Owners have filed 4,690 complaints on the Dodge Intrepid, covering 1993–2004. The system named most often is Engine And Engine Cooling (1,990 reports). Worst years by volume: 2000, 1999, 1994; cleanest: 2003, 2004, 2002. 248 reports describe a crash, 146 a fire, 12 a death. On average the car was 4.7 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Dodge Intrepid
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 4,690 Intrepid complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Engine And Engine Cooling 1,990 Read
The contact owns a 2001 dodge intrepid. While exiting from the freeway at 30 mph the engine locked. The vehicle was towed home, not sure of current or failure mileage, or incident date. The vehicle had not been looked at by a dealer, and the vehicle had no prior repairs done besides oil changes
My car temperature gauge showed it over heating, I pull hood to let air in as I was driving to work, the cooling system never kicked in, and 10 mins later as I pulled into work my car blew up while sitting inside
My 2004 dodge intrepid was in an accident. Over 5 miles per hour front end damage. Air bags did not deploy. When car insurance looked at car said motor seized at the scene of accident but not from accident. Terrible car,terrible auto insurance. Now paying for a car that is sitting at a garage
Steering 413 Read
My 18 year old daughter was killed in an automobile accident involving a dodge intrepid. We are investigating to see if there was a steering failure. She would have lived had her seat belt not failed. Her seat was reclined and as a result she slid under the seat belt causing her injuries. Why is there no warning that…
We are writing to let you know of a major car fire that occurred in our dodge intrepid. The driver was driving on the interstate. The hot/cold needle began moving up and down. Then the brakes gave out. Then, the power steering gave out. The car started smoking producing black chemical smoke into the cabin. Then, fire…
When driving vehicle and making a left turn steering wheel will turn, but wheel won't follow through. Connection is not able to impact. Consumer was traveling about 35mph on highway, went to turn vehicle left, and vehicle went straight. He ended up in a ditch
Power Train 293 Read
Dt: the contact owns a 2004 dodge intrepid. The contact stated that while the vehicle was in park it began to roll down hill while attempting to exit the vehicle. The consumer tried to get back into the vehicle but could not act quickly enough to prevent the vehicle from causing damage to itself and another vehicle.…
The contact owns a 2004 dodge intrepid. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked when it rolled away from a residential driveway and crashed into a mailbox. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The mechanic advised the contact that the gear shift interlock needed to be…
Consumer complained about a transmission problem. Consumer smelled smoke, and there were flames under the vehicle. There was epoxy sealant where the fire started
Fuel System 235 Read
The contact owns a 1999 dodge intrepid. While driving 40 mph, the contact's vehicle was struck head-on by an oncoming vehicle and immediately caught fire. Another driver pulled over and removed the passenger from the vehicle before it ignited into flames. The driver was fatally injured. The passenger sustained closed…
I was involved in a 45 mph side collision with a pole after hydroplaning and my vehicle burst into flames killing my 15 month old daughter 3 years ago. My lawyers say it was what they believe was a defect in the vehicle or a bad design
Driving vehicle on exit 73 in lisbon,md. When acceleration halts and car will not accelerate over 60mph and was steadily decreasing. As I pulled off the exit, the car stalled and the battery light came on, then the engine light and then the transmission light, proceeding was all lights in the car blacked out and the…
Service Brakes 172 Read
Upon hitting a deer t electrical box split open, and caused a fire, burning entire car. Airbags did not go off, and anti-lock brakes locked up for at least 6 feet
The driver's side power window didn't go down, the passenger's side power window operates intermittently. The window motor must be replaced. *ak the anti-lock brakes were inoperative, and dodge neglected to repair an oil valve which caused the engine to fail. *sc *jb the vehicle was involved in a fender bender after…
While driving under normal driving conditions brakes weren't functioning properly. The brakes felt spongy, and were hard to depress. A few minutes after parking and exiting the vehicle it burst into flames. Consumer noticed several other complaints related to brakes and brake line fires
Air Bags 150 Read
The contact owned a 2004 dodge intrepid. While driving approximately 70 mph, a deer jumped in front of the vehicle and caused the contact to strike the animal. In addition, the front of the vehicle caught fire and the air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The fire department extinguished the fire. There…
Consumer impacted at 12:00 at 45 mph, air bag failed to deploy
Dt: consumer's vehicle was involved in an accident on friday. It rear ended a car that stopped on the highway on ramp. Upon impact, the air bags did not deploy. Also, the sons' seat belt in the back seat came unbuckled, but he was not in it at the time. No air bag light came on, or had any prior problems with the seat…
Electrical System 133 Read
My 2001 dodge intrepid electrical system caused the vehicle to catch on fire. There was no accident. Aaa insurance company's origin's inspector said it was due to faulty wiring. I never had any electrical type work done to the car. The car was totaled. Luckily, my son and I were able to get out of the car in time
My name is [xxx]. November 2005 I have bought dodge intrepid 2.7 l sedan 2001 - to help my wife moving safely. I have spent all my savings for it. At the beginning of january 2006 I had problem with the engine .engine was blown up (mechanic told me engine is completely broken and is no possibilities to repair it.) I…
While traveling on highway vehicle started smoking from engine compartment. Vehicle caught on fire . Dealership was aware of problem
Suspension 110 Read
- the contact owns a 2003 dodge intrepid with a current and failure mileage of 58,000 the contact was driving under normal dry conditions about 55 mph when the vehicle pulled hard to left and hit a tree. Prior to the crash the contact felt the vehicle shaking. The contact got out and looked at the vehicle and found…
Police department operated four 2007 dodge intrepids, 4 doors, police packages. Two of the vehicles experienced multiple rear strut failures with in a 12 month period. One vehicle experienced a failure during an emergency response that resulted in the officer losing control of the vehicle, wrecking and totaling the…
Consumer was in an accident traveling 70mph. Accident damaged right front corner panel, every thing electrical was knocked out, air bags didn't deploy, 2-3 inch crease right underneath left head light. Since accident fuel emissions light has been off and on. Vehicle has been in 5 times since first week in november.…
Intrepid years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Air Bags | 9 | 5 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 3 | 5 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 4 | 5 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 15 | 15 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 29 | 18 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 32 | 11 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 24 | 9 | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | 21 | 17 | |
| 1996 | Air Bags | 20 | 19 | |
| 1995 | Air Bags | 34 | 20 | |
| 1994 | Air Bags | 37 | 15 | |
| 1993 | Air Bags | 20 | 7 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 1,006 |
| Average complaints per series | 4.7 |
| Worst single series | 72 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 4.7 years |
A model average of 4.7 hides a worst series at 72. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
- No ads, on every page
- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Intrepid?
By complaint volume, 2000, 1999, 1994 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Intrepid years are the cleanest?
2003, 2004, 2002 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Dodge Intrepid have?
4,690 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1993–2004. Of those, 248 describe a crash and 146 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.