2001 Dodge Intrepid Repeated Stalls then engine light comes

ARICHARDSON

MEMBER
2001 DODGE INTREPID
6 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
123,000 MILES

Occasionally when the car is brought to a stop the engine would shake and the car would either stall out or the engine light would come on. Usually, when the car stalls it would re-start on the first try and the car would run normally with some slight enigine noise. The engine would continue to run ok & generally after 3 starts the engine light would go off. This had been going on for about 3 months. One time the car stalled out and would not re-start but after several failed attempts it did so after allowing the car to sit for a few minutes. The engine light came on as usual. Also, excess smoke has been coming out of the tailpipe, since purchase 2 yrs ago, and continues to do so. I was informed about 6 months ago by a repair shop that the engine needed replacement due to bad cylinders 1 & 6. However, at that time the car did not have the above issues with starting, stalling or the engine light. Is this a sign the engine is failing or does it sound like some other issues? Suggestions?

1 Reply

JAMES W.

MECHANIC
2,395 POSTS

I wouldn't condem the engine just yet. The first thing you need to do is find out what is triggering the check engine light. This information will be stored in the ECM memory. You will need to have the computer scanned to retrieve this info. When you have this done, we will need to know what the codes are and thier descriptions.
On the smoking out the tail pipe, it doesn't sound good but, lets do the code thing first and go from there. Please advise.