1996 DODGE INTREPID — Complaint #746863
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about STEERING:LINKAGES:ROD:RELAY:CONNECTING filed December 4, 2009
NHTSA complaint #746863 (ODI reference 10294530) concerns a 1996 DODGE INTREPID and was filed on December 4, 2009. The owner reports the failure occurred on January 5, 2009. The report was geocoded to Kentucky based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as steering:linkages:rod:relay:connecting, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same DODGE INTREPID cohort independently describe similar steering:linkages:rod:relay:connecting failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 1996 DODGE INTREPID shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 DODGE INTREPID. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 5 MPH ON NORMAL ROAD CONDITIONS, PROCEEDING TO MAKE A LEFT TURN. THERE WAS A LOUD POPPING NOISE OUTSIDE OF THE VEHICLE. SUDDENLY, THERE WAS A COMPLETE LOSS OF STEERING. IMMEDIATELY, THE DRIVER STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROADWAY. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE RESIDENCE. A CERTIFIED MECHANIC INSPECTED THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE WAS CONTRIBUTED TO BROKEN BOLTS WHICH SUPPORTED THE TIE ROD BUSHING, AND THE RACK AND PINION. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED FOR THE MALFUNCTION. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 177,000.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 746863 |
| ODI Number | 10294530 |
| Date Filed | December 4, 2009 |
| Failure Date | January 5, 2009 |
| VIN | 1B3HD46T5TF |
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.