2002 Chrysler 300M Special from North America - Comments

Rubbing noise on front tire (Clips missing on front wheel well) at 861 miles.

Pulsating when applying brake (rotor & pads) at 8,407 miles.

Pulsating when applying brake (rotors) at 9,988 miles.

Noise in front end on corners (bad bearings) at 10,176 miles.

A/C switches from auto to manual; interior lights flicker at 10,796 miles.

Pulsating when applying brakes (pads) at 11,597 miles.

Pulsating when applying brakes (pads) at 13,001 miles.

Pulsating when applying brakes (rotors & pads) at 13,909 miles.

Broken strut at 31,631 miles.

Rocker arm, valve replacement 36,318 miles.

Transmission problem (valvebody) ; A/C problem (actuator) at 51,614 miles.

Took back after picking up as no air will come out of the A/C 51,614 miles.

Took back as ashtray will no longer open since dealer took dash apart at 51,640 miles.

A/C not cooling; interior lights flashing at 55,660 miles.

A/C not cooling 55,895 miles.

Cruise control stopped working (brake switch) at 55,922 miles.

Transmission "clunking" when coming to a stop at 55,962 miles.

Check engine light on; transmission still "clunking" at 56,100 miles.

Nice styling.

Great performance.

Plagued with repairs (18 in less than 4 years)

I own a 2002 300M Special and have NO problems what so ever. It just takes proper maintaining. Brakes being replaced so much is from bad driver/driving... I have well over 100,000 miles and have only done regular maintnance!

I own a 2002 300M Special and have NO problems what so ever. It just takes proper maintaining. Brakes being replaced so much is from bad driver/driving... I have well over 100,000 miles and have only done regular maintnance!

I have done 30k with a 2000 model year 300m which I have replaced shock absorber, 4 rotors, a rear taillight etc. Overall it's a excellent car specially it's engine, powerful and good in mileage.

I own 2000 300M, I bought the car with 50 000 miles I have put 40 000 miles on it and I never had a single problem with it, in past 2 years I changed only few parts because I felt like it's time not because the car was giving me problems (tires, spark plugs, air filter, fuel filter, transmission filter) the car has great performance and style.

Poor driving does NOT cause brake pulsation. Incorrect lug nut torque causes pulsation. Unevenly or overtightened lug nuts will cause the rotor or possibly the wheel hub to distort causing the pulsation. Insulting people when you don't have the facts straight is very primitive.

This is absolutly the worse care I have ever owned. I had it for 2 days took it to NY, NY and it stalled in Time Square, luckily it started back up. I continued to have problems with it stalling in rush hour trafic. Main Highways just driving down the road. I had the car towed several times to the dealer. The dealer took the car test drove it several times and had to have the car towed themself. They replaced the battery, starter, transmition cable line. several times. Got the car back did the same thing. Then finally one day I went out to start it and it wouldn't start at all. Again had the car towed to the dealer. They replaced the computer. that worked for a few months, then it did it again. So I had to have it towed again. Then they replaced the computer agian, and some key ignition module. That finally worked and it stopped stauling. Then the ABS and traction control light came on some senser in the front wheels needed replaced. After that was fixed the transmition started acting up. I could run the car for a little bit then I would get into rush hour trafic the car would get stuck in second gear I would have to sit along the side of the road turn off the car and wait about 15min to get to work, I delt with that for a while then a new problem again accured when I was driving down the road and I dropped below 55 MPH the speedometter would drop to 0, the car would jerk kick into second gear. I had to make it home so I drove it in 2nd for several miles every time I would stop it would stall. In all this car was a big lemom. I bought it with 34k miles thinking I had a great car, and it was nothing, but problems from the start. I went through tires like crazy they would go flat almost every day would have to stop to get air in them. The tires were expensive and the belts would break every so many months. I kept the car so long because of all the great features it had. The car was beautiful, but it cause me lots of greaf and tons of money. I would not recommend this car to anyone. For those who have had good luck with there's congratulations I'm happy for you. I wish that could have been me. I loved the car. Right now I am stuck with a large payment and large repair bills. I will not sell this car or even give to anyone. If I gave it away it would just be for car parts and that's just the body no machanical.

I have a 2002 300m special and love it. I have had ZERO problems thus far with 43500 miles and look forward too many more years of service from her. Keep up with your car and it won't leave you on the side of the road!!! I love my special and would not dream of trading for one of those new 300s/bricks with wheels.

Yes, poor driving habits DO cause pulsating brakes. Excessive application of brakes causes heat build-up, which causes rotor warp-age. Normal driving equals normal wear on brakes unless the callipers are sticking or seized. If that were the case, the smell of burning brakes would be a tip off.

Your wheel would have to be "wobbling" if improper lug nut torque was that severe.

I have owned a 2002 300M Special since 2005, 105000 miles. I want to know the solution for check engine light, transmission clunk on 2nd gear. The transmission solenoids and link have been changed, but the problem is still going on. Thanks!

I was looking at this to see if I wanted to give a 300m one more try. I had a 1999 300 and it was a hunk of crap.

For the person with the brakes, we replaced ours with drilled and slot-ed rotors because they always were crappy, so it's not your driving. We also had the lights blinking off and on, crack in the dashboard they say from the airbag.

The car was a nightmare, and at the time we made the last payment, the car threw a rod - no more 300.

There were a lot more problems than that; too many to go into.

So all you people having good luck, that's great, but knock on some wood.

I have a 2007 Honda Accord now cuz I said I would never buy American after that car. But I find myself missing that car, so I was just checking to see if they got better over the years. I see not so much.

I took great care of that car, and never took it to a fly by night place to get it fixed. The same people had it all the time and worked on lots of others. Found out those cars are just not great ones. So still will never buy one.

I have an '02 300M Special. Bought it with 15K miles, and it now has 130K miles. It is a great car - handles really well for having such a heavy forward weight bias, looks great and with such a torquey engine it is fun to drive.

But, I have had some irritating issues with mine:

1. The climate control has never worked correctly. Set at 89 degrees, it blows cold air. Set at 90 degrees, it blow hot air - no in-between.

2. The rear sway bar mounts (anti-roll bar mounts) on the rear struts cracked and one broke off. I bought a set of struts off a low miles wreck and they were also cracked. I repaired and reinforced them before I installed them and they have been holding up OK since.

3. The front wheel bearings are growling loudly and I am struggling to remove the old bearing assembly. They are stuck on the splines of the half shaft. What a pain.

4. The front fascia sits very low to the ground and can get hooked on a parking berm. Several times it was pulled off by a curb when my wife backed out of a parking spot. I finally added some panels to the underside to help it hop over the berm.

5. The speaker buzz and rattle. The dealer supposedly replaced them, but all they did was put some glue on them, which didn't last.

6. The front tire wear at twice the rate of the rears, so you have to rotate the tires religiously.

7. The tranny calibration is good for sport driving but it has the habit of hitting first gear just as you hit the gas when rolling through a stop sign, making a big thud noise.

All in all a good car, but due to some of these nagging issues and the dealer's unwillingness to fix them, I probably wouldn't buy another Chrysler.

OK I have you all beat. I bought my 02 300M Special with 49000 miles almost 3 years ago, it now has 150,000 miles on it. I just recently had the transmission rebuilt, it went into limp mode. I have had no problems except for doing the brakes and had to replace the two front drive axles. I hit a huge pot hole at 70 miles an hour, can't blame the car. I use only Mobile One and am actually changing the plugs in it now with 150,000 miles on it.

Hello, I own a 2002 300m. Bought it with about 16,000 miles used from Carmax back in 2005.

Now in September 2009, I have 93,000 miles with a new transmission put in at 85,000 miles back in February 2009, because of the transmission going bad, at which point I had the limp mode experience and took it to dealership, and they had to install a new relay switch cause of the car idling and then stalling.

Recently I had hoses and belts replaced, the only serious repairs were the cost of a new transmission + install for $2700.

As I write this post currently, my car is at Pep Boys getting its master cylinder and brake booster, and front rotors, oil change and alignment done all for $820... I was thinking of trading the 300m, but I still owe 5g for it, plus I got a new transmission so I am good for another 100,000, now that I am starting to take more care of my car, and replacing old parts with new parts or doing the proper maintenance repairs.

The next job is doing the bodywork. I have a dented door from backing up incorrectly, so that's going to be $500.

The car itself is nice and I like the performance. It's like anything you own, you can't always expect perfection, so sometimes you may as well get the part fixed than ignore it and have it lead to bigger problems.

I've got a Chrysler 300. I've got 173,000 on it and have no problems with it... it's the best car I ever had.