Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1999 Dodge Intrepid owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I own a 1999 Dodge Intrepid 2.7 liter engine. It has about 95,000 miles on it. I was pulling my car forward when the accelerator/throttle stuck and plunged my vehicle into a Jeep in my driveway. I almost pushed that vehicle almost into the road with oncoming traffic. I put my car into reverse to prevent further incidence, and it crashed into a tree (with the throttle still stuck). The tree stopped my vehicle and I was able to shift it into park. There was minimal damage to the Jeep because it had a square metal bumper, but I was not so fortunate. I have frontal damage as well as extensive rear damage to my vehicle. The car was going at such a fast rate of speed that the driveway had deep marks in it from the acceleration and me trying to brake. The car had to towed to a repair shop because I did not want to take the chance of further injury/incidence.
A friend was getting on to the highway when the accelerator stuck and reved the engine all the way. We had just put a new motor in the vehicle so he shut the car off to preserve the motor and lost most of the steering. He hit a wood sign post and coasted down the hill to a gas station. The insurance co. Totaled the car with me still owing $2,000.00 on the car and $2,000.00 on the motor. The insurance co. Only gave us $2,800.00 for the car so we still owe money for a vehicle that had a defect.
Cruise control component over took the brake system. Car accelerated from 25 miles a hour in stop and go traffic to 40 miles an hour. This happened in spite of the brakes being compressed. This cause me and my family to end up unde the rear of truck. This action kad occurred again to me personally and to two other persons. This problem was reported to the dealership several times and claimed to have repaired it , but the same thing happenned again on the way home from the shop. The first tiome it was supposedly repaired, the o2 sensor and cruise control cable were replaced. This action has not stopped this vehicle from accelerating on its own. After this incident it accelerated with two different people behind the wheel. My attorney has located two other 99 intrepids that have done this. One accelerated in reverse and the other in drive like mine. …
I was on my way to work that morning and there was a loud clunk and then the wheel locked up. I was unable to break or turn the steering wheel without major difficulty. My speedometer went from 45 to 10 in seconds so I was able to coast to a stop. When the car was towed and checked by the mechanic I was told that the timing change prematurely "popped" and one for the pulley's bent all of the valves which blew my motor. I was then told that it would take $5000 to replace the motor. I don't have $5000 so I had the car towed to my mothers home where she has room for the car and it has been sitting ever since. I have a 5 year loan on this vehicle that must be paid and no vehicle. Even a used motor is going to cost me at least $2800-$3000 and this is not money that I have available to me. …
Started vehicle in park with right foot on brake pedal. Soon as put in reverse encountered a "sudden unintended acceleration" (sua). Through normal reflex also had portion of my left foot on brake pedal as the motor raced being pushed in a backwards circular motion by an unknown component malfunction. A 180 degree circle was made until stopped by the rear bumper of an unoccupied windstar van. Then I was able to turn off the iginition to stop the still racing motor. That windstar driver had just descended from her vehicle. The police had my vehicle towed because of a vehicular defect. My vehicle missed an occupied station wagon by approximately two inches judging by skidmarks. The driver confirmed that soon as back up lights came on my vehicle just "shot out" of the post office parking space. Mr
While in the parking lot of a church vehicle went into reverse by itself and went across the parking lot. The consumer received a recall notice from the manufacturer for the trans axle floor shift interlock system. The consumer took the vehicle to a dealer, and was told that the vehicle was out of warranty. The dealer wanted to charge consumer $2227.89 to repair the transmission. Currently, the vehicle will not go into reverse at all. Refer to recall campaign #04V021000. The consumer place the key into the ignition and turned on the ignition and the vehcile vehilce shot into reverse, across the parking lot.
Consumer was in park and engine started racing real hard. Consumer thought by turning heat & radio off it would help engine calm down. Vehicle was starting to move forward in a park postion. Consumer put foot o brakes, and vehicle suddenly took off with two feet pressing down on brake. Consumer was one car length behind another vehicle. Other driver saw consumer's vehicle moving forward, but consumer had rearend other vehicle doing over $1000 worth of damages. Chrysler was sending someone out to cosumer's house to look at vehicle on 04-02-2001.
Consumer was backing out of parking lot and vehicle suddenly accelerated backwards & hit another vehicle. Consumer put vehicle in drive to move it & it accelerated forward, jumped the curb into a dirt pile. Dealer did not have a reason why vehicle accelerated. The driver had foot on brake when the vehicle was accelerating forward.
While backing up, the engine started to rev, consumer tried to shift into neutral, but shifted to drive instead, vehicle kept accelerating, and ran into a cement pillar. Consumer also stated he hit the parking lot light pole while in reverse at impact, vehicle accelerator went to the floor.
In normal driving conditions both the window regulator and the cable for the cruise control failed causing the glass to enter the window frame and the car to lose speed. I had the window repaired only to have it fail again and have not yet repaired the cruise control for fear of another failure.
NHTSA investigations
Throttle control failure
Based on the low failure rate, the absence of failures over the past year, the absence of injuries, and odi's field investigation of incident vehicles, a safety-related defect trend has not been identified at this time.accordingly, this investigation is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that no safety-related defect exists.the agency will take further action if warranted…
Acceleration complaints in other Intrepid years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 1999 Dodge Intrepid?
NHTSA has 29 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 1999 Dodge Intrepid, 3% of the model year's 997 complaints. The component named most often is linkages (4 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1999 Dodge Intrepid acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 1999 Dodge Intrepid, though it has 4 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 1999 Dodge Intrepid acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 79,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 10 crashes, 0 fires and 5 injuries to speed control & acceleration problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.