Looking over past posts, it seems many Avenger owners have similar troubles as I do. I've only had the car about 2 months; it's got 143,000 miles on it. There's a photo of it on the profile. First problem is, the driver side door handle was broken when I got it. Seems this is common with Avengers... why is that? Second problem, the power driver side seat doesn't work... or at least the most important part of it doesn't! It can be brought higher/lower/tilted, but does not move forward or backward. Are there two motors under the seat? Is there a 'common' problem with this, or is it rare? Third problem, and most concerning to me, the car keeps throwing codes. The most constant one is the oxygen sensor, but it also throws a code for the exhaust recirculation valve or whatever it's called. Then there are the three or so codes for the transmission. Most days it drives and shifts fine, but it has some intermittent 'personality quirks' now and then. First, it shifts horribly when in O/D, so I don't use it at all. Second, it occasionally feels like it is not shifting at all past 2nd gear. Normally the tach hovers around 2,000 rmp at 40 mph, but when it is acting up, the tach will read closer to 3,500 rpm. Once, and only once, it has refused to shift down from second (or at least that's how it felt). Coming to a stop, it wanted to keep moving forward, I had to really use the brake to get it to slow and stop, and the tach stayed around 1,200 rpm. When I arrived at work and put it in park, the tach jumped to over 2,000. Also, now and then there seems to be a slight 'surge' feeling almost like lightly tapping the accelerator over and over. This only lasts a few seconds then stops. Then other times unless I keep my foot in it, it wants to slow down... noticeably but not alarmingly. Reading a lot of the posts here, it seems that a lot of sensors and solenoids go bad on these cars, so I am hoping some of the sensors and or wiring that makes the electronically controlled transmission work are at fault. Like I said, most of the time it drives normally; these problems are intermittent, maybe occurring once or twice a week, then the next time I drive it it's fine again. Also, all fluids are fine and full, and the "Service Engine Soon" light is on.
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door handles are composite and snap if pulled too hard or when locked ... redefined rides is making solid aluminum replacements...
Power seat has two motors and the switch can be bad , easiest to check for voltage at the motor , no voltage check the switch ...
Codes need to be taken care of replace the O2 sensor and the EGR VALVE , ,reset the codes,THEN GET US THE CODES FOR THE TRANNY ...

 

Thanks for the reply! If I'm not mistaken, one of the tranny codes said "transmission control module" or something to that effect. A friend of mine has a code reader, and I will have him recheck it, even if that means wiping it out and getting new codes. I had a feeling about the seat, figured it would be something like that. The car was involved in a crash before I acquired it, so I'm hoping that there was electrical damage that is accounting for the quirky performance.
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Another question I have... the two holes where the fog lights would have been installed if so equipped are empty... shouldn't there be covers or plugs to 'pretty up' the nose if fog lights were not optioned? Also, I am not looking to race my Avenger, but I would like to, once I know things are right with the car, possibly do some low-cost fine tuning, possibly to boost MPG and/or HP. Something else strange... thought I'd mention it... when I took it to get inspected it needed tires, I chose an affordable set of good all-weathers, but the guys at VIP called me later saying they couldn't put H rated tires on it because the car specifies V rated tires, and theirs cost around $95 each. Now I'm not looking to go 120 mph or more, so were the guys at VIP trying to rape me with their talk of the car 'needing' V rated tires? The dealership where I bought the car ended up putting H rated tires on it for me, and it seems to drive just fine, both on the highway and even in snow. Also, I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but mine is the '98 Sport edition V6 with 16" alloys. Don't know what other differences there were between the Sport and SE, other than small styling cues.

By the way.... I LOVE MY AVENGER! It takes me back to when I was 20 and driving my red Firebird! I really missed the sound of a V6 snarling under the hood!
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I'm back! Firstly, how is everyone? My Avenger has been through a lot.... of my money that is. Apart from nearly replacing the entire front suspension, it has needed; new power steering pump lines and rack, serpentine belts, EGR Valve, another O2 Sensor, tires, brakes, various gaskets on the top end, plugs wires and distrib cap, and a few other things that slip my mind.... oh and the door handle snapped off AGAIN! In two years, I have spent nearly 4 grand trying to keep it on the road! It sat through most of last winter undrivable due to the steering rack and lack of money.

Also the car tried to kill me. Literally. Maybe I'll write a separate post about that!

The strange thing is, the tranny suddenly stopped throwing codes after the rack and other work was done, and it behaves fine now other than a slight pull between second and third gear while accelerating. I picked it up from the garage, turned the OD back on, and five seconds later the light went out and only comes on now when the car is first started. False codes maybe? Oh, and the tranny pump is whining now..... fun fun fun. Now that the rest of the car is pretty quiet I picked that out right away.