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2001 DODGE STRATUS COUPE — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

fire · 765698 · 2010-02-23

Vehicle

Make
DODGE
Model
STRATUS COUPE
Year
2001
Manufacturer
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC)
Component
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Miles at failure
100,000

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
0
Fire
Yes
Crash
No
Police report
Yes
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

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. THUS, RUNNING THE AC LEADS TO WATER POOLING IN THE DRIVER'S SIDE FLOORBOARD. ALL WE COULD GET THE SHOP TO DO WAS BLOW OUT THE DRAIN HOLES AND CHECK FOR CLOGS. SO, IF WE WANTED THE CAR TO IDLE AT A LOWER SPEED, WE WOULD HAVE TO DEAL WITH A COUPLE INCHES OF WATER ON THE FLOORBOARD. *TR

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10312984
Machine
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