i just bought a little old lady car. what i mean is a lady in her 70's had a 95 stratus with only 83k miles on it. she sold it to me as her mechanic advised her the tranny was gone. well, it shifts and drives just fine and i think they were taking advantage of her. anyway, the only problem i am having is when you first go to take off, there is a slight dead spot in the gas pedal. it also hesitates for a few seconds then is ok. i have never owned a dodge stratus before and i just spent a ton of money on my former car trying to find out what was wrong, and dont want to have to do that on this one. this car is absolutely gorgous to me. it is the es model and has leather and it really is like a brand new car inside and out. if any of you can please give me some advice as to what were common problems with this car. i do have the 6 cyl 2.5 engine. the lady who had the car said her mechanic had put a switch on it to help with the car just stopping but she doesn't remember what switch and no receipt. please feel free to email with any advice or suggestions you have. thanks y'all.
craig in marietta, ga.

 

I would start with any computer codes.
The throttle position sensor might be faulty (hence the dead spot), and the switch may be bypassing this to some degree.
The transmissions on the 1g with the v6 (41te dodge autostick transmission) were known for failing early in life. I would drain the transmission fluid and make sure that atf+4 is used, as this could cause abnormal shifting too.
I would give it a lookover and see if there is any wires that don't seem belong where they are, and a switch attached to them?.

If well taken care of, that will take you many more miles (162,xxx and counting on my '00 es-v6)