1989 DODGE SPIRIT — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 21 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: POWER TRAIN (5 complaints · 23.8%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 0
  • Fires 1
  • Injuries 0
  • Deaths 0
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NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution POWER TRAIN appears in 5 of 21 owner complaints (23.8%) in this vehicle snapshot. POWER TRAIN: 5 complaints, 23.8% of reports POWER TRAIN 5 · 23.8% ENGINE: 4 complaints, 19.1% of reports ENGINE 4 · 19.1% SUSPENSION: 3 complaints, 14.3% of reports SUSPENSION 3 · 14.3% FUEL SYSTEM: 2 complaints, 9.5% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 2 · 9.5% · 1 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 1 complaints, 4.8% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 · 4.8% EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 1 complaints, 4.8% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 · 4.8% SEAT BELTS: 1 complaints, 4.8% of reports SEAT BELTS 1 · 4.8% SERVICE BRAKES: 1 complaints, 4.8% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 1 · 4.8% STEERING: 1 complaints, 4.8% of reports STEERING 1 · 4.8% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 17 complaints, 81.0% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 17 · 81.0% · 1 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
POWER TRAIN 5 23.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 4 19.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 3 14.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 2 9.5% 0 crashes · 1 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 4.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 4.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 1 4.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 1 4.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 1 4.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 17 81.0% 0 crashes · 1 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Apr 1995; the first recall shown was reported in Dec 1989. 1995-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1995-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1995-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 1996-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1996-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jan 1989 Apr 2013 Recall campaign 89V237000 ◆ Recall campaign 89V237000 Recall campaign 08E033000 ◆ Recall campaign 08E033000 Investigation PE89036 ● Investigation PE89036
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q2 Owner reports 2
1995-Q3 Owner reports 1
1995-Q4 Owner reports 3
1996-Q1 Owner reports 2
1996-Q2 Owner reports 1
1996-Q3 Owner reports 1
1996-Q4 Owner reports 1
1997-Q1 Owner reports 1
1997-Q3 Owner reports 1
1999-Q1 Owner reports 2
1999-Q2 Owner reports 1
1999-Q3 Owner reports 2
2002-Q3 Owner reports 1
2004-Q1 Owner reports 1
2013-Q2 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 89V237000
Recall campaign 1 08E033000
Defect investigation 1 PE89036
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 08E033000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    THE NUTS INCLUDED IN THE PACKAGING FOR THESE BALL JOINT ASSEMBLIES ARE MISSING THE INTENDED PREVAILING TORQUE (SELF-LOCKING) FEATURE. IF THE INCORRECT NUT WAS TO BECOME LOOSE, THE JOINING MEMBERS MAY LOOSEN LEADING TO A SEPARATION OF THE BALL JOINT. THIS MAY RESULT IN LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    FEDERAL MOGUL WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE PARTS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 22, 2008. OWNERS CAN CONTACT FEDERAL MOGUL AT 877-489-6659.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 89V237000

    Report date
    Component:
    ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
    Consequence:
    THE LEAKAGE OF OIL IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT COULD CAUSEA FIRE.
    Remedy:
    REPLACE GASKET COVER WITH REVISED COVER, AND RTV SEALANT WILL BE APPLIED IN PLACE OF A GASKET.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 21 complaints · page 1 of 1

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

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Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources