ON THE EVENING OF 12/24/98 MY SON LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE WHILE NEGOTIATING A TURN. THE VEHICLE FAILED TO SLOW DOWN. WE DISCOVERED THAT THIS CAR WAS SUBJECT TO A RECALL THAT WE WERE NOT INFORMED OF. NOT SURPRISINGLY, CHRYSLER INFORMED US THAT THE RECALL SITUATION HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. AFTER STRIKING A TELEPHONE POLE HEAD ON NEITHER AIR BAG DEPLOYED. CHRYSLER ALSO DENIED ANY FAULT IN THIS. IF IT IS NOT THE FAULT OF THE MANUFACTURER, THEN WHO? THIS COMPLAINT WAS INITIALLY FILED WITH NHTSA ON 12/26/98. I AM STILL WAITING FOR SOME SORT OF ACTION FROM NHTSA. A PASSIVE RESTRAINT SYSTEM THAT FAILS TO PROTECT VEHICLE OCCUPANTS MUST SURELY RESULT IN A RECALL OF VEHICLES WITH DEFECTIVE SYSTEMS. THE VEHICLE IN IN THE CUSTODY OF CHRYSLER. WE WILL NOT ACCEPT REPAIR AND RETURN OF THIS UNSAFE VEHICLE !!!
1998 Dodge Avenger complaints
Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 1998 record →
GAS TANK GUAGE FAILED. *YC
ALLOY WHEEL BENT FROM POTHOLE COLLISION AT LOW SPEED ON RIGHT FRONT OF VEHICLE--ALLOY WHEEL REPLACED AT OWNER EXPENSE, SECOND WHEEL BENT WITH SIMILAR POTHOLE COLLISION--APPEARS THAT THESE WHEELS ARE NOT STONG ENOUGH TO HANDLE EVERYDAY ROAD HAZARDS. *AK
WHILE DRIVING ON WET PAVEMENT 50-55 MPH, FELT CAR PULLING TO THE LEFT, PULLED OVER, TIRE WAS COMPLETELY FLAT AND PULLED AWAY FROM THE RIM, NO PREVIOUS WARNING OR INDICATION OF INCIDENT. DEALER CONTACTED AND WILL INVESTIGATE. PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SITE. THANKS TO YOUR INFORMATION WE NOW KNOW THAT OUR CAR WAS SUBJECT TO A RECALL THAT EVIDENTLY CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. WE HAVE NEVER BEEN NOTIFIED OF A RECALL AND ARE VERY MUCH CONCERNED ABOUT THE AIR BAGS NOT ACTUATING. THE VEHICLE STRUCK A TELEPHONE POLE HEAD ON AFTER FAILING TO REDUCE SPEED WHILE NEGOTIATING A TURN. FORTUNATELY, MY SON AND HIS FRIEND WERE WEARING SEATBELTS. WHAT A MERRY CHRISTMAS THIS HAS TURNED OUT TO BE.
BRAKES LOCK UP ON WET ROADS. DEALER TRIED TO FIX 3 TIMES. CAR WILL NOW PERIODICALLY FAIL TO START
VEHICLE CONTINUALLY STALLING FOR NO APPARENT REASON ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS.
WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED AND APPLYING THE BRAKES THEY MAKE A VERY LOUD NOISE. THE CONSUMER TOOK THE VEHICLE IN FOR REPAIR WORK, BUT THE DEALER REFUSED TO SERVICE THE VEHICLE, AND TOLD THE CONSUMER THERE WASN'T ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE BRAKES. REFUSED TO SERVICE THE VEHICLE. *AK
Reading these
NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Full record for the 1998 Dodge Avenger → · Every Avenger year → · How the figures are calculated →