CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2006 is the worst year for PT Cruiser engine complaints. Having an engine light on is annoying, but it's the complaints about the engine shutting-off while driving that really have us concerned.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
63,051 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.

2006 Chrysler PT Cruiser electrical problems

electrical problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2006 Chrysler PT Cruiser:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2006 Chrysler PT Cruiser Owner Comments (Page 2 of 7)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #102

Jul 142016

PT Cruiser

  • 159,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2006 Chrysler PT CRUISER. While driving various speeds, the gauges on the instrument panel fluctuated and the vehicle stalled. In addition, after waiting a few minutes with the key in the ignition, the vehicle independently restarted. The failure recurred three times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed, but the technician could not find a failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 159,000.

- Geneva, FL, USA

problem #101

Jun 122016

PT Cruiser

  • 46,000 miles
Idling in park; seatbelt light kept dinging on; speedometer kept jumping back and forth from 0-100; idling at traffic stop; car shutters like it will cut off; speedometer jumps around while car is not moving. PCM/tcm replaced multiple time; battery loses charge for no known reason; have had problems w/engine light coming on, pay for sensors and parts needed only for the same issue to happen. These cars are dangerous. There need to be a class action lawsuit before someone dies from these cars stalling with no ability to control car. Chrysler knows full well of these garbage cars. That is the real reason they discontinued them! someone needs ti step in. You all have received enough complaints where something should be done immediately.

- Alpharetta, GA, USA

problem #100

Jun 152016

PT Cruiser

  • 80,000 miles
Upon starting the car, the gauge lights flash and bells ding, and the gas gauge fluctuated wildly. Has done this several times. So far, it has stopped doing that pretty quickly. The last time, I did notice the car seemed to have a slight whishy noise and seemed like the power was weak. In the past there have been a few times that the car would continue running after I turned it off. The button on the gear shift has to be jiggled a little to be able to remove the key.

- Florence, AL, USA

problem #99

Jun 062016

PT Cruiser

  • 70,000 miles

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

Car engine shuts off without warning while driving and/or while making turns, or after coming to a stop and steering freezes; engine revs up and down while driving and cannot accelerate; difficulty restarting; interior light blinks and all dashboard gauges suddenly ceased working; replaced rear quarter glass, broken fastener caused car to flood.part recall no. G01 and I had it replaced. Car has been inspected by mechanics and issues cannot detected nor fixed.

- Naples, FL, USA

problem #98

Apr 212016

PT Cruiser

  • 53,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Chrysler PT CRUISER. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 30 mph, all the warning light illuminated and the fuel gage was decreasing independently. In addition, the RPM was decreasing causing the vehicle to stall. The vehicle was able to restart minutes later. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 53,000. The VIN was not provided.

- Glen Burnie, MD, USA

problem #97

Apr 212016

PT Cruiser

  • 107,000 miles
Electrical dash board, gauges - RPM, gas, temp, go around up and down wildly causes sudden deceleration. All trouble lights come on, battery, seat belt, oil, air bag and go on then off. I had this happened 7 yrs ago and dealer would not repair until dash board was not working. Then dash board completely stopped working and dash board was replaced under warranty. Now it is acting up again. Reading all the complaints. There are over 10 complaints from all over the county about the same issue. Today I was able to finally take video/picture of the trouble lights coming on and off. The dials and lights were going on and off going all the way around and all the way back down again. There are so many complaints about this unsafe issue.

- Menifee, CA, USA

problem #96

Apr 192016

PT Cruiser

  • 107,000 miles

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

When driving on the dash board where it shows your mph below. All the lights will flash on engine, battery, oil, air bag, seatbelt, gas. All will flash on instant deceleration instant slow down. The dials will go up and down wild. Over 5 years ago this happened the dealer would only replace when the dash board stopped working completely. Finally it stopped working I had it replaced under extended warranty. 3 moths ago it started happening again. Flashing lights, all dials going up, down, and around. Yesterday I had severe deceleration on the freeway. Extremely scary and unsafe. I pulled all the way over and drove in the slow lane. Looking/reading on here there are 4 other people from all over the United States with the same complaints. I wrote a complaint on here over 4 years ago. There is something seriously wrong with this vehicle. It needs to be looked into from a outside party. There needs to be a recall before someone is driving on the freeway and the car completely stops. There needs to be a remedy at Chrysler expense.

- Menifee, CA, USA

problem #95

Apr 142016

PT Cruiser

  • 6 miles
When randomly driving all the lights on the dashboard go crazy, the fuel gauge goes to empty even when it's a full tank, the car loses power and the engine starts to stall... it's very scary because where I drive there are busy highways and I'm scared too death I'm going to get killed or kill someone.

- Port Richey, FL, USA

problem #94

Mar 252016

PT Cruiser

  • 122,500 miles
As I was driving my car all the gauges and warning lights came on, gas gauge needle went to E(tank was full), lost power as I was driving. Took the car to my mechanic they tried to duplicate the problem, of course they couldn't. then the engine light came on. Put the car in the garage...again! a week later the problem returned. My job requires me to work across all 3 shifts, I am frighten to drive my car, I often have my grandchildren in the car with. They were in the car March 25,2016 when the car began bucking and jerking while we were driving home. I was on a street doing 45 mph, when the cars speed dropped to 5 mph. I was impeding traffic, and cars were passing me on curves! I was on another site and see 93 other complaints, for the same issue. I am thinking there will need to be a loss of life before Chrysler Corp. Does something to correct this serious problem.

- Pottstown, PA, USA

problem #93

Mar 022016

PT Cruiser

  • 30 miles
When driving all lights on dash will come on, gauges will go off and on, and the engine has died in the road several times. The time it dies while driving is scariest part it has so far restarted after getting off road. Afraid when someone is following too close they will hit us or I hit them as I travel on the frwy 120 miles a day. Many people seem to have this go on. Chrysler fix this or I will have a class action lawsuit. Should fix before customers are killed! this has been ongoing problem since about 90,000 miles it has 132,000 now I have taken car to multiple mechanics and no one can find out was wrong. Engine died and restarted today on the freeway 3/2/16.

- Perris, CA, USA

problem #92

Feb 042016

PT Cruiser

  • 105,000 miles

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

When driving all lights on dash will come on, gauges will go off and on, and the engine has died in the road. Some times air conditioner will fail to work for days at a time then suddenly work again. Key switch seems to be loose inside and will not stay in position. The time it dies while driving is scariest part it has so far restarted after getting off road. Afraid when someone is following too close they will hit us. Many people seem to have this go on. Chrysler should fix before customers are killed! this has been ongoing problem since about 90,000 miles it has 105,000 now.

- Winter Haven, FL, USA

problem #91

Feb 012016

PT Cruiser

  • 85,000 miles
Tipm already replaced 1X for same issues occurring again now, a few years later and for at least the last 8 months from this posting, occurring more and more frequently now and last time occurring was Feb 01, 2016. All dash / engine status lights come on for no reason, then off seconds later, occurring anytime while engine is running. Engine stalls - sputtering, power steering and breaks fail to work properly during this time, fuel level gauge wildly fluctuates and smell of gas is noticeable, all causing a dangerous situation when at highway speeds. Head lights and interior lights randomly go bright or dim for a fraction of a second. Dealership unable to diagnose as it does not stay broke long enough for their techs to diagnose with their equipment even after having the car for 2 full days, despite this problem seen visually by dealer and on video recording. Suspect tipm / ECM, integrated voltage regulator is at fault. Extended warranty refuses to replace without a certified diagnosis by authorized repair shop. 2nd major problem with 4 engine mounts needing replacement several times, more than 10 mount replacements during life of my car, so far. 3rd major problem, transmission sometimes will not auto shift gears in a timely manor, taking up to 4 seconds to engage drive or other from park setting. I have the entire life of vehicle paperwork on all repairs and regular maintenance done for this car. Hoping there is a class action lawsuit I can get in on for this problem, seen reported numerous times on various forums like this dot site.

- West Palm Beach, FL, USA

problem #90

Jan 272016

PT Cruiser

  • 49,795 miles
2006 Chrysler P.T. time after time engine indicator lights come one, sometimes engine dies. Have been able to re-start in motion, but when will this become disasterous? per internet, hundreds of folks have the same problem, yet Chrysler nor nhstb does zilch. Dealer has no clue after doing diagnostic. Will never buy another Chrysler product. So much for government giving a S---! this week it has happened everytime the car has been driven.

- Federal Way, WA, USA

problem #89

Aug 212015

PT Cruiser

  • 163,000 miles
My tipm (totally integrated power module) is faulty. The headlights and turn signal lights do not work. Bulbs have been checked and replaced with brand new, tested and fully functional bulbs, but this has not rectified the problem. Sometimes the car will not start at all. The battery is fine, as the car engine will turn over, however, the car will not fire up. I will leave it, and try later, and the car will subsequently start. This starting trouble is an intermittent issue. I have read that there was a class action law suit for many Chrysler vehicles with tipm problems, but I did not see PT CRUISER owners included within those actions. Having researched the matter, I see that many other PT CRUISER owners like myself are having issues with their electrical systems as a result of faulty tipms.

- De Leon Springs, FL, USA

problem #88

Oct 082015

PT Cruiser

  • 49,861 miles
I started up my PT CRUISER and all warning lights came on except check engine light and the chime came on like door open or lights still on. Idled fine but lights did not turn off till I turned off engine, started with no lights after.. I see that this a problem reading several other posts.

- Sheboygan, WI, USA

problem #87

Oct 162015

PT Cruiser

  • 102,000 miles
On numerous occasions while driving, all the lights on the panel starts flashing, all the gages go to zero and the car slows down, sometimes coming to a complete stop. When it slows, it seems to kick back into gear and I am able to drive normally. At times, I have to put to pull off highway completely and turn off engine for a minute or so before starting it again. It is happening so frequently now that even pulling off to shut it down for awhile is no guarantee that it won't start acting up.. this is a common occurrence, on the 16th of October was the last time I experiencedthe pproblem.

- East Cleveland, OH, USA

problem #86

Jun 102015

PT Cruiser

  • 110,000 miles
Driving vehicle cuts off when I stop.on highways....engine revs up car go faster like throttle or gas petal stuck have to apply brakes automatic transmission sometimes won't change gears I have to restart car about three times runs good for couple days does same has been in shop 4 times had timing belt and motor mount replaced.new ignition switch, not key side battery check eng. And battery light back on dont communicate with shop diagnostic machine.. still having problems with gears afraid of this car and has not finish paying for it yet

- Lillington, NC, USA

problem #85

Jul 132015

PT Cruiser

  • 79,000 miles
Car has demonstrated multiple electrical issues...lights turning on and off, horn not turning off, instrument panel lighting up and flashiing or not coming on at all. This has culminated in all power in car turning off while on the freeway causing near accident as had to fight to pull car over. Took car for repairs...tinimng belt replaced, alternator replaced...incident occurred again at 65 miles an hour riding down a steep grade on freeway. Does someone actually have to die before something is done...researching this topic shows hundreds of similar incidents

- Valencia, CA, USA

problem #84

Aug 282015

PT Cruiser

  • 165,000 miles
All lights on instrument panel flashes on-off. Sometimes the gauges will zero-out and go back to normal position. Sometimes when the lights flash and gauges zero-out, there will be a quick power loss. Maybe 2-3% of the time power loss will be substantial almost needed to pull over. More often than not, it seems to happen more in the heat and possibly rain or day after a heavy rain.

- Flowery Branch, GA, USA

problem #83

Jun 092015

PT Cruiser 4-cyl

  • 43,000 miles
Almost 3 months ago, the indicator lights on the instrument panel started flashing. The gas gauge, the speedometer, the seat belt light, and other lights, except the check engine light, flashed on and off intermittently. I took it to my mechanic who could not find the source of the problem even using the diagnostic tool. In July, after servicing the car (tune-up) and with my reporting the continuation of the intermittent flashing, my mechanic told me to take the car to the dealer. I took it to the dealer, they kept it for two days and were unable to duplicate and therefore diagnose the problem. For that I paid $145. Sometimes when the lights are flashing and the indicators are acting crazy, the car has slowed as if it was going to stop. On Tuesday of this week, the car shut itself off completely when I started to drive after stopping for a traffic signal. I was able to get the car started again after putting it in park and then turning the key in the ignition. I contacted Chrysler Corp. Customer service who were not helpful. I have looked on-line and this seems to be a problems with the cruiser. I am afraid this stoppage will happen on the expressway and I will be injured or killed. If this is and has been a problem, would you not think Chrysler would try to fix it before someone is injured or killed. I do plan to take it back to the dealer again, however, I am concerned about my safety and I do not wish to continue to pay for unfruitful diagnoses. I hope you are able to investigate - maybe they will try to find a "fix". thank you......updated 09-29-15

- Glastonbury, CT, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »

Not what you are looking for?