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 contact owns a 2001 Chrysler Sebring convertible. While driving approximately 55 mph the contact lost control of the vehicle, resulting in a crash. The police appeared on the scene and the driver was injured. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to an independent mechanic who stated that the rear drivers side upper ball joint fractured from the control arm. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 240,000.
I bought my 2001 Chrysler Sebring convertible brand new back in 2001. For the last few years, I'd been hearing a slight clunking coming from somewhere in my passenger side, rear suspension. On the night of July 10th, 2008 my wife and I were on the highway and starting hearing a major banging coming from the same area. I thought my shock had loosened as I had heard that before on a previous car. I was 140 miles from home on my way for a weekend vacation. Then on Monday I made an appointment with my mechanic telling him I thought I need new rear struts. After looking at my car, he tells me that it wasn't the strut that let go it was the strut mount plate that has rubber in the middle of it that rusted away and it punched through up into the rear dash compartment. He said he called around to the dealers and every one of them said that part was on backorder due to a factory closing and that as of that date there were over 11,000 cars that needed them and were waiting on Chrysler to get the part from an out of country factory. Then he said even worse, when the part was available to ship to a local dealer it would take 5 working days to get it into the country and another 5 working days to get it shipped to the dealer. I've been without my car now for over 2 weeks and my mechanic was told that the factory is only producing and shipping out only 500 every other week or so.... where I'm about number 10,999 on the waiting list I'd say that puts me at around 10 months without a car !!!! unacceptable ! the fact that this part is so far back ordered tells me that Chrysler was using faulty parts to begin with or they wouldn't be rotting out like they are so consistently. My mechanic said he even tried to get the part from a network of junkyards and they all said that the exact same part were all half rotted out of all the sebrings in the lot.... help !!
Rear top strut brackets are made of aluminum and have disintegrated. This allows strut to shift outward resulting in coil spring rubbing on inside of rear tire. I am waiting on the replacement bracket, but dealer tells me there are 10,000 on back order! this is apparently a big problem with the top rear strut brackets on Sebring convertibles and sedans. Should have been recalled long before brackets desintegrate.
Rear mounting bracket on the strut broke, car was making a banging noise in the rear. I was afraid to drive the car home from work and had the car towed. Could have resulted in a serious accident had the car not been towed. Part has been unavailable from Chrysler since 6/26 and will not be available until at least the first of August. I am told there are 8000 of these parts on back order nationally, and the way the part oxidized, I'm curious why there has not been a recall. I've done some research and this is not a common part to have to replace. Also Chrysler refuses to offer me a loaner car until the part is available.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Bloomingburg, NY, USA