2005 Dodge Stratus

2005 DODGE STRATUS SEDAN 4 DOOR AUTOMATIC 2.7 W LESS THAN 60K MILES. REVERSE WENT OUT AFTER WHAT I THINK WAS A CLINKING SOUND NEAR THE FRONT. IT DRIVES NORMALLY, JUST DOES NOTHING IN REVERSE. IF THE CAR IS PARKED IT WILL ROLL BACKWARDS IF THE CAR IS ON A INCLINE. TRANSMISSION REBUILD IS MORE THAN THE CAR IS WORTH. THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL. SO MANY DODGE TRANSMISSION ISSUES, THEY ARE LOSING MANY CUSTOMERS.

THIS ISSUE HAS HAPPENED TO MY 2005 DODGE STRATUS 3 TIMES, ALREADY. I HAVE A MANUAL TRANSMISSION AND APPROXIMATELY, EVERY 22,000 TO 24,000 MILES MY CLUTCH WEARS OUT. THE WARRANTY ON THE PART OF COURSE ONLY LASTS 12,000 MILES. THE FIRST TIME IT COST ME OVER $1,600 FOR PARTS AND LABOR JUST TO HAVE THE CLUTCH REPLACED AT THE DEALER. FOR THE SECOND TIME, I TOOK IT TO A LOCAL SHOP AND GOT THE COST DOWN TO ABOUT $1,100. THE THIRD AND MOST RECENT TIME OCCURRED IN MARCH OF 2008. ONCE AGAIN THE CLUTCH STOPPED LOCKING GEARS INTO PLACE, RENDERING THE VEHICLE COMPLETELY UNDRIVABLE. THIS TIME I ORDERED A PART MYSELF AND HAD A FRIEND INSTALL IT FOR ME. THE PART I ORDERED HAS A LIFETIME WARRANTY, SO NEEDLESS TO SAY, I FEEL A LITTLE MORE CONFIDENT THIS TIME. MY POINT HERE, IS THE STANDARD CLUTCH USED BY DODGE IS OBVIOUSLY A SUB-STANDARD PART, NOT WORTHY OF INSTALLATION INTO ANY VEHICLE. ONE'S CLUTCH SHOULD NOT GO OUT 3 TIMES IN AS MANY YEARS. I BOUGHT MY CAR BRAND NEW JUST OVER 3 YEARS AGO NOW AND IT DOES NOT YET HAVE 75,000 MILES ON IT. I DO NOT DRIVE IT POORLY AND GRIND THE CLUTCH. I SHOULD NOT BE ON MY FOURTH CLUTCH IN THE VEHICLE. IF YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE A MANUAL TRANSMISSION IN ANY DODGE AND ARE READING THIS COMPLAINT, I WOULD RECOMMEND EXTREME CAUTION AND IF YOU DO END UP HAVING A PROBLEM, ABSOLUTELY DO NOT TAKE IT TO THE DEALER. YOU'LL JUST END UP SPENDING $1,000 OR MORE A YEAR FROM THERE ON. *TR

SOMETIME AROUND THE MIDDLE OF MARCH 2008, AFTER STARTING MY CAR I EXITED TO RETRIEVE SOMETHING FROM THE TRUNK WHEN I NOTICED THAT THERE WAS A LOUD CLICKING NOISE COMING FROM THE ENGINE. AFTER CLOSE INSPECTION I WAS UNABLE TO DETECT WHERE THE SOUND WAS COMING FROM. I EVENTUALLY TOOK IT TO PEP BOYS AND THEY INFORMED ME THAT IT APPEARED TO BE THE FLYWHEEL. AND WITH ONLY 33,355 MILE I SHOULDN'T BE HAVING THAT PROBLEM. DAYS LATER I TOOK MY '05 DODGE STRATUS TO AAMCO AND THEY CONFIRMED THAT IT WAS THE FLEX PLATE (FLYWHEEL). I FINALLY DROVE TO THE DEALER TO COMPLAIN. THE MECHANICS THERE ALSO CONFIRMED THE PROBLEM BUT REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE MILEAGE MAY READ THEIR COMPUTER SHOWS MY WARRANTY HAD EXPIRED IN SEPTEMBER 2007. THIS PROBLEM MAY HAVE STARTED LONG BEFORE I NOTICED IT BUT SINCE I DRIVE WITH MY WINDOWS UP AND MY RADIO ON ALL THE TIME, I HEARD NOTHING. I WAS INFORMED BY ONE OF THE TECHNICIANS, THAT I NEED TO GET IT REPAIRED SOON BECAUSE THE FLEX PLATE COULD EVENTUALLY DAMAGE THE STARTER. I'M HAVING THIS REPAIRED TUESDAY, APRIL 8, 2008. I'M ALSO KEEPING ALL PARTS THAT NEED TO BE REPLACED. *TR