QuestionQUESTION: Roland, first let me thank you in advance for your help in answering this question. You helped me around this same time last year in diagnosing an oxygen sensor problem and I am more than honored to seek your assistance again.
My current issue seems to be a complicated one, and I was having problems finding an answer to ALL my issues here and via Google. Last week my traction control began "buzzing", whereas it would make the "alert" sound it would normally make when losing traction with the road. However, in all these instances the car would not be moving, but sitting at idle in my driveway or at a stop sign. A few days afterward, the ABS light as well as the 'traction off' light would light up on the center counsel on my dash board, but it would usually appear after a long drive and often disappear after shutting the car off and restarting it. Not soon after my breaks started 'sticking' as I would call it. I would come to a stop and the breaks would make an odd noise and they would just stop mid push, causing the car to come to a quick stop. Often when the car has done this (now over 15 times and counting since last monday) the ABS and traction off light is NOT on (was only on twice). The front brakes were replaced a few months ago, so I know the pads are not worn, so I am a bit confused as to what may be going on. I've had a few local 'backyard mechanics' take a look at my car and they seem to be clueless as to what might be happening, so I have turned to you. I have checked the codes by turning the key in the ignition and all I'm turning up are 12, 21 (which still hasn't went away since the oxygen sensor was replaced) and 55. I have checked over my Chilton repair manual myself but I'm still scratching my head, so any suggestions as to what to do next would be greatly appreciated. I would also like to know if it really is safe for me to continue to drive the car (breaks do work just fine except for the occasional temper tantrums I've described above). I only plan on driving this car until the end of this month, as I will be purchasing a new used vehicle. This car has served me well over the past ten years and 254,000 miles, so I want to treat it right and get this problem diagnosed to help it last another four weeks.
Oh, car has a 3.3 liter engine, mileage and recent repairs as stated above. Right side breakline also replaced last year in Feb at Chrysler dealership.
Thanks again!
Crystal
ANSWER: Hi Crystal,
Thanks for the vote of confidence, I hope to live up to it.
It is difficult to say much about a brake behavior problem without experiencing it in the car. But the most recent behavior, what sound like a quick stop unexpectedly while slowing down, sounds to me like what is called 'grabby brakes'. The most likely cause of that is a leaky hydraulic cylinder at any of the four wheels which has put enough brake fluid on a lining/pad to cause it to seized rather than smoothly apply friction to the rotor/drum. A clue to that would be a lower than full brake fluid reservoir(s) so check for that, and the other clue would be a signs of wetness/vertical shiney strips on the inner sidewall of one of the tires. Of course the bottom line is the red brake warning light which would say that there is surricient imbalance in the brake lines to be of concern hydrualic-wise.
So look at the master cylinder reservoirs and get a look underneath at the inner sidewalls of all 4 tires to look for any clues. The abs/traction issues are a second order problem, as the system will stop the car even without them, so lond as the red brake warning light hasn't come on.
Roland
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QUESTION: Roland,
First I want to apologize for the long delay between your answer and my reply. I've had to take my car to three different places before I received a definitive answer to my breaking problem, but it seemed that one rear brake was installed incorrectly and the caliper on the opposite side had frozen. On top of that all four rotors were worn thin and it seems the ABS/TRACTION CONTROL sensor may have went out on top of a number of other misc issues. The cost to repair everything was just too much for me to feel comfortable putting into the car, especially with it's age and high mileage. I slapped a for sale sign in the car for $500 and I'm now looking to purchase something else. I want to thank you deeply for your help though. It means a lot to have wonderful volunteers like yourself on this site.
Second, I don't know if you might be able to help me with a another question (although somewhat repair related) but do you know any pros/cons to owning a 2002 Dodge Stratus with a V6 engine? I found one for purchase in my price range, but I'm getting conflicting reviews about the car. Some people I've talked to say they're bad cars and others say they're great and I thought I'd ask someone with SPECIFIC knowledge about Dodge cars. I've owned a 79 Plymouth Duster and a 94 Chrysler Concord and they both served me well for MANY MANY Years, so I'd prefer to stick with this brand. If you can offer your assistance, I would be grateful as I might be purchasing this car tomorrow. Thanks again for all of your assistance and I look forward to hearing back from you.
Crystal J
AnswerHi Chrystal,
I believe that V-6 engine in the car may be a 2.7L displacement type (it should be labelled as such right on the valve cover). Were that the case, I would be concerned because for the first few years of its introduction (I believe it first was offered in '98)* it exhibited problems with oil flow/circulation which led to pre-mature engine failure to a higher degree than acceptable. The way to know for sure would be to go to the public library and get the April Consumer Reports for the years '04, '05, '06 and '07 and read the article about Frequency of repairs, looking specifically at all the Dodge/Chrysler vehicles that are listed with the 2.7L engine. At some point corrections were made to the problem, but I can't be certain if that happened before the '02 model or not. Those frequency of repair reports go back 5 model years and are done year by year so you can see how reliable the '02 engine actually is compared to other engines on the average. Please let me know what you find. So don't buy until you verify that point. The rest of the car should be OK, but you can see what you find about all the other systems of the '02 Stratus to tell you which parts are more problemmatic and which less, then check out the specific weaker ones on the car you are looking at. That is how I would approach it. The annual reports of Consumer Reports also have the same data if you can't find the monthly issues. You'll find them in the Reference section at the library.
Please let me know what you learn. Take your time and don't rush to buy it unless it is such a ridiculously low price that someone else might buy it before you.
Roland
*The failure rate was high enough that lawyers attempted to pressure Chrysler for recompense under the "lemon law". If you Goggle "Chrysler 2.7L engine" you might find some of that history.
