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 2001 Dodge Stratus owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
While parked and turned off, my '01 Dodge Stratus r/t encountered an engine fire. The entire engine is almost beyond recognition. There was no indication that anything of the kind was wrong; the car had been running as usual. A simple google of "Stratus engine fire" turned up an overwhelming occurrence of Stratus owners with this same problem. It appears to have started near the fusebox, which was also the location of the fire in the countless search results. The car had idled too high from a few days after I purchased it. We had the idle air control valve changed and the idle speed adjusted by the shop four or five times, yet nothing would stop the high idle. The only thing that would decrease it was to turn the air conditioner on--which brings me to another problem. The drain holes for the air conditioner are not sufficient for drainage. …
I bought my 2001 Stratus r/t used. Not even a year after I had bought it, I had to pay over $100 to get it to idle right. Then I was in a not-at-fault accident 6 mos. Later with over $8,000 in damages to the front end and the air bags didn't deploy. After the wreck I had to pay over $ 1,300 to get the shocks & struts fixed just to have it mess up not even 4 mos. Later. It also as a rotten odor coming from it occasionally. I also paid almost $200 for a new battery to have it start to drain not even 6-7 mos. Later! And when the battery had to be cleaned, I had to get it re-idled again! Now it won't stay started unless you're giving it gas. I love the look, but worst car I ever bought. And it's not even paid off!!!! *e.g.*
While driving on the highway suddenly there was a pop and then a banging noise. Consumer immediately pulled off the highway, lifted the hood, and saw flames coming from the engine compartment. Consumer extinguished the fire with a gallon of water. Vehicle was towed to a mechanic, who determined that engine rod bearing dropped, and blew a hole in the side of the engine block, the size of a man's fist. An oil change was done on the car a week prior to the failure.
In 2003 my 2001 Dodge Stratus engine failed. I took it to a reputable certified mechanic and was told that it looked like the oil had not been changed for over 10000 miles and as a result gummed up lower part of the engine. The oil had been changed every 3-4000 miles and had been changed not 3 days before incident happened. Engine had to be completely cleaned out and repaired to the tune of $3000.00. Engine had less than 60000 miles at the time. Since then car again has had regular oil changes without fail. Again,the engine failed, I was finally told that that the Dodge Stratus magnum engine was known to have a too small oil line to the engine and had a tendency to clog with a minute amount of normal debris,and therefore the lower half of engine was starved of oil and engine becomes toast. …
I am the owner of a 2001 Dodge Stratus se with the 2.7l v6 engine. On February 9, 2006 I took the car to park plaza Dodge in forrest park, il. Because the engine making a loud tapping sound. At the time the car had 67,441 miles on it and was covered under a Chrysler 5 year/75,000 mile warranty. I was told that the engine had a lot of sludge in it and I was asked to produce maintenance receipts on the vehicle. I change my own oil and I told them that I didn't have the receipts for the oil. I did some research and pointed out to Chrysler and the dealership that this is a known engine problem and the car was still under warranty. After more than a week of stalling Chrysler agreed to replace the engine at their expense less my $100 deductible. It took Chrysler more then two weeks to deliver the new engine to the dealership. …
First off, I bought this car from my sister...the ball joint broke on me within a month...probably not her fault. However the car was making a lot of noises and clanks and creaks, I was told it was just the bushings, guess I found out it wasn't the hard way. About a month after the ball joint was replaced the rear strut broke and was rubbing the inside of the rear passenger tire. After that was fixed, about 3 weeks later I was driving home from work and heard an odd grinding sound started to sound like a flat, pulled over to discover that all of my lugnuts had been pushed off somehow and the rim had grinded down the posts. It was only holding on by 1 lugnut and it was almost off too. Most recently the car keeps overheating, replaced the thermostat, and checked all fluids none of which were leaking. Still haven't figured that one out...all the fans are running also. …
Tl* - the contact owns a 2001 Dodge Stratus. The contact was driving 65 MPH when the contact smelled a strong smell of fuel in the car and the engine warning indicator light came on. The vehicle decelerated, the contact attempted to restart the vehicle and tried several times. The contact inspected the vehicle for possible leaks, but there were none present at the time of the incident. This failure has occurred five times. The dealer told the contact that the engine valve failed. The first incident occurred in 2003 when the head gasket failed at 20,000 miles. The Dodge dealer stated there have been several complaints for the same incident. The contact has take the vehicle to the dealer 5 times for repairs involving the same failure since 2003. A rebuilt engine was installed in the vehicle on one occasion in 2003. The carwas 5 years old with 51,000 miles. …
Check engine ligh came on 12/15/04 @ 36,355 miles. Took to local Chevrolet dealer about engine noise. They said they can see sludge buildup on oil cap. Technician said he heard a Chrysler 2.7 liter engine was having a sludge problem. They changed oil and continued to drive. 1/13/05 36,626 miles, check engine light came on again. This time took to local Dodge dealer feeny who informed me that they found sludge buildup on oil cap. It would cost $600--$1000 just to pull engine a do further investigation because engine is hard to work on. Service manager said Chrysler not admitting defective engine design. Nothing they can do even though it is barely of 36,000 mile warranty period. Suggested I change oil every 1000 miles or monthly until condition lessens. Had them change oil. 2/15/05 36,874 miles, changed oil again. 4/4/04 37,345 miles, changed oil again. …
My husband was driving home from work one morning when 2001 2.7l v-6 started to chug, engine light came on and the car died immediately. My husband had to push to side of road. We had it towed later that morning to my parents' house. Engine is blown out. I've done some research and these engines are expensive to fix we have always done our maintenance and never had any warnings signs before hand. Chrysler needs to step up because we pay money for their product and nothing is holding. Is that all we get out of our cars is 75,000- 100,000 then nobody should by cars. This is a serious situation and Chrysler needs to recall or make it right by owner. We did do our repairs and maintenance and now we should have to basically throw the car out. It is expensive to fix. Help us because someone May get injured with these kind of mishaps.
I own a 2004 Dodge Stratus that I changed the oil in every 3500 - 4000 miles even though the manufacturer recommends changes at 7500 mile intervals. The car had roughly 37000 miles on it back in 2006 when the 2.7l v6 engine seized due to excessive oil sludging causing an oil flow failure. At the time I just thought it was bad luck, but now after two years I read of countless thousands of cases where persons with the same 2.7l engine in there Dodge or Chrysler vehicles had engines seize, and yet the company does nothing for us. I still have the vehicle in my driveway but frankly cannot afford to put a new motor in it as the price for those is sky high because there is such a demand to replace them. Something needs to be done about this as a consumer we deserve retribution for these expensive engineering failures.
Related recalls
Engine and engine cooling › Engine
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The harness for the crankshaft position sensor could come in contact with a new protective shield causing a grounded circuit.
Remedy: Dealers will re-route the crankshaft position sensor harness.
Engine complaints in other Stratus years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 2001 Dodge Stratus?
NHTSA has 65 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 2001 Dodge Stratus, 30% of the model year's 218 complaints. The component named most often is engine (29 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2001 Dodge Stratus engine problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 00V299002 (engine, Oct 2, 2000). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2001 Dodge Stratus engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 65,000 miles, and 11% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 2 fires and 1 injury 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.