Posted: 10/8/2002 12:11:39 PM EDT
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Anyone own one of these? I am thinking of buying one of these things and was wondering what you thought of them? Had any problems with it? What is the difference between the Stratus and the Breeze (besides the name)? |
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They are good little cars, no major problems. They have been criticized for not having as much power as some of their Japanese competators. When the Breeze was still a Plymouth you could not get a V6 in it. Only 4cyls. The Dodge you could get both. It may have changed now that all the Plymouth models are now Chryslers. |
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My wife has a 2000 stratus es (v6) w/leather and all the fixens. She bought it brand new 2 months before we meet. While it was under warranty the transmission was making funny noises, the brakes pulsated, the headlights would not turn off and rear power windows did not work. After three visits to the Dodge dealer they managed to replace most of the steering system but not do a damn thing about anything else. At about 42k (warranty expired) I had to replace all the drive belts, rear axle, all four rotors and brakes, tires, alternator, radiator core, window switch, transmission fluid went bad and had to buy that high dollar mopar crap...... To this day I have put a total of $4000 into that thing on repairs. Keep in mind that this car is driven 60 miles per day. (Highway) In order to change the spark plugs on the V6 you have to take off the intake manifold requiring a new gasket and about three hours. A friend of mine has the same car and the same reported problems. His car however is approaching 212k miles. In my opinion the only good thing about the Stratus V6 is the Mitsubishi engine block. |
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Personally I would not consider any Chrysler products. I had an LHS for three years, and by the time I got rid of it, the ABS system was non functional, the A/C system was leaking somewhere, I had put a new water pump (known problem) and new throttle body injection system in it. A friend bought a '99 LHS against my recommendation, and has had recurring problems with the transmission, A/C, wheel bearings, and power windows. I'm washing my hands of Chrysler until they can improve their reliability. Edited to say, I forgot about this: I have known several co-workers and extended family who have had to replace their transmissions... most of them owned Intrepids. |
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Uh, ken the only engine offered in the LHS was the 3.5L 24 valve six- and it was multipoint fuel enjection, not throttle body fuel injection. Do you mean they had to replace the throttle butterfly? A Chrysler product is far and away better than a Ford product. The dealership my Dad works at sells and services both lines, he spends far and away the most time working on Fords. Whats worse, the Fords do not stay fixed. When they have to fix a Chrysler it leaves fixed, they never see them again for the same problem. The Fords they know they will see again because they are simply replacing a broken defective part with a unbroken defective part that will break in a few weeks or months. |
| I've had a 2001 Stratus RT since they hit the streets. It's been totally reliable and fun to drive. This was my first sorta US (actually it's a Mitsubishi) in many years and I chose it because it was more comfortable and had better performance than the BMWs, SAABs and Volvos I had been driving. |
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Quoted:
Uh, ken the only engine offered in the LHS was the 3.5L 24 valve six- and it was multipoint fuel enjection, not throttle body fuel injection. Do you mean they had to replace the throttle butterfly? I'm just repeating what the dealer told me. I have no clue what the hell it had, personally. FWIW, I have a '97 Continental, and it has been rock solid reliable since I've had it. |
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I've got a '97 Stratus. It is a great little car. 2.5L V-6 has enough power to keep you happy, unless you are racing. It is 4-door, comfortable and reliable. My Stratus has 97,000 miles on it and have had no problems with it. It is a great car for the money. It is easily a better deal than a foreign car. |
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My ex-wife and I had a Stratus that we bought new in 1996. As far as I was concerned, it was a great car - super value for the money and we never had a problem. Of course, after the divorce, in which she got pretty much EVRYTHING I owned [:(] I heard from her that the front axel ended up having to be replaced. I have no idea what that means, or what she (or her brother) did to the car. But as far as all the time I drove it (about 2 years) there were zero problems with it. The new car I bought afterwards was a 1998 Honda Accord, and I had nothing but problems with it - go figure. All little stuff, nothing major, but very irritating. |
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Quoted: I've had a 2001 Stratus RT since they hit the streets. It's been totally reliable and fun to drive. This was my first sorta US (actually it's a Mitsubishi) in many years and I chose it because it was more comfortable and had better performance than the BMWs, SAABs and Volvos I had been driving. All Daimler-Chrysler products are "sorta" US since Daimler Benz merged with them. Corporate headquarters is it Stuttgart now, not Detroit. Cirrus/Stratus/Breeze models are built in the US though. The 2.5L V6 is a Mitsubishi engine, but the 2.4L four and the newer 2.7L V6 are Chrysler motors. That makes less difference now as DC now owns Mitsubishi outright. |
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General rules about Chrysler products: 1) Mitsubishi engines are good IN MITSUBISHI PRODUCTS.... 2) The Intrepid's do have tranmission problems 3) Be leary when they start putting MBz engines in Chrysler products... be very leary IMHO... If you think its expensive now........ 4) Stick with the U.S. engines and rear wheel drive if possible NOTE: Many Chrysler cars will be returning to rear wheel drive next year (YEAH! I don't care much for FWD). |
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What transmission problems do Intrepids have? The Chrysler 4 speed auto makes a noise that they have spent a fortune trying to eliminate but it doesn't effect how it runs. If a Intrepid has a transmission problem, so does the Concord, 300M, and the minivans for that matter. Same gearbox. |