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.
Sporadic instrument cluster powers on and off illuminating all lights. When condition occurs it is vastly distracting unable to determine vehicle speed accurately. When the issue is present the engine will typically shut off. This seems like an incredibly bad condition to allow in a vehicle and contacting Chrysler led to no solution for resolving. Internet search suggests this is not a one off situation and exists across several model years. Chrysler does have a recall notice "01V288000" for model year 2001 which appears to be very similar in nature. Due to the highly distracting nature of this condition and frequency of similar owner reports it seems particularly egregious that a recall notice does not exist.
While running at 45 mph all the warning lights came on, the gauges went to zero, and the motor started stumbling. Trying to nurse it home, I stopped at a red light where the previous things happened again but also the motor completely shut off. This left me stopped in the middle of a busy 4 lane highway. Engine finally restarted where I drove it home. This is the 3rd time this has happened and I see where online this has been complained about over and over. I can not afford to throw thousands of dollars at it and Chrysler doesn't care.
While driving all the warning light come on engine stalls even at freeway speeds. Car has to stopped, key turned off and restarted and the errors clear. It has done since it was new.. it has been researched by dealer while in for service. Never fixed it is still doing it..
I purchased the vehicle in December of 2016. The odometer reading was 74,000 miles at that time. It functioned without problems until March 2018. The car was driven about 2 miles and then was parked for about 5 hours. I started the car and drove about 2 blocks at about 25 mph when all the dashboard lights came on, the gas gauge went to empty and I felt a loss of power. It recovered after a few seconds. It happened again about 1 minute later. I coasted to a stop sign and turned off the engine. I turned it back on about 30 seconds later and drove on. I turned onto a busy street and after driving a few blocks in traffic the power loss happened again. It recovered on its own after about 5 seconds. I got off the busy S street and onto a side street. It happened again after driving a few blocks and did not recover. I coasted into a parking spot and turned off the ignition. After about 5 minutes I started the car and drove about 1.5 miles to my house without incident. The car spent several weeks in a reputable local repair shop. They could not replicate the problem, so could not diagnose. I then drove the car for about 2 months without incident. It has started doing it again. I do not believe I can safely drive it on a busy street or a freeway.
I was in a hwy. All of a sudden, all the gauges light up and I lost power. I push the gas pedal but no acceleration. I managed to park on the side. I turned off the engine and restarted the car again. This happened just 3 weeks after I bought the car. It happened again one month later. It has been now one week later. I am afraid it is going to happen again. It is a very safety hazard since I always travel on a busy highway.
My vehicle shuts off randomly while driving 2 mph and while on the highway going 65 mph. Very scary, do not feel safe in my own car. Fear for the safety of my family.
I've had my PT CRUISER for atleast 3 years now. Today as I was driving all the lights started going on and off on the dash board and was acting as if it were going to stall out. However, every time I hit the gas the mph gauge would go up. However my gauges on my dash board had stopped working until I'd hit the gas petal again. It did this for at least a few minutes I was on a busy road when it happened and was not able to pull off the road. I've been hearing a lot of rumors going on about PT CRUISER losing power and locking up on people and bad things happening I think Chrysler needs to get on the ball and fix these issues with their vehicles since we are only the ones that buy them under faith of safety. I had this happen one other time when I first got it but I didn't think nothing of it. The issue seems to be happening more and more often. It's not even at 100,000 miles yet and I am having this many issues. This PT CRUISER needs to be recalled! me or my children best not get hurt it this thing due to Chrysler's neglect on this issue. I've seen many people complain about this issue and nothing being done. Who has to die before it's resolved"!" I would've had pictures but the lights turned off and it went back to normal before I was able to take a snap shot or video of it. Because if I lose power again and it malfunctions and me or my kids get hurt when Chrysler has been notified and they don't do anything there will be a law suit. If I had known this issue would occur I would have never bought it, infact I'm still paying on it for another 2 yrs.
This occurs all the time wether I am driving on residental road or on a highway going 70 mph. My car feels like it is losing power which it is. All the lights on my dash are lit up like a christmas tree and I have to pull over to the side of the road very carefully as I lose steering as well. Sometimes I can just restart the car and everything is fine, sometimes it is a few minutes and a few times it has taken a few hours. I have taken the car in to get the codes read but they tell me it is either the gas cap is loose or another issue with the fuel. I took it to my mechanic and they put it on their computer and got different readings. I was told it was a fuel vacuum problem which was corrected. I still have the issues. Now sometimes the engine jerks and pulls but I don't loose power. Mechanic is unable to find problem. Did not take to dealership after reading all the horror stories about paying dealers tons of money and still not having a working car. Also if I have more then one key on my keyring then the ignition switch doesn't work. If I limit my keyring to just my car key and house key then my car starts everytime and no cutting out while at complete stop like it has in the past. We bought the car used in July 2011 and it now has aprox. 66,000 miles.
After starting and running normally for about 20 minutes, the vehicle will begin to exhibit electrical issues. The gauges will drop to zero and then slowly return, the warning lights will flash, and the warning chime will sound repeatedly. It seems like when this happens the engine goes through a start cycle. Most of the time, this problem is otherwise asymptomatic, but occasionally it results in sudden power loss to the engine. It does not seem to matter if the vehicle is moving or not; it happens if the vehicle is stopped, moving slowly, moving quickly, etc. The engine has lost power more than once at a critical moment (turning left, clearing an intersection) and multiple times in moving traffic.
The contact owns a 2009 Chrysler PT CRUISER. While driving at various speeds, the speedometer and fuel gauge fluctuated and the engine stalled. The failures recurred numerous times. The dealer diagnosed that the camshaft, alternator, battery post, and battery needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failures. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000.
Engine dies at speed, and will restart in a second or two (manual transmission). Gauges go haywire. Can sometimes reset condition for a while (minutes to an hour) by turning key off-on, or restarting while at speed - sometime not. Has gotten much worse, car now has 185,000 miles. Replaced engine PCM - no effect. Replaced engine tipm - no effect. Kind of scary when this happens pulling out into traffic. Software design defect?
The contact owns a 2009 Chrysler PT CRUISER. While driving various speeds, the engine stalled and the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The contact stated the failure occurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated that the timing sensor failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 45,000.
Purchased vehicle a couple of years ago with about 32,000 miles, everything has been great until a couple of weeks ago. At about 41,000 vehicle has started stalling when moving, horn will not quit, starting issues and dash lights flash on and off. This is a very dangerous issue and I have read most of the prior 60 complaints dating back to 2010 and nothing has been done by Chrysler. I have heard on the national news that there is finally a recall with this vehicle but my VIN # is not included for some reason.
This is the 2nd PT CRUISER that I have owned. The first one was great! but...this one!! ongoing problems since we have owned the car!!!! seat belt wouldn't unlock couldn't get out of car. I was locked in. Someone had to open door from outside. Lights always flickering. Loss power. Acts up while driving. Finally got so bad that the car would just stall out. Took to dealership and was told they couldn't find anything wrong. They said...and I quote "remember we didn't do anything." Why would they say that" the latest... lights flickering, radio going on and off stopped at a store. When I came couldn't unlock the car with my remote. Had to use key to get in, alarm went off, had to jump in and start car to turn alarm off. Pulled out into traffic and the car quit. Completely stalled out. Turned everything off, put in park and it started up but I parked it at a friends that lived one block away. Was afraid to drive it. 3 hours later went to pick car up and nothing worked. No lights no juice no click no nothing got it jumped started. Went straight to advanced auto because it was late. Alternator ok battery ok I just want to get rid of it but don't want someone else stuck with this lemon what do I do????"
The contact owns a 2009 Chrysler PT CRUISER. While driving various speeds, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The dealer was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was unavailable. The approximate failure mileage was 41,000. Updated 12/03/14 updated 8/31/2017
As stated in a previous complaint. The gauges start lighting up and the vehicle shuts off, I have found that if you wiggle the key it can stop what is happening. It is very dangerous because the vehicle loses all power when this happens and when traveling on the highway or trying to pass this could cause serious injury. I received notification that this item has been addressed by your office for other Chrysler and Dodge vehicles but the recall did not include the PT CRUISER. NHTSA campaign id number: 14V373 sounds identical to what my vehicle is doing. I also have video that shows what the vehicle is doing. Please advise if the PT CRUISER is going to be included in this recall and if not and I pay to have the ignition switch replace will I be refunded in the event that the pta cruiser is included in the recall. This is a very costly repair. In addition I would like to address the horn on my vehicle. It has been repaired previously by the Chrysler dealer but does not work properly. When depressed it sticks or doesn't work at all without alot of force. Thank you for your time and consideration.
After driving for about 5 minutes and going about 35 mph the lights on the instrument panel went on and all the gauges went to zero. I didn't totally lost power but slowed down and the gauges popped back and the instrument lights came back on. It has continued to run ok for the last 3 days. Took it to the dealer and was told nothing could be done unless they could duplicate the problem. This exact same thing occurred on September 8, 2013 at a mileage of about 39,100. The car has run ok since up to this latest incident on June 1, 2014.
While driving all dash lights going crazy, car engine shut down, driving approx. 55 miles per hour. This has happened approximately 3 times. Took to Chrysler dealership. Unable to replicate the problem. I was directly in front of 18 wheeler when engine just shut down.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Rockwall, TX, USA