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Chrysler PT Cruiser Owners: Problems & Solutions
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Comments
The Aamco shop replaced a laundry list of parts this time. Torque converter to a bunch of rings, seals and other stuff that I'm unfamiliar with. I partially feel that the Transmission industry is a scam.
The first time it blew up the chrysler dealer said it was the planetary gears.
Craig
There are several A/C smell remover products on the market, but I've found using Lysol works for me. I've heard Febreze works too, but I haven't tried it.
With the system fan on one of the two lowest speeds (in the white) and all of the other knobs turned full left try spraying into the air intake behind the window washer tank.
You should also make sure the A/C evaporator drain is open (car leaves a water puddle on the ground when you park after using the A/C).
Note: On some of my cars I found that the angle the car was parked at changed how well the drain worked. On some, if the car wasn't on flat ground the water inside the A/C system would not completely drain. This would cause mold/mildew to form inside the A/C system, causing the smell.
I bought my PT Cruiser 2,0 Limited (2002) for about six months ago. But to my disappointment there is a howling sound that appears once in a while, but every time I leave it to my dealer they can´t hear it or find out whats wrong. It´s quite a loud howling-sound that appears mostly in a speed of 60-70 km/h, (I don´t know how many miles per hour that is... maybe it´s about 35-40 miles/h) and when i slightly turn the steering-wheel to the left. Please, does anyone know what it could be... Marianne - Sweden
My GT is not quiet in general, but there is nothing extra coming from the rear of the car.
A Corvair - wow. Long time since I had one. I liked the four carb one better around town, but the turbo was nice on the open road. If memory serves, the turbo had a long pipe leading to it and some people used to insulate that pipe to get more power and faster response.
I took my car back to selling dealer twice. They rotated tires and the problem was reduced, but still there. When I reached the mileage for freeway driving, I would reach 69 and 73 mph and the car felt as though it would vibrate itself apart. Of course, the dealer could find nothing wrong. I took it to a Goodyear dealer, and they used the "load force balancer" described by another post above and found 3 out of 4 tires out of round. They were replaced under Goodyear warranty. What a difference! If you have this problem, take it to a tire dealer, don't put up with this nonsense!!
Also, there has been a recall on many PTs power steering systems.
I have had my 03 power steering system replaced through the recall program.
I had the recall done that involved 430,000 cars, but that was the only one so far.
Can you let me know what steps you took to have Chrysler to repair your car? I have a 2001 Limited Edition and the engine blew at 39,664 miles. It was determined that there was some internal engine problems that caused my spark plug to explode and the engine to go. I have sent letters to customer service and to EVERYONE on the board of directors in Germany. All they came back and said was "sorry, you are out of warranty". I took very good care of the car, service when scheduled, and expected a bit more consideration. I got the car as a XMAS present last year and am now looking at paying $3000.00 to get it repaired in just over a year.
Please, any advice you can offer is appreciated. I've learned that Chrysler is not very good at standing behind their product.
Thanks,
Nicole
2001 PT
PS. one word was intentionally misspelled above..how many noticed? ;-)
Hi all, my sister is considering an older PT cruiser, and I was wondering what problems have been had and are common with the PT? What are things to look for when test driving a used one? I appreciate any feedback.
idntnvu
I'm at the end of the original service contract (3/36,000)and would like to know if anyone knows about any repair trends. I have a 2002 PT cruiser, 5 speed and the only problems so far are computer related:
- at 4,000 miles the windows wouldn't go down until I had shut off the engine and restarted. No diagnostics were done.
- at 20,000 miles the airbag light came on for a 24 hour period in zero degree weather and shut off on it's own. No diagnostics were done.
Thank you
Wheelman
This problem is not necessarily more prevalent in one make/model over another. If you do a keyword search (to your left) using the words "mice" and "rodents", you will find a few archived topics that discuss this dilemma.
We will see about long term, but at least it didnt have the "hospital smell" of Lysol!
You "might, maybe" save a buck or two getting one in stock. If they don't have it, it won't cost that much to go get.
I don't know what else to say except find a new one that's already the color you want.
Also, I wasnt expecting it to get "Honda Civic like" gas milage, but was disappointed at the fact I only got 19 MPG on the freeway. I think my GMC Sierra gets better freeway milage!!
Cruisers don't get great mpg. The mpg on ours increased about 10% at around 3000 miles and continued to improve another 5% over the next several thousand miles. Even then, the mpg is poor. Our 03 GT automatic gets 22-23 mpg at high freeway speeds (75+) with A/C on. Overall, our PT GT gets only about 1 mpg better than our MDX. The best tank I have seen is 25 (twice). Non-turbo Cruisers get much better mpg.
As far as the gas goes, hopefully it improves over time, but even if it doesn't the positives about this car far outweigh the negatives! The thing is a blast to drive!
Most of these commercial wheel cleaners are really smoke and mirrors. All vapor and no substance.
I've loved the look of the PT Cruisers for quite a while, and am considering trading in my 04 Subaru Outback for one (the Outback has had a host of problems--I'm one unhappy Subaru buyer).
My two main concerns are cargo space and mileage. I have a 70-lb German Shepherd and without taking her to the dealership with me, it's hard to tell if she would fit in the back with the rear seats up or if I'd have to put the seats down. Any Cruiser owners with dogs want to weigh in?
Also, one of the things I'm dissatisfied with my Outback is the mileage. It doesn't run well on anything but 89 or 93 octane, and it gets 16 mpg in city driving. This is a 163 hp 4-cylinder engine, and this is honestly about the same I got with my 95 Z-28, which was a lot more fun to drive! Can you run your Cruisers on 87 octane without ferocious pinging?
City commuters, what kind of mileage are you getting? I drive about 10 miles roundtrip each day, which isn't much, and I make a few more short trips in the evenings for classes, etc. I usually only do highway driving on the weekends.
Thanks!
We love our Cruiser (03 GT). Our 85 pound dog rides in the back seat. While there is room for the dog in the way back, the seats are tall relative to the floor, so it is like a big open top box. If this is where the dog must ride be sure to try before you buy. If your dog is like mine, the cargo area, with both back seats up (so people can sit in the back), will not be a happy place.