2000 Dodge Intrepid: jerking or lurching

Filed Feb 28, 2009 · Engine · 147,500 miles · IN

My water pump blew unexpectedly while driving to the gas station without any previous problems or indications of a problem whatsoever. I thankfully was turning into a gas station when my car suddenly stalled and was able to continue rolling in the parking lot and just made it before an oncoming car almost hit me. I took the car to a local repair where it cost 834$ just to repair because of the extensive work involved in replacing a waterpump on that 2.7l v6 pos dodge intrepid. The following week while driving to class, I parked and the car engine started revving up by itself once again with no prior indication of a possible problem. I called the repair shop and he said bring it in I barely made it to the repair shop and once again as soon as I turned in the parking lot my car stalled and wouldn't turn over afterwards. By that time the check engine light had come on they said it was a generic camsensor/crankshaft error they cleared out the error code ran the car for over four hours leaving it idle, driving it, and letting it sit and cool down and doing it all over again the car never did it again so they assumed the it was just a gliche in computer and nothing was wrong. Approximately a week later I was driving home from my friends house where my car started jerking when going into different gears. I tried as hard as I could to get it to the repair shop to avoid any further towing fees which have cost me up to about 200$ already. I was stopped by a stop light of a busy intersection that was about 3 blocks away from the repair shop&it was pouring down rain I turned on my hazard lights&my dome lights to help other cars see me so they didn't hit me. I almost got hit several times finally got help pushing off the road and waited for a tow truck for over an hour started the car and it ran so I took the chance with my father there behind me&made it to the repair shop. It was the cam sensor which was another 100$. This past week I went to start my car it wouldn't.

Filed Apr 12, 2006 · Engine · 97,565 miles · KY

The car was driving good. I noticed a little jerking but was not too worried as I just had an oil changed recently. When leaving from my work for lunch, the car began to jerk and stall badly. I turned around and parked the car my engine light came on. The next day I took it to aamco thinking it was the transmission. They performed tests and the report said crank shaft sensor. I started the car up and the light was no longer on. I took it to my mechanic and he took off the oil pan and discovered scraps of metal in my oil. He stated that this is something to do with the engine. I drove the car for about 2 more weeks and decided to get another vehicle instead of taking my chances with this one since the repair cost is more than $5000. While getting my other vehicle serviced, I decided to drive the intrepid. While on the highway going at about 55mph, the car shut down completely. Luckily I was on the right lane of the highway and pulled to the shoulder. If I had been going slower, it would have come to a complete stop. Since I still owe for the car ($8000), it was hard to trade so I kept it and now have two car payments. After councel, I had no choice but to file for chapter 13 bankruptcy in order to counteract my living expenses with the two car payments. I am a single mother of four children, work full time, and presently in my last year of college for my bachelors degreee. I had no choice but find good transportation because I could not afford to repair the intrepid and go without transportation for 2 months while I paid it off. For repairs, I have been advised to upgrade the engine to a 3.5l and use a conversion kit from a reputable company to complete the job. The 2.7l are not good engines and they stated that if that one failed, another most likely would do the same in the near future. You know what I found interesting was that the 3.5l is actually 1/3 cheaper than the 2.7l! That is because the 2.7l are hard to find because they are always going out!

Filed Oct 14, 2005 · Engine · 106,000 miles · OH

To whom it may concern, I was around 700 miles from home for my son's wedding in may and the engine started to knock, my husband who is a certified auto mechanic by the state of ohio for over 25 years looked it over and found nothing. The next day we were driving back home and the knocking stopped . The car drove fine after that and did not make the noise again. We always had the oil changed every 3000 miles and we have always used synthetic oil in the car. 1 month later on my way to work I was driving on state route 571 when the car started jerking and stopping then starting again I almost got rearended by a semi truck before I could get the car off the road. I called my husband to tell him what had happened I was very shook up scared out of my mind I thought I was going to be ran over by a semi. He told me to drive on the side of the road until I could turn off on a side road so I did. I was able to nurse it home and take another car to work that day. We took it down to the chrysler dealer in town and they told us there was sludge in the oil and told us it would be 7200 dollars to fix the car I don't have that kind of money laying around so the car is sitting in my driveway while I try to come up with the money to fix it.

Filed Mar 7, 2005 · Engine · 64,912 miles · MA

While driving at approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle began to jerk and the exhaust smoke was very black. The timing chain became defective and the engine stalled completely. The owner had the vehicle towed to the dealer and was informed that a new engine was needed . Provide further details.

Filed Sep 17, 2004 · Engine · 75,000 miles · KY

While driving check engine light illuminated and vehcile jerked. Also, made a knocking noise in the engine. Power automatically shut down while driving. Radio and lights stayed on. Took vehicle to dealer for repair. Dealer continuously replaced the sensors. Consumer stated that it was always a different sensor that failed.

Filed May 27, 2004 · Steering · 62,403 miles · VA

In jan 2004, our 2000 dodge intrepid experienced 3 separate occasions where we would turn the steering wheel to the right and after about 2/3 steering wheel turn, it would stop. We would turn the wheel back to the left and then to the right noting that it would then turn as if nothing was wrong. When we went to the dealer, they said that the rack and pinion would need replacing. I described the problem on a newsgroup and it was suggested to change the power steering fluid. We did (since it was cheaper) and the problem didn't reoccur. About 3 weeks ago, we would notice an occasional rattle from the front end. I initially attributed it to normal suspension wear since it was aperodic and no consistancy to it. As time went on, the rattles would occur more often. It would do it going over rough roads or railroad tracks. Finally, I could get the rattle to occur regularly while driving by putting the car into neutral and then back into drive and letting the car perform a "jerk" as the transmission engaged. That prompted me to to a search on alldata for tsb information about the suspension. I came across tsb 19-01-00 that matched my experience to the letter. I took the car to the dealer and they replaced the steering gear (rack and pinion). Replacing it also "cured" a "knuckling" sound that I again attributed to just an "age" noise.

Filed Apr 16, 2004 · Engine · 77,000 miles · VA

While driving on the highway at 55 MPH vehicle jerked forward, there was a knocking noise, then the vehicle stalled. Vehicle was towed to a dealership, who indicated that the engine had blown out due to oil sludge. This occurred because of a defect in the engine design.

Filed Dec 10, 2003 · Electrical, Engine · 94,000 miles · OH

The engine failed while driving between 55-60 MPH. There was a knocking noise in the engine and the vehicle lurched forward, then slow down. The vehicle did this for about a mile, afterwards, it stalled. This was due to an oil sludge build up which was caused by a design flaw. *ak the vehicle had a variety of electrical problems throughtout three years.