Top 10 2002 Dodge Stratus Questions & Answers

Hello, as previously suggested by my collegue it appears you have an air lock. Have you tried parking the vehicle on level ground, from cold with radiator cap off start the car and leave it idling. Make sure the fluid/coolant levels are o.k. and let the engine reach operating temp. Keep some warm water handy and watch/listen the water/coolant system (Keep a safe/sensible distance from radiator) hopefully after a while the system will bubble and boil up let it settle for a few seconds and then top up with very warm water do this until it hopefully stops belching out of radiator. Replace cap and hopefully top and bottom hoses will be warm. Oh! nearly forgot keep all heater controls on hot with blower on full..(Inside the vehicle)
Finally I'm not joshing but is the thermostat in the right way round and functioning correctly? to test drop it in some boiling water it should open almost immeadiatly.
sorry for the epic but I'm here to help and hopefully save you time and money.
Good luck and a Happy New Year to you and your family!
Paul 'W'

This procedure is wayyyy to long to list on here. Your better off going to your local auto parts store and buying a repair manual for your car. It will have both detailed procedures for fixing both of your items. You can also goto the library and get the factory service manual for free. Good luck to you and thanks for using fixya!

Sincerely,

jC

when your prying on the clips move the headlight around and it poops right out

The thermostat on this car is located on the passenger side lower Engine block. Follow the lower radiator hose and it will lead you right to it. The Wheel and splash guarding need to be removed as well as the Alternator to gain access to the housing bolts. It about a 3 hour job to replace thermostat.

Did this on my 2002 Stratus 2.4L. I agree with other poster, you do have to remove the passenger tire and wheel wall to do it, but the tensioner travels clockwise.
Note: I offer this solely as a description of how I accomplished the task on my vehicle. It should not be taken as me advising anyone else in any way on how or whether they manage to repair their own vehicles.

1) Engaged parking brake, loosened lugs on passenger front tire.
2) Jacked-up and placed jack-stand.
3) Removed piece of black under-carriage which surrounds the oil filter and attaches to front bumper. There are at least 10 plastic push-pins to remove and I managed to destroy half of them in the process.
4) Positoned belt over lower pulleys and tensioner (as best as possible) then used a bungee to hold the top end of belt up while I worked under the car.
5) Used a 3/8 ratchet and inserted into square hole attached to the tensioner, disengaged the tensioner (moves clockwise) then used a brace to keep the ratchet handle in that position.
6) From top, removed bungee and finished placing belt over alternator, checked the position of entire belt, reengaged the tensioner, and replaced wall and wheel.

If this is factory installed alarm the fuse most likely is in the fuse box under teh hood and market on the lid. It should be located next to the battery. If this is an after market alarm that was installed you will need to locate the alarm speaker and trace the lines back toward the battery and locate the fuse on the wires.

Does your car have a chip key, and are you using it? Is the battery good in your key? Is the vehicle in park or neutral. Does the engine spin over? If not the most likely cause would be the starter. If it does, then I would check the fuel level to make sure it has gas. The next step would be to listen to see if you can hear the fuel pump come on when you turn the key to the on position. It should run for about 2 seconds and the shut off until you begin cranking the engine. If all that seems good then the next thing to would be to check if you have spark from the ignition system. If all that seems good then you could have a fuel system problem, preventing the fuel injectors from working. I would have it towed to a repair shop for diagnosis and repair.

P0700 IS A CODE SAYING THAT THERE IS FAULT IN TRANS CONTROLLER..P0605 IS AN INTERNAL ERROR IN TRANS CONTROLLER..ACCORDING TO TEST,TRANS CONTROLLER MUST BE REPLACED

Passenger side bank is 1-3-5 front to rear,drivers side is 2-4-6 front to rear,firing order is 1-2-3-4-5-6

For the 2002 Dodge Stratus 3.0L SOHC V6:

Firing Order:
1-2-3-4-5-6

Cylinders:
......(back).......
|...1....3....5...|
|...2....4....6...|
......(front)

Distributor Connections:
..(back)
.....1
3........2
5........6
.....4
.(front)

Let me know if this helped, or if you have additional information or questions. Feel Free to contact me at FixYa.com!