1997 Dodge Avenger problems
Owners have filed 109 complaints with NHTSA about the 1997 Dodge Avenger. Suspension is the most reported problem area, at 22% of complaints. After that come brakes (17%) and air bags (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 109 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Suspension 22% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 18 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 23 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 95,000 miles 20 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 1 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 1 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 0 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 1 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 8 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 3 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 5 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 20 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 94,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 18 complaints mention a crash; 23 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 88% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1997 ranks 9th most-complained-about out of 13 model years of the Dodge Avenger with enough data (65 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Left interstate and entering roadway when consumer began to brake and there were no brakes. Rear ended a 18-wheeler. Vehicle could not be stopped, the air bags did not deploy. Driver and son were injured. The vehicle was totaled. Consumer called chrysler and they said that because the manifold has so much damage due to the crash, they could not determine whether consumer had no brakes prior to crash.
Consumer was driving at approximately 30-40 MPH and another vehicle ran in front ,hitting it, and pushing consumer's vehicle off the road into a car lot, hitting 3 vehicles upon impact, dual airbags did not deploy , causing head and face injuries. Also, front end was push into windshield.
Recuring problems with brake vibration and fast wear, also with suspension repair, was twice quoted for a full replacement of front suspension. Have not done this yet. Major problems with engine electical and check engine light. Have replaced wires and plugs 2-3 time per year. Replaced engine coil once to fix problem with spark plugs arching and burning up. Problem was solved temporarily. Problem is back 3 months later. Chugging and sputtering.