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Comments
I think I discovered the cause of my transmission's refusal to engage, though. I have a bad habit of trying to take off too fast (probably comes from delivering pizzas) Anyway, I tend to drop the shifter into reverse the instant the ignition unlocks it. I didn't realize I was doing this, but I've noticed that if I wait a few seconds and then put it into reverse, it engages just fine.
Maybe I was just trying to shift too fast after starting and the transmission wasn't "ready" or something??
-Andre
I read somewhere (Car & Driver, I think) that the ES with the 3.2 will do 118 mph, but mine is just a base model with the 2.7. I know from experience it'll break 100 mph with little strain but have no idea of its top speed.
-Andre
as you probably already know, i've owned three new intrepids since late 95. none of these cars used any oil whatsoever.
Told the service manager who was baffled but mentioned that they would make it part of the permanent record... No problems to report as I approach my one year anniversary. 14,500 miles, no problems beyond having the 4 disc CD changer replaced for "skipping".. In addition the service manager DID replace the seat rails when I noticed a very slight backward tilting on my seat. Apparently others have dealt with this as well. My average "city" mileage has been in the 17.6-18.5 range (I only drive 4 miles to work and stop once at daycare); average highway mileage on trips is 26.5. Good wishes all..
if i remember right, there is a tsb dealing with delayed transaxle engagement...otherwise good to hear the trep is doing fine. i do miss mine. i sometimes wish i knew who had bought my traded in cars. on the other hand, i know how alot of people take care of their cars and therefore it is probably best that i not know!!
Emale--Any idea where that tsb is located? We're starting the process, in earnest, of buying a car for my wife. At least she's consistent--gift buying for her is always a challenge, car buying seems much the same. For instance.."boy I really like the PT Cruiser, but let's look at a new C Class too!" "I just HATE the 300M, but I kind of like the I30..." Let me know about the tsb buddy..
Best wishes to all....
The road rage incident I posted is topic #1001 "Tales of the Outrageous - Your Best (or Worst) Road Rage Incidents". If you type in Road Rage in the topic search, this is one of the three Road Rage forums it will pull up. My post is #154.
I have to admit, though, that I've been pretty lucky. I've delivered pizzas for about 5 years now, and have probably logged around 80,000 miles doing it. This is the worst incident that's ever happened to me. Well, I had a drunk stand in front of my Gran Fury (ex police car) once and block the street because he was mad at me. He thought I should put a sign on my car so people wouldn't mistake me for the police (evidently he did). But that's about it. I guess my number had to come up, eventually.
As far as the oozing tranny goes, I'm trying to make a conscious effort to not shift into reverse as soon as I start the car. It's a hard habit to break though...I guess I got used to my older RWD cars that would lunge into gear immediately.
-Andre
True, it wasn't my fault, but they still give me a hard time about it on occasion. Such as... "why were you delivering pizzas in THAT car??" as opposed to "thank God you weren't hurt!" ;-)
-Andre
jason,
that tsb can be found right from the edmunds web page. i'll find it and post here. later.
here is the tsb i mentioned. however, it says it relates only to the 98 model year. but, you can check with your local service tech to see whether or not it also applies to the y2k models. also, there are a couple tsbs about tranny range sensors. just a thought...
Service Bulletin Number: 210798
Bulletin Sequence Number: 772
Date of Bulletin: 9804
NHTSA Item Number: SB600751
Make: DODGE
Model: INTREPID
Year: 1998
Component: POWER TRAIN:AXLE ASSEMBLY
Summary: SUBJECT ON DELAYED TRANSAXLE ENGAGEMENT. *AK
Thanks to all.. Emale--SURE you can't make Detroit in January?
Anyway, my tranny problem happens any time of the day, but I've noticed it's always when I shift into reverse too quickly after starting the car, as the tach momentarily spikes up to around 1500 rpm before settling back to around 6-700. First start of the day (when the car isn't backed in) is always fine. Thanks for the suggestion, though.
-Andre
I also used to drift sometimes in those older Mopars...put it in neutral on a downhill grade and just let gravity do its thing,then shift back into drive once it started losing too much momentum. Considering that they used to tell you it was bad on the tranny back then, though, I can only presume it's even worse on the newer ones, so I've never tried it with the Trep.
-Andre
i already have plans in place to visit friends in oregon in january and phx/las vegas in february. the vacation leave book, is, uhhh...booked up if you will. however, thanks for the invite. it is also quite chilly here in south dakota. plus, we've already head about a foot of snow! now you know why i can't live without 4 wheel drive!
Dealer had to drop the tranny, which is kind of a worry, but obviously a defect from the factory, and probably the most common transmission problem in this line of transmissions.
I do like the car since it is nice to drive and very spacious (not to mention good-looking), but I don't appreciate visiting the dealer every so often to get my warranty work done (extended). Has anyone else had any of these problems before (keep in mind that my car hasn't caused any NEW problems in more than 7-8 months now, just the old ones remain).
He's probably thinking it's another unbelievable story that was made up by a disgruntled Chrysler owner or a former Chrysler owner who now has a new identity!
fastdriver
WHY do you find these stories so incredible? If you owned my Christine, you would indeed find it very believable.
You could be 100% correct. WHY would someone waste their time making this crap up unless they have no life OR just got fired by the headhunters coming from Germany! ;-))
fastdriver
your christine experience pales in comparison to
assmans post! seems to me that christine would
have only been at the dealership a couple times if
it weren't for the continual misdiagnosis of bad
tires!
anyway, a laundry list like the one assman posted
is always interesting to read. but certain things
always jump out. like me, don't you wonder what he
meant by "developed structural damage"?
as for wondering why someone would waste their
time making up this crap; you are kidding, right?
there is one particular person that has frequented
this and every other intrepid topic under several
aliases, a few of which have been banned from
townhall. he continues to spout off info that isn't
true. he even sends email to me using one of
those fake email addresses that you can't reply to.
talk about needing a life!! or at least more
homework!
FastDriver.. Emale's story is correct. More's the pity, I suppose..
A little background...my wife and I also own a '95 Jeep Wrangler & '96 VW Golf. With my "prego" wife getting bigger daily, we needed a larger vehicle. Since the 2 cars are sticks and she can barely engage the clutches, an automatic was a necessity. I originally wanted an SUV (Jeep Grand Cherokee, Nissan Pathfinder), but were out of my price range for now. (became 1st time homebuyer in Sept). Then did some research on a couple of 6 cylinder sedans costing < $30k fully-loaded...Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Nissan Maxima, VW Passat, Pontiac Grand Prix, Chrysler Concorde, Trep. (Did not go with any Fords/Chevys... I hate to take sides between my Ford/Chevy friends Their available models didn't impress me anyways.
Based on performance and looks, I narrowed it down to the Maxima, Passat, Grand Prix, Concorde, & the Trep. Couldn't see why I should spend $5k more on basically the same options...so left was the Grand Prix, Concorde, & Trep. Like the roominess and trunk space in the Concorde & Trep better for (child seat, stroller, econosize packages of diapers...) So went to all the local Chrysler & Dodge dealers and found the exact one with all the options I wanted. CHA CHING! Bought our silver ES last Saturday and the future looks bright.
So far, my wife and I love it and have had no problems (knocking on wood). We don't mind the road noise at all. (I don't think there are any cars as loud as a soft-top jeep!) She likes having an automatic, and the autostick compensates for my performance needs.
Looking forward to reading more of this thread...
BTW...didn't trade anything in. I am a Jeeper and the Golf gets great MPH.
I went back an re-read that message. I guess you're right. It does seem like an awful lot of things that have gone wrong for only 39,000 miles. As for that structural integrity damage- maybe it rusted out? I assume he's from Canada since he mentions kilometers. Maybe they use a lot of salt on the roads up there and he doesn't wash the underbody? It is worse then Christine! LOL....I have 32,000+ miles now. Looks like she'll be going BEFORE the lease ends in June. Don't want her when she reaches 36,000 miles with no warranty.
fastdriver
hey, how long was your lease? 3yr/36k. will you get dinged for turning the car in early?
Lease was for 3 years, 45,000 miles! Too bad they don't extend the warranty for the extra miles. No penalities for early return. I have the other lease option. Forget what it's called, but the car is in my name and I pay the property taxes myself. All I have to do is pay the remaining payments from now until May. No payment for June.
Yes, copperhead1, unlike you, Christine has been the WORST car that I have ever owned.
fastdriver
for our grandparents. Friends & relatives are going to spoil this kid rotten.
I still like mine just as much today as when I got it over 18 months ago!!
I just made a decision that's going to have a big impact on my Intrepid's projected lifespan. I quit delivering pizzas on Saturday nite. So now my average miles per year should drop from around 30K+ to around 12-13K.
It's a relief, too, because I was already tbinking about on what car I might get to replace the Intrepid. I planned on trading in at just under 100K miles, when the extended warranty runs out. I'm just over 32K miles now.
Pobre, I'm sure you'll love your ES. Mine is a base model, and suits me fine. I could use a bit more power, and wish I had a power seat (I'm tall and need the legroom), but other than that I'm happy with it. Just curious, what did you think of the Grand Prix? I kind of like them too, but never looked at one seriously. For less than the sticker on the base Intrepid (I have trouble calling the '01's "SE", because that's traditionally a top-line luxury badge) it looks like the base Grand Prix (also the "SE") had ABS and alloy rims, and a larger (but lower hp) 3.4 engine. I bought my Y2K Intrepid one day when we went to the dealer's service center to pick up my uncle's truck. They started talking numbers on the Intrepid that sounded too good to be true, so I jumped on it.
It's been a great car so far...and hopefully it will continue to be.
-Andre
Anyways, the symptoms were when the car was cold, the first time I shifted into drive, it would coast in drive, but when you gave it gas, it would act like it was in neutral. Only did it once. The service manager diagnosed the throttle body valve, but the tech who fixed the car said it diagnosed as a bad transmission pump. They replaced that, but it still did the same thing, so they decided to replace the entire unit.
All I can say is it shifts better, and no problems. I really, really missed my R/T, it is a terrific car, especially with the discounts this fall.
been a while since i've checked in. no other problems to report. just rolled over 7K miles.
I was under the impression that Chrysler had cured the transmission problems on the new flock, might just be too good to be true.
I was told by my dealer they also cured the paint problems, from what I can determine my Intrepid is not the only one (three years old) with the peeling / flaking / rusting problem.
I don't intend to spend alot of time attempting to obtain any compensation from Chrysler, I will probably just unload it and let my memory record been there, done that, learned my lesson, and move on.
I ran into the tranny tech who fixed it when he was getting coffee. He said it diagnosed as a bad tranny pump, replaced it, and it still had the same problem. He thought it may be a bad case, so I got a new tranny. He also told me they have had much fewer problems with the redesign in 98, in fact, he has only rebuilt four of the 98 & newers, mine was the first 2000 he did.
If it makes anyone think differently, my friend's mother had the tranny in her 98 Lexus 300 replaced when it was brand new as well. Happens occasionally, I guess.
I really missed the car. It was disconcerting, but time will tell. It is a great car to drive.
Just harassing you
This could not have come at a worse time since I am shopping around for a deal on a 2001 Intrepid R/T. Dealers are now stating that they cannot deal on a car that is not being made, at least temporarily. I have to order the car anyway, it just might take a little longer. The demand has not changed, just the supply and R/Ts were not in high demand in my area to begin with. My price has not and will not change. I may just have to go with another car brand if the Dodge dealers don't come around; so much for staying a Dodge buyer!
EK
They might be doing you a favor in the long run.
fastdriver
I only leased the 300 for 3 years. I took the 15,000 miles a year just in case I went over the 12,000 a year. WHO was EVER thinking about quality? I never had a car where something went wrong AFTER the basic warranty. I usually lease for 3 years, except for my 90 Riv which was for 4 years.
fastdriver