The airbag sign for passenger 2 turns on after a while of driving, speeding problem when when trying to accelerate the car takes forever to speed

- La Mesa, CA, USA

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

The contact owns a 2008 Chrysler PT CRUISER. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the entire instrument panel illuminated and the vehicle hesitated to accelerate when depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.

- Clovis, CA, USA

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!!

- Crescent City, CA, USA

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.

- Waterville, OH, USA

Following an oil change and air filter replacement at a valvoline express shop, the technician used an air hose to blow out debris (seeds, nuts, etc.) from the air filter box. Approximately one mile after leaving the shop, the gas pedal on the car went loose, and the engine kept revving, steadily increasing the speed of the car. I was able to slow the car by braking hard and eventually switching to neutral, and pulled the car safely to the side of the road. The engine continued to rev as though I had the gas pedal to the floor. When I contacted the valvoline shop, they sent out a manager and technician to check the car. They quickly found that one of the "nuts" from the air filter box had become stuck in the throttle assembly, causing me to lose control of the cars acceleration. After removing the obstruction, there have been no further problems. Although I was able to control the car and bring it safely to a stop, this could have resulted in a serious accident under other conditions (heavy traffic, higher speeds, etc.). it seems that there should be a safety mechanism that recognizes when the brake is being applied while the throttle is wide open, and allows the driver to regain control. Also, I strongly believe that removing debris from the air filter box should be done with a vacuum rather than a high pressure air hose which essentially blows the debris throughout the engine compartment, potentially causing problems like this one. The affected vehicle was a 2008 Chrysler PT CRUISER touring with 50,000 miles, and was traveling at approximately 40 mph when the accelerator failed.

- Carmel, NY, USA