2003 Dodge Intrepid

MOPARCAR

MEMBER
2003 DODGE INTREPID
6 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
123,000 MILES

I have a question about my 03 Intrepid. For the past few weeks, when I start the car (when it's cold), the car will start fine, and idle okay. When I put it in drive and pull to the end of my driveway, for example, it has a really rough idle. It shakes somewhat, and sometimes when I pull onto the highway, it will hesitate when it gets going. It has little accelerating power. And even weirder, last night, the check engine light started blinking. But it's strange, because after about a minute or so going down the road, the problem went away, and the check engine light didn't go solid. It ran fine after that. I notice at night when I'm sitting at the end of my driveway and idling, that my gauge cluster lights are fading in and out. But likewise that problem goes away after the car runs after about a minute. Could these problems be alternator related? I have no clue. Thanks.

Thursday, January 7th, 2010 AT 1:40 PM

1 Reply

SERVICE WRITER

MECHANIC
9,123 POSTS

You most likely have a rich condition happening when it's cold. The engine needs and is designed to warm up as quickly as possible when it's cold so that the emmissions that are put out are as minimal as possible. The computer will command the air/fuel mix to have more fuel.

In your situation, too much fuel is getting in and not being burned, but reaching the converter. The blinking CEL means that damage is likely being done to the converter and is going to create additional problems besides the one you currently have.

I recommend that you take it to a skilled shop that can troubleshoot this as soon as possible. You'll need to drop the car the night before so they can test while the problem is happening. Once the engine is warm, the testing becomes essentially fruitless.

I would suspect the if you checked your engine oil, it is probably thin and smells of raw fuel. This is another problem that can manifest into a serious additional problem as the lubrication qualities of the oil are compromised by the gas that is acting more like a cleaner and preventing lubrication.

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Thursday, January 7th, 2010 AT 7:15 PM