Loud grinding/growling noise, thumping sound when driving. Gets louder when accelerating. Replaced tires 6/08 thought it was that. Found out its the front wheel bearings and hubs.

- Burnsville, MN, USA

While driving my 2004 Chrysler PT CRUISER, I started hearing a grinding noise coming from the front end of the car. In just a matter of days I could tell it was getting louder. I thought it might be the brakes but I just had the front brakes replaced 6,000 miles earlier. I took it to the mechanic where I had the brakes done and after checking the car he told me the problem was the left front wheel bearings. It cost me $556.23 to replace the front left hub and the bearings on both front wheels. After the repair, he showed me the old hub and bearings. The part was broken and several of the bearings were missing. He said if I had continued to drive the car in that condition, it was very likely the front left wheel would fall off, possibly causing serious injury or death. This is a serious safety issue and I believe Chrysler needs to issue a recall for this problem. There is only 28,560 miles on this vehicle. There is no way a car with this many miles should be having this kind of problem.

- Anaheim, CA, USA

Experienced front driver side wheel bearing and hub failure - replaced at cost of $350. Inspection during this repair revealed that the front lower control arm bushings had deteriorated and were in need of replacement as well - put off $600 repair until later date. 56,000 miles 2004 PT CRUISER limited.

- Bartlett, IL, USA

Less than 19,000 miles on the 2004 Chrysler PT CRUISER and the wheel bearings on front went bad. The driver's side was so bad I did not drive it further than a block from work, the closest place. They charged me $313 to fix the driver's side. The next day, I found outt he car was still under warranty, bought it second hand. I took it to the dealership, and they confirmed the passenger's side was also going bad and replaced it and the damaged hub. Chrysler will not reimburse me the $313 because it was not fixed at a dealership. The driver's side hub was not replaced, and they will not cover this under warranty either. This should be under warranty as well. A car with less than 19,000 miles should not have bad wheel bearings already. The driver's side was so bad that the wheel could have seized or fallen off and caused a serious injury or death to myself and/or others on the interstate. All four tires have some kind of defect, and the front tires have worn unevenly due to the damaged wheel bearings. Chrysler will not replace front tires under warranty.

- Spring Hill, TN, USA