Engine Belts And Pulleys problems of the 1998 Dodge Stratus

1998 Dodge Stratus faulty head gasket.

At approx 60,000 miles my 1998 Dodge Stratus, developed an oil leak at the head gasket, a cracked exhaust manifold, a timing belt tensioner and cover that have failed, a leaking water pump that needs replacing. My mechanic estimates $2150. 00 to replace and repair all these items. To top this off my mechanic tells me that it will take 2 to 3 weeks to get the timing belt tensioner and cover because there's a big back order on these items. Meanwhile I'm without a car! by reveiwing the complaints on the web, I see that this vehicle's head gasket was redesigned by Chrysler since 1998, also the timing belt tensioner has been redesigned. The car has been great up to this point. However I feel, all these recent problems are clearly pre-mature especially since Chrysler has had to redesign the head gasket and tensioner in order to correct the problems with these items. Should there not be a recall on the 1998 Dodge Stratus for all these breakdowns? do I have any recourse on this? could you please help out. Thank you.

Timing belt tensioner broke while driving full speed on the freeway. The engine stalled and I was lucky to get to the side of the road safely. Now the car has been at the shop for two weeks and Dodge states the parts are not in production and unavailable until a later unknown date. I have been told that the part is being remanufactured to eliminate the problem, but the new part hasn't been produced yet. There is not a date set for when the part will be available. Dodge obviously knew the part was defective or they would not have improved it for replacement. Why was my safety put at risk for a part they knew was a problem?.

Engine serpentine belt was frayed.

I have had numerous problems with this vehicle, other than those listed, plus there is much more information to support the problems I have listed. I have experienced a heater core failure, brakes replaced already twice on the vehicle with less than 40,000 miles on the car. I have had a defective seat belt (passenger), the timing chain is a major engine repair that I just had down. Now I am still dealing with the residule prodblem with my heating/defrost since k & m replaced my water pump on 10/17/01. Overall I consider this car to be a real piece of crap and I absolutely would never buy another Stratus and in fact, I will never buy another Chrysler vehicle ever. I feel I have stung with a lemon and basically I no legal recourse which is very unfair to me, the consumer. I am still paying on this piece of crap. If nothing else, I hope to warn anybody else, please do your homework ahead of time and don't buy a Dodge Stratus. Any assistance NHTSA might offer would be greatly appreciated. I can provide any documentation and detail that you require. Thank you.

I took my car in because I needed to have the brakes repaired as a regular item of repair, secondary to wear and tear. This was early in December 2000. The mechanic also checked over the car and reported that as with many 1998 Dodge Stratus' I will need to keep an eye on the cylinder head gasket. The mechanic also informed me that I should check with the dealer and see if this item has yet been recalled. I then had no problems for the next few weeks when I was turning around a corner slowly and an awful noise occurred. I then parked the car and when I returned I had a large oil leak on the ground. I scheduled an appointment with my trusted mechanic and they checked it over when they noticed that the head gasket needed replacing, the entire pulley system was seizing up and needed replacing and my manifold needs to be replaced. The cost of this was $1,000 and that was without replacing the manifold, as I could not afford it at that time. I have called the dealership and they reported that they would have to schedule an appointment to look at the car, submit a claim to the regional manager of daimler Chrysler and they have been known to help out with approx. $200. Of the repairs. Well since I was in the process of moving to GA from CA and had to stay on schedule I was unable to stay back for the appointment which wasn't until a week later. Upone my request for the name and number of the regional manager of daimler Chrysler, they said , I cannot give that information to you. We are the only ones with this information and you must bring to car in for us to inspect. When I asked them if this inpection would cost, they reported, depending upon the tests needed. I knew that financially, even if I was approved for $200 assistance I was better off getting this fixed by a trusted less expensive mechanic and fight the battle later. Clearly a vehicle with 70,000 hwy miles, with oil changes every 3,500 miles should not need a new manifold, a new pulley system and all new gaskets.

Engine serpentine belt failure.