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Chrysler 300M Life Expectancy

mattg1959mattg1959 Member Posts: 1
in Chrysler
I have a 2001, 300M with 128,000 miles. Can anyone tell me what the top mileage I can expect from a well maintained engine?
Thanks, Matt
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  • tayl0rdtayl0rd Member Posts: 1,926
    A well maintained engine will last almost indefinitely. Doesn't matter what car it's in. But I would estimate you could see the high side of 200Ks before the car itself just starts to fall apart, i.e. suspension parts, electronics, miscellaneous cracking, breaking, peeling of interior bits, etc.; unless, of course, those things are also well maintained. In which case, who knows how many miles you could get out of it?
  • smithedsmithed Member Posts: 444
    I am expecting 200,000+ from my 1999 Intrepid ES: basically the same car, engine, transmission. Now have 117,000 miles. My son is about to take it off to college 250 miles away and I have no qualms about his doing that. :shades:
  • jonathan_216jonathan_216 Member Posts: 22
    I have a 1999 300m and she runs like a champ! She has 154,000 on her and we just made a trip to Minneapolis about 1200 miles round trip. Let her cruise at 88 that all the cruise will let you go. But I haven't had any trouble with her just an oil sensor. Great car I bet she'll last at least 250,000.
  • crdivoffcrdivoff Member Posts: 4
    My '99 300M has 204,000 and is going strong. I change oil every 3,000-4,000 miles; perform all maintenance specified in owner's manual; and, change struts and shocks probably more often than really needed, but I like for the car to drive like new. With new shocks, struts, timing belt, spark plugs and transmission, all installed at approximately 199,000 miles, the car runs better than new. I put front brakes on at 90,000 miles and rear brakes at 150,000 miles. I love the car. Every time I look at it, I'm reminded how nice it looks and how much nicer it looks than most other, new cars. I hope it lasts another 200,000 miles. At 190,000 miles it was burning 1 qt. oil every 2,000 miles. I put in a can of STP and now, with 204,000 miles it burns 1/8 qt. every 3,000 miles.
  • rodneyl0rodneyl0 Member Posts: 1
    hey how you doin, had a question for you, i have a 99 300m just like yours, had for about 4years now, no problems and actually drove her from Boston to Houston....road trip, drove 75 to 90 miles an hour all the way without any troubles! But however it's hottt and it actually feels alot like summer over here in Houston and my Engine seems to be overheating all the time, i drive it when it's hot outside!!??!!!. One of my Cooling fans actually stopped workin as well, just noticed that two days ago, i only have one fan running. i was wondering whether it's a fan relay or fuse problem but please could you give me some advice as to what i can do to make my baby as good runnin as yours is. I really love this car and it's really bothering me that it heats up all the time, even when i try to put the AC on, it overheats. Whats wierd is that it never heats up, when i have the heat on! So im totally confused. Pliz reply...my email is "rodneylubowa@yahoo.co.uk" thanx alot!! God Bless!
  • smithedsmithed Member Posts: 444
    I have a '99 Intrepid (same basic car as yours) and had to have both fans replaced at about 110,000 miles. It doesn't heat up when you have the heat on because that is what should happen. The heater in the passenger compartment is really another radiator (that's how it works), so one of the first things to do if a car is starting to overheat is to turn on the heater. Don't let it overheat! These are aluminum blocks and heads and warping will be bad!
  • jw300mjw300m Member Posts: 8
    There are soooo many variables that determine how long cars last (climate, maintenance, driver abuse, etc...), but for the most part the 300M is one of the best built cars.

    Mine has almost 163,000 miles on it and it is still going strong and has had very few problems (power window issue, transmission sensor, ATC failed). It has been driven fairly hard but maintained well (2 total transmission flushes, spark plug replacement, regular oil changes, etc..).

    I have owned numerous other makes/models and never thought I would keep a car with as many miles as mine has, but again, the car is so well built that I am not even considering buying something else.

    In conclusion, I would reccomend this car to anyone. Just be smart when purchasing a used car; spend the $50-$75 and have a mechanic you trust look over the vehicle and fun a detailed car-fax.
  • mark158mark158 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2000 Chrysler 300m that I purchased brand new. This car runs magnificently. I change the oil every 3000 miles and use only 100% synthetic oil. Overkill? Perhaps. But, I have over 173000 miles and never had any serious problems with this car. Other than routine wear items such as tires, brakes and a battery, I am in love this car because it has served me so well. I don't think that I will experience this with any other vehicle.
  • crdivoffcrdivoff Member Posts: 4
    Sorry to be so late replying. I just now saw your message. I suspect your problem is a water pump. I had mine replaced at 100,000 miles when I had the timing belt changed. Because the front end of the car must be removed to get access to either, I went ahead and had the pump replaced. When the mechanic began removing the old pump, he discovered a very slight leak around the pump. So, I replaced it just in time. The pump itself is rather small, the shape and the size of a man's middle finger. It acts like a large screw and moves the water just by turning.
    My car now has 224,500 miles on it and drives great. I use 1/8th of a quart of oil in 1,000 miles. I change oil every 4,000 miles now. I changed every 3,000 miles before it hit 200,000 miles. I had a tune up each 100,000 miles, which is basically just the installation of new spark plugs. I follow the maintenance schedule in the owner's manual very strictly. When the transmission fluid gets a bit dark (after 50M-60M miles), I get all of the old fluid pumped out before putting in new fluid. Apparently, if all you do is drain the fluid, there will remain a few quarts in the transmission which, unless you pump it out, will contaminate the new fluid.
    I went on an 800 mile trip when I kept my speed at exactly 75 mph and made very few stops. I averaged 27.1 miles per gallon. When I pay no attention to saving gas and just drive like I want, I average about 24 m.p.g. On long trips I drive between 65 and 95 and still get about 24 m.p.g. The torque from 0 - 60 is so so. But the torque between 65 - 85 is great.
    I hope all of this helps. Enjoy your Chrysler. Your e-mail address did not work.
    Yours truly, K. Rogers, Memphis, TN, USA
  • nt300mnt300m Member Posts: 3
    I do have a 2000 Chrysler 300M that I purchased brand new. This car definitely has been through tough times with us going long rides helping us settle down with our lives. We had this baby for almost 8 years now, have 160,000 k miles on it. Honestly I am not that of a maintenance guy, so I went to all my service needs to an authorized chrysler dealer, even though the money was more, but I think that played a huge part in having my car run for such long time. I have asked the dealer to follow the manufacture recommendations and believe we did pretty good other than a transmission fluid leak causing a transmission replacement at 130k miles which costed me 3k $ through chrysler. Had couple of high speed bumps hit my under carriage had some issues. Now I take most precaution as still our household use this one car for all our needs. Did one tire change till now through Costco and planning to go for a second about time, so I can pull this baby up 200k mile marker. As now many chrysler dealers going out of business, I have changed to valvoline for my oil changes, use their maxlife every 3-4k miles and just did a transmission flush after my new transmission now 20 months old and did 35k miles

    When I bought this car, I did not get good reviewed from so many of my friends for being the car would run into so many problems, but I have seen those folks change their cars, but still I am running solid.

    I will hold on to this baby till its last breath, until I will go for a new brand maybe, wonder that will last like her.
  • jgarryjgarry Member Posts: 3
    Hi everyone, just saw this thread.

    My 2001 300M has 190K on it, and once again I was deciding whether to put some $ into it or move to the next big thing.

    Basically, it needs tires and the hvac fan doesn't work. Poking about on the intertubes, I saw things about control modules and resetting by pulling fuses. The fuse trick didn't work, so I went to the dealer, $95 diag fee to tell me it needs $500 fan motor, ordered from LA.

    However, while poking about on the dealer website, I saw they had a 2008 300C Hemi, so I decided to buy that before I knew about the $500 anyways.

    So, any ideas about what to do with the 300M? Service guy offered me $2K, I said I could do better donating it (now having second thoughts, of course). It's a nice car, only serious complaint I've had is 4 trannys (1st right after warranty expired, sigh). So it has only 22K on an OEM upgraded tranny. Since I drive so much, I tend to take much better than average care of my cars. I'm thinking put it in autotrader for $2800, with note about fan and tires. Am I dreaming? I'm near San Diego. I'm no salesman.

    Gold/tan, sunroof, premium sound, chrome wheels, couple very minor dings, driver seatback worn/cracked. Passed smog with flying colors last year. Most miles 80MPH on freeway.
  • eric_300meric_300m Member Posts: 1
    I have on this 300M (Year 03) about 200K miles and frankly speaking nothing really troubling at all other then regular stuff and on normal wear and tear. Recently, I have both lights on whenever I stepped on the brake paddle. Dealer checked it out for like $200 and told me to replace HCU (hydraulic Control Unit) and the ABS pump the cost is like $750, $650 and with labor goes up to about $2K. As this is really getting expensive and I couldn't find it at all searching on the Internet. Anyone knows if I can get by more affordably??

    The 300M is just a beauty inside out, well built, and I would like to keep it for as long as I can until I get into endless engine problems (hope not).

    Thanks in advance.
  • wec02wec02 Member Posts: 3
    Hi everyone I own a 2002 300m I bought in 03.Had 20k when I bought have 180k now.No major prolems went thru 2 computers covered under warranty.And a master cylinder.Doesnt burn any oil, I drive it real hard from NH. to Boston every day an awesome highway car.Hope to get a lot more miles.
  • jgarryjgarry Member Posts: 3
    Replying to my own post, I put in the ad, put sign on car, someone saw me in McDonalds parking lot said he'd tell his friend, friend bought it, talked me down a few hundred. Then I got about 20 messages on my answering machine wanting to see the car.

    Getting many unsolicited compliments on 300C, seeing lots of similar ones around. People think the remote start is so cool, I'm starting to be startled by their reaction because I've gotten used to it. 300M had better ride/handling, I miss a few things like better feel on the garage door buttons, instant fuel economy readout, predictable buttons on the radio, auto adjust based on which key remote used. Some things I perhaps simply haven't figured out yet, not sure if they are things wrong.
  • 02owner02owner Member Posts: 34
    I have a 2002 300M (non-PHP) which I bough as a Certified Used in 2004. Now approaching 136,000 miles. Arguably the best built car I have owned.
  • nt300mnt300m Member Posts: 3
    nt300m (Dec 24, 2008 7:07 am)

    This is an update to my old post back from Dec 08. Car currently has 195k miles. Did a first tranny OEM replacement at 130k miles with 3 yrs 36k mile warranty. The one major issue I had after that was last year while my steering column got jammed while taking a turn from a set of lights, thank god it was not an highway. Costed me around 1k to fix it and then some minor tail light issues and other things during state inspection. Last month after almost 3 yrs of tranny replacement, while driving on my highway I lost transmission power while driving even though the engine was on. I was like man here it is the car is dead. I have crossed the 10 yr ownership of my car last Dec 2010 and with 195k miles, was not sure what should I do. The dealer said its tranny and 4k to get an OEM. This time chrysler offered 3 yrs 100k mile warranty. I ranged up couple of more dealers and one gave me an offer to fix it at 3k without looking at the car, even though the car was at a different dealer. Still we had a single car for a 2 person working household, rented a car for a week before to decided should I go for a new car or fix it. Well KBB value was 2k, but the car was not even in drivable condition. Not sure even how the donation worked on such cars. Even if I were to look for a second hand car of same 300m it was going around 5k.

    So finally after much deliberation I decided to fix my tranny one more time (2nd time), considering I knew my car well and the same dealer match the price of tranny fix and he said the car is in good shape otherwise. There was a oil leak in the transmission line he mentioned that needs to be changed/fix, which I knew as I have seen oil drip while I parked the car. The main thing that convinced me to fix the tranny second time was 100k mile warranty and the dealer said he will give 1 yr warranty on his work. As my car tires were new which I bought from Costco again for 400$ all four with 90k mile warranty (Michellin), in all angle it made more sense for me to fix my baby again. As he started the work he said it needs new radiator, man I am now into this and can't back out. The total expense after everything costed me 4.5k. Whew, thats a big amount. Its been a month now the car is back on road put 500 miles. Hope I can pull the car without major issues for another 1 year and cross the 200k mile marker which was my initial goal. The only issue I have now is the silencer is making noise and not that loud, the dealer said its because the car is old and the line is rusted and while removing the transmission it gave up and since there is a small gap thats the reason for the noise, the permanent fix would cost me 1k, I said no and he just did a temp fix to subdue the noise, but said the noise will slowly increase as I will drive more. Let see how that goes. Hope I can get some ROI on my 4.5k invested for now.

    Chrysler 300M is really a good car and very sporty looking compared to 300C. This is one of the better roomier car, not sure if I can find any other car with such room. I am ready for new car I guess in next 6 months to 1 yr. Since I had been die hard fan of Chrysler for 10 yrs wanted to try a different manufacturer, now I am very much hooked and sold to Volvo their XC models.

    Thanks for reading guys! ">link title
  • crdivoffcrdivoff Member Posts: 4
    I had a '99 Chrysler 300M which I sold with 248,000 miles on it. The car developed a starting problem. The first start of the day was perfect. After I had driven long enough for the engine to get hot, it would not start without waiting 15 - 30 minutes. I sold it and told the buyer about the problem. He put another 5,000 miles on the cAr and got conflicting diagnoses. He sold it to someone experienced in tinkering on cars who bought it on first sight. The last I heard the car supposedly had a defective starter which would expand when getting hot breaking an electric connection which prevented it from starting; however, no one could explain why the car never quit running no matter how hot the engine got unless the key was taken out. I loved the car, so when I had to replace it I replaced it with a 2004 300M Special, which definitely drives different from the regular 300M. I don't know what I'lll do when the '04 wears out"!
  • 02owner02owner Member Posts: 34
    edited November 2011
    Thanks for the input. I ended up keeping it. My service tech (I use the dealer, with whom my family has done business for four decades, and the same tech has been working on my car since I bought it) is of the opinion that the car could reach 200,000 miles without much trouble. I just put a new head unit for the automatic a/c and some tires and brakes that were needed and changed all the fluids. Previously changed shocks and struts at front and rear in February 2010. Car has 146,171 miles. Took out a lady friend last night who has an '09 300 Base and she thought my much older car was much nicer inside with a sportier feel and greater comfort.

    One issue, however is a little rust on the inside of the rear doors. I had it repaired a few years ago but it has returned.
  • naatz1naatz1 Member Posts: 188
    I don't think I ever posted to this particular sub-forum but used this set of forums (& Edmunds in gen'l) extensively in 2004 to decide on my 300M purchase 8 yrs ago. I probably did the last post on how to read and reset a check engine light on one of these forums. The "loose gas cap" was about the only gremlin I had the past couple years on my low mileage 76400 mi 2004 red 300M when it got totalled 2 weeks ago. Many tears from my wife on this unfortunate "traffic stopped in the right hand lane of the freeway and ramp" mess. We'd hoped to drive the car to 100k mi in 2-3 years and then do a trade for a smaller car - with kids out of the house we did not need all the room but loved the styling and handling of this great road car! As I cleaned it out at the body shop I did not cry but could not get behind the wheel either; while it was my wife's car I loved to drive it on long trips, hardly knew it after a 4 hour drive.

    Current owners: Be aware that a not to high speed crunch into someones bumper (300M hood, right fender, right headlight, some front bumper damage) results in > $6k damage effectively totalling it. Unfortunately the value of these cars has dropped a lot, perhaps due to 8 yrs of age but insurance effectively added $1500 more with low mileage and options so go figure. I always had concerns on doing any work on this engine with such a compressed engine compartment but this model does seem prone to being easy to wreck, although all I really care about it my wife walked away, airbags did not even go off.
    Good luck all of you who are still driving this as I will not even consider a new 300: don't like the style of even the sorta smoothed out 2012 300's and driving a RWD car in MN snow is stupid, too bad Chrysler did not stay w/FWD as the $2k option for AWD cuts the gas mileage too much. I want to get >30mpg highway mileage so will probably look at a mid size something, possibly a 200 but more likely a Fusion, Malibu/Lacrosse or possibly Passat, Camry or Accord.

    Again, take care of all those 300Ms out there, love that car!
  • nt300mnt300m Member Posts: 3
    This is an update to my old two posts,

    First: Dec 08, Second: Mar 011, Now March 13.

    Currently I have around 225k miles on this 2000 300M chrysler, from my last tranny fix, I pulled off 2 yrs. During the course of two years, I have probably around 2k exp on regular maintenance, one tire change and OEM oil can change and brakes probably.

    I always oscillate to buy a new car whenever my emissions sticker would fail and then I end-up fixing it. Recently the car breaks were gone and the ride started to wobble and the service tech said tie rods were gone and they estimated a 2k exp to fix it and he said, its not even worth it considering the miles on the car.

    I decided to come back and update this post, as I just now bought myself a brand new car 2013 Lexus ES350, the only car in my analysis could match in all expectations to my 2000 300M chrysler. The dealer said from the trade-in value he will offer the fair market value of KBB just a approximation, but he said, they always go by the last auction sale price. So my car was valued around $1500 maybe. Still I haven't traded it in, as the new car would be the second car in the house hold. But I will eventually will be either trading it in or donating this car I guess.

    All I have is till Sep 2013, my emissions sticker, after that I can't even drive the car, unless I fix it... so probably getting rid of this one before then for sure.

    Well I definitely got the ROI for the money I spent on the car for 2 yrs, 4.5k tranny and probably 2.5k over 2 yrs maintenance..... I pulled 13 yrs and 225k miles not bad for a 300m Chrysler.

    I will post a one last final post after I either trade-in or donate my car.

    Thanks guys, now I am a new Lexus 2013 ES350 owner.
  • cobalt4youcobalt4you Member Posts: 1
    I have 300M year 2000. Runs very well. I did purchase last Oct. 2014. How much cost to change the oil for transmission. Local shop Mclean Virginia zip 22101 wants $182.00 I want to change the transmission oil to avoid any future problems. Other question takes very long time to blow heat to inside in the cold weather. What do i do? 3. My CD player does not open.
  • lonelybulllonelybull Member Posts: 1
    I HAVE A 2003 300 M IT HAS 118,000 ON IT. THE TIMING BELT HAS NOT BEEN CHANGED.
    WHY DO I FEEL LIKE I'M DRIVING A TIME BOMB?
    DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW LONG BEFORE THE BELT WILL BREAK AN RUN MY VALVES INTO THE TOP OF MY PISTONS?????
    THE COST TO CHANGE OUT THE BELT WATER PUMP AN IDLERS COSTS AROUND $1000 BUT
    I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE IT WITHOUT GETTING IT DOME.
    CAN SOMEONE TELL ME HOW MANY MILES IT SHOULD RUN BEFORE BELT BREAKS?
    THANKS A BUNCH, HANK
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