I purchased my 2002 Dodge Stratus brand new and very faithfully had the oil changed every 3000 miles. I had complete catastrophic engine failure before the warranty even ran out due to oil sludge in the engine. The warranty would not cover it! I replaced my engine two times and then after the 3rd time it failed I finally gave up! I absolutely LOVED my stratus otherwise but there should have been a recall at the least and consumers who spent so much time and money on these vehicles should be well compensated by the maker! They absolutely know they are in the wrong for this and should be completely ashamed!!!

I purchased my 2002 Dodge Stratus brand new and very faithfully had the oil changed every 3000 miles. I had complete catastrophic engine failure before the warranty even ran out due to oil sludge in the engine. The warranty would not cover it! I replaced my engine two times and then after the 3rd time it failed I finally gave up! I absolutely LOVED my stratus otherwise but there should have been a recall at the least and consumers who spent so much time and money on these vehicles should be well compensated by the maker! They absolutely know they are in the wrong for this and should be completely ashamed!!!

I purchased my 2002 Dodge Stratus brand new and very faithfully had the oil changed every 3000 miles. I had complete catastrophic engine failure before the warranty even ran out due to oil sludge in the engine. The warranty would not cover it! I replaced my engine two times and then after the 3rd time it failed I finally gave up! I absolutely LOVED my stratus otherwise but there should have been a recall at the least and consumers who spent so much time and money on these vehicles should be well compensated by the maker! They absolutely know they are in the wrong for this and should be completely ashamed!!!

Okay who designs and engine where the water pump is internal and powered by the timing belt? Seriously? So, when the water pump leaks, where does the water go? The oil pan... go figure. So, now that the oil pan is full of water and you take a 600 mile trip in the middle of summer in the Southeast heat, the water boils the oil to a consistency of molasses and the camshafts don't get lubricated. The result, a failed engine. Come on Dodge, fess up and do something about this! There are thousands of complaints and you choose to ignore it.

Driving to work one morning, the engine just cut off in the middle of the road. I tried to start it and nothing. Thank God it happened 2 blocks from the house. I had 2 neighbors come and push it back to the house. When I was able to take it to the mechanic, he was willing to rebuild the engine but noticed there was a lot of sludge throughout the engine. The only other recourse was to have the engine replaced. We have been looking for engines and could not find any that had decent mileage for an affordable price. We started to look again recently.

Update from Oct 13, 2011: Milage was 82,000 miles.

If my complaint can save even one poor soul from purchasing a dodge then it will be worth me typing this. I own a 2002 Dodge Stratus that I was dumb enough to buy because it is a very nice looking car on the outside. Little did I know though, the engine was crap. I bought the car 3 months ago and it had 63,000 miles on it. I drove it for 3 months and 2,000 miles. It ran great. There were new tires recently put on it. I just spent $500 getting things tuned up like new brakes, new transmission pan put in, new fuel filters, air filters, etc, etc 1 month ago. I just put top of the line synthetic oil in it and treated it very nice.

None of those things however could stop the engine failure that took place 3 days ago. It drove so smooth and nice, until I stopped at a red light. It turned green, but my car wouldn't move. I had to get out and push my car off the road while cars behind me watched. The car was towed to the shop and the mechanic said that the engine had siezed and was done. The solution was a replacement engine installed for about $3000. After seeing that the Dodge Stratus 2.7L engine will not work for more than 6,500 brand new, I decided to cut my losses and never make the dodge mistake again. I agree that a recall needs to be issued, it is rediculous that they are ignoring such a common problem. Take responsibility Chrysler!

Here's my story; 2002 Dodge Stratus, 2.7 motor, we purchased it 2 years ago and did all the oil changes at the manufacturer's schedule times. We have only put 22,000 miles on this vehicle and the motor took a crap at 121,000. The garage that looked at it thought that the motor was not the original from the manufacturer. The reason being is that when they install a replacement motor into one of these cars, they put a seal on the back of the engine so when it gets hot it melts off and that is what has happened. Seriously, something needs to be done by the consumer protection agency. This is ridiculous!

For everyone having problems with 2.7 motor and sludge build up seizing the motor on your stratus I have some news. Chrysler set up a company strictly to deal with this problem. It is an undisclosed warranty. The reason for it is they don't want people randomly replacing motors. They will give you a good chunk of change towards the motor. They gave me about 1700 towards the purchase a used motor. Problem is supply and demand even used the motor is expensive. I don't know the number anymore but most mechanics do, that's how I heard of it. So ask your Dodge dealer, if they don't know anything about it they are lying.

Just another victim/s of the 2.7 engine. My fiance has a 2002 stratus with the 2.7lt engine. She has never had any major problems with it, and it has 125000 +/- miles. We've replaced/repaired minor stuff such as the oil pan gasket, coolant reservoir, water outlet housing, front and rear motor mounts. Well tax return time had just come around and we shelled out just under a grand replacing brake pads, tires and repairing headlights. We were toying with the idea of selling the vehicle, when just outl of nowhere on her commute to work she calls and says she heard a noise from under the hood, which then lead to the engine shutting down. We towed it, and a couple days later attempted to start the engine. To our surprise it started, but had a bad knocking, We tried driving it to an auto shop that way, on the road it gave out once again and since then has completely stopped working.

The car has been sitting due to our lack of funds and the news that another engine would be needed. Our estimate was about $2200 for a high milage engine and $2800-$3400 for a lower milage one. Vehicle is probably not worth the expense

I bought this care brand new in November 2003. I purchased the extended warranty, 7yrs/85000miles. There have been numerous problems with the vehicle over the years. They were covered under the warranty as recently as April 2008. The original dealer has changed the oil most times at 5000/6000miles. My husband has performed a few changes when not convenient to take it in. We just recently had the body redone in December 2009 and along with 4 new tires. Car looked and ran great. I was driving on the interstate the morning on 1/18/10 and the car died. I coasted to the end of the exit ramp. I tried to start the car and all it did was click. A call to AAA and the vehicle was towed to the dealer who called later in the day to say the engine was seized. My Husband was furious. He confronted the dealer would commented that the 2.7L engine had a problem developing oil sludge causing the engine to seize. We paid to have the engine opened up hoping to find a problem with the timing chain. No such luck. The left head was full of sludge. I asked the dealer where we go from here and was told the engine would need to be replaced. No advance warning, not abnormal noises, just stopped. I presented the dealer with numerous articles realting to problems with the 2.7l engine and he said he was not aware of any problems. A conversation the mechanic would oipend the engine up for my husband to inspect revealed and much different story. Two 2.7L engines replaced in January 2010 and another scheduled for next week. Mine would be the 4th in a month. I wondered how they came up with the replacement costs so quickly. $4900.00 to repair a 7 year old car and no one at the dealership is offering any help. Cleary there is a problem with the 2.7L engine and Chrysler needs to come forward and admit there is a problem and offer a solution.

All in all this car has been fairly reliable with no real problems until last year. All of a sudden I started hearing this faint knocking sound from the engine, over a period of less than a week it went from faint to sounding like aI had a tin knocker under the hood of my car. It hasn't actually failed yet, but its a matter of time, and nothing I can do about it besides replace the engine. Since these are "non common" engines, the cost of replacing even just with a short blick and doing the work myself is ridiculous- Let alone the cost of a crate long block LOL.

I have had my 02 Dodge Stratus for three years and never had a single problem with it. Then one day I stopped at the gas station on my way to work and my car wouldn't start again. I had it towed to a mechanic. They said they couldn't fix it and recommended that I take it to the dodge dealership. After a couple of days I got the dreaded call that my engine was shot due to sludge. No warning. No signs. Nothing. One minute it was a great car. The next it was a pretty piece of crap that costs more to fix than it was worth. Then I did some research and found this site and now I know that I will NOT be buying another Dodge Stratus ever again!!!