10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
72,278 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2008 Chrysler PT Cruiser drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2008 Chrysler PT Cruiser Owner Comments

problem #9

Apr 112018

PT Cruiser

  • 35,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2008 Chrysler PT CRUISER. While driving 40 mph and depressing the accelerator pedal, the transmission made a loud knocking noise and all the warning indicators illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to marx auto center (132 rockdale ave, South dartmouth, MA 02748, (508) 997-2377), but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 35,000.

- Fall River, MA, USA

problem #8

May 142016

PT Cruiser

  • 137,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Chrysler PT CRUISER. While driving 30 mph, the vehicle jerked back and forth as if the brakes were being depressed and released. In addition, the vehicle began to smoke without warning. The contact was an independent mechanic and repaired the vehicle; however, the diagnosis was unknown. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 137,000.

- Dallas, TX, USA

problem #7

Sep 012015

PT Cruiser

  • 103,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Chrysler PT CRUISER. The contact stated that the accelerator pedal became stuck to the floorboard, while driving at 60 mph. The contact also stated that the horn activated and the vehicle jerked. The contact attempted to merge to the shoulder of the road and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact also mentioned that the air bag warning light illuminated intermittently. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 103,000.

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #6

May 232014

PT Cruiser

  • 89,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I have been driving this car for a while and on the day this happened I had returned from work parked in my driveway with no problems. When it was time to go back to work I backed out of the driveway and noticed the car handled hard. I stopped shifted it back into park and then went back into drive still the steering was hard to turn. Of course the was late Friday memorial day weekend so I ended up renting a car for 5 days because of the holiday and the fact I had an extended warranty so no Chrysler certified mechanic was on duty to work on my car.Tuesday morning I go over to the dealership only to be told a belt had slipped and there was no explanation for why it happened. I wasn't charged for this but it cost me a tow and 5 days of rental for a car so I could get to and from work. When I got on this site I couldn't find any info so I still am not sure if the car is safe to take very far.

- Muskegon, MI, USA

problem #5

Apr 252014

PT Cruiser

  • miles
My transmission will not go into the last gear and was slipping. Car has 38,000 miles on it and when I had it checked out the mechanic said there was a cellinoid bad in the transmission and when he replaced it the transmission still was not working properly by not changing gears and when he took the part back to the parts store he was informed that there was a problem with Chrysler transmissions. I had a Town & Country van several years ago and that transmission also was defective. Now I cannot get my money back from buying a part that really wasn't needed because the transmission it self is defective. My mechanic felt so bad about this that he checked the internet and discovered Chrysler has a problem with their transmissions. What rights or what can we do about this? I do not have monies to squander and I am still paying for my car. Thanks.

- South Bend, IN, USA

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problem #4

Apr 182014

PT Cruiser 4-cyl

  • 89,954 miles
Everytime I turn on the ac unit the fan doesn't come on right away and when it does it pops and the car begins to over heat. At the time I turn off the power.

- Stockbridge, GA, USA

problem #3

Apr 292010

PT Cruiser 4-cyl

  • 30,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The clutch started to make it hard to shift the transmission. This is Arizona so it starts to warm up to about 100 degrees around this time (end of April). This then occurred again in 2011 and 2012 from April to the end of October (when it starts to cool off below 100 degrees). Every year it has become progressively worse and today it is almost impossible to shift. There should be a recall since this an ongoing issue with all warm weather located pt's.

- Chandler, AZ, USA

problem #2

Aug 022012

PT Cruiser

  • 133,450 miles
The car tends to stall when driving in excess of 50, it will jerk a couple of times before going forward. It has been doing this for two weeks, I bought this car about a month ago. When going online to see if others were having this problem, I found it to be a common problem with people seeking and trying all types of solutions. Even taking the car back to the dealership and still having the same stall and rough idling. It appears to be a defect in the manufacturing.

- Mcdonough, GA, USA

problem #1

Aug 192009

PT Cruiser

  • 33,100 miles
My daughter was on her way to nursing school when her 2008 PT CRUISER accelerated on its own, with her foot off the gas pedal, to approximately 85 mph she had to use both feet on the brakes to stop it. I arrived about 15 minutes later, started the car, the accelerator was still stuck in the wide open position. Chrysler towed the auto to olathe Chrysler, they said no codes were stored and said nothing was wrong with the automobile. After a extended conversation, the service manager agreed to replace the accelerator cable and the throttle body. But stated he did not think they were the problem but had no other ideas. When I asked if it was safe for my daughter to drive, he said I should drive it for a while in case it happened again. My response was is it safe for me to drive he said be careful. I also called Chrysler but got the same response, without codes stored it is very hard to fix. They were very non-committal when asked will the car be safe to drive after the cable and throttle body are replaced?

- Olathe, KS, USA

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