Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (engine, cooling system, oil leaks, timing chain, exhaust).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2003 Dodge Intrepid owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The car has major engine problems like all the 03 2.7 l eng se. Connecting rods is falling out, and etc. The car is unbalance. I took the car today to find why the oli light was coming on when the vehicle thermostat rises. Turn out the engine isn't allowing the oil to reach the upper part of the engine and that is causing my vehicle to overheat and make noises on startup. And also when you reverse you hearthe car make a bad knock sound and feel the vibration. This car only has 86000 miles and the mechanics could only shake their heads. This car should be in better condition then this. Anyways, the cost for new engine with warranty is over $6000. And that includes everything! Now who has that type of money and why didn't Dodge recall this problem on the 03 Dodge Intrepid??? All I want is the engine replace and Dodge could do that at any of their companies or auto lots. …
Driving on the freeway in az the car started to loose power and than trail smoke.... As we pulled off smoke rolled out the front of the vehicle... Checking the passenger side, there was melting plastic running to the ground and the top of the hood was hot.. Car later burnt before fire department was able to put out the fire.. Time from it lost power to when it was consumed by fire was less than 10 min.. I can only assume a transmission line, power steering line, or fuel line started to leak and started a fire by spraying the fluid on the catalytic/exhaust system on the passenger side of the vehicle... Car was a total loss.. I've owned this car for 11 or 12 years... It was in good shape... We later looked at the car and in the same storage lot was a second 03 Dodge intepid with the exact same failure and brunt front end... I believe the two failures are related..
Tl contact owns a 2003 Dodge Intrepid. The contact stated that the oil warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. He attempted to maneuver the vehicle off the highway, but the brakes were inoperable and the pedal extended to the floorboard. The contact observed smoke rising from under the hood. Upon further investigation, he discovered a small fire underneath the hood of the vehicle. The contact managed to extinguish the fire and the vehicle was towed to the dealer. The mechanic stated that the water pump failed and blew out the engine. The vehicle has not been repaired. The VIN was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 140,000.
Tl contact owns a 2003 Dodge Intrepid. When the contact arrived at his place of work, he noticed a ball of flame coming from the engine compartment. There were no warnings prior to the failure. A report was filed with the manufacturer and they sent out an investigator, who concluded that they were not responsible for the failure. However, the fire department report stated that the fire was caused by a faulty gas line because the wires were not damaged. The fire department report number was unknown. The vehicle will not be repaired. The failure mileage was 80,000.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving 45 MPH a loud noise was heard from the vehicle and the engine stalled. Smoke and fire erupted from under the hood and the vehicle was pushed off to the side of the road. The fire was extinguished; however there were no fire or police reports filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop, upon inspection a rod had blown through the engine causing oil splatter which caused the smoke and fire. The manufacturer was not alerted.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Dodge Intrepid. While driving 55 MPH the vehicle stalled, and then smoke engulfed the engine. He was able to extinguish the flames using the fire extinguisher. The vehicle was towed to a local repair facility, and a mechanic concluded that the engine misfired. However the head gaskets were not replaced. The failure and current mileages were 88,000. The vehicle identification number was unavailable.
My 2003 Intrepid had 43000 miles on it when I bought it in June of 2005. It has the 2.7 liter v-6 engine. The oil has been changed twice since then, once at 43000 and 45000. There was no hint of trouble from the engine and I checked the oil regularly. I also can't vouch for what the previous owner did as far as maintenance either. The incident happened while in farmington, michigan on a business meeting. The oil light came on and then went off while the car was at a traffic signal. It also flickered while driving home to lansing, a seventy mile trip. It also did the same thing on my way home from work to next day and there was still no usual signs of failure such as clicking, etc. Not wanting to take chances I took the car where I bought it, I also purchased a warranty with it; that Friday morning. They replaced and oil sender and checked the engine. …
July 31 2007 traveling at 65 MPH on a major highway (75) in tulsa okla the motor in our 2003 Dodge Intrepid, a 2.7 v 6 shut down. No indications of any kind of problem. (no low oil pressure light, no high temp., no noise indicating a problem. The motor just died and my wife had trouble even getting it off the road and out of traffic without having an accident. I had to have the car towed to a dealer,(east tulsa Dodge where they examined the car and told me the motor was damaged and had to be replaced. The car has 83,941 miles on it. I called the factory rep and they refused to cover any of the expenses saying we did not maintain the vehicle to their specifications. The oil in the car is less than 40 days old and any sludge that the old oil had in it should have been removed as this oil was removed from the oil pan. …
I never had a major problem, except cloudy smoke coming from the tailpipe and an oil. All of a sudden the oil light came on it began to over heat and stopped in the middle of the interstate. I had it towed to landmark Dodge, the mechanic said it was the timing chain (upon my arrival, I explained the mechanic, what happened to get to the point where the vehicle stalled, he immediately told me it was the timing chain and I needed and engine, without doing a diagnostic. I asked the mechanic to do a diagnostic to be exact and not guess what the problem might be. They responded by having a sales rep call to try and sale me a vehicle). I wanted a second opinion, therefore, I had it towed to steve rayman Dodge that's when the mechanic discovered I needed an engine for sure after a diagnostic was performed. The mechanic said it lost oil pressure, and had sludge build up. …
2003 Dodge Intrepid with 2.7 l engine- experience sudden and catastrophic engine failure while at highway speeds. Very dangerous that these engines experience this type of sudden loss, and it could have caused a major accident. Public web sites state this engine is a constant problem for Dodge. Here's the real kicker- I called Dodge and the zone office said they would do a 50-50 split on the bill. $8000.00 split in half would still be $4000 to fix a car only worth $6000 in resale value. A local auto repair quoted me $3900 for the same repair. So Dodge ups the cost to repair, then discounts it by half, and it's still the same cost to repair it elsewhere. Sounds like a real racket to me. And here's another sticky point- I wasn't sure of the mileage because the car was at the shop, so I guessed 65000 miles. …
Engine complaints in other Intrepid years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 2003 Dodge Intrepid?
NHTSA has 63 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 2003 Dodge Intrepid, 59% of the model year's 106 complaints. The component named most often is engine (33 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2003 Dodge Intrepid engine problems?
No. NHTSA lists no engine & cooling recall for the 2003 Dodge Intrepid. 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 2003 Dodge Intrepid engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 79,000 miles, and 6% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 5 fires and 0 injuries and 1 death to engine & cooling 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.