Owners' Stories

We have a 99 Stratus we bought new with a v 6 & we love it. I change the oil every 3,000 miles, & rotate the tires every other oil change. It has 150,000 miles on it & still gets 29 MPG on the highway.

217000 miles.This car has been a jewell!!! It had 60,000 when I bought it. The A/C pump went at 15000. Timing belt had never been replaced till 216000. Brakes, oil, lube, just regular maintainance. 32mpg on the hiway. The fan control switch only works on hi but for the miles, it's always been on. 2 years old when I bought it. You couldn't give me my money back for it now. I'll have it resprayed and completelly gone thru in the spring. Hoping for another quarter million miles. I add Dura Lube every 20,000 miles. No oil use between changes. I bought it 9-11-01, the day the towers went down. Ronnzo

My 1999 Stratus has over 218,000 miles on it and it is still running strong, needs new tie rod ends and shocks though...very reliable car

My grandmother gave this to me as soon as I got my license! This thing has been sitting in front of a barn for about a year and a half to two years. Ever since I had it, it's been running like a TANK!!! The only things that needed to be replaced were the catalytic converter (much more expensive in California because we're all hippies), the brakes, and now the oil pan so I'm loving this thing more and more! Definitely a gem of a normal, casual 4-door.

Since I purchased this vehicle we have had to replace so much it should have been left where it was. I will never buy another Dodge Stratus. The purchase price is very reasonable but you more than make up for it in repair costs. If it isn't one thing it is another. I liked the cars ride, size, and gas mileage. In order to make it worth the cost it needs to be able to stay on the road and running. I baby my vehicles so it isn't becaue it gets treated rough.

overall my car is GREAT! I have had no major problems other than an a/c compressor going out! Powerful V6 with autostick is fun to drive, suspension is tight like a sports car! Great stereo system, great gas mileage, an all around smooth handling car! Has 156,000 on it now, last stratus made it to 225,000 before handing key to my son, hope this one goes as long and seems that it may! Only complaints would be dim headlights and the problems with the heat/ac switch going out all the time! Just upgrade to HID lighting and really improved the visibility of headlights alot! Very good car, but I guess I'm lucky to have had three and all of them have been great cars! Don't know what others have done with their stratus' but apparently they don't know how to properly maintain a car( fixing things before they break!)

MY SON-IN-LAW FIRST HAD THIS CAR AND I TOOK IT OVER. THEY HAD TO PUT HEAD GASKETS IN IT WHEN THEY HAD IT AND IT ALREADY NEEDS MORE HEAD GASKETS. IT ALSO PROBABLY NEED A WATER PUMP. OVER ALL IT RUNS GREAT, GETS GOOD GAS MILEAGE BUT OTHER THAN THAT THE HEAD GASKETS COST AGOUT 800 DOLLARS TO REPLACE AND THAT IS ESTIMATES FROM THREE PLACES. THE ENGINE SETS SIDEWAYS AND NOBODY REALLY WANTS TO WORK ON IT. I DOUBT THAT I WOULD HAVE ANOTHER ONE.

havent had any problem with this vehicle except for the normal wear and tear

I have a 2000 Dodge Stratus. It's a nice looking car and very comfortable. I've had it for years now and the only major fixes were to replace a water pump, rotters, and the gas hose neck. At over 265, 000 miles my car is still a great running, dependable car!

4-Door, 2.5 V6, Autostick. Best car we've ever owned (better and more comfortable than the 03 Buick Rendezvous we had). Originally bought it in 2000 with about 25k miles on it (it had been a Budget Rental Car). Earlier this year at 170k miles, we replaced timing belt, plugs, wires, distributor, crankshaft position sensor, and brakes. Still has original shocks and other suspension components. Now has 185k and still runs perfectly.

i have a 2000 dodge stratus and while driving i felt the car shifting funny and noticed my speedometer jumping then the speedometer stopped working completely and transmission would not shift out of low gear.i have an automatic transmission and i believe its something to do with the transmission control module but not sure how to find out for sure which part it is,the fuse,relay or the tcm.any help would be appreciated.thanks,andy

i have had my 1999 stratus for 3 years.have 121000 mile an still going strong.no complaints just had to replace water pump an belts,other than that its been a good car.

In May 2001 I bought my dodge used with no more than 20Kmiles, really good shape the exterior color was not to good to say. I have over 180K miles on it now and the only major problem i have with it now is that i need to replace the AC compressor. I love it and would buy another one if i got the chance. Spacious smooth riding not to expensive to fix. Overall Good Car for ME =)

I bought this car from a friend and it was great for the first month. it had 105,xxx miles when i purchased and within a month the fule pump went out and left me stranded. Then a few months later I had to replace all the bearings and tie rod ends. A week after that the piston rod started knocking and then a massive transmission leak! It always shifted bad and felt like it was always in second gear. Horrible turning radius for a small car and very little power. The body is completely shot due to rust and the suspention is rough. These cars are money pits and I have always kept up on regular oil changes/tune ups. They are known to throw a rod or the trani's go before they hit 150,000. I guess Im just used to my hondas, but this car is a nightmare!

I bought this car at 20K mileage in 2004. I am now at 93.5K five years later. I have always had any required maintanence done and in a timely manner, including all the oil changes. According to the records from my dealer, who has done all of my repairs and maintenance since purchase, some sort of tranny work was done prior to my purchase. The tranny went again just prior to my extended warranty end mileage of 75K (whew). The gas gauge stopped working properly and had to be replaced. Other than that I think I've pretty much just had to have brake work, front end alignment and those types of things as normal repair/maintenance over the life of my car. City mpg 20 - 22 and Highway mpg 27 - 29. It has on the high end of decent pickup power when passing. Overall I'm pleased with the performance of this vehicle. I like being able to put one or both of the back seats forward to put longer items in the trunk/back seat so I don't have to find someone with a truck to bring home something tall that I can lift myself. It's a decent car and my dealer does a good job of taking care of it so I expect it to last several years yet.

I bought this car 3 years ago. It ran pretty good up until the past year. I always do tune ups and my oil changes. It has only 70,000 miles on it and its had a major oil leak from head gasket, steering arm, tiers, ball joints have all had to be replaced. The brakes suck I've had them done 4 times. The car is as loud as a truck, the heater makes a whistling sound when on, loses power, and when it rains I get big puddles of water on the passenger floors front and back and my windshield sealing is perfect, and the list goes on. What the hell I swear everyday its something else. I would not recommend this vehicle to nobody.

leased this car new in March of 2004 I have 67000 miles on it and love it. After the lease i bought it.

This car is a bunch of trouble to begin with. If you go to www.autobeef.com and select it, you will see why I rated this car so poorly.