I agree- a really good tire! I bought a set for my 2000 Mustang GT about 6 months ago and they are great in the rain and on dry pavement. Hope they allow some travel on snow with RWD. Great traction, temperature, and treadwear rating for the money! May replace the OEM Michelins on my 300 when needed with the TA's.
I just located this board and look forward to posting. I have just purchased a low-mileage 2002 300M (non-PHG) in Gold and I am still learning much about it. I look forward to participating and to learning more about the 300M.
Do you use the T rated or the H rated? The Goodrich Traction T/A really seems like a good value. Also, do any posters use Snow Tires only on the front wheels? I still have the Michelin Pilot 225/55-17 tires, which seem to be in good shape, but I understand they are not good in the snow.
congratulations on your purchase! I'm confident you will be more than happy with your M. Mine is a 2000 and will turn 100K miles in about a week. I still love it and plan to keep it until I absolutely wear it out. It still runs and looks great and I still enjoy driving it as much as when it was new! Few problems and lots of driving pleasure and reliability. I don't know what I would buy if I had to replace mine. Nothing in the price range interests me very much. I would like to buy another Chrysler product when I do replace my M, but the new 300 is just plain ugly! I hope your M proves to be as good as mine has been.
Thanks! I'm very impressed by the loyalty of 300M owners and the information they share about the performance, maintenance and repair of the cars. I was a repeat GM owner for many years before this purchase and I've usually bought new cars, but my long-time Buick-Pontiac-Olds Dealer dropped GM and went to Chryco (it's a Five-Star, so I hope that helps) and suggested the 300M.
Greetings to all my fellow 300m club friends and owners...fogive me, PAt for I have sinned...it has been...TOO long since I've posted here, but being between jobs for over a year and ahalf can do that to a person....
Am now gainfully employed--doing what I did at the Bank for so many years....$$$ is good...commute with eMily the tedious 3.7 miles (ypu, 3 POINT 7 miles...) to work. Actually get up now when its daylight, have breakfast with mrs. Pixel who has lost 74 pounds thanks to LA Weight Loss (no plug intended...).
Angel says hello to you all (my all white cat...) and so does eMily. Do NOT miss travelling to NYC....am home now in less than 10 minutes. Would have liked to attended club meet in OC, Maryland, but was away at Stastegic Planning Confrence for new job...was an honor to be asked. Am now Manager there (..whats in a name, anyway...) and am very, VERY happy after so long feeling...NOT happy..
Was good to see some familiar names--I have hit club chatroom several Sunday nights/Wed. nites... to say howdy doo. Oldest daughter getting married Dec. 3rd (a Friday) and am just now getting used to being a parent...I often think --esp. late at night while on line--when did I GET so old?! (chuckle)...I hear the gown is beautiful--Swarovski crystals sewn onto it.... I never thought that my life would get back on track, my friends...but it has and I am thankful.
I just wanted to drop in to say hello, and check out Honda Hybrid for my honey....now that I'm taking eMily to work, she needs a car for flitting around town herself.... you can still email me at my home email address--world love to re-connect with mty friends.....
Glenn - It is great to see you back on here, and to hear the great news that you are working again. My prayers hopefully contributed to the result. Really happy for you. Makes my day.
Congratulations on the great new job! And just as important, it sounds like your wife's health must have improved if she is "flitting about town". As for myself, I have retired, truthfully having kinda burned out in high tech sales. My daughter is also getting pretty serious about her guy, but they are both in different colleges for now. ***M content starts here*** I have an intermittant problem with my gas guage. It momentarily swings to empty and the low gas alarm and chime make an appearance. Any ideas about a likely source of the problem??
Good luck on your "new" 2002. You can see I also used this forum extensively starting last Feb/Mar when I bought a closeout 2004 new 300M, and have been very happy with this car (and glad to see more activity again on the forum after some quiet spells).
I cannot attest to the Michelins which I also got on my new M but saw numerous reports, the most recent a few posts above from duffer5 that " The 300M is good in our snow and I have the OEM Michelins --no problem getting around last winter in MD ". Now that is Maryland, not sure where you are ... I am in southern Minnesota but actually we average 40" snow per season here (depth is usually not a problem, cold is and sometimes snow from December is still on the ground in late February vs my experience living on the East coast where it melts in a week or so). So most reports say these will be good even though I had concerns on the lack of traction aggriveness that could require siping (sp?) to increase the grip. I also was concerned about 17" tire cost at $120-150 a pop, but for $50 total my 5* dealer will give me lifetime 5 wheel 6000 mile rotation and balancing; doing the same my Jeep Gr Cherokee is headed towards a 75000 mi life on its lowly Goodyear Wrangler OEM tires! If applied to even a 4 wheel rotation that would be around 60000 miles and I never got more than 30000 on any new car OEM tires before.
BTW, I put Goodrich TAs (don't recall the speed rating) on my 17 year old "new driver" son's Grand Prix over a year ago and they handled fine in our rural road snow last winter. I read how good they are rated for wear and traction, figured saving one tow out of the ditch on a slippery day alone pays for the extra $15 each tire vs standard AS bargain radials. Again, good luck and enjoy the 300M!
1) How long does the OEM battery tend to hold up? In that location in the chassis, I would think it might be a bit more vulnerable to water damage. I was thinking of getting a new one with winter coming.
2) How are the front door panels attached to the door assembly? Are they spot-riveted or are screws/nuts and bolts used?
3) Finally, what is the useful shelf life on shocks, struts, etc?
I have a 99M. The battery was still fine as I approached the 5 year mark and winter. But I had some problems with, as it turned out, the starter switch and relay, but I first elected to change out the battery for a Sear's Diehard before winter came and to see if that cured the starting issue, but it didn't. But I had no problems with the OEM battery, it was just a preventive maintenance change over as it turned out. The battery is a [non-permissible content removed] to get at. Ottowrkr and the book say you can get at it from the top, but the Sears guys went in under the passenger side fender and removed the wheel shroud to get at it. Needless to say I found out later that they lost some of the clips that hold the shroud in place. My dealer caught that next time I had the car in for a wheel rotation and replaced those that were missing.
I am at 72K miles and over six years of ownership now, and the shocks are still OK. I do about 25 miles a day to work on moderately good roads at 55 mph. I am going to look hard at replacing them in the spring when I hit 75K. Someone told me that was a good time to look at doing that as a preventive maintenance move. May have to do the tie rods, etc. then too.
Can't answer on the door assembly. No knowledge on that.
My '99 is at 65,000 miles. I'm still using the OEM battery and all appears to be fine. I've been not using the headlights on after shutting down the car feature for a while now to save battery. My car is also garaged. As I'm debating replacing the M in the next 6 months, I' not going to replace the battery (unless I have to!).
I'll ditto BigMike on the suspension bits. Wonderful car. Still a head turner.
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
but have any of you noticed the mood of the 300/300C posters in that forum?
I see very little of the enthusiasm that prevailed on this 300M forum during a 5+ year period beginning with the initial posts in 1998. Many of the posts seem to address dissatisfaction with the 300/C.
Maybe our expectations were lower for the 300M as there was no fanfare prior to it's entry on the market. Maybe the 300/C buyers had higher expectations because of all the hype prior to the car hitting the market. Maybe the 300M was, at the time of market entry, a superior car compared to the competition in its class. Maybe the 300C buyers expect a car that looks $20,000 more expensive than it is to have the quality of a higher priced car.
In any event, it is hard to imagine any forum having a more enthusiastic group of posters than this forum has had over the past several years...
Am happy with my '99 300M,PHP,sunroof.57,000 miles. No big problems, replaced tires and front brakes at 50K
I have an intermittant flickering of the green LCD displays on odometer, radio settings,heater displays and overhead displays.This does not happen all the time, the LCD's do not flicker on-off, they change in intensity. I notice it at night and perhaps it's my imagination the flicker is set-off by using the windshield wipers?
Has any one experienced this? have the the solution??
My 5* dealer says he's never heard of this problem and claims there is no TSB.
This appears to be one of the "light show" features of the 300M that many have experienced. It is impossible to intentionally duplicate, so it is a Chrysler service department's dream -- could not duplicate problem! Since it can't be duplicated, it has never (to my knowledge) ever been repaired in any 300M. Hence no TSB.
Both my wife and I have experienced this in our past 300M's (2000 and 2001), as well as our current 300M's (2003).
The condition you described may be due to the dash light intensity switch being in between settings. On my 2003, I was able to turn the switch upward to eliminate the problem.
There is a recently discovered TSB for this problem, 08-022-03. The prescribed fix is to disassemble the bottom of the dash for access to the headlight switch, connect/disconnect the switch connector 3 times, apply dielectric grease to the contacts and reinstall.
I picked up my 2000 M from my 5* dealer last night after it's 100K service. They replaced the timing belt, spark plugs and 90% worn rear brake pads. Also flushed and refilled the radiator, tranny, differential, power steering, rotated the tires and did a few other preventive maintenance items I can't remember right now. The M has easily been the best car I've owned in 50 years of driving, as well as one of my favorites to drive or just look at. It's been very reliable and required little service (knock wood!). The only major repair has been a new steering rack and tie rod ends at 70K. I replaced the battery at 70K also as a precaution (I had no battery problems at the time) and also replaced the drive belts and rad hoses. I'm on my 5th set of tires, but I use ultra high performance tires because I like the sharp handling, and they only last about 20K miles. I still love the car, can find nothing else on the market I can afford that I like as well, and I plan to put another 100K on it if I can. Long live the 300M (mine at least!)
Did you notice any front end behavior that led to the new rack/rods? Or did the dealer recommend at a service? My '99M with 65K miles feels a little "wobbly" at times through the steering wheel. Newer tires up front, so I don't think that's it. Any advice would be appreciated.
Went to NE Auto Show yesterday. Hopped in and out of G35, TL and MB E a lot. Still haven't driven any, but I think the TL has it over the G35 in interior/exterior styling and interior materials. The E (and for the price, it well should!) was the classiest of the bunch. I found the new Caddy STS underwhelming. Watching Saab convertible top raise and lower was fun as was the trunklid of the Caddy XLR. A handsome car, but like most GMs, questionable interiors. The new Lexus GS was drawing absolutely no attention, but all the Porshces were! The 300C was doing OK, too.
So, I may test drive the G, TL and E by year end. But are any of them a real step up from my M? I'm itching for a new car, a little leary of letting a Chrysler go much past 70k miles, but heartened by posts like Lynn's. Oh, yeah. And it looks like someone took a key to my passenger door. A death penalty offense in my book.
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
Traded it yesterday with just over 70k miles. It lost it's luster this past year. Still it was good looking, but very much "high maintenance". Looks like mine had the spirit of fastdrivers Christine lurking in it's soul. Took delivery on an 05 Prius - amazingly roomy, and quiet...very quiet. Good luck to the rest of you with your M's.
The symptom I took my car in for when they replaced the rack and tie rod ends was about an inch of free play in the steering wheel. In other words, I had to turn the wheel about an inch before there was noticeable effect to the car's direction. The rack was the main problem, I think. I'm not sure there was anything wrong with the tie rod ends. In any event, it steers and handles like new since they were replaced. By the way, I'm still on the original shocks and struts after 100K miles and it still handles great! Lynn Flowers McKinney, Texas
Hello everyone. I have a four year old (2001) 300M with about 48,000 miles and have developed what seem to be several annoying rattles coming from the rear of the car. This is especially noticeable when going over downhill rough roads (vehicle weight forward).
After reading some of the posts here and doing some experimenting myself, I am already looking at the following sources:
1. "chatter" in rear brake pads (noise seems to diminish when brakes are applied)
2. Metal crossbar that the rear seat back tops lock into (covered with cloth, how to get past that and look for places to tighten that up?)
3. I assume there are rear speakers under the back deck and wonder if they might have come loose in their mounts. Fiber covering under the back deck which hides all that seems to be held in place by two pressure clips. Is it a big deal to get those off and get in there to tighten anything up that might be loose?
Would appreciate any other suggestions (even better experience) with this. Any other rear rattle sources that folks have had problems with?
Greetings fellow 300M owners: It's been a pretty long time since I've posted here, even though I frequently check the posts. Well, I have 16,000 miles on my 300M already and no problems. I love it. Two weeks ago, I purchased a 2005 Audi A4 1.8T CVT, and it's great. I'm loving it. Even though Audi is quite different from our Chrysler's, I still love the M's design and ride. It's great. It sure has that Bullet Proof feel to it. Anyways, I got a quick question, that both relates to my 300M (done it in the past) and what I just did to the Audi today. Forgot that my car was in D (Drive) and turned car off...Tried to take key out, wouldn't come out, tried turning the car back on, wouldn't turn on. Until I put it in P (Park) then it would let me take the key out and turn on my car. Will/Can turning the car off while in D gear mess or ruin anything car related? Thanks everyone. Take care.
Long time no see. My daughter has an A-4 and only problem was the coil pack that hit them all and led to a recall on that problem after Audi/VW finally agreed it was a problem. I've driven her car and it does have a lot of pluses, and I really liked the interior a lot. Anyway, no problem turning the car off while in gear. That will not hurt anything. Don't worry about it, but of course it will not start unless in Park or maybe Neutral, I haven't tried starting it in Neutral, but I assume it will do so.
I can't help agreeing with you. It's hard to put my finger on it, but this car really feels substantial. I had a little skidding incident last week (trying to avoid an F-250 SD Diesel that tried to make a quick and illegal left turn at a traffic light - he got a BIG ticket) and ended up in someone's front yard after avoiding the accident. Car was scraped and scratched up a little and I plowed up a bunch of Rhododendrons and evergreen trees, but the car stayed intact. This past week, my Five-Star dealer did a great job re-balancing the wheels, tightening the underbody and cleaning everything up - you'd never know what happened. Took the car out Saturday and it was solid and quiet. I have to say I'm impressed.
Keep an eye out for water leaks when it rains. I had a simliar thing happen & found out a body seem tore open. I had a puddle of water in the drvers foot well when ever there was some big rain storms.
Thanks for the reply...Glad you're doing great bigmike5 and glad to hear everything is well after what happened 02owner, we careful out there...It's amazing, even having an Audi A4, I still love the 300M feel...Audi A4 feels awkward at some times...feels like you're trying to accelerate but the pedal wont go in because it's so stiff...or maybe it's because it doesn't have a 3.5? haha...see you guys around.
3hungidm - Thanks for the tip on the rear sway bar. I'll definitely add its hardware/bushings to my list of things to check.
02owner - You said the dealer "tightened the underbody" after your incident. Any idea what they actually tightened that resulted in getting your solid and quiet ride back? Would appreciate any guidance you can give. Thanks.
Hard to say for sure, but I got under there; looks like some work was done on the steering "rack" or "box" and some attention was also paid to exhaust system, and, I believe, a bracket under the radiator. For all I know, some spot-welding may have been necessary, as my car turned into a Massey-Ferguson plow. I just drove 300 miles in it today and it remains very solid.
Still thinking about snow tires on the front, but the impression I'm getting is that the Michelins may be enough.
Well I drove an A4, and a Passat (and a Bonnie plus other Japanese imports) last Spring before we went for the 300M. Yes there was some "cool" stuff about the German cars, however reliability and prices were a downer. My 6'+ 17 year old son barely fit in the backseat of most other than the 300M, no question with sunroof it's the roomiest for the family including 6'4" me. Very happy with our choice.
And for a comment I saw on Michelins in the snow, we had some exchanges on that a month ago and believe it still NO snow, not even a flake in southern Minnesnowta. Nothing on the long range weather.com forecast either through Thanksgiving. It WILL come eventually but we are having a nice Fall, however we did get in the teens last week and a chance to check out the heated seats.
Well, this issue happened to my 300M when I first got it and now happened to my 2005 Audi A4 1.8T and would like to have some feedback from my fellow friends... Anyways, I got 350 miles on the Audi and today, had to do an immediate stop from 80 M.P.H. on the freeway due to a pile-up, car stoped fine and I think ABS was engaged. Could this cause harm to the car? Could this cause harm to a potential brand new 300M?
I have what I believe to be the base stereo (no EQ, Bass and Treble controls, CD player). I see that speakers are located in the front door and back panel, and small speakers are installed in the door. It looks like there is a center speaker in the front center of the dash assembly near the window. Is that true? Have owners found that the stereo holds up well under normal use or is there a weak spot, e.g. speakers, amplifier, radio tuning, etc.?
My M is 6 years old. So far, the stereo has held up well. I have had one speaker in the lower front door, driver's side go at 5.5 years, and I replaced both of them as a PM measure. That gives me one spare [the old one that was still good] just in case another one fails. Make sure you do a periodic cleaning with a cleaner disc on the CD player. I have from time to time had to do that to avoid skipping. Otherwise, no problems and I run either the CD player or tape player all the time.
My 04 M is only 6 months old but I have the 6 disc CD changer and cassette. For some reason the model we did a test drive on had a radio that showed the name of the song that was playing which was kinda neat but this one does not do that. The changer does a fair amount of "girating" from CD to CD, but works fine (I would not bet it would go 10 years, however I always figured if goes we'll have satellite radio perfected by then anyway .. can get Best Buy employee discount XM Delphi portable system now for just over $100). So far the FM in the window antenna works better than I thought but not quite as good for fringe stations 80 miles away in Minneapolis that our Jeep's DC radio picks up.
Despite having 300+ watts and a subwoofer somewhere, I still don't get the sound of of this system that my upgrade 180 watt Infinity system has on my Grand Cherokee. When I crank that I feel like some of this kids shaking the door going down the street; the 300M's start distorting at super volumes. My son who works at Best Buy suggests upgrading at least the trunk rear deck speakers, however I am just not motivated to dig into that on a new car especially while under the 3 yr warranty.
I did read a posting earlier this summer from a guy who had the middle front speaker blow, which there is a creative easier way to get at than taking out the top of the dash, but it does affect the sound balance probably due to the big dash/window area.
Has any one had there front door speakers blow on 1999 with the factory infinity system if so what replacement speakers did you used. i went to best buy they said i would have to change the radio and all the speakers or buy the factory speakers
I have a 99 and I checked the number on the spare speaker I have in my garage. It is the lower door speaker. The number is 1-04760374AB. I am not sure the 1 means anything. The box I had had just one speaker in it so you should be able to order one and not a pair. They ran about $70 each.
Hi everybody some of my questions below have been posted on another forum but i figured I would post them on here with more people. The following are some issues with my car which i believe is a awesome car: 1) I need new tires the current goodyear LS models are no good in snow and make my car wobble like a freight train. I heard BFGoodrich traction T/A's are good in snow any ideas? I was told i was crazy to drive 17 inchers in the snow and 16 would be better.
2) When i release the brake pedal there is a clanging noise under the hood. chrysler says the brake booster needs replacing at a cost of 500. Anybody experience this?
3) When starting the car first thing in the morning when it is cold the there is a ticking noise for the first 10 seconds. Any idea what this would be? 4) The temperature controller makes a buzzing noise when the car is switched off and cold. Chrysler said the unit needs to be replaced. any ideas?
1) I can't recommend any tires. I use performance tires regardless of the season/weather.
2) Check the aftermarket for brake boosters before spending $500 at the dealer.
3) Most cars that use hydraulic valve lifters do this until the engine oil flows up to the heads.
4) The "buzzing" I imagine you're hearing is the Automatic Climate Control sensor unit. It has a small fan the blows air over a sensor that samples the climate conditions inside the car. This way it can continue to do the wonderful job it does of keeping you and your family nice and cozy inside no matter how extreme things are outside.
Just found this on Ebay, a slate '99 300M with 201k miles!! I've seen as much as 160k before, but this breaks an all time record. Wonder how it drives?!
I think you have a couple answers on 4 and 3 (I don't hear 3 that on my 04 M but I do hear the 4 very faint buzz). As for 1 Traction TAs, I put 15" versions of them on the older Grand Prix I drove last winter and my teen age son drives now based on traction ratings and they do very well on a snowy back road in SE MN. I would consider them assuming 17" version are available for my M but I hope it's at least 4-5 years before I need it as the new Ms have Michelins and with religious 6000 mi 5 tire rotations I hope to get 60K miles outa them. I don't think you can downsize to 16" tires based on earlier postings due to brake rotor/caliper sizes.
Let me know what you get and how they handle as I'd like to file it for the future ... we got a few inches of snow last weekend but used our Jeep vs the M the first day of driving so I did not really get a chance to test the Michelins.
Yes,I had the 5* put the new one in, but since Wire said that the little grill can be popped off if one has a tongue depressor [and some skill], you could probably do it yourself and save the labor. I know my limitations [probably would have punctured the cone by accident] so I had the dealer do it. I originally checked with a local stereo shop to see if there was anything better I could have put in, but they didn't think so, so I went with the OEM by Infinity.
I printed this post and brought it to my dealer. They could not find the TSB referenced, but followed your advice and...no more flickering lights! Knock wood. Thank you.
Have not seen that tire mentioned here in my memory. Doesn't mean it isn't a good one though. I've never had a Conti before, but I avoid Badyears like the plague now. Anything else has got to be better. Some of the Goodrich models and Avids had good results.
Comments
Mine is a 2000 and will turn 100K miles in about a week. I still love it and plan to keep it until I absolutely wear it out. It still runs and looks great and I still enjoy driving it as much as when it was new! Few problems and lots of driving pleasure and reliability. I don't know what I would buy if I had to replace mine. Nothing in the price range interests me very much. I would like to buy another Chrysler product when I do replace my M, but the new 300 is just plain ugly!
I hope your M proves to be as good as mine has been.
Good luck!
Lynn Flowers
McKinney, Texas
Am now gainfully employed--doing what I did at the Bank for so many years....$$$ is good...commute with eMily the tedious 3.7 miles (ypu, 3 POINT 7 miles...) to work. Actually get up now when its daylight, have breakfast with mrs. Pixel who has lost 74 pounds thanks to LA Weight Loss (no plug intended...).
Angel says hello to you all (my all white cat...) and so does eMily. Do NOT miss travelling to NYC....am home now in less than 10 minutes. Would have liked to attended club meet in OC, Maryland, but was away at Stastegic Planning Confrence for new job...was an honor to be asked. Am now Manager there (..whats in a name, anyway...) and am very, VERY happy after so long feeling...NOT happy..
Was good to see some familiar names--I have hit club chatroom several Sunday nights/Wed. nites... to say howdy doo. Oldest daughter getting married Dec. 3rd (a Friday) and am just now getting used to being a parent...I often think --esp. late at night while on line--when did I GET so old?! (chuckle)...I hear the gown is beautiful--Swarovski crystals sewn onto it.... I never thought that my life would get back on track, my friends...but it has and I am thankful.
I just wanted to drop in to say hello, and check out Honda Hybrid for my honey....now that I'm taking eMily to work, she needs a car for flitting around town herself.... you can still email me at my home email address--world love to re-connect with mty friends.....
Regards from drpixel and Angel the wonder cat!
***M content starts here***
I have an intermittant problem with my gas guage. It momentarily swings to empty and the low gas alarm and chime make an appearance. Any ideas about a likely source of the problem??
I cannot attest to the Michelins which I also got on my new M but saw numerous reports, the most recent a few posts above from duffer5 that " The 300M is good in our snow and I have the OEM Michelins --no problem getting around last winter in MD ". Now that is Maryland, not sure where you are ... I am in southern Minnesota but actually we average 40" snow per season here (depth is usually not a problem, cold is and sometimes snow from December is still on the ground in late February
vs my experience living on the East coast where it melts in a week or so). So most reports say these will be good even though I had concerns on the lack of traction aggriveness that could require siping (sp?) to increase the grip. I also was concerned about 17" tire cost at $120-150 a pop, but for $50 total my 5* dealer will give me lifetime 5 wheel 6000 mile rotation and balancing; doing the same my Jeep Gr Cherokee is headed towards a 75000 mi life on its lowly Goodyear Wrangler OEM tires! If applied to even a 4 wheel rotation that would be around 60000 miles and I never got more than 30000 on any new car OEM tires before.
BTW, I put Goodrich TAs (don't recall the speed rating) on my 17 year old "new driver" son's Grand Prix over a year ago and they handled fine in our rural road snow last winter. I read how good they are rated for wear and traction, figured saving one tow out of the ditch on a slippery day alone pays for the extra $15 each tire vs standard AS bargain radials.
Again, good luck and enjoy the 300M!
1) How long does the OEM battery tend to hold up? In that location in the chassis, I would think it might be a bit more vulnerable to water damage. I was thinking of getting a new one with winter coming.
2) How are the front door panels attached to the door assembly? Are they spot-riveted or are screws/nuts and bolts used?
3) Finally, what is the useful shelf life on shocks, struts, etc?
I am at 72K miles and over six years of ownership now, and the shocks are still OK. I do about 25 miles a day to work on moderately good roads at 55 mph. I am going to look hard at replacing them in the spring when I hit 75K. Someone told me that was a good time to look at doing that as a preventive maintenance move. May have to do the tie rods, etc. then too.
Can't answer on the door assembly. No knowledge on that.
My '99 is at 65,000 miles. I'm still using the OEM battery and all appears to be fine. I've been not using the headlights on after shutting down the car feature for a while now to save battery. My car is also garaged. As I'm debating replacing the M in the next 6 months, I' not going to replace the battery (unless I have to!).
I'll ditto BigMike on the suspension bits.
Wonderful car. Still a head turner.
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
I see very little of the enthusiasm that prevailed on this 300M forum during a 5+ year period beginning with the initial posts in 1998. Many of the posts seem to address dissatisfaction with the 300/C.
Maybe our expectations were lower for the 300M as there was no fanfare prior to it's entry on the market. Maybe the 300/C buyers had higher expectations because of all the hype prior to the car hitting the market. Maybe the 300M was, at the time of market entry, a superior car compared to the competition in its class. Maybe the 300C buyers expect a car that looks $20,000 more expensive than it is to have the quality of a higher priced car.
In any event, it is hard to imagine any forum having a more enthusiastic group of posters than this forum has had over the past several years...
No big problems, replaced tires and front brakes at 50K
I have an intermittant flickering of the green LCD displays on odometer, radio settings,heater displays and overhead displays.This does not happen all the time, the LCD's do not flicker on-off, they change in intensity. I notice it at night and perhaps it's my imagination the flicker is set-off by using the windshield wipers?
Has any one experienced this? have the the solution??
My 5* dealer says he's never heard of this problem and claims there is no TSB.
Any help will be appreciated.THANKS
Both my wife and I have experienced this in our past 300M's (2000 and 2001), as well as our current 300M's (2003).
The condition you described may be due to the dash light intensity switch being in between settings. On my 2003, I was able to turn the switch upward to eliminate the problem.
The M has easily been the best car I've owned in 50 years of driving, as well as one of my favorites to drive or just look at. It's been very reliable and required little service (knock wood!).
The only major repair has been a new steering rack and tie rod ends at 70K. I replaced the battery at 70K also as a precaution (I had no battery problems at the time) and also replaced the drive belts and rad hoses. I'm on my 5th set of tires, but I use ultra high performance tires because I like the sharp handling, and they only last about 20K miles.
I still love the car, can find nothing else on the market I can afford that I like as well, and I plan to put another 100K on it if I can.
Long live the 300M (mine at least!)
Lynn Flowers
McKinney, Texas
Did you notice any front end behavior that led to the new rack/rods? Or did the dealer recommend at a service? My '99M with 65K miles feels a little "wobbly" at times through the steering wheel. Newer tires up front, so I don't think that's it. Any advice would be appreciated.
Went to NE Auto Show yesterday. Hopped in and out of G35, TL and MB E a lot. Still haven't driven any, but I think the TL has it over the G35 in interior/exterior styling and interior materials. The E (and for the price, it well should!) was the classiest of the bunch. I found the new Caddy STS underwhelming. Watching Saab convertible top raise and lower was fun as was the trunklid of the Caddy XLR. A handsome car, but like most GMs, questionable interiors. The new Lexus GS was drawing absolutely no attention, but all the Porshces were! The 300C was doing OK, too.
So, I may test drive the G, TL and E by year end. But are any of them a real step up from my M? I'm itching for a new car, a little leary of letting a Chrysler go much past 70k miles, but heartened by posts like Lynn's. Oh, yeah. And it looks like someone took a key to my passenger door. A death penalty offense in my book.
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
The symptom I took my car in for when they replaced the rack and tie rod ends was about an inch of free play in the steering wheel. In other words, I had to turn the wheel about an inch before there was noticeable effect to the car's direction.
The rack was the main problem, I think. I'm not sure there was anything wrong with the tie rod ends. In any event, it steers and handles like new since they were replaced.
By the way, I'm still on the original shocks and struts after 100K miles and it still handles great!
Lynn Flowers
McKinney, Texas
After reading some of the posts here and doing some experimenting myself, I am already looking at the following sources:
1. "chatter" in rear brake pads (noise seems to diminish when brakes are applied)
2. Metal crossbar that the rear seat back tops lock into (covered with cloth, how to get past that and look for places to tighten that up?)
3. I assume there are rear speakers under the back deck and wonder if they might have come loose in their mounts. Fiber covering under the back deck which hides all that seems to be held in place by two pressure clips. Is it a big deal to get those off and get in there to tighten anything up that might be loose?
Would appreciate any other suggestions (even better experience) with this. Any other rear rattle sources that folks have had problems with?
Thanks for your help.
It's been a pretty long time since I've posted here, even though I frequently check the posts. Well, I have 16,000 miles on my 300M already and no problems. I love it. Two weeks ago, I purchased a 2005 Audi A4 1.8T CVT, and it's great. I'm loving it. Even though Audi is quite different from our Chrysler's, I still love the M's design and ride. It's great. It sure has that Bullet Proof feel to it. Anyways, I got a quick question, that both relates to my 300M (done it in the past) and what I just did to the Audi today. Forgot that my car was in D (Drive) and turned car off...Tried to take key out, wouldn't come out, tried turning the car back on, wouldn't turn on. Until I put it in P (Park) then it would let me take the key out and turn on my car. Will/Can turning the car off while in D gear mess or ruin anything car related? Thanks everyone. Take care.
the suspension for loose hardware or bad bushings.
02owner - You said the dealer "tightened the underbody" after your incident. Any idea what they actually tightened that resulted in getting your solid and quiet ride back? Would appreciate any guidance you can give. Thanks.
Still thinking about snow tires on the front, but the impression I'm getting is that the Michelins may be enough.
And for a comment I saw on Michelins in the snow, we had some exchanges on that a month ago and believe it still NO snow, not even a flake in southern Minnesnowta. Nothing on the long range weather.com forecast either through Thanksgiving. It WILL come eventually but we are having a nice Fall, however we did get in the teens last week and a chance to check out the heated seats.
Anyways, I got 350 miles on the Audi and today, had to do an immediate stop from 80 M.P.H. on the freeway due to a pile-up, car stoped fine and I think ABS was engaged. Could this cause harm to the car?
Could this cause harm to a potential brand new 300M?
I can't imagine this could cause damage to your Audi or to a 300M -- except wear down the brake pads somewhat...
Despite having 300+ watts and a subwoofer somewhere, I still don't get the sound of of this system that my upgrade 180 watt Infinity system has on my Grand Cherokee. When I crank that I feel like some of this kids shaking the door going down the street; the 300M's start distorting at super volumes. My son who works at Best Buy suggests upgrading at least the trunk rear deck speakers, however I am just not motivated to dig into that on a new car especially while under the 3 yr warranty.
I did read a posting earlier this summer from a guy who had the middle front speaker blow, which there is a creative easier way to get at than taking out the top of the dash, but it does affect the sound balance probably due to the big dash/window area.
1) I need new tires the current goodyear LS models are no good in snow and make my car wobble like a freight train. I heard BFGoodrich traction T/A's are good in snow any ideas? I was told i was crazy to drive 17 inchers in the snow and 16 would be better.
2) When i release the brake pedal there is a clanging noise under the hood. chrysler says the brake booster needs replacing at a cost of 500. Anybody experience this?
3) When starting the car first thing in the morning when it is cold the there is a ticking noise for the first 10 seconds. Any idea what this would be?
4) The temperature controller makes a buzzing noise when the car is switched off and cold. Chrysler said the unit needs to be replaced. any ideas?
Sorry I can't help on the others, but I will say it would be advisable to stay away from the badyears -- snow or no snow...
2) Check the aftermarket for brake boosters before spending $500 at the dealer.
3) Most cars that use hydraulic valve lifters do this until the engine oil flows up to the heads.
4) The "buzzing" I imagine you're hearing is the Automatic Climate Control sensor unit. It has a small fan the blows air over a sensor that samples the climate conditions inside the car. This way it can continue to do the wonderful job it does of keeping you and your family nice and cozy inside no matter how extreme things are outside.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&cate- gory=6175&item=4507599963&rd=1
Let me know what you get and how they handle as I'd like to file it for the future ... we got a few inches of snow last weekend but used our Jeep vs the M the first day of driving so I did not really get a chance to test the Michelins.