2002 CHRYSLER PT Cruiser

the passenger side of the suspension cross member has rotted so bad the the lower control a arm can be moved by hand with little effort….I have taken pictures of the rot…

seat heater, passenger side, passenger paraplegic 3 degree burns to butt area

Car burned ALL of the oil in the engine with in 3 mths/2wks/4Kmiles. Engine locked up. At repair shop.

A very well maintained one owner PT blew a head gasket while going less than 70 mph. Casing overheating. Engine coolant and steam sprayed from water overflow tank. Called Chrysler to ask what they could do to help with repair since the car had such low mileage. Chrysler told me that since the car was 10 years old it did not make any difference how many miles the car had on it.

Vehicle overheated. My wife was told it was the radiator cap; replaced it. Next it was the thermostat; replaced it 4 times. Then was told it was the head gasket; replaced it and the valve cover gasket, the radiator, the water pump, the fan, the temp sensor plus 2 timing belts and all pulleys replaced. Then the drivers side wheel bearing went out replaced it as well. Still loosing coolant. Do not know where it is going no visible leaks also all hoses have been replaced idle stays cool but drive it & it over heats Chrysler will not help they said they will look at it at our expense I did the work myself and followed all directions and had everything checked this vehicle has been broken down more than it has ran. Chrysler will not help because my husband did the repairs except for 1 timing belt. We have read several other complaints with the same issues. This vehicle only has 90,673 miles on it

Early on it was the problem with the fog lights that won’t turn off, about 2 yrs after buying the car, new. They eventually burned out. I’m not replacing those. The interior hood light burned out and I can’t seem to get the housing off to change it. I refuse to go to the dealer or mechanic to be charged for it. No matter how much I pay for wipers they never fit the window properly and scratch the window. The dashboard cracked shortly after buying the car.
The major thing was the water pump problems (2009). It started with a bubbling sound and a smell like leaving a pot on the stove too long. The car didn’t over heat or anything. But, the bubbling gradually got worse. I had it replaced, about $500.00. The thermostat had to be replaced twice. I was fortunate that my mechanic changed the timing belt (only charged for the part) at the same time since it is under the water pump saving me another $400.00 or more.
And in 2010 the motor mounts cracked. The car was beginning to strain on the slightest incline. And it got worse. That was about $500.00. I’m experiencing another straining sound under the hood, so that’s probably another $500.00. But, it seems I’m getting off cheap compared to what others have posted. I don’t recommend Chrysler’s to my friends or family (or enemies)

First of all I have been with my car for two years and the instrument cluster where the speedometer is located, the lights burns out fast and the thing does not illuminate the speed or rpms good. I know this is already a recall but every time I get in contact with someone in that department they tell me that my car is not on the recall. I have had cars and no problems of seeing the speedometer clearly.  Changed the lights in the cluster but now they started to go again .I really need some help on this recall situation. Can someone please get back to me. Also the engine consumes a lot of oil like 2 quarts every 1,000 miles, the engine cradles a lot on acceleration or when shifting gears. I have the hole front-end replaced with the original lower controls and motor mounts with upper and lower engine torque struts and the engine still cradles. Thank you.

www.PtCruiserProblems.comMy PT Cruiser consumes oil at the rate of a quart or more every thousand miles. Read my story to see how it turns out that my car had the same problem with the prior owner. After several failed repair attempts Ferman reacquired it from him, replacing it with a new one from the lot. I purchased my 2002 PT Cruiser Touring Limited on 5/20/2002 with only 4,780 miles from:Ferman Automotive11025 North Florida Ave.Tampa, FL United States 33612 (813)371-9700 http://www.fermanauto.comMy PT Cruiser excessive oil consumption problem was discovered about the time of the first oil change. It consumed about one quart of oil every 500 miles. The first actual attempt at repair Ferman made was to replace the valve cover gasket, this failed. Second repair attempt was replacing the engine they told me. They only replaced the short block, and this also failed.I sent a vehicle defect notification to the manufacture and one to the state to start the lemon law process. Chrysler Corporate office sent the regional lead technician to oversee the last repair attempt. Ferman tore down the engine and informed me that they found nine bad valve seals. Ferman replaced the entire head. They also replaced the valve cover, there is a known issue. Some 2001 PT Cruisers have a defective valve cover that causes the PCV valve to suck in oil. I drove about 370 miles and checked the oil to find it consumed a quart of oil! I located and contacted the previous owner Mr. Bennett on 4/13/2003. I found out that he had purchased the PT Cruiser at Ferman Automotive brand new. Mr. Bennett had the exact same oil consumption issues. After several failed repair attempts and continued contact with the Chrysler corporate office the dealer contacted him and replaced his vehicle with a brand new one from the lot. I would not have purchased the vehicle had I known it’s history. Would you have bought it?I contacted Ferman and the Chrysler corporate office informing of this matter. Chrysler corporate office informed me that the lemon law does not apply to my vehicle even though it had such low miles on it at purchase time since it was sold as used. The Ferman Automotive Service Dept. took note of the oil level it had consumed then filled it with oil.I have done research online to find that I am not the only one with oil consumption issues with the PT Cruiser. There are many others struggling with their Chrysler dealers on this same issue. Some owners do not have as severe an oil consumption problem as my vehicle; however I am definitely not the only one. There is also a secondary issue with the A/C. The A/C has a persistent mildew odor that the Ferman Automotive Service Dept. has not resolved. They have treated the A/C with an anti-mildew agent several times yet it still returns. I and many others suffer with trying to resolve the mildew odor problem also. I am currently still performing another oil consumption test. The oil consumption has varied only slightly and still continues. I have contacted an attorney and I am working with him to hopefully resolve this soon. Chrysler stated they will replace or purchase my vehicle back from me, if the oil consumption continues. The problem is that the Ferman Automotive Service Dept. has not stated my car is consuming too much oil stopping Chrysler from moving forward leaving me on a never ending oil consumption test. My service Rep Eric Flannigan actually stated that a car consuming one quart of oil every 1,000 miles was within spec and acceptable according to Chrysler. This of course is not logical and when I asked the overall service director Chris Teal if I could have it in writing that a quart per thousand miles was acceptable oil usage he stated that was Chrysler’s opinion and to refer to my owners manual for oil usage.I know there are a lot of happy PT Cruiser owners and enthusiast. I just want to be able to say I am one too but until this is resolved I can not. The previous owner is happy with his replacement PT Cruiser and has no problems like many other owners. However there are at least 1,500 other owners in the same boat I am in need to have this problem resolved. Obviously in my opinion there was run of defective PT Cruisers from the assembly line. If your PT Cruiser suffers from the same oil consumption or A/C odor problems. Please contact me. [email protected]

We have a wonderful PT Cruiser that no matter how much money you put into valve repairs it still has a miss on cylinder #3. After last November we took it to our local Dodge dealership, puckett dodge and they replaced all of the exhaust valves which they said was causing the problem. Since them the check engine lite stays on and the OBD says it is again a misfire on cylinder #3. We have taken it back and they said it again was a valve problem and it would cost about $2,000 to repair. I think this car has major problems and it continues to be an ongoing problem… Chrysler should step up to the plate and get these issues fixed before people spend their life saving just trying to get to work. We are both retires and this is our only vehicle. This car reeks lemon.

Transmission went out yesterday on our 2002 PT Cruiser-it only has 56,000 miles on it….I am NOT happy-It is covered by a warranty we got on it when we bought it less than two years ago.

There are numerous places on the hood and body of the car where the paint has chipped down to the bare metal. I made an appointment to have Marketplace Chrysler Plymouth dealer(where I purchased the car) body shop take a picture of the car so that they could contact the local customer service office to get a ruling about whether or not it is paint failure. When I arrived at the appointment I was told that the only person who could take the picture went home early. The body shop person told me that he could tell that it was not paint failure but chips from the road. Experts in the area of body work have told me that there are too many chips for it to be road damage.

The first problem I had with my Limited Edition PT Cruiser was around Febuary of 2005 when the rear drivers side quarter window fell off of the car for no apparant reason. I contacted my local dealer and Chrysler and was told that since it was no longer under warranty that they would not cover it. I ended up finding a new window at a junk yard and replacing it myself. I have had constant problems with the power locks locking the car and unlocking the car whenever it feels like it. I have locked my keys in the car numerous times so now if I get out of the car I will roll the window down if I leave my keys in it. The most resent problem has been with the computer I think. It started off with the engine light going off. It stated code P1685 which is the SKIM. The car would accelerate to 20 mph just fine but when I hit that part it would stall out and not go any faster than 20 mph. The speedometer would jump from 0-100 mph no matter what speed I was going. The temp gauge would jump all over the place as well. The tach doing the same thing. Then sometimes it would hold a constant speed of 40 mph with the tach at around 3000 rpms, and sometimes when I would start the car up it would rev the engine up to 3000 rpms on its own as well. Also the cruise control would come on byitself as well. Anyways I took it to the local dealer and they called my a little while later and stated that there was nothing wrong with my car. They stated that they saw the code in the computer but it was there because I must of used the wrong key in my car. I informed them that I only have the two keys that came with the car and no other key has ever been in the car. Later on they called me and told me that they cleared the computer of the code. (Which reminds me that I could not get the code out of the computer myself even when I disconnected the battery for hours) and that they installed a update into the transmission that was not installed (which I was unaware that it needed it). They stated that they have run all tests they could on it and could not find anything else wrong but the cruise control is still coming on and off. They stated that they could replace the dash panel and see if that solves the problem but they cannot be certain that would do it. They also said they could go through the cars wiring to see if there is something wrong there. I had them stop there because they said that the problem with it stalling out was gone and it was only the cruise control actting up. Anyways that was a couple of weeks ago and the problems with it stalling and all the gauges jumping everywhere are back again. My wife called the dealer and they stated that if the code is not back in the computer that I would be charged again even though it is doing the same thing again. I have contacted Chrysler but am waiting to hear back from them at this time. I also forgot that I had problems with the motor overheating this summer. It might have been because of the heat but I have since seen many other people with over heating problems

Sunroof leaked.

Starter went out or so they say ,because after we got the car back from the dealer we would have times it would not start, put a new battery in it. Found out that insulation on the hot lead going from battery to the starter burned off and was making a short. Now with 54000 miles the car is making some strange nosies from tranny. Also had thje brakes and started done at the dealer, when the car was done it was dirty also. that never happened at GM

starter froze

radiator drain valve needed to be replaced because it was defective, this caused engine to overheat and blow head gasket.

Pursuant to a safety recall I took vehicle back to have instrument cluster gauges reprogramed. Vehicle had less than 4,000 miles. On or about 12/12/04, while driving all guages stopped working. No light, odometer, speedometer, cooling and fuel. All stopped working. Took vechicle back to same Chrysler dealer and they indicated that the vehicle was out of warranty and that I would have to pay $700.00 for the instument cluster repair. The vehicle has 24,000 miles on the odometer at the time the failure occurred. The vehicle is one month out of warranty as to months not miles.

Overheated once because corrosion of soft plugs which caused coolant to drain. Had it towed, fixed. Three weeks later, overheated while driving uphill. Checked coolant – still in system, but boiling. Left car to cool, drove home downhill. Car overheats again on the way to radiator shop. Radiator shop flushed it and replace bad cap. Drove fine for 20 mile, then overheated worse than before. Stopped driving altogether. New (3rd) mechanic found small leak in radiator and then tested cylinders 1 and 4. #1 had water in it, must be repaired, in addition to new radiator. 4th mechanic said mine would be the 3rd PT this month he’d seen with overheating issues. One had the timing belt replaced and the other required a new head gasket, like mine.

On Sep 30, 2002, vehicle taken in for loud knocking noise and hard to steer. Picked up and returned the same day. They replaced the broken lower motor mount bolt.On Jan 31, 2003, took vehicle in for leaking fluid and difficulty steering. The power steering hoase came loose and lost power steering fluid when lower motor mount bolt broke again.Oct 9, 2003, took vehicle in because this time both motor mounts broke. This caused major damage to engine compartment components.

On 10 January 2006, I purchased a 2002 PT Cruiser from Hatcher’s Pre-owned Auto Center. I noticed the rear tire was low and was advised to take it into Goodyear due the tires were covered under warranty. Took vehicle into Goodyear Tire Store to discover all of the tires on the vehicle were not Goodyear and they weren’t covered, thus had to purchase a set of tires.On 11 January 2006, I went to have an alarm placed on vehicle and to get the keyless remote control to lock and unlock vehicle. However, the tech said the powerlocks were not working and to take the vehicle back to dealer to have them working then to come back. Took the vehicle to the dealer who had his mechanic look at it. He kept the vehicle for hours, then said he called around and they told him the vehicle did not come with powerlocks, although there is a button the dash for it, and that he could tell there was wiring for it, but he could not tell where it went to.On 17 January, 2005 I also had been hearing a slapping or ticking sound in the car as I drove it. If the CD player was playing you could not hear it, but when the music was off, it was very noticeable. I went to Midas Muffler shop, and the guy came out, listened to the vehicle and told me, it sounded like it may be the engine.I took the vehicle to McKenzie Motors who is a very respected Auto Mechanic Service in town, and he put the vehicle onto a machine, and said I need to have the whole motor replaced in the vehicle. The motor is on order and should be in tomorrow, 22 January 2005. I think he said the motor was going to cost about $5000.00, and that it would come with a 3 year warranty. The vehicle currently is still supposed to be under a transferrable powertrain warranty, but the catch is I have to take it back to the dealer’s mechanic to make the repairs, and this is the same man who could not find the correct wiring for a powerlock switch. I’m very upset, because for what I’m having to pay, I could have bought a new car.

My husband and I went together to purchase a new car for my use in 2003. I wanted a PT Cruiser we had seen at a local dealer. My husband had known the sales man since he was a small boy and trusted him to make a good deal for us and to sell us a good car. The Cruiser I had my eye on was a brand new 2002 Inca Gold, Dream Cruiser. Leather, Heated seats, Moon Roof, electric everything…the works. Since it was a 2002 and it was now early 2003, (Tax Time!)the dealership was willing to make a very good deal in order not to pay the taxes on this high dollar car again. Also my husband works for the Chrysler Transmission plant in Kokomo, IN and is entitled to the employee discount. We did get a rather good deal at the purchase of the car. Since that day, I have come to believe that the dealer made the good deal just to get a troublesome car off the lot. At least a car with the potential for big trouble. On the day we drove it off the lot, we noticed that the tires had low air. My husband made a remark to the salesman, and was told that it was just from sitting too long. Ok, this is believable enough. So, we stopped and put air in the tires. Later the same week, again the tires are low, we go to the station and put in air again. A few days later…the same thing. We have had the car back into the dealer a number of times for repair…resealed, Valves, rims checked….you name it…no luck. Have also gone to a tire shop for repair…same luck. We have been told the problem is with the aluminum rims and that they will need replaced. However, the dealer will not accept that and will not accept the cost for replacing the rims, as the warranty is out on any such repair. We have also had a problem with the electric window control switches. Any time I would run the heater vents, the window controls would become too hot and would not work. This would also happen I very hot weather. We had to fight very hard to make the dealer do the repair, replacement on this at no cost to us. Last year the car began to over heat for no reason. The temp. gauge did not register that the car was hot. This turned out to be a sending unit or something like that. It tells the temp. gauge to register that the car is hot. We had the car in to be fixed. A few days later, my daughter had the car, it over heated again, did not register, and became so hot that it died. This cracked the head. We had to pay for more repairs. Since then we have still been having trouble with the tires, and now I believe the water pump may have gone out. My son and I had gone into town, a total of about 3

my car is now in the shop & needs a new engine. I bought the car w/16000. the mechanic ask me today how long I have had the car? I told him & he proceeded to tell me that the engine had been repaired. this had to have been BEFORE I bought the car! the head gaskets were not Chrysler. missing 2 bolts…torque was not correct on the others. now my gaskets are not bad as we 1st suspected but my block is cracked. the dealer should have told me about the previous repairs. & yes I have always had the oil problem. the brake problem & tire problem went away after I had the car lowered. I don\’t think its designed right. they could not even rotate my tires one time because the back ones were so \"wavy\" . had to put 3 sets of tires on the car within 2 yrs. wore funny in the back (wavy). finally had the car lowered & this has fixed the problem. gauge lights have went out. brakes are constantly going bad. emmissoins sensor failed . now I have to replace the head gaskets because there is something going on with the coolant/oil system. no lights ever come on to warn me I just catch the temp gauge going up. this is not right. I have done regualr maintanence on this car since day 1. bought it in 03 with 10000 miles.

MY 2002 Chrysler Pt-Cruiser,Touring edition has 97,525 mileson the engine and transmission.I am fanatical about keeping this car maintained extremely well.I just had my radiator drained, flushed, and filled, and my radiator cap replaced.I also replaced all four spark plugs with Bosch 4-way platinum plugs, and ohmed out plug wires.( They were good.)I replaced my Radiator fan Low speed and high speed relay, even though the relays were good.( The fan works.)I did all of this because my PT Cruiser, exactly like hundreds of other Chrysler PT Cruisers, ( 2001-2006 )began to run rough at Idle, and rougher at Idle with the A/C on. The diagnostic said,#1 Cylinder mis-firing.Thus new plugs were installed, and plug wires checked good. Rough Idle stopped.The engine registered hot into the red zone,Twice. Thus, I drained, flushed, and re-filled the radiator, and replaced the radiator cap. I drove the car Ten Miles and it started to heat up again. The engine temperature guage moved from Dead center, to one bar above center,at 40 miles per hour, with the A/C on. After I turned the A/C off, the Temperature guage returned to normal. When the vehicle is at a Stop, for a short periodof time,with the A/C on, It begins to get hot. My Thermostat is good. My Water pump is good.The fan is under-powered at High speed with A/C on.The upper radiator hose is routed under the Intake Manifold, causing the hose to heat up, as heat from the engine rises onto the hose,excessively heating the radiator coolant.The radiator fan cowling is also very shallow, and does not direct air forward, onto the engine, with any efficiency, whatsoever.Chrysler has some cooling system design flaws incorporated into all of these 2.4 Liter engines. They need to come clean, and offer a cooling system recall.

May 17, 2003 was the most recent episode. The car has been in for service 5 times for overheating. They’ve been unable to satisfactorily fix the problem or admit it’s a defect. I’ve lodged complaints with Chrysler Corporate, but they refuse to replace the vehicle. The only resolution they’re willing to offer is extended coverage, which won’t keep my car from overheating every time I attempt a trip longer than 30 minutes.

I was driving to work and all of a sudden for no reason the tempature light started flasing and dinging at me. I pulled over and steam was coming out . NO PRIOR indication that it was having a problem. Had to add antifreeze to the raditor and took it in to dealer, they changed the thermostat and told me the little seal was leaking. 2 weeks later the car is doing the same thing. had to put another gallon if antifreeze in. There is no indication of it leaking out anywhere, but where is it going???? and why do I have to keep adding antifreeze? It is going back to the dealer and we will try to locate this problem again. I need to know if you know why this is happening!!!

I purchased my 2002 PT Cruiser on July 19, 2001 with only 3 miles registered on odometer, from an out of town dealership. From day one I have had problems with the alignment, I have made numerous(7)attempts to resolve this matter with both the existing dealership and also with a local garage within my city. Everyone seems to shift the problem off to another, as it’s the tires and should be taken care of with the company that represents the tires. It has had 2 front end alignments, the first time they put in cambers, I have had numerous tire rotations & then 2 new tires put on the front. Finally I decided that it is in fact the dealership that should be making the resolutions, oddly enough they have no up to date equipment to even attempt to resolve this matter. I am in the process of filing a claim under the Lemon Law, I expect that the Corporation will indeed find this not to be a manufacturers defect and I will end up taking it to court with my own attorney.

I own a 2002 Chrysler PT Cruiser Limited Edition, VIN # 3C8FY68B72T317273. This is my first Chrysler product I have ever owned. I maintain my vehicle above and beyond factory specifications / requirements (i.e. I do oil changes sooner than required, I always use Mobil 1 Synthetic and Mobil 1 Oil Filter, I had my transmission fluid and coolant all flushed and replaced within factory recommendations, etc). My most recent vehicle service was at H.W. Hunter, Inc. Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge located at 1130 Auto Mall Drive, Lancaster, CA 93534. At the time of this service on April 4, 2005 I had 92,529 miles on my vehicle. Although my vehicle is out of the 3-year 36,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty, it was still within the 7-year 100,000-mile limited powertrain warranty. I have never been happy with the service of H.W. Hunter Chrysler, however they are the only local dealership within any reasonable distance. In fact, one time I actually drove my vehicle 75 miles south to Westoaks Chrysler in Thousand Oaks, CA strictly to obtain better service. I only brought my vehicle back to H.W. Hunter out of convenience and hoping that my prior experiences were just strokes of bad luck. My most recent service with H.W. Hunter Chrysler was April 4, 2005. Among the vehicle repairs to be addressed when I brought it in on 04/04/05 were: the power steering recall, a transmission leak which was causing my car to shift out of gear on its own, a replacement of one front passenger fog light bulb which had burst, and a safety/electrical issue with the instrument cluster. The power steering recall was completed just fine. I was advised by Ozzie Quinones, Service Advisor at H.W. Hunter Chrysler, that my transmission leak was covered by the 7 year 100,000 mile limited powertrain warranty and that there would be a $100.00 deductible for it. As such I agreed to the repair on those terms. I was told that two fog lights were ordered for repair, and I again advised that the repair order only requires one fog light for the front passenger side since the driver

I have one problem after another since buying this Certified Used PT Cruiser. I have had numerous tires blown out, always on the front passenger tire and have replaced a rim, which was bent on one of the blowouts. I have replaced one battery since buying this vehicle in May of 2004. The power door locks have a mind of their own and lock / unlock by themselves when they choose. My car transmission went out Tuesday, August 8th, 2005. It was my understanding that I had a 7 year / 100K Power Train Warranty on this vehicle and now Chrysler is telling me I don’t. I have found numerous articles from Chrysler when they announced this new Warranty would be introduced in July, 2002 and it is clearly stated that “any remaining 2002 models would be honored under this Warranty.” I am a single mother. I have a very hard time financially and it is all I can do to provide for my children. I purchased the Certified Pre-Owned car because of the warranty. Please help!!!

i have had (3) blow outs, last one was on 11/2/04i have had the brakes repaired once by the dealer shortly after i purchased the vehicle in 11/03 and had the brakes replaced in oct. 03 and rotors replaced in aug. 04.now i have been told by the dealership my transmission “broke” with transmission fluid ok.(i experienced no leakage from the vehicle)i only purchased the car in 11/03 with 14,000 miles, not only do i have to make my payment for the next 4 years,now i have to borrow the money from family member to pay for the repairs.i am single and self supporting and it is very difficult for me to come up with the repair bill.i was told to repair my car it was going to cost:12 month warranty – $2400.0036 month warranty – $3600.00i’ve only owned my car for 1 year and i have experienced more problems with this vehicle that i really care to have.

I have called and had my car towed to the local dealer after for an unknown reason the while driving on the freeway at approximately 65 mph with the cruise control on my car veered to the left from the right hand lane. I tried to brake without much success and at the last minute was able to steer away from the concrete median. Upon examination of the car I found the driver’s front wheel had cracked and was peeling off. As this was the Wednesday night or actually Thursday 1:am of Thanksgiving I waited to take the car to the dealer until Monday AM. In between the tire went flat. Now I am told by the dealer that I must contact you to have you contact them as they do not believe the repairs are covered under the warranty. I can email photos if necessary. Also, I have waited 3 time on hold for at least 12 minutes for service via the phone. Please respond ASAP. The dealer will not repair the vehicle without your inspection and approval.Thank You,Pauline RodriguezPS The original purchaser was Thomas Poncy my father.

I bought this car new and the battery failed the first time at 6 months, the second time at approximately 14 months, the third time at about 22 months. So far I have replaced the battery at least seven times. The last time was in August 2007.I replaced the front brakes at 16,000 miles and have had a problem with squealing rear brakes repeatedly. I would take the car in and the service dept would clean out any brake dust in the rear and they would be quiet for a couple of days to a week at most. I finally gave up and just dealt with the noise. I am now once again replacing the front brakes and rotors.This brings me to the latest problem with this car. I found the coolant low the first week of March 2008, filled it up and things seemed fine. March 12, I am driving home and notice a slight ticking noise coming from the engine whenever I pressed on the accelerator. Within a couple of minutes the sound became louder and I noticed it was running a little hot so I started to get off the freeway. As I was on the offramp, the car died. I had it towed. The verdict was a blown head gasket and a warped head. I am now looking at $4,000 of repairs on a vehicle that has 61,000 miles on it.I have had more problems with this car than my last two used cars combined! This is my very first brand new car and it will be my last.

I bought my PT Cruiser New, and only a few months after I had it I noticed it was leaking power steering fluid. I brought it in a couple of times before they agreed that the Rack and pinion was cracked. It took them 5 days before they gave it back to me. They gave the car back to me dirty and they did not tighten the nuts and screws. Now a year later, the Rack and Pinion is cracked again!!!!! This is not right!!!!!! I was told that the part is on National back order!!!! And to drive the car with power steering fluid and put it in ever so often. This is dangerious, It is the steering, not a radio!!!!!I also received the car with tape marks on the bumper and was told that they would wash off, well it is two years later and they did not come off!!! I know many others PT have the same marks.

Automatic Transmission failed at 37,000 miles. Chrysler repaired and waived the $100.00 deductible after I chatted with the Service Manager. Now, at 73,000 miles the automatic transmission went out again two hours from home. Car should be in the shop for another week or two. Car does have a 100,000 mile warranty with a $100.00 deductible. Transmission don\’t drop out every 35,000 miles, do they?!

At 30,000 mile checkup, mechanic found that the right front brake pads were worn through and the left had normal wear due to a malfunction with the brake calipers. Calipers and brake pads had to be replaced. Also, wheels had to be realigned and front tires replaced because of uneven wear. Since the brakes are under warranty for only 12,000 miles or 12 months, I did not take the car to the dealer for repair.

2002 PT Cruiser Transmission failed without any signs that there was a problem. Transmission never skipped, never leaked any transmission fluid. While driving on I95 going north, engine light came on. Went to nearest exit, going off exit ramp, heard loud noise. Manage to pull to side of ramp. Automatic transmission did not respond. Look under hood and checked transmission fluid. Was smoking and could smell rubber or oil burning. Had it towed to nearest Crysler dealership. Transmission needed to be replaced. Cost of $3484.66. This is a major car repair. Have a excellent maintenance record. Always use Crysler dealership to do regular maintenance on cruiser when due. Heard from many other people having transmission problems and transmission replacements with Crysler cars. This seemed to be a BIG problem with Crysler.

When this happened twice in a 3 month period ( currently in the shop btw ) and the mechanic stating the timing belt slipped once again causing the motor to blow, again I am upset. I bought the car used in Nov of 2008, in that time it has spent a month in for repairs. I have searched online about these problems,

The engine had a blown head gasket due to an internal coolant leak The engine cooling problem has just started in the summer the temp rises if the A/C is on The transmission went out while I was driving down the road and my extended warranty just covered it

Several months ago my car overheated. I had it analyzed and found the electric fan needed replacing. $450.00. Now it is May and the car started overheating again. It heats up and then cools down with no loss of coolant. We replaaced the thermostat for the second time in 6 months. It still overheats. Water bubbles in the overflo tank. I also had the tension pulley replaced last week as it was making a noise. The mechanic showed it to me and it was bad. He also replaced pulleys and belts and water pump at that time for $600.00. Now after reading that so many of these cars have overheating problems that can’t be properly diagnosed we don’t know what else to do. It is very expensive doing the trial and error rout.

In September of 2009, while driving home, the heating gauge began to show the the car was rapidly overheating. I turn off the AC immediately, which didn’t help the problem. I did make it home and parked the car. When I turned it off I heard a loud gurgling noise. I let the car cool down and checked the radiator, which was empty and so was the overflow. I put in coolant, started the car and let it run. When I turned it off I noticed coolant under the car to the rear of the engine. From all the information that I gathered, I’m pretty sure it’s the water pump. Oh yeah, the rear brake light has gone out also.

First overheated in April, had fan replaced, then next day overheated again. took to another shop replaced thermostat and flushed radiator. Still overheated, then took to third shop, they could not get it to overheat, drove it around for them got it to overheat and spilled anti-freeze all on ground. They determined that the fan was not working on high speed (it was replaced in April) so they replaced the High side fan fuse. Still overheating. Would like to know WHY?
Note from another PT owner. There is a chronic problem with 2001 to 2003 Chrysler PT Crusiers overheating, and there appears to be no solution to the problem. The following discussion thread has over 250 people complaining about this problem, and only a small fraction of them have had satisfactory solutions. http://www.topix.com/forum/autos/chrysler-pt-cruiser/T3QTLFA0VL7R6IS09 The above link is ONE thread out of many dozens of similar discussions on many dozens of web sites out there.

Car overheated when driving. After cooling and adding coolant it repeated. Mechanic had to replace water pump, head gasket, rebuild the head, replace cracked exhaust manifold and installed new cooling fan motor.

Pe04-028 was opened to investigate seven complaints alleging that the engine compartment caught fire on my 2002 pt cruiser vehicles.on june 3, 2004, daimlerchrysler (dcc) notified nhtsa of a safety defect in my 2001-2005 pt cruiser vehicles equipped with naturally aspirated 2.4l engines and automatic transaxles (recall 04v-268).the notification identified variation of the high pressure power steering hose routing, which allowed the hose to contact the transaxle differential cover, as the factor contributing to this defect.contact between the power steering hose and the transaxle differential cover can cause hose damage and power steering fluid leakage, which can potentially result in a fire. (note: the failure data in this resume is limited to my 2001-2003 vehicles per dcc's pe04-028 information responses.)this condition was limited to vehicles with automatic transaxles as vehicles with manual transmissions have substantial clearance between the transaxle differential cover and the power steering hose due to a smaller transaxle design.this condition also does not adversely affect vehicles with turbo engines, which have a different power steering hose routing that provides substantial clearance between the transaxle differential cover and hose.daimlerchrysler will instruct owners to bring their vehicles to a dealer to have the power steering hose assembly inspected and relocated, or replaced, as necessary, and to confirm the torque of the hose fastener at the steering gear end.

There are no injuries or fatalities associated with this alleged defect.while conducting this investigation, odi found that the subject cinches meet the load bearing requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard 208, and that many of the reported failures were due to incorrect child safety seat installations. additionally, the report rate is low (1.60/100k).the information available fails to establish the existence of a defect trend at this time.further allocation of agency resources to this issue is unwarranted and the preliminary evaluation is being closed.

Pe04-028 was opened to investigate seven complaints alleging that the engine compartment caught fire on my 2002 pt cruiser vehicles.on june 3, 2004, daimlerchrysler (dcc) notified nhtsa of a safety defect in my 2001-2005 pt cruiser vehicles equipped with naturally aspirated 2.4l engines and automatic transaxles (recall 04v-268).the notification identified variation of the high pressure power steering hose routing, which allowed the hose to contact the transaxle differential cover, as the factor contributing to this defect.contact between the power steering hose and the transaxle differential cover can cause hose damage and power steering fluid leakage, which can potentially result in a fire. (note: the failure data in this resume is limited to my 2001-2003 vehicles per dcc's pe04-028 information responses.)this condition was limited to vehicles with automatic transaxles as vehicles with manual transmissions have substantial clearance between the transaxle differential cover and the power steering hose due to a smaller transaxle design.this condition also does not adversely affect vehicles with turbo engines, which have a different power steering hose routing that provides substantial clearance between the transaxle differential cover and hose.daimlerchrysler will instruct owners to bring their vehicles to a dealer to have the power steering hose assembly inspected and relocated, or replaced, as necessary, and to confirm the torque of the hose fastener at the steering gear end.

Pe04-028 was opened to investigate seven complaints alleging that the engine compartment caught fire on my 2002 pt cruiser vehicles.on june 3, 2004, daimlerchrysler (dcc) notified nhtsa of a safety defect in my 2001-2005 pt cruiser vehicles equipped with naturally aspirated 2.4l engines and automatic transaxles (recall 04v-268).the notification identified variation of the high pressure power steering hose routing, which allowed the hose to contact the transaxle differential cover, as the factor contributing to this defect.contact between the power steering hose and the transaxle differential cover can cause hose damage and power steering fluid leakage, which can potentially result in a fire. (note: the failure data in this resume is limited to my 2001-2003 vehicles per dcc's pe04-028 information responses.)this condition was limited to vehicles with automatic transaxles as vehicles with manual transmissions have substantial clearance between the transaxle differential cover and the power steering hose due to a smaller transaxle design.this condition also does not adversely affect vehicles with turbo engines, which have a different power steering hose routing that provides substantial clearance between the transaxle differential cover and hose.daimlerchrysler will instruct owners to bring their vehicles to a dealer to have the power steering hose assembly inspected and relocated, or replaced, as necessary, and to confirm the torque of the hose fastener at the steering gear end.

Pe04-028 was opened to investigate seven complaints alleging that the engine compartment caught fire on my 2002 pt cruiser vehicles.on june 3, 2004, daimlerchrysler (dcc) notified nhtsa of a safety defect in my 2001-2005 pt cruiser vehicles equipped with naturally aspirated 2.4l engines and automatic transaxles (recall 04v-268).the notification identified variation of the high pressure power steering hose routing, which allowed the hose to contact the transaxle differential cover, as the factor contributing to this defect.contact between the power steering hose and the transaxle differential cover can cause hose damage and power steering fluid leakage, which can potentially result in a fire. (note: the failure data in this resume is limited to my 2001-2003 vehicles per dcc's pe04-028 information responses.)this condition was limited to vehicles with automatic transaxles as vehicles with manual transmissions have substantial clearance between the transaxle differential cover and the power steering hose due to a smaller transaxle design.this condition also does not adversely affect vehicles with turbo engines, which have a different power steering hose routing that provides substantial clearance between the transaxle differential cover and hose.daimlerchrysler will instruct owners to bring their vehicles to a dealer to have the power steering hose assembly inspected and relocated, or replaced, as necessary, and to confirm the torque of the hose fastener at the steering gear end.