I've got a 1999 Dodge Avenger ES with (just now) 210,000 miles on it. It's my second Avenger and has been a very good car. I bought it new and have been the only owner. My first Avenger (1997) was totaled in a flood. Here's a list of some of the maintenance issues I've had over the last 9 years.
* I always religiously had the oil changed, Regular oil for the initial break-in, then synthetic oil only every 5K miles.
* If you abuse (or someone has abused) the transmission, I've seen (or had) them fail in as little as 40K miles. Take it easy, it's Chrysler's basic transmission, not a performance tranny. They use it in their minivans and Neons. Use common sense. Chrysler recommends changing the transmission fluid every 15,000 miles.
* The input speed sensor was replaced at ~16K miles under warranty. I replace the output speed sensor much later myself when it failed. The car went into "limp" mode (stays in 2nd gear) and all the gauges stopped working. The output speed sensor is an easy DIY fix with minimal tools. Maybe 10 minutes tops.
* My cruise control switch assembly (in dash) broke at ~27K miles and was replaced under warranty. The original and replacement both never worked right. Sometimes it works first push, sometimes you have to press it several times to turn the cruise control on.
* For a while I was bending the 17" aluminum wheels with regularity (half dozen wheel repairs at ~$165 each in the course of a year) on the mean streets of Atlanta, but haven't had any problems since we moved away. Replacement wheels are available for ~$165 + ~$15 shipping, so no more repairs. I've averaged about 1 wheel bent per year, but most of them were the 12 months I lived in Atlanta.
* The ball joints were replaced under recall at ~51K miles. No further problems expeienced.
* Had the rear main seal replaced at ~60K miles.
* Switched from OEM Goodyear Eagle RSA (nice performance, but soft tread compound that wears out quickly and ~$138/tire.) to Yokohama AVID V4S (equal performance for daily driving, harder tread compound that lasts more than twice as long as OEM Goodyear tire and ~$117/tire.)
* Chrysler tune-up service at 108K miles. Timing belt, plugs, filters, coolant flush, replaced transmission filter, gaskets, fluid.
* I've replaced 3 batteries in 9 years and 210K miles (normal.)
* I've got one badly fogged headlight (the other was replaced after an accident and hasn't fogged yet) from UV exposure. This is very common in cars this old. Sad, but the manufacturers probably weren't that concerned with how long the plastic would perform when engineering the car. "It's cheaper than glass, right? Let's use it..."
* The nose of the car has caught a lot of grief (and curbs) in its lifetime. We've had it repaired or replaced (after accident) several times and probably painted about 4 or 5 times. It needs it again now.
* The pressboard (donut) spare tire cover in the trunk gave way recently. I'm going to replace it with a thin plywood sheet cut to size.
* The switches that indicate the doors are closed both quit on me at about 175K after about 7 years. A trip to my local Pull-A-Part and $5 fixed that.
* The back seats are pleather, not leather. I consider this false advertising on the part of Dodge. They probably indicate this in the fine print somewhere...
* The rear suspension doesn't have a camber adjustment, so my car wears out rear tires as the wheels are kicked out on the bottom of the wheel more than the top of the wheel. Causes wear on the in-board edge of the tire. This is pain because you can't easily visually inspect the wear on this area of the tire. There are some ~$100 kits that replace a piece of the rear suspension and allow camber adjustment to eliminate this problem. I haven't tried them yet.
* Replaced alternator at ~163K miles.
* I've had a continual problem with the black tarry sealant used to attach the water barrier in the door leaking out the bottom of the door onto the door sill. I've scrubbed, scraped, used solvents, gunk remover and wasted a lot of time on this. The sealant is still leaking out 9 years after the car was manufactured.
* My torque converter lockdown clutch failed at 150K miles and the transmission followed at 157K. Rebuilt the transmission (Aamco - overpriced!) and haven't had any problems since. You'll get an error code and general transmission performance issues (slipping, slow shifting, clunking.)
* Lost the air conditioning pulley ~157K miles. Scared the bejezus out of me when this let loose at highway speeds. $367 repair for parts and labor.
* Recently (~190,000 miles) the car developed a front end shake under acceleration. If it isn't alignment, wheel balance, or a brake issue, check your halfshafts. Take the wheel off, grab the halfshaft and try to move it. There should be no play up and down or front to back. Check the CV boots and make sure they are intact and that each is clamped on both ends. They can look fine with the CV boot sheared apart. Get your hands in there, move the boots around and make sure they are intact. You'll get a little greasy, but you'll learn a little bit about your drivetrain.
* Front door speakers have disintegrated (paper cone) and need to be replaced.
* Infinity premium stereo blew out the front tweeters. I replaced them with same tweeter from Dodge dealer, but added a high-pass filter before reinstalling them.
* Driver's side door handle broke after 9 years of use. Obtained replacement OEM door handles for both doors (passenger and driver) for ~$30 total. 30 minutes to remove broken handle, 30 minutes to install new one. I could do it quicker now, but it's a little tricky getting in those small spaces in the door. Don't look in a junk yard for these, they are all gone.
* Window switch assembly is fragile and has been repaired several times. Switch drops down into door and usually can't be just reattached (the plastic it mounts to usually splits apart.)
* Front leather seats are starting to wear holes after 9 years. It's right where the seat's internal metal frame touches the seat surface on the side bolsters.
You'll occasionally hear horror stories out there about Avengers (usually multiple owners, with unknown owner history) but both of my Avengers were very reliable to me. Other than the above noted repairs, it was just minor fuses, bulbs, etc. Maintain the wearing parts (regular oil changes, brakes, tires (proper inflation and tire rotation) ) and the car just keeps on running.
Tags: avenger chrysler dodge repair mitsubishi record maintenance dsm diamondstarmotors problems
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