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Dodge Stratus

489 messages,  Last post on Oct 02, 2012 at 3:25 PM

You are in the Dodge Stratus Forum.

What is this discussion about? Dodge Stratus, Sedan

Messages Page 16 of 49

#149 of 489 Annoying whine by jal012773

Jan 14, 2004 (1:28 pm)

My wife and I just purchased a 2004 Stratus R/T sedan. Beautiful car, good handling, good comfort. We have noticed an annoying whine in the motor that increases in volume with the reving of the engine. The dealer has put two new alternators on the car to fix the problem, but the whine is still there. The mechanic told me the whine is characteristic of the R/T. That seems strange considering it has the same engine as the other Stratus trim lines except the SXT. We have just over 1,000 miles on the car, it is our first Dodge, and so far, our last. Has anyone else noticed this whine in their Stratus? One of the mechanics told me it was a characteristic of this car.

#150 of 489 re: annoying whine by lngtonge18

Jan 14, 2004 (7:28 pm)

Are you sure the whine is coming from the engine and not the transmission? If you put the car in neutral or park and rev the engine, do you still hear the noise?

#151 of 489 Just bought a 1999 Stratus ES by bronc1031

Jan 16, 2004 (10:45 pm)

Great car so far. The body and interior look sharp. Transmission sounds and runs great. Breaks are solid. Engine is clean...whole car is clean from top to bottom. Handles very well. Wow.
 
However, I'm concerned about 2 things:
 
1) 90k miles. Carfax looks clean. Again - runs great - and I want to keep it that way. What can I expect if I maintain it regularly? I don't have much of an idea on what type of maintenace its had other than from the dealership. Are there any maintenance issues I should focus on?
 
2) Snow. There has been some concern by previous members on this forum about the performance of the 1999 Stratus in the snow. I live in Denver and commute to Wyoming once a month so this is a concern for me. Are snow tires an approptiate measure?
 
Thank you for any responses in advance.

#152 of 489 annoying whine by jal012773

Jan 19, 2004 (7:07 am)

I checked for the whine in both park and neutral and the whine was present in both. Payed closer attention, and the whine is barely audible once I have reached cruising speed, but any kind of acceleration increases the volume of the whine so much that it is very noticeable over the radio. I don't really know much about cars so any help would be appreciated. Could this whine have anything to do with the autostic, because the two cars we test drove before buying this one did not have either the autostic or the whine. The whine sounds more electrical than mechanical, if that makes sense.

#153 of 489 04 Stratus by p100

Jan 23, 2004 (8:42 pm)

I just spent two days driving a new rental Dodge Stratus. The car had 2 miles on the odometer when I got it. I had mostly pleasant experience with the car, except for the following: The seatbelts are out of the way when you enter the vehicle and close the door and you must reach way behind the seat to grab the seatbelt. This was getting annoying. I got about 26 MPG overall on a mixed city/highway driving trip. The visibility over the front fender humps is not good and this can be a problem when turning in tight quarters. You can easily hit the curb because you cannot judge the position of the front wheel. The seat comfort is mediocre. Engine power is adequate for a large 4 cylinder, but not overwhelming either. I am used to driving 6 cylinder cars with a manual transmission and I immediately discovered this 4 cylinder car weakness: When accelerating rapidly onto a freeway around 70 MPH, the power is simply not there. Same in quick passing situations. You better plan ahead.

#154 of 489 Annoying whine is gone by jal012773

Feb 06, 2004 (7:38 am)

The annoying whine in my Stratus R/T sedan is finally gone, along with the seat belt rattle and the hard shifts back to Park from Autostic. What fixed the problem? I traded the piece of junk in for a GM car. I have never been so disappointed in a car or it's manufacturer customer service. There will never be another Dodge/Chrysler product in this family again.

#155 of 489 Heater core replaced at 49k miles by kitty44

Feb 26, 2004 (2:25 am)

I got my 2000 Stratus in December 2003 and was very happy with it; especially after my son exchanged the outdated cassette player for a new CD player as a Christmas present. Then in January a "film" developed on the windows that I couldn't get rid of. Then I began to smell antifreeze inside the car. A local car repair chain diagnosed the problem as a bad heater core. I was given two options: Fix it, $500 or bypass the heater and live without heat or defrost for $100. I chose the later, thinking it wasn't that cold in Las Vegas, but quickly found I did need the defroster. The Dodge dealer wanted $898 to fix it. Luckily, a co-worker's husband offered to fix it for $250 and the price of the part ($135). I get it back tomorrow and hopefully will enjoy driving it again. PS I agree with everyone else... the cup holders in the front are useless.

#156 of 489 Vote now! by pat

Mar 05, 2004 (10:28 am)

Consumers' Most Wanted Vehicles for 2004 Survey is posted and ready for your input!

#157 of 489 2004 Stratus Coupe R/T problems by pensfan

Mar 23, 2004 (9:10 am)

I would like to find out if anyone else is having problems with this car. The problem I am having is after you start the car and let run for a few min, shut off the car and let it sit for 30 min. I get a noise on the restart of the car. The noise sounds like metal rubbing metal also like a pump is running dry.The noise comes from the rear of the car. When this happens the tac drops to 200 rpm and starts to run rough.
 
 I have yet to get the dodge dealership to fix this problem. They claim they could not get it to duplicate 5 times I took it in. On the 6th attempt they claimed it was a fuel pump making the noise.
 
Since the last attempt to fix it I have had this problem happen 5 more times.
 
I have also had a radiator replaced and my alignment will not stay in place.
 
Other then that I love the looks and ride of the car. I got the car with every option you can get. I get a lot of looks in the car and when you wash and wax the car man does it stand out. I got the car for $21,000 msrp was $29,000.
 
I have only seen a few of the cars on the road.
 
Thanks for the help

#158 of 489 Side Airbags by silverae

Apr 29, 2004 (8:53 pm)

Do the 2003 versions of the Stratus (either Sedan or Coupe) come with side airbags?

Messages Page 16 of 49

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