The rubber bushings that hold the rack and pinion power steering to the frame have worn out and this makes the steering of the car extremely loose, (excessive play). I have been told that the repair costs between $800.00 and $1000.00.
1996 Dodge Intrepid steering complaints
Page 4 of 6: complaints 71 to 100 of 153, newest first, as owners wrote them.
In cold weather (under 40 f) after the first couple of years the steering makes loud banging noises when wheels are turned for the first 10 minutes after startup. Cause: rack & pinion bushings dry out. Ultimate risk: steering will loosen over time. Cure: on 1996 model only, bushings are not replaceable. Entire rack must be replaced at a cost of $1200. Poor design means 1) potential for steering failure 2) warm-weather drivers won't have any warning 3) price discourages repair. This could turn into a problem as these cars age.
This is supplemental to odi no. 736871 - further examination of parts indicates that neither set of bolt retaining tabs had been set at the factory- allowing both tie rod bolts to back out almost half way - one set of tabs had been set to stop further turning by someone, probably during servicing - the other bolt continued to back out a couple of turns - sometime during all of this, both bolts broke thru past the halfway point and both broke the rest of the way on 11/13.2000 - disabling the steering.
Inner tie rods both failed during a backing operation - backing out of parking area - both bolts apparently sheared after partially backing out - it looks as if the keeper plate was crimped on an edge of the bolts instead of the flat- steering was lost entirely.
Had the lt tie rod replaced and now the rt is bad, my wife normally drives the car and I happened to drive the car . I noticed the car was steering odd and when I went around a corner it felt like the front end was shifting. When letting off the gas and giving it gas the car would torque steer very bad jumping to the left. I took the car to a local shop who found the problem right away, recommended that we didn't drive the car. He also showed me the steering rack bushings were going bad, he says the only way to repair is to replace the entire rack as the bushing are not available by themselves as are the 95's and below. He told me that both are very common problems for the dodge intrepid and both could have serious problems with their failures. I am going to have the repairs to the tie rod done promptly and if the rack is road worthy I will delay that repair but keep a close watch on further deteriation of the bushings.
The two inner tie rod bolts sheered at the steering gear side of the tie rods, causing total steering control loss of the vehicle, the bolts were removed and replaced, the original rack assembly was also replaced.
As my wife was in a parked position in a parking lot, she proceeded to pull out. To do this she had to go around a light pole. As she pulled out she hit the light pole. She got out of the vehicle and inspected the damages. The damages were, crushed left front bumper, a small nic on the hood and a damaged left front headlight light assembly. With damaged not looking severe, she proceeded to bring the automobile home. On her way she immediately experienced a check enginge light, alternator ligh. As I went to inspect the car, I noticed the power steering pully was completely missing and the main serpentine belt was missing. The frame was no bent and the is no way that anything could have touched the power steering pump causing the pully to break off. I am courios to ask if this is a nown problem. Thank you for your time, larry roudebush.
No summary
The front tie rods and the bushings in the rack and pinion failed. The steering at first became very sluggish and then the steering wheel got to where it would not return to center. It got so bad that it would not trigger the turn signal switch. We first had the tie rods replaced and the car aligned but that did not take care of the problem. We contacted several repair shops and then were told that the entire rack assembly would have to be replaced. We contacted champion chrysler in independence, mo and were told that there was an "upgrade kit" available to replace the bushings in the rack. We purchased the kit but no one would take on the repair other than the dealer, so we were forced to have it repaired by the dealer.
Bushings worn on both left and right inner tie rods. This caused steering to shake and could have resulted in loss of wheel(s) while driving. Tires were worn badly due to tie rod problem. Remedy consisted of replacing both tie rods and both front tires.
Loss of steering due to poorly designed rack and pinion bushings that mount the assembly to the chassis, 90 degrees of excessive amount of play in the steering causing .crashed into the a hill side at 15 miles perhour.vehicle is impossible to drive in a straight line, excessive wear on tires.most important, possible life threating defect.vehicle had this since I bought it,not as bad but gradually deteriorated with time.$1500 to repair, the bushings cannot be replaced since they are pressing into the assembly. Please advise!!!
Manufacturer reimbursed consumer for defective tie rod, recently the other side went out but manufacturer refuses to reimburse consumer for the other tie rod. Nlm
Consumer backing out of driveway & turned the wheel to head down the road, heard a loud noise, steering wheel spinning freely and lost control of the vehicle, due to both inner tie rods had sheared off.
While pulling out of a parking space, the steering failed. Subsequent examination showed that the inner tie rod attachment bolts both shearred off and the tie rods separated from the steering rack. The vehicle had these tie rods replaced in sept 98 and the steering rack replaced in jan 1999. Unknown if this is related to tsb 190899 but attachment bolts do appear to have failed from improper torque values.
Consumer was turning into driveway & rack and pinion steering broke . Dealer repaired it, but wasn't sure why it happened.
Bushings on rack and pinon gone car makes loud noise when wheel turned for sharp turns.
Consumer heard noise under hood & went to the dealer. Dealer indicated that the whole rack & pinion had to be replaced because it comes as a unit and was caused by some of bushings being worn out. Consumer has an extended warranty on the vehicle, but replacement was not covered under warranty. Dealer finally agreed to have replacement done and to pay for part of the cost. *ak
Reported to dealership that theree ws excessive play in steering wheel. They replaced the inner tie rod bushings in november of 1999 at a cost of $300. Sixteen thousand miles and 7 months later the same problem has occured. They say their service warranty is only 12 months or 12 thousand miles. I am now faced with another repair bill. Also my cruise control has quit working. It would cut off or pick up speed then one day just quit working totally. I dont know about the cruise control but I think there is something wrong with the front end of these intrepids that they didnt correct when they replaced the bushings.
Ea99031, steering rack and pinion and inner tie rod broke, which could cause loss of vehicle control. Common problem. Please provide further information.
Steering wheel is shimmying and knocking. *ak right tie rod failed.
While driving at any speed on rough road or hitting a small bump, front end of the vehicle rattled. When vehicle was taken to the dealership, owner was told that steering rack and pinion assembly,and inner tie rod ends would need to be replaced because of bad bushings. Please provide any further information.
My problem started out with the steering making a popping noise when turning to the left. This problem had worsened to a point where the steering would lock up at a certain position while turning left. It gradually progressed to be a safety issue and also started to be a problem when turning right. Now this problem is so bad my wife refuses to drive the car at all, especially if the children are in the vehicle. I had just noticed recently that the middle portion of the gear rack, where the tie rods connect, is very loose. It almost seems that the rack may be broken at that area. The car has never been in any accident at all. It is obvious to me that this part is defective, and may be a hazard to the vehicle ocupants as well as people in other vehicles. This defect has the potential for loss of steering capabilities at any time.
Consumer hears a banging noise in the steering column that goes down the shaft and feels like it's under the accelerlator, when the car warms up, the noise goes away, the power steering tensioner fell out and was replaced and the problems went away for a while, now the banging noise is present even when the vehicle has warmed up.
Rack & pinion steering & bushings were changed approximately 13 months ago. Now problem has returned. Rack & pinion steering/inner tie rod ends are wearing excessively. This causes vehicle to be either thrown to the left or to the right, if cuts or deep cracks are in the road. Will be taking vehicle back to dealership to check.
Bushings and the seals in the steering wheel are bad and make a loud noise. This has not effected the steering of the vehicle yet. Took vehicle to dealer and was told that the bushings are non-replaceable, and that the only way to correct the problem is to replace the entire rack and pinion. Owner feels that the vehicle would not pass safety inspection in its current condition.
Bushing and seals in steering wheel are bad and make a loud noise. Took vehicle to dealer, and was told that the bushings are not replaceable, the whole rack and pinion would have to be replaced to correct the problem. Owner does not think the vehicle will pass safety inspection in its current condition.
Bushings and seals in steering wheel are bad, and make a lot of noise. Took vehicle to dealer, was told that the bushings are not replaceable, and that the only way to correct the problem is to replace the entire rack and pinion. Owner feels that the vehicle would not pass safety inspection in its current condition.
While driving when it rains steering feels real loose. It feels as though consumer is on glass.
Engine overheated. Consumer pulled to side, added coolant, and it immediately reheated. Took vehicle to dealer, and they said engine head gasket needed to be replaced. Also, vehicle was unsafe because there was no power steering when car went dead.
A/c system failed completly. Yh
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