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.
Intermittently all dash lights come on and all gauges begin fluctuating and the car will begin to sputter and sometimes dies and then it doesn't do it again for miles
More often than not, all the lights on dash illuminate when the car is first started, sometimes flashing on and then off when driving. If driving, sometimes the car will either accelerate or slow down. Because the speedometer goes back and forth, I have no idea how fast I'm going. If I slow down when approaching a red light or to make a turn, the car has cut off. Looking online, this appears to be a common problem of PT CRUISER owners, yet I've never seen a recall. Diagnostics ran a few times and no reading shows up. Only told, it appears to be an electrical issue.
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.
All warning lights flash while driving, car dies then restarts, very dangerous in traffic. Chrysler can't find the issue, took it mechanics they can't find the issue. Seems like there are 100's of issues with many different years of the PT CRUISER however Chrysler is ignoring and there is nothing to fix. Some days this happens a lot then it will go 3 or 4 days without.
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.
- Gulf Breeze, FL, USA
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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.
Driving at 55mph and all the gauges (gas, speed, tach) went to zero and fluttered up and down, the vehicle stalled. Was fortunate enough to be able to pull over safely and restart the vehicle without incidence. The vehicle has repeated this on several occasions. I was able to record on my phone the instrument panel while it was acting up. Think I have isolated the problem to the key and ignition. I have found if I wiggle the key when this happens it stops. This could be very dangerous since you lose power to the vehicle while driving, it happens without warning. Several internet searches reveal alot of people with the same complaint. I think Chrysler should so be responsible for repair of this problem, they evidently produced a product with a defect that could potentially cause loss of life or bodily damage.
I just purchased this vehicle and had it for less then 3 weeks. I drove it a total of 5 times. When I was driving to work on a major highway, the car started to act up. The speedometer went from 55 to zero then back up to 80, I lost the ability to steer and accelerate, all of the lights came on the dash board, the car fuel gauges went up and down, and finally the car stalled. I was on a major highway which was a very scary. No codes were recorded for a mechanic to find out the problem. The problem is not fixed, and seems to be a problem with several PT CRUISER from what I have researched. I am working with the dealer attempting for a refund, as I feel my safety and the safety of others are at risk.
I was driving on a major highway, doing about 55mph. All of my gauges started to light up, the speedometer went from 55 to zero then up to 65, the lights flashed on and off, the car then started to slow down to about 40, would not accelerate, then eventually just shut off. I was driving on a major highway, but able to pull off to the right side lane. The wheels tightened so I could not steer, I shut the car off and left it for about 20 mins. It started again but struggles to go over 40 before it starts acting up again. I can not find the problem, no codes are recorded. I am convinced that this is a serious safety issue with PT CRUISER as I have read similar problems.
The contact owns a 2009 Chrysler PT CRUISER. The contact stated while traveling 30 mph, the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The contact applied the brakes, but the vehicle did not slow down causing the contact to crash into a tree. The air bags did not deploy. There were no injuries and a police report was filed. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 73,000.
Purchased a used 2009 PT CRUISER in May 2011, with 37,000 miles. Approximately 2 months and 3,000 miles later the instrument cluster on the dash started to light up like a christmas tree. First the seatbelt light came on, then the whole cluster lit up and then the seatbelt light came on and went off. The speedometer and tachometer also dropped. I thought this might be an alternator problem, but it checked out ok and I did not have the problem again for a few more months. This time it flashed on and off approximately 3 times. Today, 10/29/11, at 49,000 it happened approximately 10 times. I did not lose power or acceleration, but at one point I did feel a hiccup in the acceleration. I have heard that several people have stalled out in traffic and that the dealerships cannot explain this. I looks like there is a problem and Chrysler needs to address it.
2009 Chrysler PT CRUISER. Consumer states unintended acceleration the consumer stated when the cruise control was activated, the vehicle would surpass the set speed, by 2-3 mph. The consumer stated he had an accident when he went around a curve with the cruise control activated when suddenly the vehicle accelerated out of control and left the road way. The consumer attempted to regain control of the vehicle, but consequently the vehicle rolled over twice and landed upside down. The vehicle was totaled.
The contact owns a 2009 Chrysler PT CRUISER. The contact stated while sitting idle, the vehicle abnormally accelerated. The contact crashed into the rear of a preceding vehicle. He then attempted to shift the vehicle into neutral to stop the unintended acceleration but instead, the vehicle reversed and crashed into the vehicle behind his. The vehicle was inspected at an authorized dealer but the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. On a separate occasion, while sitting idle at a stop sign, the vehicle independently accelerated. He attempted to depress the brakes but to no avail. The contact then shifted into neutral and applied the brakes. He was able to stop the vehicle. The contact previously encountered unintended acceleration and crashed into the rear of another vehicle. The dealer was unable to duplicate or provide a reason for the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 7,800 and the current mileage was approximately 8,000.
I have a 2009 PT CRUISER, I have on 2 separate occasions, engaged the cruise control, to find that it has surged and caused the car to speed up with out warning. I thought it was me until it happened again. I have not used it since. It did not want to disengage and I had to hit the brakes really hard and hold them down to get the car to release the cruise control feature. Contacted dealer to ask if anyone else was having problems, was told I must be driving a Toyota? did not find that humorous, this is a serious issue and needs to be dealt with. I do see that they had an issue in the 2001 models for something similar to what I am reporting.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Kent, WA, USA