Questions and Answers

Dodge Stratus Intermittents Q. Hi Vincent. I came across your auto repair guide, therefore I am hoping you will be able to diagnose the problem with my car. I've been to three different service centers and am getting very discouraged.

• 1996 Dodge Stratus
• 4 Cylinder
• Automatic Transmission
• 80,000 miles
• Fuel injection
• ABS brakes

I bought my car new in August 1996 from a Dodge dealership. I am having an intermittent problem starting up my car. It has happened several times during the past two month, in which I had it towed to a service center. Several items were "diagnosed" as the problem, and have been replaced, ignition coil, spark plugs, timing belt, and valve cover to the head gasket. My battery was also tested and was determined to be fine. But the problem keeps on occurring; seems to happen when the weather is extremely cold out.

I was told that there were some "funny, conflicting values" reading on the computer during the hook-up of the diagnostic machine, and it was suggested to me that my car's computer chip may have to be reprogrammed (electrical???), but the current service center is still running tests and testing out my car at different periods of the day, at different weather temperature.

What is very strange is that my sister has a 1996 Dodge Stratus as well, and has an "electrical" problem in which her car stalls out while driving it, after her several visits to a service center, in which the diagnostic tests showing nothing to be wrong with her car, she was told that it was an "electrical" problem.

Have you heard anything about Dodge Stratus' having electrical/computer chip problems before? What do you think the problem is? I would greatly appreciate any feedback you have on this.

Thank you.
Sincerely,
Heather

A. There were a couple of recalls involving reprogramming the Powertrain Control Module (PCM). So you should check this out with a Dodge dealer.

Other than that I can't really offer you too much as far as possibilities. Intermittent electrical problems are the hardest things to find and are a mechanics nightmare. Sometimes the only recourse is to wait for it to become more consistent and thus easier to find.