Three problems related to power steering fluid have been reported for the 1999 Dodge Stratus. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Fire under hood due to leaking power steering fluid hose, received recall notice in mail weeks after incident. Was fire department dispatched. Sold car to tow company for 150. 00 on October 9. Reported this to Chrysler dealership to try get money we paid for car. But they could not locate car to do inspection. We have several pics of car after it burned. Recall state that the defect in power steering hose was leaking on motor and igniting causing an under the hood fire.
I bought my 1999 Dodge Stratus 2. 4l in September 2006 from the original owner with 145,000 miles. In may 2007, I had the valve covers and cam sensor wiring replaced due to oil leakage and rotted wiring (unrelated to one another). The car seemed to slowly leak power steering fluid but the mechanic was unable to identify a problem. On 7/29/2007 after a 50 mile drive, the car caught fire under the hood in front of the driver's passenger compartment after being parked for a short time. The vehicle is a total loss.
1. During a regular motor oil change on a specialized center, they noted a low level of power steering fluid, and suggested me to fill the power steering canister. 2. Power steering leak over the manifold, white smoke came from around the hood after a trip. When I arrived home, a lot of white smoke and pieces of don't know what were on fire under the car. The mechanism to open the hood failed and we were not able to extinguish the fire. 3. No time to correct failure, the hood.