The first problem that I noticed from the car when I bought it was a fluctuation in the idle- somewhat erratic. It caused the car to shake slightly, which caused me some concern. Upon further research, I found other owners had dealt with this also and were able to eliminate it with the use of "iridium" spark plugs and special wires for the plugs. At a cost of over 30 USD EACH, I decided to live with the idle, which still exists today.
At exactly 75400 miles, the transmission failed. It began to stutter between 1st gear and 2nd, and then took a minute to pressurize from park to reverse. I took the car to my shop and discovered clutch residue lined the pan and the magnet and a piece of metal (which was part of the mechanism well within the transmission) hiding under the magnet. I had to push it onto the lift because the transmission had no power in reverse to drive up it. Long story short, it's gone, and 400 miles past warranty coverage. That upset me greatly.
The brakes are again failing- I suspect it has something to do with the rear calipers. It seems to be excessively wearing the back brakes until it eats the pad with almost NO warning whatsoever.
The alternator/voltage regulator has begun to fail- the interior lights and headlights dim regularly under the slightest load (e.g. window motor operation).
Excessive tire wear and front end stability have been an issue- I have gone through a brand new set of tires in 20K miles. I believe that the car is not balanced properly because I have checked the shocks and they are in very good condition, but am still noticing cupping appearing on the rear tires.
The heater core has gone out- the much dreaded antifreeze glow has taken over the windshield.
The car gets an A+ on the comfortability scale- it is definitely a great car to take for a long trip. (I especially like the heated seats)
I would not buy another Chrysler. Maybe it's just my luck, but I've owned 20 year old cars that were much more reliable and inexpensive than the Chrysler PT Cruiser. It was always a dream of mine to own one, but in one year I have grown to actually despise mine. I am selling it as-is and refuse to deal with any more problems from it.
The idle has been a big problem for me as it is actually a slight misfire going on. I was told "all PT Cruisers have the problem." I tried everything including a new computer to cure it. Also be aware that the coil casing is poorly designed and cracks easily with heat which it gets plenty of sitting on top of the engine. The computer is also situated just above the engine on the driver's side firewall and gets baked by the engine -- particularly deadly in the summer. The multi-section intake manifold has 8 connections where vacuum leaks can occur. All of these these can cause misfiring. I doubt that iridium plugs will cure the problem if platinum plugs and high end spark plug wires -- which I have tried -- have failed to do so. Because the plugs are buried under the intake manifold, you have to pay for 2 hours of labor to get them changed. My mechanic also warned me to use only the STOCK Chrysler plugs on the 2.4 PT Cruiser engine. He also warned me to "ONLY USE ATF+4 TRANSMISSION FLUID OR THE CHRYSLER TRANSMISSION WILL BURN UP," which most of the quick oil change places in my town do not use.
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