Chrysler 300/300C

greyfox1

The 300C is significantly quieter than the Limited, the Touring, or the 300. I am a driver at a Chrysler dealership and have put a fair number of miles on all 4 models. I am also the proud owner of a 2006 300C, and am pleased to say that I have not experienced any of the problems that I have read about in these forums or any other problem of any kind.

timcar

Well, that nails it. The 300C is a heck of a car by any standard.

To be fair to C&D, I guess they were reporting on the Touring model, not the whole 300 line. Still, I think it would have been helpful if they had been aware of the differences between models regarding the characteristic and pointed them out. It would have avoided the "Huh?" factor.

greayfox1, perhaps you might want to consider an e-mail to them in light of your comprehensive experience?

timcar

My test drive of a 300C didn't include an opportunity to sample the sound system using the CD I had brought. The car hadn't been completely prepped, and neither I, nor the salesman who accompanied me could figure out how to work it.

All of the reviews I've read of the 300 have blasted the sound system, even with the upgrade. I know that there are forums devoted specifically to sound systems, but frankly, they seem to be the province of either serious audiophiles or hardware fans who seem to be mainly interested in equipment spec's, or the most powerful bass, etc.

Has anyone who just likes a really good sounding audio system investigated upgrading the system? I know "good" is hardly a standardized term, but hopefully someone will know what I'm talking about.

kevm14

All of the reviews I've read of the 300 have blasted the sound system, even with the upgrade.

That was NOT my impression at all. Most of what I read said exactly the opposite, that the upgraded Boston Acoustics system is one of the best audio systems you can currently get in a car. I remember on one forum, one guy said he ALWAYS trashes the stock audio in the new cars he buys, even if it's "premium audio." He said the 300C with the sound group II was the very first factory stereo that he didn't feel the need to immediately rip out.

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/roadtests/roadtest/102711/page001.html

9/10 by Edmunds.

dfalconer

My 05 Limited has the Sound Group with the 288 watt DSP amp and Boston Acoustics speakers. Best sound system I've had in a vehicle by far. Everyone I' ve demonstrated it to has commented favorably. My 18 yr old son doesn't seem to mind it either...

The steering wheel mounted controls are great too. Safety wise it only makes sense.

timcar

This is information I had not seen before. I was unaware that Edmunds now includes audio reviews, and found the one Kevin linked both interesting and informative. Since I read C&D and Autoweek regularly, my negative perception most likely stemmed from a review in either or both of the 300C where they mentioned the audio system in passing. But given my failing memory, it may have been in another publication I picked up casually. Nor can I recall the detail of what prompted this negative impression.

Certainly comparison to the Mark Levinson system must be high praise indeed, as that system has been universally praised. And as many have pointed out, the only audio system that sounds "good," is one that sounds good to me. And I'd be the first to acknowledge I'm hardly a connoisseur

My last three cars were a Legend, an ES300 and an A6. All three had Bose audio systems. My perception of the sound of each was that the Legend's was best, the ES300 less so, and the Audi's no better than mediocre. I know the Audi used a Panasonic head unit, and as I've always had a negative impression of the sound of Panasonic audio components, I attributed my dissatisfaction to that as a possible cause.

Toward the end of my A6 lease, I had occasion to drive several well worn, fleet rental cars. One was some kind of smelly old Chevy with high mileage. Ironically, I found its CD playing base sound system superior to the "premium" Bose sound system of the Audi. Go figure.

rocketbob2

I just joined this forum. I have a 06 Limited. I installed a Bently style mesh grille in my car last night. The instructions are for the 05 model and either omitted a few steps for the 06 grille or over looked them. I figured out how to proceed. The instructions about the replacement of the license plate bracket came with the grille install instructions. I will answer your Q about my install.

mikek7

We live in N. California and dealer pricing for 300C is a little crazy. Average mark-ups over sticker range from $5,000 to $7,000.

We'll either wait or buy something else. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

hardhawk

You can buy them here in SE KS for close to invoice. My dealer just had a couple of friends drive in from another state to buy a 300C and a Dodge Magnum RT.

mikek7

With the CA prices, it may be cheaper to have it shipped from SE KS to n CA

hardhawk

Or just get a one way flight on Southwest airlines to Tulsa, Ok and drive up to get one and drive it home.

magicman501

I've had a 300c since April 2004. I also have the occasional ticking noise. As for the shaking of the car...that is normal for a car with an engine like that. A V8 5.7 is a very large, powerful engine and it's just the engine idling.

itsnuthn

I have a 06 300 limited and I have been trying to find clear side makers, anybody know where I can get them.....

cdn300cawd

I am in Canada and have had an 06 300C AWD on order since April 25. I'm not sure of what the delay is due to, but according to the website link below, all LX AWD's are delayed until July 25. The dealers seem to be just becoming aware of this delay. I'm confident that if there are any problems Chrysler is addressing it. Better to wait an extra month or two and get a problem free vehicle than to take delivery of a car that's going to have to go back to the dealership for repairs. http://www.arifleet.com/production.html

tinman1

I have to agree with HotrodB, I have a 05 300c and it is smooth and quiet but it seems some of the 300cs do have this problem.

kevm14

I was unaware that Edmunds now includes audio reviews, and found the one Kevin linked both interesting and informative

The mods might chime in with a more precise date, but edmunds has been reviewing audio systems for years now, as far as I can tell. Very helpful, as no one else does this as comprehensively.

My last three cars were a Legend, an ES300 and an A6. All three had Bose audio systems. My perception of the sound of each was that the Legend's was best, the ES300 less so, and the Audi's no better than mediocre. I know the Audi used a Panasonic head unit, and as I've always had a negative impression of the sound of Panasonic audio components, I attributed my dissatisfaction to that as a possible cause.

Interesting you mention this. A friend was showing me his friend's Audi TT and it had a Bose system. I was just telling him that the Bose systems in Audis flat out tend to suck, for some reason. The performance varies among brands and models, that's for sure. I know the Bose in my mom's 96 Maxima SE sounds excellent, even at nearly 10 years old and 182k miles, compared to modern systems. A co-worker bought an 02 Maxima SE and it has the Bose. Even has a factory subwoofer, which my mom's 96 does not have. I think the 96 has a better sounding stereo...so there you go. Clarion head units in these cars, btw.

This is OT, but the new premium system in the Acura TL is Panasonic I believe. It is supposed to be pretty good.

pat

>>edmunds has been reviewing audio systems for years now

Yup - that's precisely how long! :P

jw300c

Hey do you have a name for the Rep and a phone number. I just had to replace all 4 of my tires due to wear at 11k miles. The Continental people were of little help and the Chrysler folks even less.

Any help on who to turn to would be great. I know it's a bigger problem than people think. I wnet into a tire dealer and he guessed the milage before I said anything, so they know there is a problem with the cars tires. Other big problem is that no one else manufactures that size tire.

lavender1

We are on our 2 set of tires and they are wearing out also.I took our car back to the dealer and told them to keep it until they find out why.They called and said that the steering cradle needed to be replaced.They said the original part number had been replaced by a new number.They called to find out why and they said that some cars wouldn't hold a aliginment (we had our done 6 times).They replaced the steering cradle so we will see how it goes.As for the pulling to the right the rear aliginment my be out.Hope this helps you.

bhartje

Stagplole:
I ordered a 2005 300c AWD on 12/20/04 and still have not received it. I am getting a 2006 for the same price. My order is in BG status also. "BG" means that you are definitely in line to be produced. I spoke with the Regional Chrysler Rep. yesterday. The delay is in suppliers providing parts for the AWD. Production will not start up until 7/31/05. I was told the earliest I would receive my car by mid-September. I am not sure if I want to wait more or not.

hotrod8

Re. my starting problems, the dealer kept telling me I was the problem, listening to my radio for to long a time. I argued with him but he said all the systems looked fine. I stopped jumping it myself and kept calling them to come out and help me, that finally got their attention and they discovered I had a short of some kind in the battery. They have replaced it and everything is fine. I really wish the service people seemed more interested in keeping a satisfied customer than in saving Chrysler a couple of hundred bucks. I was so happy with this car and it kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. I think I'll go out and blow off a Beemer or Mercedes and get my head back on straight.

frisconick

The Acura TL sound system is awesome. :P

plb

I started trying to purchase a 2005 300C in April 2004 (that was when I was told that they would be available). After not being able to get one off a lot, I tried to order one and was told at that time that I could not order it because Chrysler could not get the sunroofs. Now in June 2005, I have still not been able to purchase the 300C that I wanted. So in frustration, I purchased a Mercedes-Benz but I am sorry to say that I just don't like the car. The price, in my opinion, is too high for what you actually get and it doesn't seem that MB has kept up with technology. Maybe it will be worth your wait. Good luck

twinwillow

Well, that's California for you. We call it "the rip-off state" (used to live there)
My dealer in Dallas, Texas gave me $1,000 off when I ordered my fully loaded
300C last December. Told me it would take 2-3 months for delivery. Got it than 5 weeks later.
Duh!

luetdan

Okay here's the latest.
I emailed Chrysler to get some kind of answer and they too where unable to commit to any delivery date, although there was a VIN number already in the system. I went on a search and was able to find one down in Fairfax, Virginia. This one was just like we ordered with a u-connect and sirius radio as extras plus it was $2,000 cheaper. I'm happy to say my son and I flew down last week picked it up and had a wonderful trip back home with stops at Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone.

aggiedog

Sounds like a nice trip. Just curious, what dealer in Fairfax? Koons possibly?

luetdan

Darcar. Helped by Mo.

luetdan

Anybody know just how many 2006 300c AWD Chrysler is planning on building this year?

lavender1

I'm getting mixed answers about using syn oil in the HEMI.Some dealers say no because of the MDS on the HEMI can't handle syn oil but other dealers say no problem.What are you dealers saying?.Thanks for your input.

nelsonhow

My 300C AWD has been on order since Feb 15th. I call the dealer every other week. They have a VON # and VIN # but I get the same story each time I call...no inofrmation . "it will be here when it gets here.." polite but not very helpful or informative.

I contacted Chrysler customer Service through the Chrysler web site. I even got a phone call from a very nice lady from the "Home Office" her infrormation was "we have you vehicle on oder and it shows in our computer... We don't know where it is or why it's delayed...."

I agree it would be better to receive the vechile a little late without problems but some honest information would be nice.....When I placed the order a little wait was fine but afer almost 20 weeks with no information I'm starting to think of a Lincoln instead. I don't think that this is very good customer relations. Chrysler should be ashamed!!!

chadmech

Hi

I am a mechanic at a dealer and I went ont he training for the MDS system in the HEMI. You can use synthetic oil but you have to use the right kind, 5w 20 the system works on oil pressure and if the oil is to thick the small oil galleries will clog and you can run into problems. So you can use syn but i'm not sure if you can by that grade in syn yet. Also make sure you change you oil regulalary.

spamfiltre

Just saw a trailer for the new movie w/ Ewan MacGregor, 'The Island.' The police cars are only slightly modded 300's. Anyone know the shop that did this work?

kevm14

You can use synthetic oil but you have to use the right kind, 5w 20 ... So you can use syn but i'm not sure if you can by that grade in syn yet.

5W-20 synthetic has been available for years. Mobil 1 just came out with a 5W-20, also. For trivia's sake, Mobil's first synthetic oil (the first M1) was a 5W-20.

jjohnson1

Synthetic is fine as long as it is 5-20 grade

sgssbi

I bought a 2006 Midnight Blue 300 Touring in late May this year. I now have 3000+ miles on it and am about to take it in for its first service job. I've read literally hundreds of posts to this forum as well as the forum addressing 300 Problems and Solutions and frankly don't see any semblance of relationship to my experience thus far. This is my first non-GM car except for a brief but disastrous experience with an Audi Fox GT back in 1974. For the last ten years I have driven Pontiacs, first a Bonneville and then a Grand Prix coupe. I test drove the 300 Touring for two full days before returning to the dealer to dicker. The 300C was outside the range of what I wanted to spend so I never tested it at all. From my first drive I loved this car. The 3.5 V6 has more than enough horses to allow confident handling of the car in traffic and on the open road. I only have the standard 4 speaker basic sound system but maybe these 60 year old ears just can't tell the difference anymore - I think the sound is great. The road noise is far less than the Grand Prix generated. The RWD makes handling the car a real joy. The car came with Goodyear rubber and while a bit firm, I see absolutely no signs of wear or unevenness as reported with the Continentals on the 300C. There have been no electrical issues, no sticking windows, no ignition failures, no transmission problems, no "pull to the right" issues, no pitting of rims issues (of course I do live in Florida and don't therefore face a problem with road salt!). Maybe 3000+ miles is too soon for any of these gremlins to appear but from the posts I've read, many, if not all, of these issues were appearing with the first 2000+ miles and it seems primarily on the 300C's. I know there a lot of things that could be better inside - the 300 Touring doesn't come with a lot of the creature comfort gizmo's standard (but I think it is fantastic that all the safety and control features DO come standard) but I also am more than aware that my sticker shock was only 28,100 not the 40-70K that Cadillacs, MBs, BMWs, Audi's, Lexus's and such cars command. Dollar for dollar I am satisfied that there is simply no other product out there that can match what Chrysler has delivered. ">

lavender1

The tire wear on the 300c as I found out WASN'T from the tires but the steering cradle.They had some that were made wrong and it would not hold a alignment.We had ours done 6 times.Since they replaced the cradle SO far no problems with tire wear.Over 2,000 miles on them now.

moparmaniac

Lavender....I also have the outer tread front tire wear problem and it's the only problem I have yet to solve on my C after 8,000 miles. Many others are having the same issue so I ask that you please post the specific part numbers that were replaced. Also it may be helpful to know the name of the dealer that did the work for you. Did your service manager have specific info from DC on this issue? Thanks for the info!

lavender1

Moparmanic
here are the parts needed.
STEERING CRADLE-4782700AC
CONTROL ARMS-4782561 AE
SUSPENSION STRUTS- 4782612 AC/4782613 AC.
Hope this will help you in your problems.All our dealer did was to call DC and they said there was a problem with some of the steering cradles and was told what to replace.If this will not fix the problem DC is going to buy back the car since I have had problems since new .Like I said my car as been aligned 6 times and it won't stay in alignment .When did you buy your car?Some times I think DC wants your car to go out of warranty and say its not our problem!!

drac

Picked up a 2006 Black 300 Touring two days ago. I love this car. I am glad I did not go with the Hemi as I live in Long Island NY, I am 30 years old covered in tattoos and would get myself in trouble with that engine being that there is no where to open it up. I have always been more of a cruising guy but the upgraded 6 cyl has plenty of power for me. I went with the moon roof though, had to have that. I prefered the touring package as I did not want all that chrome on the mirrors and handles. I am having the windows tinted next week and will probably go with the Bentley inspired grille. Maybe add some upgraded stereo equipment and that will be all. This car rocks! I own a cigar store / lounge and when I went to the dealer and picked it up after detailing the guy asked me "are you going to smoke in the car?". I told him absolutely and fired up a cigar and jumped in. This car is gorgeous, it turns alot of heads.

lavender1

Is any one getting a security alert when opening this site?I have been getting this this since Monday.Thanks Lavender 1

imidazol97

It's been noticed and is being discussed in
blane, "Forums Software! Your Questions Answered..." #2045, 14 Jul 2005 11:40 am

smithed

I have 121 miles on a Satin Jade "C" that we picked up today. Protection group, Sound Group 2, Sunroof, power pedals, and Sirius. Please ask me how I have liked it in 2010.

A 1800 miles round trip is planned for next week. We'll see how we do.

greatcar

I ordered a 300C in Feb 2004 with everything but the Nav and Bluetooth in Satin Jade.
Took delivery in early April 2004 and have 20,000 miles. I love the car have received hundreds of compliments and have had only one electronic problem in the last 15 months.
When I ordered the car having never seen one, but I was following since it was a twinkle in the engineers' eye.
I have a question for those of you who are in the market or recent purchasers.
When I bought the car I was not familiar with "Blue Tooth".
Now I have a Motorola RAZR blue tooth phone and wonder if the sound system compatability can be added after market to my OLD 300c.

lavender1

Nope it need to be installed from DC,I guess you could call yor dealer and see how much to swap out.I think there has to be more wiring installed.We have Blue Tooth in our car but don't use it. I'm in the phone industry and will never have BT.If some one in your area has a reader they can totally take all your info and lock up your phone where you have to replace the phone because it can't be unscramled.this is starting to be a big problem in some areas.

greatcar

Dear Lavender
Thanks for the info.
By the way a stranger (Older fellow in a older caddy) stopped me in a parking lo a few minutes ago to tell me what a beautiful car that was and ask me how it drove.

itshemi

My dealer mandates Mobil 1 and 0W20, with MDS you really require it.

lavender1

Thanks for your input on the syn oil.I think after doing a lot of research I'm going to use Amsoil syn.I used to use it a long time ago .In fact when we used to do a lot of snowmoble riding the manfacture said to mix the gas 50 to 1 with oil we would foul out the plugs all most weekly.We would use the Amsoil 100 to1 and never fouled a plug.It was the 1st and only and still is the only syn oil approved for the airlines. After I read your comment about 0/20w I typed in mobile1oil.com and read the comparison between mobile1 and amsoil I think you will see the difference.

abe

i have to disagree with you. the southern state parkway and the northern state at night (after midnight) are great highways. now if you want to say that you cant trust when the police are going to be strict or not is another story

priggly

How quiet is the 300C at 70 mph? Much wind or road noise?

Thanks.

patticakes

Love my 300C since day one. The one aspect I couldn't believe was how loud the wiper blades were when they would "hit" bottom. It was a joke that Chrysler could make this beautiful car but yet have wiper blades bang so loudly that people I am talking to on the phone could hear it clear as day.

Up until last week's rain storm. The driver's side blade ceased, the passenger wiper crossed it then it just stopped. In the rain at 70mph on the freeway. I sure wasn't lovin' my car then.

Brought it in to the dealer & they said this typically happens after a hard freeze. It was recommended to me to keep the socket in the car with me in case this happens again (great!). But since that happened, I have whisper quiet wipers now.

Anyone having rough idling?? The dealership told me that it is the cam -- I don't think so but can't pin point that else it would be. I only use premium gasoline - any ideas?

Thanks