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.
When I purchased the car in January 2014 it had 58,000 miles on it. One week after purchase the right rear brake light blew out. I went back to the dealership (carmax) and had it replaced.no problem. Three months later the light has blown again. I get a mechanic to look at it, needs a socket replacement. #issue 1 in May 2014, there was a slight elevation in the temperature (high 80's), I wanted to try on the a.C., when doing so I heard a "pop" that sounded like it came from the vent. I thought maybe it came from not being used for awhile. The air did not blow cold right away, it took about 15 mins before the car began to cool. Now on the second attempt to run the a.C., the same things happened (the "pop", 15min cooling time) but a new problem came up...when I put the car in park it began to shake! it was idling, while sitting; then when I put it in drive it was okay (slight idle, but stopped). This problem does not happen all the time, it is very spontaneous. My plan was to get service on the a.C but I'm not sure that's the real problem #issue 2 please help!!!!
I had stopped at a signal light and was hit in an front /head on crash there was no air bag deployment - thecar was deemed as a total lost per my insurance the damage was front left finder - hood = bumper - grill left suspension parts radiator oil cooler and frame I feel that if the car is going to sustain that much damage the car would have deployed the air bags. I have seen cars that the airbags deployed when hit hard enough to scuff the front bumper also the horn would like to stick when depressed some time the horn would sound some time the horn would not make any sound till you beat the darn thing.
I bought this PT CRUISER from a local dealer, the first time it turned off I was at a stop sign and thought it just stalled from not being warmed up. About a week later I was driving down a local road doing 50 miles per hour when I bumped the key in the ignition with my knee. The car turned off. Luckily it was a straight road with no traffic and I was able to guide the car to a stop then restart it. This has happened a few times more, all with bumping my knee against the ignition key. It instantly turns the car off. With the GM recall in the news I wasn't paying attention since I don't have a GM car but decided to look when I heard it involved the ignition turning the car off. I saw that it is similar yet nothing being done about my ignition so I am filing this complaint. I have notified Chrysler of this problem I am experiencing. I know that many parts are used across brands and these parts may be the same. I am worried I may bump my knee on a windy road with my children in the car and not be able to recover stability and steering if it turns off. Please check into this immediately!!
Trunk lock will not open. There is no trunk keyed lock for insertion of a physical key and there is no emergency manual release on the trunk door itself. Lock only has functionality from key remote or lock release on driver door which is not working.
The issues started at the end of November early December 2013. My car battery was unable to hold a charger and my car continuously would not start. I spent about 200 to have the alternator and starter tested as well as get a new battery put into my car. I then had the same situation happen the mechanic tried a new battery and my car worked for a week. Then it died again the mechanic sent me to an electrician the electrician still claimed it was the battery. Then today I had the car jump started again only to find I got not even half a mile from where I was and my car lights all over started flickering then my car completely shut off to the point my emergency four ways would not even work this happened right at a green light my car wasn't even stopped. This happened late at night so it was dark out and I had to call 911 because I was unsafe and so was anyone else trying to get down the road because I had no ability to signal to people in a safe way to move into the other lane. I have also found numerous reports by people driving my year and other years of the same make and model who have had very similar issues to mine. With a constant response of being told that there either is no problem with the car or they can say there is because they cannot duplicate the problem at the time. These cars are walking death traps to there owners when this happens cause it comes out of nowhere with no explanation and the company/dealer refuses to acknowledge the problem. I really don't think it is right for this to go unspoken any longer because if no one has been killed by it yet its a huge chance someone will/could! a vehicle cannot be perfectly fine if it just quits while driving for no reason at all.
When driving the car, dashboard lights start flickering, gauges start bouncing. Sometimes this is all that happens, other times it's as if the car stalls as I have no acceleration. A couple of times, the engine has shut itself off. In researching this online, I find dozens and dozens of instances of this same thing happening with PT CRUISER.
Just after I bought this car, I have had this intermittent problem...while driving, at some point, all the dash lights go on, seat belt etc. As well as all the needles, speedometer, gas etc will go down...this can happen several times in a row, at which point the car has stalled out. About April 2012 the ic panel was replaced. After several times at the dealer and they couldn't get the car to make the problem happen. Well, it doesn't end there...last fall the problem started happening all over again!!!! the dealer had it again several times, but this time they never diagnosed the problem. So, I figured I could drive the car with no heat, or air conditioning, no radio, no cruise control and the problem hasn't occurred, until just recently...this time it goes off continually, sometimes. This is so scary! the car can stall anywhere! I have been seeing this same issue on several blogs...still unresolved.
In April 2012 my air conditioner started turning to warm air while waiting at a traffic light and acting as if it wanted to cut off. I took it to the dealer they couldn't find anything wrong. On August 6, 2012 I returned to the dealer with same problem, I was told there was a leak in the line, and if more problems bring it back. On August 8th the air conditioner not only turned warm the car cut off. As long as I'm running steady on the highway it works fine.I actually have to turn the air off at traffic lights or not run it at all around the city, I returned again to the dealer to no avail. I went on line to just answer today, Chrysler expert informing me that possibly the electric cooling fan needs replacing which is common in PT CRUISER.I am concerned it will cause more problems to my car.
My infant nephews and my niece were in car seats in the back, I have had the vehicle for 2 months. I have noticed the car locking itself while I drive, but this time it locked itself and would not respond to the clicker (remote) or the key to unlock until my nephews were panicked (about seven/ten minutes that time) it opened and I got them out, but it upset me since then it has happened with my passengers and this morning, it locked me in from the inside and nothing would release the locks, not the door not the remote, not the manual. I looked online and found that a lot of people are having this problem and they are being told its the rkem, this is a hazard and a half, I was about ready to bust the windows for myself (I was locked in for almost twenty minutes/had to keep restarting the car to get air in, because it was hot. I cannot imagine how this would not be a recall item.
Dashboard, inside, outside lights stopped working; windshield and back window wipers stopped working. According to dealership service dept. - instrument cluster need to be replaced; it happened again in 2011, and now again in 2012. Per dealership service dept., ca law requires it be replaced - for safety sake.
While driving on a major interstate, and crossing a bridge across the columbia river with no shoulder, the cars electrical system went haywire. All the gauges started to cut in and out (gas, speed and RPM all the dash lights came on), and then the car stalled and died. There was an 18 wheeler directly behind me and he saw my flashers and I was frantically honking my horn because I thought I was about to die. He was able to get out of the way, but there was another 18 wheeler directly behind him and that one nearly hit us. This would have easily killed me and my family ( a beautiful 16 month old daughter and a beautiful wife who is a newly graduated dvm. Miraculously the car restarted during my panic, and I was able to drive off. I immediately took the car to the dealership, and told them of the problem. They ran exhaustive tests and could not find anything wrong, and said they have never heard of the problem either, which is odd because I did a little research on the internet and found others have had this problem as well: www.ptcruiserlinks.com/forum/tech-performance-forum/33457-flashing-icons-gauges-go-up-down-then-car-dies.html then I found this site and found even more problems that are earily similar. This car is not safe! please initiate an investigation!!!!
The contact owns a 2008 Chrysler PT CRUISER. The contact stated that the instrument cluster would flash on and off while driving at various speeds on an intermittent basis. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where they advised him that the vehicle would have to be reprogrammed. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 48,000.
During driving operations, this is after start up, the dash board indicators will blink on, light up. This description includes all of the indicators, such as low tire pressure, oil, seat belt, etc.
The contact owns a 2008 Chrysler PT CRUISER. The contact stated that the dashboard light indicators would all illuminate erroneously while driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where they advised him that they were unable to diagnose the failure and that he would have to take the vehicle to the dealer. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.
The contact owns a 2008 Chrysler PT CRUISER. The contact stated that while driving 55 mph, the lights on the instrument panel began to flash and the vehicle suddenly stalled. The speedometer also malfunctioned. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who could not find the cause for failure. The failure mileage was 36,000.
The contact owns a 2008 Chrysler PT CRUISER. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the seat belt warning light would illuminate, followed by the illumination of the every warning light on the instrument panel, and then the vehicle would stall. The vehicle was able to be restarted after a few moments. The contact stated that the failure would occur on an intermittent basis. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer who informed the contact that they were unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 21,000.
The brake lights and tail lights and turn signals all stopped working at an unknown time this year another driver told me they weren't working and the dealer told me it was a problem in the fuse box or part of it and wanted over $800 to fix it. My PT CRUISER is a 2008 with apx 48,000 miles on it. The A/C system also failed when some smoke came from the front of the car. Not sure if there is a connection but the lights is a safety problem and the turn signals come on inside but not outside so I wouldn't know unless some one told me. I think the manufacturer should be responsible for this and the service adviser and parts department indicated this is a common problem.
A couple months ago my pt started acting up. The volume on the radio will turn up and down without touching anything. Also the radio will change stations back and forth without touching a button. I took it to the dealership and they said they couldn't find anything wrong with my car. The problem still happens to this day, just at random times.
Fog lights turn on an off by themselves, does not matter weather the car is turned on or off, or even if the key is in the ignition. Came out of work to find my battery was dead because the fog lights were on. If you go to the following link, you will see over 300 postings regarding the exact same issue: www.topix.com/forum/autos/Chrysler-pt-cruiser/tf81khbdldvt92ah2.
- Irvine, CA, USA
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- Newport News, VA, USA