1997 Dodge Intrepid Exterior lighting Problems
- Complaints
- 14about this part
- Share
- 4%of 344 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 72,864miles
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 14 complaints about the exterior lighting of the 1997 Dodge Intrepid, 4% of the 344 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 72,864 miles. 2 of these say a crash was involved and 1 a fire, according to the filers.
Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“1997 Dodge Intrepid-169,610 miles > > I only had this car for 1-1/2 years with less than > 3,500 miles driven. > > today on march 16, 2008 at 1:15pm, I came back to > college from spring break. I noticed that I was 29 > miles away from the college and the steering wheel > started to jerk to the right and move on its own. I > turn the steering wheel back to the left and had to > force the wheel to turn and move where I need to go. > > > the steering wheel never made noises as I was > driving > today, but I noticed that I had to force the wheel > hard to make a turn into the parking lot. …”
NHTSA complaint #10221382, filed 2008-03, 11 miles“When brakes are applied, they're occasionally hard. Front end will dip, car slowly slows down, won't come to a stop soon enough. I had barely started to accelerate at a light when the vehicle in front of me stopped suddenly, I applied the brakes, they were hard, brakes wouldn't engage. Causing me to rear ended the vehicle in front of me. I was only going about 5 MPH. (spark plug wires) about every 12,000 miles we have to replace the spark plug wires due to the 2nd cylinder wire being burnt from the engine. A simple guard could fix this problem! If not, a fire could result! …”
NHTSA complaint #10196535, filed 2007-07, 95,000 miles“Rain storm driving at night poor headlighting almost caused me to run off the road,lighting has always been a problem ,no recall to fix the problem either.”
NHTSA complaint #10096053, filed 2004-10, 5,000 miles“I had a recall performed on vehicle last year at martin Dodge in bowling green, ky. After getting the services rendered I noticed several problems. One was that the turn signals were no longer operable, automatic transmission would not shift past second gear and would miss gears repeatedly, and ABS brakes failed. Also noticed that suspension was worse after they performed suspension recalls. I have tried on several occasions to contact the dealership and they only suggested that I bring it for a diagnostic at my cost, even though the problems existed after getting the recalls fixed. …”
NHTSA complaint #10194912, filed 2007-06“These headlight are pathetic for a 1997 vehicle! They are not bright enough, especially on high beam. Not safe to drive at night in rural areas. My old 1984 firebird headlights are much better!!! Also, the lenses are clouded, not clear but wasn't much better before they were clouded. Dodge should remedy this somehow.”
NHTSA complaint #762863, filed 2002-06Exterior lighting: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 3 | 2% |
| 2003 | 1 | 1% |
| 2002 | 4 | 1% |
| 2001 | 9 | 1% |
| 2000 | 15 | 1% |
| 1999 | 17 | 2% |
| 1998 | 8 | 2% |
| 1997 | 14 | 4% |
| 1996 | 23 | 5% |
| 1995 | 33 | 6% |
| 1994 | 57 | 8% |
| 1993 | 21 | 5% |
Other parts of the 1997 Dodge Intrepid
83 complaintsSteering
61 complaintsEngine cooling
53 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
53 complaintsElectrical system
29 complaintsSuspension
23 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
23 complaintsBrakes
21 complaintsAir bags
18 complaintsOther or unknown
16 complaintsBody and structure
9 complaintsVehicle speed control
8 complaints
← All problems reported for the 1997 Dodge Intrepid
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 29, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology