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.
