Chrysler Concorde

peva · May 2002

I recently installed a 1999 LHS electroluminescent gage cluster into my '99 Concorde. Very easy to do. 100% functional. Looks fabulous. Odometer reading is stored in the drive train computer, so that stays with the vehicle.

Been done before? Anyone interested?

Kirstie_H · May 2002

A television reporter is interested in hearing from folks who have driven long distances to get good prices when buying new cars or trucks. If you have a story to tell, please drop a line including your contact info and city/state of residence to jfallon@edmunds.com.

Thanks,

Jeannine Fallon
PR Director
Edmunds.com

peva · May 2002

I'm on the brink of buying 16" Mille Miglia Cello wheels (www.tirerack.com) for my Candy Apple Red '99 (LX, so came from factory with steel wheels with plastic covers). Anyone have these and have opinions on those wheels. I like what I see on the Tire Rack web site on these. Look very similar to the 15-spoke factory alloys, except these have 14 slightly narrower spokes - more open looking. Good brand?

frito · May 2002

That's a big YES on both items. I always liked the retro-looking indiglo gauges in the LHS. Also those Mille Miglia wheels would be my choice as well! Thanks for any info - did you get the cluster off of eBay?

riv86 · May 2002

I plan to buy a `98 Concorde LXi and O wonder if this car has this option. I don`t know if this is the correct name for it but let me describe what I need. Me and my wife drive the same car so every time we switch seats we have to adjust mirrors and the seat. Some more luxurious cars have this option that remember setting of at least two drivers. I`m sure that a lot of Concorde owners will read this message so please respond. Thanks a lot.

frito · May 2002

I'm pretty sure that this feature was NOT available on the Concorde. Maybe the LHS?

riv86 · May 2002

That`s what I thought but I hoped it may be added as an extra option. Thanks

peva · May 2002

Well - I knew I wanted to try it - I bought the FSM soon after I bought my '99 used this past November, and was convinced that electrically, the gage clusters were compatible. I was willing to risk a coupla hundred $$ on the chance that it could work, so on a long shot posted to a general Chrysler newsgroup (rec.autos.makers.chrysler) that I was looking for a '99 LHS cluster. There just happened to be a guy there that works for a very large salvage company that has an internet presence that replied and said he had the exact cluster that I was looking for. Bottom line, I bought it from him ($200US), it was in mint condition, and it plugged right in with some small amount of instrument panel disassembly to gain access.

Recently, a customer of the company I work for showed up in an '02 Concorde rental - I took a peak inside, and lo and behold, it basically has the dash of a Concorde but the cluster out of an LHS (but not as nice looking as the '99 cluster - '99 one has black retro-looking letters on creme background; '02 cluster has white plain looking letters on black background - I assume it's electroluminescent - maybe not - possibly a variation of the non-electroluminescent Intrepid gages).

If you get serious about doing this, let me know - there's a few little tips that I can pass on.

peva · May 2002

I had given up looking for a decent Concorde forum a few months ago - seems there are come viable 300M and Intrepid forums, but not real good activity for Concorde forums - I hope this one goes well to fill the niche. The 300M, Intrepid, and Concorde each have their own distinct personalities and it's best if Concorde interest is not watered down and dominated by the other LH's.

mimi919 · May 2002

What you described is called memory seats and the concorde does not have that in the year you are looking at.
I have a 99 Concorde that I have leased for 3 years and I have 78,000 miles on it and will be returning it back to the dealer for the end of my lease in a few days.
Good luck with your new Concorde purchase.

riv86 · May 2002

Thanks mimi 919. From your msg I assume that `99
has this feature. But I am afraid `99 would gor a little more than I can afford. Still Thanks a lot.

mimi919 · May 2002

My 99 Concorde LXI does not have the memory seats...The 2 features I thought it lacked was the memory seats and the automatic headlights...the 300M for that year does have both features but it was at a higher price.
As you can see from my last post I do a lot of road driving and I have to say that my Concorde handled really great on the highway and I often got over 30 mpg on the highway with my air on.
I also found my car to be very comfortable on long trips but my 2 concerns with the car was there was a blind spot when looking thru the mirrors and my biggest complaint was the road
noise and if you scroll back throgh the older posts for that year car you will see many other complaints about the road noise but all cars have their drawbacks and overall the Concorde was a good car for me.
I wish you the best of luck with the Concorde if that is what you do end up buying.

frito · May 2002

rolling in this forum! I must be out-of-town (hall) this week, but will get back to you all next!

Kirstie_H · May 2002

A journalist is looking for someone who bought one "twin" over another where the manufacturer offers two or more vehicles based on the same basic platform. (a Maxima vs. an I35 (or I30) or the TL vs. Accord)
Did you know it was basically the same vehicle as the other?
Why did you choose it over the other?
Please submit your response to jfallon@edmunds.com no later than Wednesday, May 15.

peva · May 2002

Looks like this thread is dying. I guess Concorde owners would rather be out driving their cars than talking about them and exchanging ideas.

frank58 · May 2002

I love driving the Concorde, open the sunroof and crank the tunes.
The car is 2 years old and still looks great. I love the front end on the 2000 model better than the new one. Only issues have been small and have been fixed ASAP by South Shore Chrysler in Braintree Ma.

peva · May 2002

I agree with you about the looks of the front end. As far as I'm concerned, those wings on the facia make the look.

I have some 16" alloy wheels (along with some tires) on order thru www.tirerack.com - getting the Mille Miglia Cello (with Dunlop Sport A2 tires). Should be here by this coming Tuesday. Yay!

kendrasuejones · May 2002

I loved my test drive with the Concorde and hope to buy one soon. Have checked out with CR, dealership with Better Business Bureau, etc. all set, just waiting for my car now. Interested in owners opinions of this car.

robw64 · May 2002

Anyone installed an after-market spoiler on their Concorde? I saw a 2002 Inferno Red LXi with a rear spoiler recently, and it looked great (not too large, followed the rear trunk lid very closely). Mine's a 2001 Bright Silver LXi, and thought this would be a great addition. Dealer states there isn't a stock version available for purchase.

peva · May 2002

Tell your parts counter guy to get off his butt and LOOK IN HIS LATEST ACCESSORIES CATALOG. According to the Chrysler web site, the P/N for the spoiler is 82204620. Go to www.chrysler.com and drill down to "External appearance" via your Concorde model and "Shop for Accessories". They even show a picture of it installed.

(I had a similar experience recently - I asked my local parts guy to look up a certain alloy wheel that I identified on the Chrylser web page - he pulled the accessory catalog out and said that that P/N wasn't listed. Come to find out, he was looking in a year old catalog. Sure enough , it was in the latest accessory catalog that was sitting right on his shelf. So if your parts guy is like mine, and apparently he is, you may have to walk him over to the shelf and point to the right book.)

peva · May 2002

From your post, I can't tell if you've already bought it or are getting ready to ("...and hope to buy one soon...all set, just waiting for my car now"). I think they may have put the LHS electroluminescent gages in for 2002 (I saw one recently and it looked like it, but I didn't see it turned on, so I could be wrong - hopefully it's not just the similar-looking non-electroluminescent from the Intrepid). If they did, it's a real plus - probably something a guy would be more interested in though.

All I can say is I really like my '99. I don't know what else they may have contented/decontented for '02. Some people like the new look better, some do not - a matter of personal taste.

Congratulations on your purchase (if you in fact have ordered it - like I said, I can't tell from your post).

sector99 · May 2002

I just bought a new 2002 Concorde LX as a surprise birthday present for my wife. Love the car. Took a trip from Florida to DC the road was very comfy and VERY stable. At 65 MPH the mpg was 28. "Drafting" behind a few trucks yielded 36mpg plus.

I chose the small v-6 because I wanted better fuel mileage in the area we put the most miles...the city.

If you get one be tough and mean on the dealer. Copy the comparisons from this site and present them to the manager.

Also get the good splash guards..$56. I went after market to Katzkin for leather...Smashing quality. Let them match the color by stating your interior color exactly. They have 1,500 patterns for ALL the mfgs. The kits are exactly as the factory designs. About $900-$1000. I couldn't get the "Small" engine with leather.

The comments about weak power are bogus. Rearview is a bit limited so you will actually have to look.

Handling is superb. I got the extended warrantee.

jab02lhs · May 2002

Try www.californiadream.com I got one for my wife's 01LHS same trunk lid as yours. You can order it color matched, the match was perfect on her steel blue. It also has a 32 led light about 12" long built in not hanging down. It is a nice style follows the contour of trunk has flat pad on each end to attach to trunk . their is a great picture on their web site. I think it looks a lot better than the factory one, Check out both and let me know what you think.Also, try chryslerwarranty.com for your extended warranty it is the same chrysler warranty but a lot cheaper.

jab02lhs · May 2002

The car you saw may have been a LXI LIMITED they haver the whole 300M dash with the fancy lights.

peva · May 2002

Could be - either that, or I couldn't really tell about the gages. It was a rental car that one of our customers was driving. I wouldn't expect a rental car to be a Limited, but I could be wrong.

frito · May 2002

Just got back from a trip to DC, Va and N. Carolina. Rented an '02 Concorde Limited from Dollar at Reagan National - took nearly 2 hours to get it 'tho!!! Anyway, it had the same 'indiglo' instrument cluster as the earlier LHS/300M. It also had a lighter steering feel to it compared to my 99 LXi. Im guessing that the newer Michelin Pilots caused this compared to my GY Eagle GAs with 32K on them. There was also a slight whine (tranny?) at certain speeds (30-50 mph)in the '02 that mine has never had. But otherwise an enjoyable trip - except for watching a Saturn get rear-ended by a truck only 30ft away! Wow, those plastic body panels sure do snap, crackle and pop!

peva · May 2002

The rental car I saw had gages with black background and white numers - that was one reason I wondered if they were indiglo - I'd only seen the white background ones lit up. In the car you rented, what color was the background in the gages? If it was black, what did they look like lit up?

BTW - I'm in Virginia - that's what the "...va" in my moniker stands for. You probably traveled down I81 or 95?

jab02lhs · May 2002

Sounds like there should be a good supply of used Concorde Ltd. coming to the market in a year or two. That should help keep the cost down. I know a lot of people think rentals take a beating but really most are used by normal people who just want to get from point A to point B. I have checked out rentals here in Cleveland at several rental sales lots Hertz Avis, Enterprise and most look to be in excellent condition but usually are not top of the line models. Now if Concorde Ltd start to show up I would really have to give serious consideration.

frito · May 2002

The car I drove had the white background with the black 'clock-face' numerals and pale blue illumination at night. I really like that style cluster but I prefer my car with the radio/temp controls turned slightly toward the driver. I also like mine with the front 'bench' seat with the much larger arm rest. I was just getting used to not reaching for the column shifter and now I'm still reaching for the console shifter! Plus the rental had all the seat memory, heated seats, dipping mirrors when in reverse that the earlier Concordes did not have.

peva- drove I85 from DC to Durham then part of I95 and many secondary & tertiary roads to Charlottesville GREAT DRIVE! (except for witnessing that wreck

)

peva · May 2002

Yeah - that's why I was skeptical that the rental I saw was electroluminescent - the dials were black with white numbers - I didn't know if it was possible to light up a black background.

You saw some nice countryside (especially around Charlottesville - nice green rolling hills. Did your cruise control keep annoyingly downshifting and upshifting to maintain speed?).

frito · May 2002

You must be reading my mind -- I also wanted to comment on that too. The cc in my '99 seems to be much less shift happy than the one in the '02. The rolling terrain caused lots of up & down shifts. Pressing the Accel button usually caused an immediate downshift that ended up overshooting the desired speed. Th one in my '99 usually takes at least 5 secs (~5mph increase) before it downshifts. Maybe its just the difference in the horses in the 3.5L vs. the 3.2L mill?

peva · May 2002

Yeah - it really holds the speed accurately, but in really up-&-down terrain, it can be really annoying - but getting speeding tickets would be more annoying. Too bad there is not an over-ride to turn the cruise control downshift feature off in those special situations. People who live in those areas probably never use their cruise control.

frito · May 2002

I found myself not using the cc much in Va. Driving back to DC from Cville on 29 there are lots of lights and some hilly stretches. Also many cops -- saw at least 4 pullovers in the southbound lanes. One of the web map services estimated 3 hrs 20 min for the drive -- did it in just over 2 (60-65 mph mostly). Seems these services are a little over pessimistic. Oh well, better early than late.

frito · May 2002

Here she is in all her electroluminescent glory (well sorta) and now owned by yours truly...

http://www.usobi.org/specify/images/cluster.jpg

... hope this is an easy install (peva! can you email me some basic instructions? TIA!!!)

peva · May 2002

Well, if I was writing a Chilton's manual, it would say: "Remove old gage cluster. Install new gage cluster." 8^)

I actually have intructions that I wrote and photos in my computer at home, but here are the basics: Remove the fuse panel cover (at driver's side end of dash) Remove screws from the panel under the dash (that is underneath steering wheel) - some of the screws are in the left end of the dash where it wraps around where the fuse cover use to be. Remove screws that hold the part of the bezel that your light switch is attached to to the dash. Push the passenger side of the top half of the steering column cover inward with finger pressure until it snaps inward. Do the same with the driver's side, then remove the top column cover (lift it off) - you will need to carefully work it past the wire bundle on top of the column - just take your time. Remove the bolt (torx head) holding the steering wheel tilt lever to the tilt mechanism and lay the tilt lever aside (look inside the column to see that bolt head). Remove the two screws (torx head) holding the underside half of the column cover to the steering column. The lower column cover will drop off. Remove the screw holding the top of the cluster bezel to the dash. Carefull remove the bezel. Leave the headlight switch wires intact, and carefully swing the bezel to the left of the column. Remove the two screws holding the cluster to the dash (underneath cluster - but not the ones that hold the clear lens to the cluster). Carefully reach around the sides of the cluster and pull towards you to disengage it from the electrical connectors in back. Reverse the process to put it back together.

Now, the bezel will fit, but there will be some gaps between the bezel and the cluster. You will see what I mean when you finish. The gaps are barely noticeable, and only if you know to look for them. I bought a bezel from a 2002 that will fit better and close up the worst of that gap, but haven't installed it yet, so I can't say if there are unforseen problems with that, but it looks fine like it is with the original bezel.

You will need two sizes of Torx head wrenches during the process (one for the tilt lever screw, and a smaller size for the two screws holding the lower column half on the steering column) - but I can't remember exact sizes. Knowing that may save you a surprise - so break out your torx set or go buy a cheap set before you start to eliminate that delay and disappointment.

I just wrote all that from memory, so I hope I didn't leave anything important out.

frito · May 2002

Also I just received an invite from Chrysler to attend an event 'Route 2002' (test drives, etc). Go to the chrysler.com web site and use the keyword search for 'route 2002' and either register or request an invite. Events are all over the country and there are ones for Dodge and Jeep, too.

kendrasuejones · May 2002

I have my new 2002 Concorde LX and I love the way it handles. Did the test drive with other cars and this won my heart awhile back. Thanks to all who answered my post re: pros & cons of the Concorde.

frito · May 2002

Hope you enjoy your new ride. A full-sized sedan that handles like a much smaller car. You'll still need a full-sized parking space 'tho! ;^)

ottowrkr · May 2002

kendrasuejones , glad to hear you love the car.

frank58 · May 2002

I purchased the hitch and bike rack for my 00 Concorde. It works great but, the rack hangs very low and scrapes the ground on most hills.

Coming home the other night going up my hilly driveway I heard this awful crunching sound. Yes it was my bike rack, scared the heck out of me.

Just an FYI for all. I love the car, great looks and ride with minimal problems after 2 years.

riv86 · May 2002

I decided to buy a '98 Concorde LXi. My budget is
around $8500-$8700. I know that you will tell me "no way" or "100,000miles+" but I found pretty good deals on eBay when I was not ready to buy it so I think it is possible. Tell me please, what to expact from the Concorde in this price range.
Also where to shop except eBay? I think eBay is the best to find a good deal but maybe I`m wrong.
I would like to buy a car from TX, GA or FL, states where cars have usually highway miles.
Any help would be appreciated.

peva · May 2002

You may have to look pretty hard and be patient, but it may be do-able. I do think you will have some miles on it for that price - and that's not all bad if you're mechanically sharp so you don't get taken on something that's been abused or wrecked, and if, as you seem to realize, it's good salesman highway miles with regular (corporate) maintenance. It will certainly be an LX, not an LXi. You could save a little $$ by going with an Intrepid, but if you're like me, the looks of the Intrepid just don't do it for you.

I bought a '99 'Corde for $10.5 in very good shape last November with 58k miles on it - and that was by careful looking for over a year - I figure I should have paid at least $13k for it. Turns out, a local dealer had it sitting on his lot for several months. It wasn't the color I wanted - candy apple red - "too bright for me". But it sat and sat, and they started marking the price down - I waited a couple of more weeks, and the price went down again. Long story short, they made me an offer I couldn't refuse, and it was in great shape. I've really grown to like the color - very glad I got it. It was like God made it invisible and kept it on their lot just for me until I realized it was what I was looking for. Sometimes patience pays off.

Be careful with the 98's - my understanding is that there were some transmission problems in '98 that were fixed before the '99 MY. I originally was looking for a '98 to keep the price down, but shyed away from it when I heard about the alleged tranny problems. If you do consider a '98, I would have a tranny specialist that I trusted look at it to look for signs of problems unless you happen to be such an expert yourself. I hope you find what you're looking for.

peva · May 2002

bputney@moonstar.com

I may know where one is - color is white, one-owner (local) semi-rural. At a very reputable small-town independent dealer known for good prices - located in central-Virginia. The guy tried to sell it to me when I was looking, but I didn't want white, plus I made the move on the one I've got before he actually had this one on his lot (the owber was awaiting delivery of a new car to sell this one to him). Been sitting on his lot for about 3 months now. This guy has very good pricing - but I can't promise it will be within the budget you stated - but honestly, I don't know that you'll find a better value than what this guy typically offers. He also has 2 or 3 Intrepids on the lot too. If interested, e-mail me and I'll give you their phone number.

riv86 · May 2002

Thanks, I found one `98 with 67,000 miles on it.
Tomorrow I expect a call from a dealer if he agrees to $8,500. I will post a mesage with more details tomorrow.

frito · May 2002

Anyone else concerned that DC is eliminating the 3.2L engine ('98 - '01 Concordes)? Since this mill is basically the same as the 3.5L, parts should still be available, but... I would have to think hard about buying a used LX vs. LXi for this reason.

frank58 - bike rack
my mountain bike easily fits inside this voluminous trunk (have to take off the front wheel-but with quick-release hubs...) so a bike rack seems unnecessary. Can you even open the trunk with it on? And no worrys about locking it or bottoming out.

svevar · May 2002

I don't think it should cause any worry. As you said, the 3.2L is very similar to the 3.5L, and auto makers continue to make parts for many years after they are "discontinued." I think it's unlikely that you should ever need to replace any part unique to the 3.2L anyway, so why not spring for the LXi instead of the LX...

robw64 · June 2002

I have a 2001 LXi (great car....I'm still very pleased after 6 months of ownership). I will be taking it in to the dealer a second time for front wheel vibration. I'm wondering if anyone else has experience with "unresolvable" front end vibration, or if my dealer is just not getting to the true cause of the problem?

peva · June 2002

I see this brought up on other Chrysler forums a lot for the LH cars. The solution invariably seems to be getting rid of the Goodyear tires. My advice is to just bite the bullet and buy some new tires (consider a Dunlop Sport A2 - a sweet spot for price and performance IMO) - most people's experience is that you just end up wasting a lot of time without your car if you get Goodyear and the dealer pointing fingers at each other. At best, Goodyear may offer to replace the tires with more Goodyears, and the problem will still be there. In the discussions I've seen, the problem magically disappears when the owner goes and buys their own non-Goodyear tires and moves on with life. If that's what you do and it fixes the problem, you might see if Goodyear will reimburse you since you proved the tires were the problem, but don't hold your breath.

pat · June 2002

The Town Hall is about to take on a new look in an effort to make content more easily searchable and accessible.

Have you seen the Letter from the Town Hall Manager on the Town Hall Welcome page? If not, you might want to follow that link to have a look.

And hang on to your seats. Change is never easy - for any of us - but resolving the Search problems we've had will be worth the pain.

Pat
Sedans Host

binu · June 2002

Have any of you had brake pads/rotor wear and tear issues ?
At 57,000 miles on my Concorde I have changed my rotors twice and brake pads thrice. The dealer says that it is normal maintenance.
BTW, I do not have a lead foot.

Chrysler Concorde

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