem to be a good choice, but I dont have a membership to Sams Club. If I remember correctly, thats why I went with the Pirelli's. I have a Costco membership, but all they have is Michelins and I am not too impressed with them. The HydroEdge tires are expensive and they did not get a good snow rating by CR. And the LH30's I believe are made by Firestone, and I don't like Firestone. So its either the Avids or Pirelli 400's. Maybe I am too picky - but I dont like buying garbage.
  • hayneldanhayneldan Member Posts: 657
    I added the wood dash trim to my 99 ES and it looks great after 5 years. It did bleach out (lighten) from the sun but it is real wood. Do not buy from discount or EBay sites as some of them sell seconds which will have thin edges and will not fit well. Do a search for Wood Dash Kits and good luck.
  • Jason5Jason5 Member Posts: 440
    I think you can trust that if you buy the Avids or the Pirelli's; you'll be getting a good tire. Although the HydroEdge might not be for you--the Goodyear Aquatred 3 is reported to be a good tire. And if memory serves it's not more expensive than the Allegras.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    my 'Trep is going to hit the 90,000 mile mark soon, but I won't be there to see it! :-( My roommate's Tracker has to go in the shop, and I'm going to let him borrow it, and I'll just drive one of my old cars.

    Dangit, and I wanted to be there to see it, too! I guess I could drive around a bunch to get it to 90K prematurely, but that would be a waste of gas...
  • mike372mike372 Member Posts: 354
    How come you did not give him one of your other cars so you would see the 90K mark. On the news today, did anyone notice the model car (law enforcement vehicle)the Enron exec came out of. Yep, its the same color and model as yours with the 90K miles.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    lending a 1979 New Yorker to someone who's used to driving a Tracker would be kinda like Lorne Greene handing over the keys to the Battlestar Galactica to Starbuck! (sorry, but that's the quickest analogy I could come up with, and probably dates me ;-)
  • mike372mike372 Member Posts: 354
    was Starbuck the one who ran around the ship in a jogging bra and shorts? Anyway, I catch the drift.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    I forgot about the remake. Now I could see commander Adama letting THAT Starbuck sit on his lap and maybe pilot the Galactica around a bit, but I don't think that would've flown back in the late 70's with Dirk Benedict and Lorne Greene! ;-)
  • indydriverindydriver Member Posts: 620
    It's your comments about the HydroEdge and LH30 that are garbage, not the tires. You may have your own personal reasons for not considering either, but that does not make them bad tires. Speaking from experience, I own them both on LH cars and they are both VERY GOOD tires. You do a disservice to everyone on this board looking for objective information about products for this vehicle.
  • mike372mike372 Member Posts: 354
    Save your personal comments for another board. Some people, including you, are just too aggressive for forums such as Edmunds. All I said about the HyrdoEdge tires is that they did not get the greatest ratings for snow performance. This is not my subjective opinion, its the objective opinion of a well known consumer products magazine. And, Firestone, with all its well publicized problems with its tires, is lucky to still be in business. In fact, I believe they were bought out by another company. Maybe you do not care whether you're riding on tires that blow-out, but some people would rather be riding on other tires.
  • indydriverindydriver Member Posts: 620
    You still don't get it. Have you ever driven HydroEdge or LH 30 tires? You read a magazine review, big deal. I just drove through my first winter on HydroEdge tires and I can vouch from personal experience that they do just fine in the snow. Regarding Firestone, I'm not sure where to begin to correct the misinformation you publish about them. They were bought by Bridgestone in 1989, the highest tech tire company in the world (notice who's been winning F1 every year?) I am not riding on tires that blow out. The LH 30 is one of the best tires on the market with a 70,000 mile warranty, an H speed rating, high treadwear, A traction and A temperature rating. Plus, some of the best technology in the tire industry with their Uni-T construction. The tire you refer to was a cheap OEM tire specified by Ford to keep costs down. It had a C temperature rating. Ford intentionally specified that the tire be underinflated to keep the center of gravity of the roll-prone Explorer down. Further, that vehicle had a very suspect suspension design on the left rear, where all the problems occurred. Do some research on how many "tire failures" and roll-overs that generation Explorer suffered AFTER all the Firestone tires were recalled. Check out the drastically redesigned track, wheelbase, suspension and height of the current generation Explorer. Hmmmm....maybe it wasn't all the tire's fault afterall. My problem with your comments is that they are not based on facts or personal experience and you do readers of this forum a disservice by badmouthing products that are, in reality, very good choices for owners of LH cars.
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    Hey folks, it's certainly possible to post differing opinions without slamming each other ....
  • mike372mike372 Member Posts: 354
    I am not going to waste my time discussing anything with you. You no doubt have a very strong ego and opinions of products you purchase. The only disservice thats obvious here is your aggressive personality that really does not belong on a site such as this. You just turn the users of this site off completely. Happy motoring!
  • jbbw20jbbw20 Member Posts: 38
    Indydriver: I might be mistaken however I was under the impression this board was for personal opinions therefore I completely support your right to post your thoughts.
    I have used the HydroEdge tires and found them to be an excellent product. The LH30 is produced by the biggest tire manuf. in Japan so they must be doing something right.
    My personal opinion NOTE -MY OPINION- Both the HydroEdge and the LH30 are a far superior product than the LH vehicles that you intend to use them on.
    http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/national/8001801.ht- m
  • smithedsmithed Member Posts: 444
    Thanks for the backing and that your wood has done well for five years. I am considering ordering from a firm call New York City Dashes. They seem to be offering what I am looking for. I think I'll go with rosewood or Japanese cherry.

    ES
  • Jason5Jason5 Member Posts: 440
    Evening group.. Just thought I'd share a maintenance issue of mine. About two weeks ago, I heard a noise from the front end and didn't follow up on it. Eventually--Saturday--I took it to the garage I use. Turns out that I needed new front brake pads. Luckily when I had the OEM pads replaced, I purchased Bendix pads with a lifetime warranty. Unfortunately, by Saturday I had worn grooves in the rotors and they needed replacing. Moral of the story? What would have amounted to a charge for labor only resulted in labor and new rotors. Still not ridiculously priced at $180, but more than necessary. When those warning strips start squealing--GET YE TO THE GARAGE!
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    $180 for brakes AND rotors! I guess there's something to be said for those flimsy, two-piece rotors they use nowadays. Some of those older, bulky, one-piece jobs (I think they still use them on trucks) can easily run well over $100 apiece.

    Jason, how many miles did you get out of those Bendix pads? I have Bendix pads up front, that I put on around 69,000 miles, and when I rotated my tires about a month ago, they still had plenty of meat on them.

    Oh yeah, my 'Trep hit 90,000 miles yesterday.
  • Jason5Jason5 Member Posts: 440
    Without checking my maintenance records, I can't be sure. I believe the original pads lasted about 40K and my Bendix pads lasted about 40K. While I hear what you're saying--it's clear that had I acted promptly the rotors would be soldiering on and doing just fine. Right now my 2000 ES has just over 82,000 miles. Since fall of 2002 I've had to put a good deal of highway miles on my car.
        Of particular interest, Andre, was something the service manager said (incidentally this is NOT a Dodge dealership--but a retail "Pep Boys" style shop). He said that I should expect front brake pads to last no more than 20-25K--even the "premium quality" ones I had used. He said that as my car and the braking systems ages, I'll get less life out of the pads.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    that it's still better to catch the brakes before they score the rotors!

    Come to think of it, my front pads lasted 39K miles, which I thought was really impressive because of all my stop-and-go pizza delivery driving I did back then. I put on some cheap-o Trak Auto pads that lasted me to about 69K miles, and now have the Bendix pads on. My rear pads lasted to about 51K, when I had my mechanic put on the cheap-o Trak Auto pads that I had bought the same time I had purchased the front ones. They still look fine though, even though they now have about 39K miles on them.

    Looking back though, I would've gotten more life out of the OEM front pads, except that one of them was wearing unevenly. Somehow, it had worn to the point that it was just about to start scraping the rotor, but was uneven enough that the wear indicator wasn't rubbing yet!

    I might go ahead and replace my front rotors the next time I do the front brakes, because they are a bit warped. If I even keep the car that long, that is. I'm not even putting 1000 miles a month on the car anymore, so I'm guessing (hoping, at least!) that it'll be a long time before I need to put new brakes on the car!
  • Jason5Jason5 Member Posts: 440
    Frankly, this is the first time I've kept a car this long for this many miles. My ex-wife's car had been around almost 10 years--but it averaged less than 9,000 miles a year. I'm terribly pleased with the maintenance costs for my Intrepid. About 40% of my costs were not necessary--including twice yearly 4 wheel alignments, transmission oil and filter changes, synthetic oil, etc.
        The most frustrating expenditure I made was to fix the fuel filler problem. There was a TSB for it--I felt it should have been a recall. Continued good luck with yours..
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    this is the longest, mileage-wise, that I've ever kept a car, too! My next closest would be my '68 Dart, which I drove for about 85,000 miles. It wasn't as reliable as the Intrepid, but those 85,000 miles also came between the 253-338K mile mark on the odometer, so the car had already been through its >ahem< break-in period!

    I have had some cars given to me by family members though that were bought new, which have gone many more miles than my Intrepid, but just not under my care.

    Hope yours lasts and serves you well, too! Just nine more payments, and mine's all paid for!! Whoo-hoo!
  • mike372mike372 Member Posts: 354
    Firestone is recalling more SUV tires. Well, I suppose that Ford has again told it to make sub-standard tires, or maybe, there is, once again, a defect in the vehicles.
  • jbbw20jbbw20 Member Posts: 38
    Have no fear Mikey, the tire recall will have no effect on your Intrepid. I believe it is very unfortunate that a fine company like Bridgestone/Firestone has to lower their specifications in order to meet the cost target of an auto manufacturer.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    but didn't Firestone have some kind of scandal back in the 70's, as well?
  • mike372mike372 Member Posts: 354
    to me that if Firestone was such a great company, they would not have to lower their standards just to make sales. If I were the CEO, I would tell Ford to go jump in Lake George, to put it in as plain as language as I can think of at the moment. If, in fact, it is true that Bridgestone/Firestone is lowering its standards for companies such as Ford Motor Company. But their are too many choices out there than to deal with a company that will sacrifice quality, and endanger lives, for the allmighty dollar bill. Too many recalls. However, this is just my OPINION and everyone out there has choices.
  • chuck1chuck1 Member Posts: 1,405
    Back in the 70's Firestone made a steel belted radial called the "521". The tires were on passenger cars and were blowing out all over the place. I believe they were recalled as well. The replacement tire was called the "721." As Bob Hope used to say...."THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!!
  • Jason5Jason5 Member Posts: 440
    Is it me or is there an aspect of this discussion--as proported by one particular member--which seems ludicrous? A car manufacturer TELLS a tire manufacturer to make a substandard product for them simply to meet cost projections. Wasn't the real issue here that Ford was suggesting inflation rates that were inappropriate regardless of tire?
  • mike372mike372 Member Posts: 354
    While you may be right about the tire pressure, go back to message #2245, which states 'the tire you refer to was a cheap OEM tire SPECIFIED BY FORD to keep costs down.' I did not make this up. However, it is obvious this discussion is going NOWHERE so lets talk about something else!
  • Jason5Jason5 Member Posts: 440
    I see.... My intention was neither to enflame nor restart an older discusssion--just clarify the point.
  • jbbw20jbbw20 Member Posts: 38
    I will attempt to type slowly and think in English so as to make the point clear enough for everyone to understand.. When an auto manuf. is sourcing tires they supply the specs to the interested tire companies, they in turn quote on a tire to meet the supplied specs. Tires supplied to oem's are usually of a "different" quality than those supplied to regular retailers.

    Mike Do you hold the auto makers to the same standards as the tire companies, your opinion being that 2 or 3 recalls by Firestone over the last 30 years or so are too high, what is your opinion regarding the Chrysler group that has 22 product recalls for the model year 2004 alone? Would you buy a product from that company with that number of recalls within approx. the first six months of a product year?
  • mike372mike372 Member Posts: 354
    The weather on the island of Maui (Hawaii) today was light rain with highs of 77-82 degrees. Does everyone catch the drift???????????????
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