1999 Chrysler Sebring Convertible JXI 2.5

Summary:

Very nice car all around as a convertible

Faults:

Bad speed sensor and replaced at 38,000 miles.

General Comments:

It has been an excellent car with very few troubles.

Comfortable car although somewhat noisy on long trip.

Good mileage on the highway.

Powerful enough in most situations.

Great fun car with the roof down.

Lots of room for 4 people, with a large trunk for a convertible.

Stylish even after 10 years.

Nicest looking of the 3 generations Sebrings.

Not a sport car by any stretch of the imagination.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 26th July, 2008

1999 Chrysler Sebring Convertible JXI V6

Summary:

Needs too much work, but it's a pretty good car

Faults:

The brakes slide.

The car makes a weird sound when turning to the left, like it's using all its might to turn.

The headlights are not bright AT ALL.

The AC doesn't work unless it's on full blast.

The convertible top squeaks so bad && is completely unfixable unless replaced.

The car shakes and shimmies if you go past 55 mph.

General Comments:

I wanted this car for the longest time so I saved up finally and got one for my 16th birthday. I still love it, it just seems to eat at all my money, there is always something it needs done.

On the bright side, the car has extremely good suspension and can whip around turns without the lean.

It also handles pretty well.

For a Sebring, it's also pretty quick. It's extremely roomy as well.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 12th February, 2008

14th Apr 2011, 11:23

I couldn't agree with you more! I've had my Sebring for 5 years and haven't felt safe in it after the first year of owning it. I've had all of your problems and more:

Back window defrost went out.

Transmission has been up and down with leaking to severely missing gears.

The soft top shakes and squeals horribly to the point where I have to blare the radio just to tone it out.

The suspension is shot.

Lower ball joints and tie rod are shot as well.

It leaks majorly, especially when I took it through the car wash when I first got it, not thinking about it actually leaking on me. Water was pouring in through the rubber lining like I was submerging into a body of water.

The front lights are so dim I can hardly see at night.

I can really only say one positive thing about this car and that's its stereo system. No matter what problems you have, you can always tune them out with the radio. LOL.

1999 Chrysler Sebring Convertible JXi 2.5L V6

Summary:

Lots of convertible for the money, with quite good handling

Faults:

Transmission speed sensor out at about 30k miles

Brakes got very lumpy by 50k miles

Replacing pads AND rotors fixed it, but only for about 15k miles

Became difficult to get good wheel balance around 50k miles

Fuel Pump out at about 70k miles

Dealer mistakenly replaced distributor because could not diagnose fuel pump clearly.

General Comments:

I tried BMW Z3 and Miata, but decided that I needed the room of a full back seat. If there were three belts in the back, it would fit three kids easily. It's a very roomy car for a convertible. Elongated rear end gives very decent trunk space. The JXi model includes many performance features including disk brakes, anti-sway bars, ABS, traction control, etc. and a really fine magnetic compass in addition to the trip computer. Infinity sound system was a winner.

The car corners hard with little or no roll, when equipped with anti-sway bars as the JXi is. The steering is amazingly neutral for a FWD car with a longish snout beyond the front wheels. Steering feel is almost completely numb, and the ride is soft and got softer with age. Auto (only) transmission is slow to shift down, but otherwise smooth. Overall feel is very smooth and civilized; this is no hard-tail sporting car.

The top operated easily, was very well made, and showed no wear before a vandal tore it up and I had to replace it. The leather seats were not the most comfortable, slightly undersized, and deteriorated prematurely. The passenger seat mechanism jammed frequently. Exterior finish held up well. The mid-low profile tires and 5 spoke alloy rims were pretty good looking. I finally ditched the car when the dealer could not properly diagnose a fuel pump failure, and replaced the distributor needlessly. I also learned that the V6 is one that will tear up valves if the cam timing belt fails. Now I'm driving a used BMW 330 convertible.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 10th January, 2008