Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (service brakes, ABS, rotors and pads, parking brake).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1997 Dodge Stratus owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I had nothing but major problem with my Dodge Stratus it's only a 1997 with 86,582. I bought it used with 23,000 in January of 1999 from a car dealer. I have spent $2,335.30 in repairs in 2002&2003 in May & June of 2003 I spent $1,678.31 & $656.99 in July 2002 starting with brakes being contamied ,water pump ,radiator replaced,and it's being driven locally never been out of this state. I feel this is a lemon car because of the major repairs and the mileage is only 74,153 when I started having repairs and keep having major repairs totally $2,400 only had it 3 1/2 yrs. I filed a report with the lemon law in washington state.
Upon being struck in the left front wheel well, near the battery, my car bursted into flames. The vehicle continued to travel another 200 feet desipite various methods of application of the brakes. I then deployed the emergency brake. The vehicle didn't stop until the power cut off and the finally died.
Antilock brakes failed twice. The second time on 08-11-99 I rear-ended another vehicle. Chrysler has been asked to investigate also, but don't know if they will decide against their own product. Would appreciate your help.
When applying the brakes vehicle slid about 130 feet as if on wet ground. Vehicle rear ended another vehicle. Dealer has seen vehicle. Consumer now waiting for Dodge to investigate before repair.et.
Going down the highway at 65 MPH, I put on my cruise control, the car in front of me slowed down so I pushed on my brake, which was supposed to eliminate cruise sontrol immediately. My cruise light went off but the car continued to accelerate. Applied brake harder, realized there was no stopping, pulled over to break down lane. Applied emergency brake, ended up with just sqealing tires and transmission shifting horribly. Let me just note that at this time I also had my 10 year old daughter in the car. Thank god a state police pulled up behind me, at which time I had the car at 10mph but would not come to a complete stop. My 10 year old child had to jump from my car to let the officer know why I couldn't stop. He ended up having to pull in front of me and slow down to about nothing to finally stop my car at which point he got out , came to my window and told me to turn off the engine. …
Head gasket - have had to replace two (2) head gaskets due to leaks in three years. First one cost a deductible of $500 and the second one will cost me $250, although I know that Dodge has issued tech bulletins to address installation problems. Dodge did the good will bit in both cases by supposedly splitting the cost 50/50. This is an outrage that consumers are required to pay such hefty fees for inferior/faulty designs. Brakes - apparently the design of the calipers includes a cylinder made of some type of plastic. This plastic is not able to withstand the heat of normal braking operations and will not contract properly when cooled down. Because of this the caliper sticks in an extended position which casuses the disc pad to stay in constant contact with the rotor, thus wearing down the pad prematurely and causing possible damage to the rotors. …
When I used the back button to correct an item, the original comments were wiped out. You have to fix that. We have had four brake failures on our Dodge. Each has been exactly the same. The first two were on successive days when the car had less than 10000 miles on it. Bosco Dodge inspected they brakes then and was not able to find the cause. They did replace the master cylinder with a factory replacement. This spring, they failed again in the same manner. Again, the Dodge dealer was not able to pinpoint the problem. He did not replace anything at that time. Today the brakes failed in the same manner. How do they fail? Each time the car was parked in the garage over night. This was the first time the car was moved that day. Three times the brakes failed less than 100 feet from the driveway. My wife was stopping the car at the intersection. The fourth time was three blocks away. …
About 3 weeks before the problem was realized, I heard a very loud whirring sound. I had taken it to feeney Dodge in palatine to have the front brakes done. They did the brakes but I don't understand why they did not notice the left wheel bearing noise. I took it to Goodyear in mt. Prospect for regular maintenance and they noticed it right away. They said that the left wheel bearing needed to be replaced. I had an amoco station I know well do the repair. Why did a car that is only 2 1/2 years old need a wheel bearing replaced? I have never had a car have this problem. Why wasn't this under the three year warranty? I contacted feeney and another dealer in the area and got told that no, that is not under the 3 year warranty. This repair should have been paid for by Chrysler not me. The part had to be defective for this to have happened.
Left caliper burned and froze, digging into the rotor; right caliper on the verge of doing so. The car had passed rigorous equipment inspection just 3 months before with no warning of impending equipment failure. Car is under extended warranty; dealer said that only the cost of the calipers would be covered. Had car repaired at a local shop that guarantees its work, both parts and labor.
Vehicle losing over a quart of oil a week. I noticed oil loss a couple of weeks after I purchased the car , but attributed it to normal break in. Now it leaks down on to the exhaust system and May pose a fire hazard. The front brake rotors have been replaced 2 times and are in need of replacement again. They warp in a very short period of time.
Brake complaints in other Stratus years
Frequently asked questions
How common are brake problems on the 1997 Dodge Stratus?
NHTSA has 44 complaints about the brakes of the 1997 Dodge Stratus, 13% of the model year's 349 complaints. The component named most often is antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip (17 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1997 Dodge Stratus brake problems?
No. NHTSA lists no brakes recall for the 1997 Dodge Stratus, 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 1997 Dodge Stratus brake problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 74,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 5 crashes, 2 fires and 1 injury to brakes 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.