I bought this car used from a dealership in 2006. Last Friday I got in my car to go to work. I started the car & I heard this awful grinding metal sound that became quiet after about 5secs then the car went dead. I tried to start it again & it sounded as if it were flooded. I had the car towed to my local mechanic who couldn't get any codes from the car to tell him what the problem was. He checked everything but the motor because the car is only 6yrs old & never thought the engine was a problem ( he's the only one who has made repairs & oil changes since I bought the car). My mechanic had the car towed (at his expense) to the dealership where I was told I needed a new engine because the #1 cylinder was no longer getting compression & the cost to fix it would be $4500 ( not to mention I'm still paying on the piece of CRAP). I am a single mom who doesn't have $4500 just laying around & I don't know what I'm gonna do at this point. Chrysler needs to take responsibility for their defective engine & stop screwing their customers. I'm telling everyone I know & will meet about how crappy Chrysler's cars are & how they take advantage of their hardworking customers.

So I'm driving south on IH 35, just past Texas' capitol, Austin. Even though it's kinda cold the top is down. Life is good. My dark blue with blue interior vert limited is looking good. Steve Miller's "Livin in the USA" is just ending when all goes silent.. All that is, except for the wind from the passing 18 wheelers. After coasting to the edge the auto is allowed to cool. A quick check of the fluids reveal nothing amiss. The auto restarts, so off we go... for another 10 minutos. The engine again stops, but this time I hear what sounds like a rod knocking noise. So, I have it towed to my dad's garage. Good thing I have a spare truck. Several weeks pass. During a visit to my local credit union a man sits next to me. Not just any one, this guy looks just like santa claus! So we talk. I share my auto dilemma. He states his auto shop can re-build the engine for $1,500. to $1,700. max. What was I supposed to do?! I mean, if you can't trust santa?! Long to short, his shop has no on-site re-building equipment (it barely has two porta lifts) and he offers to replace the engine for maybe a good deal of $4 to 5,000. So this week I'm going to have it towed to mi casa, with the motor out and search for a decent place to take my beautiful auto. The rant is this: Santa aside, every Chrysler parts person I spoke with over the phone made almost the same observation about the engine. "Oh yeah, those motors have had a problem with sludge.Too bad it's not covered." AARGGH! Anyways, long to short

We timely obtained oil changes and always used the synthetic blend. The car began to make a strange noise and we took it to the mechanic near our home. He called me to tell me there was sludge in the engine due to the tensioner failure for the timing belt and this was a problem he knew of with this engine. We then discussed it with the local dealership and they contacted Chrysler which agreed to accept the car if the sludge was not due to our failure to obtain routine oil changes. The dealership tore the engine apart and discussed it with Chrysler. The dealership contacted me and stated the failure of the engine was due to our failure in obtaining routine oil changes. I am now working to see what I need to do to reverse this decision. If they will not do so, I will have to pay approximately $5,000.00 to get a rebuilt engine.

Oil light flickered on Mon 03/03/08 went off. Tues. & Wed. no problem with light coming on. Thurs. morning the light came on & stayed on, started to pull into Auto zone the car shut off. Thought car needed oil, added oil, car started back, went about 10 more miles same thing. Oil light came on, car shut down, coasted into IHOP, had towed to Checkup car repair. They said nothing showed up on diagnostic check & after further research found engine needed to be replaced. You guessed it, $4500.00. I worked for Chrysler for 30 years & just retired. Was sure it wasn't engine with this just happening 1 time. Towed to another mechanic, same thing, the bearings were not getting any oil & messed them up , fix replace engine. Trying to find 1 cheap. Still owe on the car & it was bought new in 03. Carried it to dealer 4 or 5 times for noise in left front tire area, they said nothing was wrong. In 2006 air conditioner valve messed up $350.00 to replace at dealer. July 2007 air conditioner compressor went out right at 2,000.00 to repair. After warranty this car turned into crap. I can't believe Chrysler is not helping any one out with this engine problem.

I find it amazing that everyone including my mechanic knew about this problem and yet I was able to buy this car in 2004. The heat quite working first and then all of a sudden the engine just died! No warning what so ever!!! As soon as the mechanic opened the hood he knew there would be sludge in the engine. We have yet to find an engine under $2,000. We still owe $4800 on this car and we are also paying full insurance coverage because it is financed!!! I WILL NEVER NEVER EVER OWN A CHRYSLER PRODUCT AGAIN!!!!!!

Engine failed without warning. Towed to dealer. Charged $550 to take engine apart, reported oil sludge, accused us of not taking care of car. Total engine failure. Recommended new engine for $10,000. Not a great emotional moment. Offered to replace engine with another 2.7L (like why would we want another one?) with 20K miles on it for about $5700 including the $550 to take engine apart. Offered 1 year warranty which is not long enough. 2nd opinion offered to rebuild for $5700, 3-year 75K mile warranty. 3rd opinion would cost $5500-6500 to repair, could have found more damage once started, would need to replace odometer to enforce warranty, and recommended investing in a new car instead of this one. The car is in our garage. It was worth $9750 before this happened. Now it's worth almost nothing. It's in excellent condition except for the engine. I didn't keep records of all our oil changes. I'm angry at Chrysler for not recalling these vehicles and offering to repair them like they should. There's a class action in New Jersey on center for auto safety.com. They are suing for full restitution since Chrysler knew about this problem in 1998 and sold the defective engines to us anyway. I'd love to be able to fix this car but it doesn't make sense to, there's no guarantee with 68K miles on it that something else wouldn't need fixing in the coming year and that would just make everything worse. This is a devastating thing to do to consumers. I think everyone should file or join the class action in their state and make Chrysler come out in the open and do the right thing via the court system. They've got a program going that you can submit your records to and they decide whether or not to help you out financially and for how much. But that means one person may get $5,000 and another may get nothing, and all consumers who have experienced engine failure sue to sludge should either get a new engine or a refund on their car going back to the date they bought it. Read the class action filed in NJ. It's 18 pages but it is worth seeing what legal terms they are using to bring Chrysler to justice. I will be adding another complaint about how the odometer skipped mileage since the time I bought it in 9/02 with 25K miles on it. Check that out, I would watch the mileage go from 28460 and turn over to 28500 the next minute, skipping 40 miles at a time. Watch your odometers, people! The engine problem is worse though. Wish I had traded this car in to Chrysler the day before it failed and bought a used anything-but-Chrysler in its place. I know why I bought this car, it's been a fantastic car. It's not our fault that Chrysler concealed the fact that they put defective engines in these vehicles. It's our fault if we don't speak up.

I have the Chrysler Sebring LXI with the 2.7 model I wish I would of talked to my family before investing my money into this. The my son and I were on the way home from a party and with no sign the car just stops. I had no clue what was wrong. I later had my cousin come look at the car actually two of them both mechanics and they both agreed and told me it would be best to purchase a new car. Not only this, but the 2.7 engine with Chrysler is defective and they would never advise a customer to purchase this because the engine within time will always shut down due to guess what oil problems!!! I'm sure the company is aware that their product is defective and do not care to resolve or take care of the clients. The car appearance is nice, but the stability is horrible. On top of this 6 months into the purchase of my vehicle and the water pump blew with no warning what so ever! This happens to also be a common problem with this model. I am still currently paying on this vehicle and we are stuck! So even thought the company is quite aware of the situation they will not do anything to help you.

Although I had 137000 miles on this car, the engine compartment was sparkling clean inside with the exception of coolant that turned the oil milky toffee colored. The engine blew a head gasket and cracked the head despite me shutting the engine down immediately when it made a noise and having it towed in to a friends shop. There was no build up or sludge whatsoever. No apparent reason for the failure except bad Chrysler engineering it would appear. I had changed my oil every 3000 miles and checked my fluids less than 48 hrs before the failure occurred. I was lucky I had a friend who flushed the engine and rebuilt the top of the motor for under $2,000. I love the design of the car but mechanically its a disasterpiece I feel the need to dump. Piss on Chrysler. I was fixing to buy a Chrysler 300 when this happened but not now. I'm going back to Toyota!

I bought the Sebring in 2003 used. It only had 20,000 miles on it at the time. In the first few months of owning it, we had it back to the dealer twice for the heat not working correctly. Over the next several years we had many different problems. One of the most severe was the power distribution unit was almost complete melted. I was told that it was a shock that the car did not catch on fire. Now, my car has 119,000 miles on it and the way the car acted with the problem with the power distribution unit is back. Not only is that going on, but the motor started having a loud knock in it and I had motor oil leaking from the timing chain area. I took it to a Dodge/Chrysler dealership to have it checked out and see how much it would be to fix it, but was told they were not for sure what the problem was and it would cost me a lot of money. I was also told by the service manager that when the 2.7L V6 engines start acting up, it is time to get rid of the car. Of course, at this time, it is too late. My dad is a mechanic and says that I need to replace the engine. I know part of the problem is the timing chain needs replaced, but the knocking sound seems like it is a rod knocking. So, that too would need to be replaced. If I go to a dealership to get all this fixed, it will cost outrageous. I priced a replacement engine and found one that was rebuilt for $1800. Advanced Auto Parts has them, but they are $2300. I still owe about $3600 on this car and cannot afford to replace the motor. This car is a piece of crap and I would NOT recommend anyone buying one or at least any with the 2.7L V6 in it. Does anyone know of anything that can be done to help with these problems?

To have a 2002 car with only 74,000 miles on it and have the engine go completely to sh*t for reasons unknown is unacceptable. I have had multiple problems with this vehicle, which I will mention in other complaints, but this is the last straw with Chrysler. Their repair shop won't even perform labor to put in a rebuilt engine that I purchase with it's own warranty! They then have the nerve to tell me to trade it in for...you guessed it...another Chrysler!! Why the hell would I do that when Chrysler has failed me numerous times despite my having been a loyal customer since 1998 (the year I graduated from college and bought my first car on my own). Un-frickin'-real!!

On Thanksgiving Day as I headed to family gathering, the oil light flickered slightly then soon became solid red. Soon afterward a tapping noise steadily grew louder and louder as I searched for an exit. Finally the car died. Towed it to my mechanic and it was pronounced dead (total engine failure) Tuesday, 11/27/07.

I've only had it for a couple of years so it's not even half paid for and now I am told it will cost nearly $4000 to replace the engine with a rebuilt or used one. I can't afford to pour $4K more into this car. Is there ANY recourse??? I'm so frustrated - why hasn't Chrysler fixed this problem by now????

What have others done in this situation? HELP, please!

Adding my story because EVERYONE needs to know not to buy this type of automobile without knowing the possibility of engine failure with no or very little warning. Bought this car from a close friend who had no problems with it; great records of ongoing mtc./oil changes, etc. Paid cash and planned to give to 16 y/old as first car on her b-day. Completely w/out warning the engine failed - just driving down the road one day and the check engine light came on. Drove home (2 miles) immediately and to mechanic the next day ... who pronounced it dead. Unable to fix it without buying new engine priced at 6,000 with labor. Apparently, these engines are in very high demand because of all of the problems with them failing many are looking for rebuilds and they have become very rare. Chrysler should take some responsibility here, even after warranty - if so many are having the same problems then the corporation should take notice and do something.

I am very frustrated finding out that this has been a problem for other people as well. I had no warning that anything was the matter. No "check engine" light, no rough sounds or anything. Except for THAT MORNING. I was on my way to work, and then out of nowhere, I heard a loud sound that sounded like a helicopter coming down on me. I actually looked out the window for it. Then, I realized it was my car. I have 81,000 miles on it and seven months still left to pay on it. I immediately stopped driving it (except to go to the dealership) and was told I have to get a new engine. Not a covered item under the warranty. I am very frustrated. How am I supposed to get anything on trading it in for another vehicle if I can't even drive it? Anyone have any ideas on if anything can be done???

I was driving up the interstate about an hour and a half away from home and no check engine light or anything came on to warn me all of a sudden my car started making a noise I called my husband then my mechanic and he told me right off what was wrong I got off at the next exit which I was lucky I was right at they checked it and make a long story short I had to be towed home which was a $150 Now I am being told that Chrysler has been having this problem I have had it out with them about my transmission and already had done quit using them for service I quit using the dealership along time ago for my oil changes it would take them 2hours for an oil change and I would always end up having to take it back to them because it would be leaking one time they tried to tell me it was because I had let someone else change the oil and I told them you idiots I just left here with it. I know my car has over 100000 miles on it but I still feel Chrysler should be responsible for something because I kept my car maintaince regular and I should have had some sign. I know I have said it in the past but I will never own another Chrysler or Dodge product. Sherry Smith Cookeville TN

First I was told by Courtesy Chrysler that my car engine and battery lights were going off and on because of me hitting a bump and the wiring might be loose so this was probably the problem. The car was serviced and the light was off at that time, was told to bring in as soon as light comes back on. 1 week after service, lights come on again, return it to Chrysler and was told fully booked and car would not be seen. Gave girl the name of the person who told me to come in, again she state I could leave car, but wouldn't be able to see it until a couple of days.. by that time light probably would be off. 2 weeks later brought car back in for same issue plus my husband came and gave them a run down of the noise it was making, was then told they needed permission to break the car down to check, gave permission to do so and was told WATER & OIL MIXED, would need a new engine, then they stated the cost would be $7000. plus $500.00 for the breakdown, come to find out I was not under warranty as of 2 weeks ago. We paid for the breakdown, but refuse engine repair. Tried everything that I could to get Chrysler to help, but refused, stating they aren't getting paid so nothing they could do. Finally my battery went dead and bought car in, they changed battery and stated I had a build up of sludge in the oil. Was told by a worker who claimed he was from corporate that I could get this taken care of by Geico, which is my insurance company. He stated don't tell them about SLUDGE, just tell them I went over a puddle and they were going to ask me for the oil pad. Was told I could bring car to them and they would take out the pad for free so they could see water and oil and sludge. Long story short, went to Geico who stated it is a build up of oil and dirt and stated this was because oil wasn't changed on a regular basis. Told them dealership did that regularly when I took car for service repairs. He then stated it couldn't have possibly been water and oil because I wouldn't be still driving vehicle at this time (3 months later). They didn't want to tell me, but in not so many words, they said Chrysler was trying to get money from me. I'm glad I didn't take the car to them so they could give me the oil pad because they would have done something intentionally to my car when they saw there were no signs of water and oil mixed. I got this info for free and Geico did this for free without using my deductible for insurance. They also stated I was better off looking for a used engine instead of putting a new one in. I knew that anyway, they wanted me to pay $7000. for a new engine on a car I only paid $9000. for. CHRYSLER IS A TOTAL RIP-OFF, I will never buy or do business with them again.

Well add me to the list... My Sebring has been in the shop for over 1 mth because the mechanic was back & forth with the warranty company, which they eventually denied me Now it's just sitting there.. I'm so disgusted.. said they found sludge in the engine when my oil was changed regularly... had no receipts to back it up either unfortunately for me.. It kind of sucks I bought the extended warranty, but I'm still gonna be out of thousands to get this piece of crap fixed... I feel like Chrysler and the warranty company left me out in the cold!!! Still owe $6500 for this piece of sh*t!!! Never again will I purchase a Dodge or Chrysler Product... Why didn't I listen when people were trying to tell me the engines in Sebrings are crappy!!!!