How do you replace a battery in a 2001 Dodge Stratus?

Answer 1

The battery is located near the driver's side front tire, directly under the jumper points in the engine. Step 1: Remove the front driver's side tire. Set the emergency brake. Remove the hubcap and loosen the lug nuts. Place the jack under the frame and crank the handle until the tire is off the ground. Remove the lug nuts, place them somewhere where they won't get lost, and remove the tire. Step 2: Remove the front of the wheel well cover. Remove the two bolts holding the front of the wheel well cover to the front bumper. I used a 6 mm socket wrench. It looks like there may have been three of these originally. Possibly a previous owner or mechanic lost one of mine. Remove the plastic bolts holding the front of the wheel well cover to the other parts of the cover. These look like a bolt with a washer. In reality, the center part is a plunger that pushes out the sides of the outer bolt. The trick is to hold the washer thing in place while pulling out the plunger. They sell a special tool for this that looks like a long two pronged fork. I used a serving fork from my silverware tray that worked fine. I removed five of these fasteners, but there were some additional holes where other ones may have been originally. Remove the front wheel well cover. I had to pry back the bumper a little ways to get this out. Step 3: Remove the battery. Being careful not to short out the battery and electrocute yourself, remove the positive and negative battery terminals. Remove the bolt at the bottom of the arm covering the battery, and the nut on top. I used a 13 mm socket wrench. Slide the battery out of the car. I had to use a crowbar to break the ice that had frozen underneath the battery. If you do this, be careful not to break the battery. Step 4: Replace the battery. Bring your old battery to the store and buy a new one. Place it back where the old one was. Replace the arm and bolt, tightening top and bottom. Replace the negative and positive battery terminals, being careful not to short out the battery and electrocute yourself. Test new battery before going further. Step 5: Replace the wheel well cover. Replace front wheel well cover, using the plastic fasteners with the plungers to hold it in place, then putting in the screws attaching it to the front bumper. Step 6: Replace the tire. Put the tire back on, then the lug nuts. Tighten in a star pattern. Lower the tire and remove the jack, then tighten again. Drive a mile or two then tighten one last time. Step 7: Clean up. Clean any tools that may have gotten battery acid on them. Put your tools away and wash your hands. Update this answer with any additional information you discovered while replacing your battery.