Noticed play in steering getting worse as time went on so I went to a local firestone to have tires replaced and complete alignment done on vehicle. They replaced the tires but refused to do an alignment because they said there was too much play in the inner tierods and that the steering gear may need to be replaced. They quoted me a price of 300.00 for each inner tierod and said I would have to find a different shop to replace the rack and pinion because they can not. Car still drifts all over the road and the steering still has play. I refuse to have my two small children in this death trap.
2000 Dodge Intrepid steering complaints
Page 2 of 4: complaints 11 to 40 of 80, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Vehicle information: 98,975 miles on the car bushings broke september 18, 2007 took the car in for steering noise and accessive shaking they were replaced and within that same day the bolts broke off in my drive-way than my mechanic did his homework and found this defect online....car is no longer driveable. What do we do??? Do we fix the car and park it until dodge does something or leave as is.... Please help....
Tl*the contact owns a 2000 dodge intrepid. While driving 50 MPH, the vehicle would veer to the right. The repair shop performed an alignment and the power steering pump was replaced. However, the failure still occurred. The vehicle was taken to another repair shop and they stated that the steering gear rack and pinion needed to be replaced. A complaint was filed with the manufacturer and the contact was issued reference number 16542975. The current mileage was 114,000 and failure mileage was 100,000.
My 200o dodge intrepid has 61,000 miles on it. I started having problems with the steering at about 58,000. Whenever I made a turn left or right my steering wheel would lock and I would not be able to straighten out. I would sometimes have to turn it forcefully and it would make a terrible clunking and grinding noise. I have almost been in a terrible accident on more than one occasion. The wheel locked up as I made a right turn and I was forced down an embankment, fortunately I was alone in the car and no one was on the embankment as they usually are. I have brought the car to a dodge dealer and they are repairing it for $1067.00. They said it is the steering gear and rack. After reading all the complaints on this vehicle with the exact same problems. I fee this is a safety issue an should be on a recall status. I was hoping to purchase a 300 chrysler now I'm not sure if I want to stay with this company.
After driving approximately 12 miles to work the car was pulled into a parking space and while straightening the wheels a loud pop was heard and the car had no steering. The inspection revealed that (2) two 1/2 inch threaded bolts (that bolt the tie rods to the steering rack had sheared off. One of the tie rod bushings was gone and the area the bushing was in was extremely worn, requiring replacement. The rack and pinion was replaced on this vehicle at 20,000 miles under warranty. The car was repaired by removing the rack, backing out the old bolt ends and installing new bolts. The one tie rod was replaced. I contacted chrysler corporation customer service and they offered no help on the repair. The district rep was ask to help and he denied any help. (he did not even look at the damage. I was told that he would not over rule detriot).
Steering on car makes loud clunking noises and freezes/locks at low to medium speeds( preventing any operator control for 1 to 5 seconds). Usually seems to be when turning left however that is not steadfast either. Even turning wheel to back car out of driveway will make large clunking sound in front end. Seems to be usually within first five to 10 minutes of car running however that is not steadfast. This car has not crashed yet but the potential has presented itself more than once. At this point I refuse to let my small children ride in car.
I picked up my car from the dealership after the rack and pinion was replaced and noticed a problem on the way home it was very difficult to turn left and extremely easy to turn right I returned the car to the dealership and they checked it again the rack and pinion is bad and needs to be replaced.
I thought I had filed a complaint about this incident before but it does not show up in the searches. The steering would lock-up when turning to get the car to straighten out I would have to force the steering wheel with all of my strength later the steering failed completely the dealer replaced the rack and pinion. I noticed that there are a lot of complaints about this component failing more than once on several vehicles.
While driving my 2000 dodge intrepid I lost all steering the dealership told me it was the rack and pinion this is the second time this part has failed the first time was in july of 2002.
Steering clunks and sticks at random with no warning, told rack and pinion is in need of replacement. Vehicle has only a little over 48,000 miles on it.
Dt: on 8-17-04 the consumer took the vehicle to for regular maintenance, and the dealership told him that the steering needed alignment and the tie rod ends needed to be replaced. The consumer had not been experiencing any problem at that time. The consumer had the outer tie rod ends replaced and the front end aligned. Afterwards, on 9-15-04, the consumer experienced too much free play in the steering wheel. The consumer took vehicle back to the dealership, and they told him that the gear in the steering rack was worn out, and he needed to replace the rack and pinion. The consumer had not had it fixed as of yet. The steering rack got much worse and now has to be manually pulled back to center when turning.
Dt: 2000 dodge intrepid with 60,000 miles. The steering failed. It started with a lot of loose play in the steering. Wheel. Currently when driving straight the wheel was upside down. This problem started approximately 10,000 miles ago, complete failure occurred on july 27, 2005. The vehicle became impossible to drive in a short period of time. The vehicle is currently at the dealership, and they have not looked at it. It showed rack and pinion steering failure symptoms. Chrysler was not willing to help with the problem. The vehicle did not go in a straight line, the tires were recently replaced and the vehicle was balanced and aligned.*ak the tie rod was replaced.
Dt: 2000 dodge intrepid bought in april used with 11,000 miles. Since then it has been in shop 9-10 times, mostly consisting of steering problems, such as rack and pinion and the steering coupler. There were other issues, but this was the main concern. One week ago the consumer was involved in an accident, front end impact for which the air bags did not deploy. Consumer sustained injuries. No repairs after the accident because there was over $6,000 worth of damage. *ak emergency brake handle was loose. The dealer determined the it was not connected. The dealer repositioned/reassembled the emergency brake. The key wouldn't come out of the ignition because the shift interlock cable broke. The check engine light illuminated. The dealer replaced the wiring to the brake light switch.
Dt: while driving I noticed the steering wheel was off set. The steering locked up. After driving home the wheel locked up again. Took vehicle to mechanic, and they said the rack and pinion was completely broken. Also, they said that it would be dangerous to drive the car. Called the manufacturer, and they said that they could do nothing. This was going to cost consumer about $900.00 to repair.
It started with a "small" noise in the right front end. The dealer said they couldn't find anything. After 2 years of listening to the "small" noise, the steering started acting strange. When making a turn, it wouldn't go back to the center. Then it started locking up and would not return to the center position unless I use all the strength I have. I took it to the local dodge dealership but "they couldn't find anything". I took it to a local repair shop and they determined the entire rack and pinion steering is shot and needs to be replaced at somewhere around $1000.00. So as it stands, I have a 2000 dodge intrepid with 35,000 miles, no warranty, and no help from dodge either.
Steering sticking while turning car. Nability to correct turn once inputed, has lead to the car leaving the road several times.
While driving the engine light illuminated, and blinked. Then, engine completely shut down. It was later determined that there was sludge in the engine. *ak the vehicle's rack and pinion also failed.
While going 20 MPH steering became impossible to control. Consumer took the vehicle to a mechanic, who determined that rack and pinion steering was defective.
I was making a right hand turn.the steering wheel locked up on me and I went over the sidewalk and off the road into some ones front yard. Luckly this was late at night and no one was on the sidewalk. I had the car towed to a mechanic. He said it has a bad rack and pinion. I have a 2000 dodge intrepid that I had since new with only 49,000 miles on it.the mechanic said their is no way this should have went out. It cost me over $1200 to fix this . Please check this out before some one gets seriously injured. Thanks.
After puchasing my 2000 dodge intrepid es in november of 1999 and began noticing a steering vibration at approximately 37,000 miles. The vibration increased to steering difficulties while at various speeds. After opinions received from three separate mechanics, the rack and pinion assembly required replacement at a cost of approximately $1,700.00. After numerous attempts to find any recall notice for the intrepid, no dealer was able to provide any assistance. Several other claims of similiar occurances have been found posted on the internet all matching the descriptions of steering assembly failures. The original rack and pinion assembly was inspected by the mechanic and was noted to have "fractured" thereby causing the steering problems.
December of 2003 steering started grinding and making a clunking noise when beginging to drive and drifting when driving. Took it to dealer, had to replace rack and pinion steering system. April of 2004 same problem only this time steering completely went out. Not the power steering, there was no way to steer the vehicle. Replaced rack and pinion steering system. November 2004 same problems again got it there before the steering complely went out again. Once again replaced rack and pinion steering system.
Rack and pinion steering system failed causing wheel position to lock up on a left hand turn. Had to physically correct the wheel, almost caused a collision.
The power steering hits against a fitting and it puts a hole in the power steering line. This caused power steering fluid to leak, and when turning the vehicle a whining noise was heard and that was when consumer discovered the defect. *ak the consumer stated that the vehicle had a premature engine, door lock , AC failure. The vehicle power steering pump makes noise.
I bought my 2000 dodge intrepid from ideal auto exchange. In a few days I heard some knocking on turns. I took the vehicle to my mechanic who states that rack and pinion has a problem , and must be replaced. I have a warranty with dealer under "lemon" law to replace rack and pinion. However, dealer states that after careful check on the vehicle they can't see any problems, and external knocking sound on turns is normal. Afterwards they refused to replace the part. Please advise what should I do.
While driving 15 MPH vehicle stalled. Consumer was unable to restart the vehicle, and had it towed to a garage for inspection. Mechanic determined that the steering power assist pump and timing belt needed to be replaced.
While driving 40 MPH, the rack gears stripped off without warning. As a result the vehicle lost steering. No impact reported. *ak *tc
Car steering wheel play left and right and hang up after sharp turn. Took in for problem and was told not safe to drive. Dealership replace steering rack. Car only had 46000 miles.
While driving at 60 MPH steering wheel shook and pulled to the left or right. Vehicle was taken to independent shop, and technician determined that rack and pinion needed to be replaced at consumer's expense.
Check oil light kept coming on, took to dealer and they repaired problem, two times to get it done. Dealer said oil pressure was fine /28/04 - timing chain failure, only 37,000 miles on car. Bought new in 2000. Engine valves were damaged. Dealer took 2 1/2 weeks to repair lso had to replace tie rod ends.
When driving at undetermined speed steering wheel failed, causing the driver to lose control the vehicle and hit another vehicle head on. Consumer stated that steering wheel locked up, and both front air bags did not deploy. Consumer had the vehicle towed to the dealership for inspection, and mechanic determined that the steering column bolt snapped.
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