Chrysler 300M

laurasdada · February 2006

Congrats Illini. Nice to see you're staying in the Chrysler family. The new 300 just wasn't my cup of tea, so I defected to the Honda family ('05 Acura TL, fab car!).

Good luck with the new iron. I, too, enjoyed this forum, especially the early years.

I'm probably a mfg. nightmare, no brand loyalty. Build the car I want (and can afford...) and I'll buy it. Badge be darned! Let's see, in reverse chronological order, cars I've purchased for myself or evil wife:

'05 Acura TL (Handsome, fast, quiet, smooth, economical, fun)
'02 Lexus RX300 (What woman doesn't want one?)
'99 Chrysler 300M (a tear wells up in the eye. I miss ya, Platinum Bullet)
'05 Saab 900 (As we were expecting child #1 I did not want a minivan or SUV. Saab hatchback utility to the rescue!)
'92 Nissan Sentra SE-R (fun, fun, fun for weekends when I wasn't driving...see next line)
And now for a short break as I was in sales for 5+ years and had a series of boring, but reliable co. cars incl. Olds (RIP), Mercury and Dodge...
'88 Acura Integra (fun, fun, fun and beautifully screwed together)
'85 Mitsubishi Mirage Turbo (fun, fun, fun. Devil in a red dress!)

I think I'll stop lest I age myself...!

rvoll · February 2006

The fender liner is flexible. After you remove the strap and terminal, you can push down the liner a bit and slide it out. Yes, it is a tight fit, but it is fast and it works... I just replaced mine last month.

illini4 · February 2006

It was Jeffew. His favorite dig was ABC (anything but Chrysler).

illini4 · February 2006

'85 isn't showing much age! My first was a '55 Olds (got it in high school - '61).

bigmike5 · February 2006

Adios Illini, hope it works out with the 300 and you get one that does not pull to the right. Been great having you here, come back now and then. I watch the 300 board too, so I will look for you over there. :shades:

kimchi · February 2006

im 22yrs old mech-engineering student and have 00' 300M.
I want to install subwoofer. i have 7 infinity speaker and one of my friends has a subwoofer that he doesnt need anymore.
which amp should i buy?
does anyone know how to install it?
any recommendation?

is there anyway i can push my HP upto 300HP from 255hp?
I heard that there is no room for turbo or super charger, and i looked under the hood and everything was packed..

naatz1 · February 2006

Best of luck on the new 300. I am afraid we never got to converse as I am a relatively new Mar 04 300M owner. I was glad to get back to my 300M yesterday parked up at the off site lot at the Minneapolis airport for 10 days while the wife and I were on a cruise. We did spend almost 2 days before and 1 day after in the Ft Lauderdale & West Palm areas "scoping out" S FL (wife's sister moving there soon so I may do visiting there vs TX or AZ which we'd always planned for). Man, there were a ton of new 300s there! You still don't see many up in the snow country around MN, but either one of the rental companies got a deal or these typical RWD cars are real popular in the south. I hope you have good luck with them as I assume you are a few hundred mis south of MN, if truly in ILLINOIS, still winter there.

Oh yeah, my two rental hertzmobiles were 1. a Mazda 3, cute little thing my kids would like but brash orange dashlights totally unreadable by my 50+ yr old eyes at night, I had NO idea what speed I was doing (compared to the easy to read gauges on the 300M) and 2. for < 24 hours my 3rd pick after the 300M and #2 now discontinued Bonneville, a Toyota Solara ... a NICE car, peppy, lotsa trunk room but alas a reject 2 years ago due to an occasional rider 6ft 1in tall broad shouldered son. As a 2 door not in the same league as the 300M but a really nice car for the middle aged set none the less.

Anyway, enjoy the new 300!

illini4 · February 2006

Thanks to all of you who responded to my "last day" message. I'll miss my M, but I believe the C is going to fill the void very well. The Hemi is a real treat, especially with the Borla exhaust (the Mopar version). Naatz1 - I live in the Columbus OH area. We haven't had much of a winter so far this year - hope it stays that way.

tayl0rd · February 2006

Anybody know where to check if Chrysler has released any computer upgrades besides going to the dealer?

uniguy · February 2006

There are a bunch of cold air intake kits for the 300m on ebay for about $30 or so with shipping. I was wondering what you guys think of them. Do you think any possible gain would be worth the time and expense? Here is a link to one of the auctions to give you an idea: link title Thanks...

uniguy · February 2006

I've had my M since about October Is it just me or is the driver's footwell kinda cramped? I feel like I had more legroom in previous cars. Keep in mind I do not have long legs by any means -- I'm only 5'8". I also feel like the brake pedal is too far to the left than what would be ideal.

Also, the door lock on the front pass door buzzes really loud when it actuates. Had it looked at when I took it in for oil change earlier this week and was told that the latch assembly needs to be replaced and would cost $235. For that much money, I'll put up with some buzzing. From what I understand, this is a common problem. I've got squeaky power window problem too.

tayl0rd · February 2006

What year is your M? On the '02 and up Ms, the footrest is pretty big and takes up a good portion of leg room. The brake pedal is fine. It's the footrest that makes it seem like the pedal is too far to the left. I remember my sister's '99 M had gobs of legroom on the driver's side.

I've found that if I maneuver my foot between the footrest and brake pedal, I can stretch my leg all the way out. I'm 6'. I've been considering taking the footrest out, but probably as soon as I do that, I'll have to take a LONG road trip and end up wishing I'd left it in. I've also found that if I take my shoes off, I have a ton of space down there. The passenger side is a different story. It has much less room than the driver side for some reason.

patdaman · February 2006

Hello. Just like everyone here, I am a proud owner of a 300M (2001 vintage). I just picked the car up a week ago (2/17) and absolutely love it. Previously, I owned a Lexus ES300, and I'll put the 300M above it.

Anyway, to my question. I've noticed rattling/distortion in my center speaker in the dash. Can anyone tell me how to replace it myself? Thanks.

tayl0rd · February 2006

Remove the plastic A-pillar trim pieces on the driver and passenger side. Pop out the long, plastic trim piece at the base of the dash, and voila'! You'll need one of those crooked screw drivers, or a really short one, to get it out.

uniguy · February 2006

I have a 2000 M and I as far as I know, I don't have a center speaker. I've got speakers on the a-pillars, the doors, and on the rear deck...but no center speaker...

tayl0rd · February 2006

They all have a center speaker. Look at the little, round grille behind the security system indicator.

patdaman · February 2006

Thanks for the info. I'll give it a shot. I can't take the rattling any longer. I'm also considering upgrading all of the speakers.

uniguy · February 2006

Oh, yeah I see where it is now. Never knew it was there before. Ha!

uniguy · March 2006

It used to be I never had to log into this forum. Internet Explorer would remember my username and password and log me in. Now, I have to manually log in every time. Anyone else having this problem?

pat · March 2006

Yes, it's a problem with the main site (beyond the control of the Forums). I understand that a fix has been identified and will be applied in about a week. You can follow developments on this and any other software issues in the discussion at this link: Forums Software - Your Questions Answered.

alcatrazt2 · March 2006

Went ahead and did a 24,000 service on the 300M.
The dealer changed the oil and filter on the 2002 Chrysler 300M.
They also went ahead and did a complete fuel system service.
Removed the throlttle body, cleaned the system out from carbon buildup and flushed the injectors.
Colant service was done as well. Drained and re-filled with new coolant.
The heaviness we felt, I believe I mentioned before, is finally gone and car feels just like new!
Cheers!
George

jea3391 · March 2006

I'm thinking about purchasing a used '03 300M V6 w/autostick. It looks to be a very nice vehicle but I really don't know anything about Chrysler products as I've been GM for 25 years.

Anyone out there have any opinions they are willing share good or bad with this particular model.

Appreciate any feedback. Thanks, Jea

tayl0rd · March 2006

You'll be very happy.

bigmike5 · March 2006

I never owned a Chrysler until the 99 300M. I was always an Olds or Buick guy. Had a low opinion of Chrysler until I got this car. It is approaching 8 years old with almost 84K miles and it is still my daily driver. Love it and it still gets looks and has been relatively trouble free over the years. The quality of the parts improved over the years, we had some problems with speed sensor units for the trannys and door lock devices and window motors. All were crappy parts, and the Badyears tires were awful, but they got all these squared away and the later years 02 onward have been very good, reliable cars. If you have a good one, you will really enjoy it. Good luck. :shades:

mykem · March 2006

On my 2nd 300M (by choice).

First one was an early '99 (bought July 1998) and had it for nearly 3 years and 48K miles.

Traded up to a 2001 model 5 years ago today (03 March), with more options and accourtements, and running fine with nearly 85K miles, and really has only been given scheduled maintenance, tires once (around 40K), front brakes twice, and rears once.

-m

bmcdonald · March 2006

Mine is a '99 with 178k miles. Things I've fixed so far: Fuel pump, brake rotors (front), electric cooling fans (they burned!), re-glued the speaker cones ($3.00 bottle of glue vs. $$$ for new speakers). Things that need to be fixed: Vacuum leak somewhere "out there", opaque headlight lenses (really bad). No window motor problems. I have had the cabin lights turn on by themselves maybe 3 times, which is really un-nerving at night at 70mph.

No smoke, doesn't burn oil, idles smooth as glass. I should say that I've never had it in for heavy scheduled maintenance, like timing belts etc (that's right, 178k miles on the original timing belt)... I attribute my lack of problems to not having anyone dink around under the hood. And as long as it runs fine, nobody, especially Chrysler is going to touch my car.

duffer65 · March 2006

I have a 2003 300M which has been a very good car. I have 44000 miles on the clock and car has been essentially trouble free. Both my wife and I enjoy driving it since it is a great travel car, very comfortable at 70 mph, with nimble handling for a large car. Mileage >25 mpg on the highway. I don't use the autostick much since the car runs so smoothly. A few electronic glitches were fixed under warrantly.
Only 1 problem--air conditioner has a pin hole leak which the dealer cannot find so refrigerant had to be added after 2 years (also under warranty). You may want to carefully check this system. I think you will be happy with this car

naatz1 · March 2006

You can see a few of my comments for the past 2 years on this forum, which I still check every week or two. My 2004 300M which I purchased new for my wife (its 2 year "birthday" is in a week, we got it right after St Paddys day as a closeout $4K rebate) is still totally defect free at 19,200 miles. OK, I thought I might have had a problem last Fall, but am now 100% sure it was a fuel cap not tightened thowing a code. You should be very happy with a 2003 and looking at all the posts by guys that bought them since 99 shows the vast majority have had good luck. My only complaints remain backing up, and while excellent tires the Michelins do not do well in over 3" of snow (and I am too cheap to replace them quite yet). Let us know if you buy it and how it runs after a couple months too.

BTW Killing time at a bookstore this weekend, reading the 4/06 Consumer Reports, most of the used 300M years are rated average reliability to slightly above (vs the new 300 V8 rated much worse than average ... stick with the 3.5L V6 which is all the old style 300M offered). Of course CR is notoriously hard on any North American engineer/built car, but that report and the Edmunds user ratings are pretty positive.

kylito · March 2006

Has anyone had any problems with the chrome center caps on the rims fall apart? I am on my second one falling apart and have seen a few 300 without them. Also where can i get cheap replacements? The dealerships want a mint.

handlogten · March 2006

When I went to drop the transmission pan on my 2001 300m, instead of a cork gasket, I found some sort of rubber adhesive/sealant was used. I could not pry it off. Also 4 of the bolts were stripped. Can I assume it did not come from the factory this way or have they switched to this instead of cork?

tayl0rd · March 2006

Yeah, it's pretty safe to say that it didn't come from the factory with stripped bolts.

bigmike5 · March 2006

This was a problem for some of the earlier cars as I recall. I have not had the problem, knock on wood, with my 99M which is almost 8 years old now and I wash my wheels twice a week year round. I do remember a few guys reporting that the prongs inside got corroded and the cap fell off, and yes it was not cheap to replace them. When the problem wasw first brought up on the net I started spraying the prongs with WD-40 when I had the wheels off, figuring the oil would keep the water that infiltrates during rain or washing from having a chance to sit and corrode them. Perhaps a salvage yard or ebay/google is a way to go. :shades:

scotian · March 2006

You can find plastic replacements on eBay.

http://public.fotki.com/Scotian/300m/exterior/razorstar_wheels/chrome_plastic_ce- nt/

uniguy · March 2006

What exactly do you consider a "mint"? The day after you posted your message I noticed the chrome piece on one of my center caps fell off -- the prong is still in the wheel. I called the Chrysler dealership and they quoted me $23 for a replacement. They even had it in stock. I really don't think that's bad. I was expecting worse. (And the cheap plastic replacements sell for more than that on eBay).

-Bret

300mguy · March 2006

I have a 1999 Chrysler 300m. Only about 23K miles, but I had the same problems with the speakers.
I just reglued the door speakers last night. $3.19 for the bottle of Goop. Dang Beastie Boys anyways.

I had a problem with the passenger door window switch, not making good contact. The guy at the dealer just played with the switch and it has worked ever since.
I had a problem with the fog-lights engaging/disengaging. It is sporadic. I just do what the guy did and jiggle the switch. It then goes away. That's probably what you need to do. Be hard, but not too hard.

I am thinking about how to fix the opaque headlights.
The opaqueness seems to be from inside. I'll either see if they sell the clear platic cover or just forgo it.

I have window rollup/down problem.
I know what the problem is, but I don't know exactly how to fix it. The rolling of the window uses a scissor action. That scissor action forces the gear to rub up against 2 plastic pieces, causing the motor to stop. My temporary solution was to use grease, so the gear slides against the plastic. I think the real solution would be to rebend the metal, or use something to keep the metal scissor straight and not allow it to push the gear.

magnum3 · March 2006

I am on my third set of center caps on my 2000 300m. I called Chrysler to complain but they have no record of any problems of this type. But they did have suggestions that your dealership would be able to tell you how to prolong the life of them. Funny if they had no record of problems, that they have solutions to the problem. I also had new tires(chrome wheels) on my 2001 sebring replaced, and the two places I checked into had nothing good to say of Chrysler chrome wheels. One of my wheels was falling apart, Chrysler had no record of ant of these problems either. I also own a 2005 magnum, now I have my fingers crossed on the wheel problems I might face in the future with those.

lapasada · April 2006

I drive a 99M with 49,000 miles on the odometer. For the past several months I have been experiencing intermittent door lock problems. When I activate my remote, all doors will lock or unlock except the driver's door. Has anybody experienced this problem and what was the solution?

charlesf4 · April 2006

Does Chrysler put a build sheet some where in the car?

easyrider300m · April 2006

You have a defective door lock actuator. If you're mechanically inclined you can replace it yourself. Here is a link to the solution. door lock repair

lapasada · April 2006

I haven't been able to get my rear windows down for the past two years. Since 99.9% of my driving on my 300M is solo, I haven't bother having the motors replaced. Can anybody share the cost of repairing/replacing the motors or whatever it takes to get these windows to operate.

hayneldan · April 2006

Make sure the windows are not stuck to the rubber at the top of the windows. Use a plastic knife to make sure the glass is not sticking to the rubber be careful not to damage the rubber. If that does not work, some people have removed the inside door panels and sprayed the commutators of the motors with tv tuner cleaner and they started working again. The motors are made in Japan by Denso for what that is worth.

300mguy · April 2006

I had a problem with the passenger side window of mine not rolling down. I took it to the dealer and they fiddled with the switch. (He used force to press the switch down and back and forth. Not to the point of breaking, but not dainty if you know what I mean.) The window has been working fine ever since.

I don't really know if your motor is bad or not. I wouldn't expect it to be, since you don't really use it all that much. You probably want to make sure it is not the switch before investing in a whole new motor.

Regards,

luisimpr · April 2006

Hi
I am actually troubleshooting that problem today. I already had all my window regulators changed in the past. For about week my rear right window does not go down. I took off the panel and one wire gets the full 12 volts to go up but the wire to go down does not. I used jumpers to reverse the voltage and the window goes down, so the regulator is fine and it is not binding. I suspect the drivers master switch. I took it out and checked the continuity while moving the switches. They are all fine. I have the switch out still so I will keep troubleshooting. I will let you know how it went.

luisimpr · April 2006

I checked the master window switch and everything was fine. I looked at the wiring diagram and went back to the problem door. It was the switch on the door that was bad.

bertoski · April 2006

Did you get your door latch fixed? I have the same problem with my 2000M driver door. I've replaced the latch assy in Nov.05, but few weeks later the "buzzing" noize reapeared. Went to the dealer to change the oil last week and asked about this noise. Also told them I've replaced it in Nov. They told me it has to be the latch assy. I think that there is something else wrong......help!!!! :mad:

bertoski · April 2006

300mguy · April 2006

Glad to hear you got it fixed!

I have no idea why a switch goes bad, other than arcing, which can cause a bad contact, but that takes quite a while for that to happen.

My switch was relatively new and for some reason, it just was not making contact, that is, until a tech at the dealer jiggled it a bit.

I would be curious to know why your switch went bad, I suspect the switch was just not making contact, like mine was. Darn switches anyways.

lapasada · April 2006

I drive a 99M with 49,500 miles on the odometer. In the past six months I have replaced the battery twice. First time was told I had a shot circuit in the dash that was causing the drain on my battery and the battery needed replacing. After speding $900.00 to correct this problem, my battery went dead again this past Thursday morning. The same mechanic advised me that my BCM was bad and needed replacing. While they had the car I had them replace the actuator on the driver's door and the switches on the rear windows. Total bill $1400.00. Saturday morning car wouldn't start. Battery dead. Question - would the BCM have anything to do with draining this battery down and where on a 99M is the BCM located?

almeida · April 2006

I lost my owner's manual one of the remotes. I bought an used remote from a wrecker and I would like to know if anyone has the instructions to reprogram the remote control for the keyless entry.

Also I want to know if there is anyway that I can download another Owner's Manual for a 1999 Chrysler 300M

Thanks

Almeida

300mguy · April 2006

http://www.allpar.com/model/300m-nvh.html

There is a whole section devoted to the BCM under "Electrical & Electronic Systems" heading.

The Body Control Module (BCM) has been upgraded to support the J1850 vehicle communications and diagnostics bus. It mounts directly on the junction block located in the lower, left cowl side. It is available in two feature levels base and premium. Only LHS uses the premium controller.

It includes a Battery Saver feature that automatically turns off electrical loads if this is not done by the driver after a reasonable time.

So, from that statement, even if something was draining the battery, the BCM should have shut it off, preventing the battery from draining completely. I would think the problem was the BCM all along. A short circuit would blow a fuse and not drain the battery.

Get 2 or 3 estimates about what the problem might be, preferably from a dealer.

HTH

Chrysler 300M

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