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.
The problem I am having started about 2 months ago, my battery was suddenly drained and I had no idea why. I had to buy a new battery for about $125. When my fog light indicator began to flicker on and off on its own. I'd just press the end of turn signal arm inward towards the steering column and the indicator light went off. Gradually, the pressing process did not work anymore and I discovered that shutting off the car with the left hand turn signal pressed down, at least temporarily solved the problem (so I could do some research on its solution). Not knowing what to do, I brought it into the dealer and for $65 they diagnosed it at a need to replace the multifunction switch which they said required the pulling of steering wheel and over $600 more to fix. I opted out on that, since car has 112,000 miles on it. Then, with a week of very hot 90 degree temperatures, , I found that brand new battery totally drained and began reading the internet posts of the possibility of pulling the fuse. Of course being a usa car, the manual didn't identify the fuse for the fog lamps in the "under the hood" fuse box. It seems that the heat allows the fog lamps to still turn on when the left hand signal arm is pressed downwards. Going further, I found that fuse #8 in the interior dashboard fuse box could be pulled and should solve the problem without further repair. I find it very interesting that Chrysler does not even show you a sketch of the interior fuse box in their owners manual.this approach does mean that the manufacturer of the vehicle is not allowing the buyer (me) to fully enjoy all the features of the vehicle! seems to me that Chrysler corporation has not recalled the defective cars on purpose and needs to have a debacle like Toyota had before they will do the right thing and fix a bad design..
I unlocked my car doors with remote, and drove to the store, it was dark out so I had my head lights on. When I came out of the store and tried to unlock my car, it would not work. So I manually unlocked the doors with my key. It was very cold weather at that time and my heater would not work as well then I turned on my car to go home, and my lights would not come on. And so I was towed home. The next day I took it in to a Chrysler repair shop and they did a quick check on it and said that it might be the electrical and they would have to go through the entire electrical to find the problem. They checked everything out without tearing the entire car apart and said that they could not find a problem with it. There went $100 of my money to find out that they could not find the problem. I don't know what else to do to get the car repaired with out having to spend $1,000 plus.... which is a quote by the Chrysler repair. I have not been able to drive my car at night, due to no lights and now that we have hot 90 to 101 degree weather, I can not drive my car during this period of time due to not being able to use the air conditioner or to roll my windows down. I have spent over $3,000 in repairs for my car and I have only had it for just two years. There is one thing after another with my car, the problems are having to replace parts and sometimes having to replace those same parts a year later when they have just ran out of the warranties. I have service records for all of these problems and it is almost 2 inches thick. I am on disability and it took me over a year to save the enough money to buy this car and I have no more money to fix it again... and I have to take it through deq here in Oregon and it will not pass their test due to exhaustion problems with the emissions leaking as well.
The contact owns a 2002 Chrysler PT CRUISER. The contact was driving 25 mph when the interior instrument panel lights failed. The contact did not take the vehicle to the dealer for inspection or repair. The referenced NHTSA campaign id number: 01V288000 (electrical system:wiring:interior/under dash) and called the manufacturer. The manufacturer informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was 120,000.
10-18-2011 I just bought my car last month (09-26-2011) and my control arms and bushing have already went bad. Now 2 nights ago (10-16-2011) my headlights stopped working. I took it into the dealership to have everything checked and was told that the wiring under the dash is messed up. I see that there are a lot of recalls for that happening to the 2002 PT CRUISER and now the dealer I bought the car from will not fix it (even though I'm still within my 30 day warranty) I do not understand why I should have to come out of pocket to fix this problem. Also, the dealer I bought it from would not give me a carfax on the vehicle. Also, sold me the car with a recall already on it that was issued way back in 2004. (power steering pressure hose) that I was told could cause a fire under the hood.
The contact owns a 2002 Chrysler PT CRUISER. The interior wiring on the instrument panel failed; therefore, the warning lights overheated and became inoperable. The dealer stated there NHTSA recall campaign number: 01V288000, electrical system: Wiring: Interior/under dash was related to the failure; yet, his VIN was not included. The manufacturer also stated his VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was 100,000.
- Rhododendron, OR, USA
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Parked 2002 PT CRUISER in shopping center. Upon return vehicle was completely dead. Pushed to adjacent Goodyear dealer (remained 3 days) said it needed a new battery, starter & #11 fuse. All replaced and when backing out of Goodyear, vehicle died & #11 fuse again blew. Owner had old starter examined elsewhere and found it to be in perfect working order. Goodyear replaced old starter plus repaired battery ground cable. Drove 45 miles to doctor and vehicle died when stopping in lot. Tarzana Goodyear came, replaced #11 fuse and drove to their garage. Unable to detect any problem. Owner drove vehicle home with no problem. Wife drove vehicle to dentist & when pulling out of lot and in with flow of traffic, vehicle died. #11 fuse replaced and drove home. Later took vehicle to crown Chrysler in ventura, ca & signed contract for $100 bench fee for them to locate problem. Vehicle remained there "sixteen days" until crown refused to check any further until owner would sign contract to pay $500 for further diagnosis. Crown said that it might need $700 power train control module. Crown advised that once installed, if that was not the problem, they would not remove it & owner would incur $700 plus installation charge. Vehicle was then brought to owner's residence where it remains garaged. Please assist in this matter.......................thank you.
The contact owns a 2002 Chrysler PT CRUISER. The contact stated that the instrument cluster does not eliminate like other cars cluster supposed to eluminate. It, when the contact turns on the headlights the instrument cluster lights turn on but really U can hardly see the speedometer or the gauges which is dangerous. On 6/09/11 while driving home the instrument cluster lights when out I could see anything, my headlights and backlights stop working and also my power door locks are not working either all this happen on my way home around 7:30pm and I had to slow down to make it safe home..when I got home my power locks were not working when I went to lock the vehicle.
Today 06/09/11. Driving home around 7:30 pm my cluster went out couldn't see the speed or RPM or any other gauges, and my headlights and backlights stop working together with my power doorlocks. I had to slow down or stop and take my time going home.
The contact owns a 2002 Chrysler PT CRUISER. The contact stated the vehicle keyless entry system, fog light indicator, and the interior light failed. The contact did not disable the fog light switch in order to keep them from illuminating, and if the fog light was disabled it would cause the instrumental panel to fail. The vehicle will be taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 70,000.
The contact owns a 2002 Chrysler PT CRUISER. The contact stated that when the check engine light came on, the vehicle began to malfunction. The vehicle was also burning oil and leaking fuel excessively. The speedometer displayed that the speed was 70 mph while the vehicle was in the park position. When the contact tried to shift gears from reverse into the park position, she had to put the vehicle in drive and then reverse. The dealer stated that the input/output speed sensor, third gear ratio and the fuel pump mounting flange on the vehicle malfunctioned. The dealer also stated that NHTSA recall campaign number 02V215000, fuel system and recall campaign number 01V288000 for the electrical system; did not apply to her VIN. The failure mileage was 85000 and the current mileage was 98100.
2002 PT CRUISER sport model. Car would not start, when sitting far a few days, had been driving car all day and turned car off to do an errand and car would not start. Car has left me stranded where I had to have it towed several times. Bought car new and have had this problem for 7 years. Kept bringing back to the dealer and couldn't find any problems every time. Finally found a dealer service manager that knew the problem. Insufficient quality parts were being used when Chrysler was about to go bankrupt. The battery wires from the battery to the alternator were not supplying enough voltage to maintain enough to recharge the battery. Upgraded the wires to a higher voltage and have not had the problem for about 10 months. It took 7 years to find the problem which caused problems of me using the car. Chrysler used low grade parts through out the car and people are getting rid of them and then someone else buys it and it continues. I will never buy a Chrysler made car again, very unsatisfied customer considering how much I paid for it. Was way over priced at the time I bought it. I could buy a much better car and higher end model for what I paid for my car.
The contact owns a 2002 Chrysler PT CRUISER. The contact stated that the entire instrument panel would not illuminate. The instrument cluster seemed to fail; she was unable to see the speedometer or any other gauges. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and was told that the vehicle was not included in recall 01V288000 (electrical system: Wiring: Interior/under dash). The contact called the manufacturer who offered no assistance. The vehicle had not been repaired. The VIN was unavailable. The current mileage was approximately 103,000. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.
I own a 2002 Chrysler PT CRUISER. This is the sixth time that the instrument panel has ceased to display any information. That is, I can not see the speed, tach, fuel gauge, or any safety warnings. Each time I take it to the repair shop, they can not find any thing wrong. When they reconnect it, I begins to work.
Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) something you may wish to look at with cell phones and these incidents with acceleration on cars. We have a PT CRUISER and several times we have placed the phone in the storage area in the middle in the dash. With the keey off, the phone rings and the car started turning over until we moved the phone away from the immmediate area of the dash. Something to think about?? [xxx]
There has been numerous problems with Chrysler PT CRUISER electrical systems, namely the multifunction control switch seems to overheat and cause an electrical short. This depletes the battery, and has led a number of PT CRUISER owners to replace the multifunction control switch numerous times or remove the fuses for lights, such as the fog lights. Chrysler knows that there is a systematic problem with their vehicle but are not willing to do anything to resolve the problem. Information on such experiences can be found on the web at forums such as www.topix.com/forum/autos/Chrysler-pt-cruiser/tf81khbdldvt92ah2 or at ptcruiser.com.
Multi-function switch (that controls the fog lamp) shorted out, causing the lights to be on no matter what position the switch was turned to. I was forced to remove the fog lamp fuse; Chrysler has several hundred or more on backorder, I've been told it may be 6 months to a year before I can get a replacement.
Had problems with my 02 PT CRUISER not starting for 7 years and went on line and found others were having the same problem. Called chyrsler and told them they were going to fix and pay for problem. Service manager said he knew what the problems was and notice Chrysler was putting cheap parts on their vehicles. He upgraded the cables connecting to and from the battery and have not had this problem since. The cables were under volted and weren't able to charge the battery and I got stranded sometimes. Chrysler called dealer and had this work done at no expense to me. It's not the battery, alternator or the other connection I can't remember. It has been 3 months and I haven't had any problems since. Please let your service manager know that it is the low voltage battery cables to these areas. Having problems starting, hesitation starting or wouldn't start at all happen after not driving the car sometimes for 2 days just after bringing it back to the dealer.
Found 2002 PT CRUISER with dead battery on occasion, no consistency. Replaced battery (7.75 years old, 90K miles) after 3rd instance over 2 months, issue resolved for about 2 weeks. Car parked in hot parking lot, fog lights were dim when approaching car. Car would not turn over to start, had it jumped. Upon returning home, went to turn off car, fog lights would not turn off. Fiddling with light switch would make them go off temporarily, then right back on. Found turning left blinker in on position kept fogs off. Researching issue, found the following forum: www.topix.com/forum/autos/Chrysler-pt-cruiser/tf81khbdldvt92ah2 where hundreds of people have experienced the same issue. Waiting to hear from Chrysler on replacement part, as all online sources say it is back ordered 30-60 days.
I purchased my 2002 Chrysler PT CRUISER a few years ago now. I have sent Chrysler many letters about these problems. The most recent incident was very scary. I bought the car at about 31,000 miles. About a month later my paint started peeling off of the front bumper and my dash started to crack. Mind you I keep my car garaged and it is washed and waxed regularly by a shop that I have used for years with no problems. I went back to the dealer I bought it from and they were gone. So I contacted my next closest dealer. They said they could not do anything for me. About a month after that my cpu went out which was covered under the extended warranty that I purchased. They had to replace it twice before it finally lasted more than a day. Then my dash completely crumbled. It cracked from the windshield to the front in the center and on both sides. I wrote a letter and email with no answer. I then contacted Chrysler by phone and the lady told me to F% off and hung up on me. So I gave up. Obviously I was not going to get anywhere with them. Then about 3 months ago my check engine light came back on. I took my car to a friend who is a licensed mechanic and he scanned it on the computer and said it was my cpu again! I took it to the dealership and was told my warranty had expired. So I wrote another letter because this repair was going to be $1400 dollars. No response. But the scariest was about 2 weeks ago I was driving with my 13 month old niece in the car and smoke started coming from the left hand side of my steering column. I almost had got in a wreck trying to get us to safety. The smoke stopped so I figured whatever it was done for now. We were on the side of the road in a not so desirable neighborhood at night so I decided to take my chances with the car. We headed off on our way and my headlights started flickering. I parked the vehicle at home and the next morning my fairly new battery was dead. My flood lights would not turn off and had been on all night.
Failure of multifunction switch: Initially the fog lights would come on when the turn signal was engaged. This first began in approximately 11/2008. Initially this happened only occasionally, but became more frequent. Now the fog lights always remain illuminated, even when the car is turned off/parked. This required that I remove the fuse controlling the fog lights so that the battery would not be drained. After researching on many different message boards, it became apparent that this is a very frequent problem with PT CRUISER. Not only is it annoying, but it is also a potential fire (electrical) hazard. I feel I recall is warranted.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Aliso Viejo, CA, USA