Can I get my money back?

Thank you, Jim, there's a lot of wisdom and care in what you said, and I appreciate you taking the time very much. I'll take my car to Auto Zone first thing Monday morning. Should I ask for a general diagnostic or just the computer code(s)? Reason I ask is because with or without the new PCM the car is still behaving exactly as it did when I took it to be repaired in the first place, which makes me suspect it didn't need the PCM replaced at all. So I'm not sure the PCM is the reason of the problem and that's why I stopped taking the car to Firestone. The first time I took it to Samstone's I mentioned having taken the car to Firestone four times the year before because of this problem, so when they too couldn't find anything they called Firestone. I later chided them for doing that, but it was done. In my opinion they put in a new computer when it didn't really need one, and I had to pay the price for nothing. I will post here the Autozone diagnostic scan, tomorrow.

Hi Jim, this morning I took the car to Autozone, but when the employee opened the car door the engine light on the dashboard happened to have been off. It had been on until I parked there! I explained that it goes on and off, in fact I printed what you told me to say to him and gave it to him to read. He took a long look under the steering wheel area but didn't hook up the car to anything to check the codes. I guess he did just a visual because the engine light was off. He said he could tell that none of the pcm codes looked corrupt. All he could do was ask that I don't go to Firestone or to Samstone anymore and he also recommend a good mechanic nearby, which I visited right away and who assured me that he will do his very best for my car. Out of curiosity I asked the Autozone people how much it costs to buy a new pcm for a 2006 Dodge Stratus and he quoted me less than $500, already programmed!! I paid Samstone $1600 for the same thing. Anyway, you have been so kind that I wanted to let you know where I am at. I don't know what else to do. I feel that I have been taken advantage of and, what's even worse, my car is none the better. In fact it's exactly in the same conditions as when all this started.

Thankyou for the feedback, Jim. I still have the car, because the new mechanic told me to bring it to him when the engine light comes back on. I am going to a different Autozone today and specifically ask for the ALDL connection. Will keep you posted :)

Thank you so much for the very clear explanation of what to look for. I went to another Autozone and they kindly did as I asked. The codes came back to "0", so nothing wrong with them, they told me. They also scanned a few other things and they also came back good. Two observations, and I don't know how relevant they are if at all: When I turn on the headlights, the odometer and clock lights go off. Also, when I drive with the windows down I keep smelling something burning coming from under the hood, but this has been going on for years. Since I have maintained the car regularly, I figured some of the pros that worked on it might have noticed if there had been something wrong. But then nobody can tell me why the check engine light keeps showing up and when it does the car feels rough and sluggish.

Jim, you have a gift for simplifying things. I am neither technically nor mechanically minded, but strangely enough, I understand what you are saying. And I am very grateful for your taking the time to help me with my car trouble. The PCM in question is new because they changed it twice, the last time was just last week. Could it be the reason why it isn't storing any trouble codes? Maybe the check engine light comes up because of some PCM unrelated problem and the mechanics may not have looked in every place where there trouble could be brooding . I was never convinced that the PCM needed replacing in the first place, and even one of the Autozone people I went to the other day told me it's rare to see a 2006 Dodge Stratus needing a new PCM.

Yes, I thought about taking it to the Dodge Dealer, but the engine light has been off for some days now, so people don't know what to tell me, since it works fine when the engine light is off. This can last days or weeks or even months, but eventually it comes back. I was extremely worried at first that the car wouldn't pass inspection with that check engine light on, because inspection was due this month, but I was told they changed the rules and now I'm OK until February, when I have to pay for registration. Nevertheless, I paid a lot of money for getting it fixed and it wasn't fixed at all, so now I am looking for anyone that can give me a clue so I can help them look in some places where perhaps they haven't looked before. I will suggest they check for fuses marked "ECM" to see if any are blown, as you suggested earlier, explaining that, if they are it may cause the PCM to be cleared each time the car is turned off.

Jim, the car is back in the shop. I gave the manager the printouts of some of your observations because there are some good clues and he promised me that he will read them and fix the car. When the check engine light came back on the panel yesterday, it felt as if I were driving on small rocks and I had to put on the flashers because I thought it was going to stall at any time. I was afraid that someone was going to hit me from behind. Anyway I'm keeping you posted and I hope I can give you good news when I get my car back, whenever that will be.

Jim, today I got my car back and I thought you'd appreciate knowing that your manager was right to suggest checking the sensor. They found that one was melted and had to be replaced. So far the car seems to be doing fine, but then I haven't had the chance to do much driving, but somehow I feel that this time they hit the nail on the head. Thank you so much for your help. You guys do a fantastic job. I'm truly grateful.