Comments: 1-15, 16-27
We have a 2001 Sebring convertible with 90,000 miles. The visor clip broke at 50,000, the car leaked oil like a sieve at 60,000, and the housing the coolant reservior hose connects to cracked at 85,000 miles. These have been the extent of our problems. Apparently, the intake manifold and the coolant system housing parts are plastic (increased likelihood of leaks/failure).
Shut up about the stupid visor clips you big babies!!!
We bought a 2001 Sebring 2.7 liter in '03 with 24K miles. Within a year of purchase we lost the stereo system, but other than that have not had serous problems.
We have maintained the car fairly well, regular oil changes and brakework, etc. done as needed. About a year ago I noticed the oil light coming on when I was stopped at a traffic light. I took it to the dealer and the service manager said I probably needed a new oil pump. It turned out thatit only needed some kind of switch. While they had the car they found the entire undercarriage was covered with oil and they looked for a leak, but could not find one. There was never any oil in the driveway.
In the last couple of months the car has been using a lot of oil, but they couldn't find any reason why. Then yesterday, when my husband was driving home from work the car just died. We were told that the engine was destoyed and had metal parts everywhere.
The service guy told my husband that the value of the car at this point doesn't warranty replacing the engine and that the dealership would likely give us $200 to $300 for the car (for salvagable parts). The car has 131,000 miles on it. We had never heard of any problems with this car. Like many previous posters, I have owned several Chrysler products and been very happy. I think a car engine should last longer than 130K miles, but compared to others before me I guess it has lived a long time.
Has anyone had any luck in getting Chrysler to cough up any $$?
Chrysler will not pay anything towards repair costs on either the engine or transmission.
The transmission is a version of Chrysler's notorious "Ultradrive" 41TE/A604, which has a tendency to fail prematurely and cost between $1,000 and $2,000 to repair when it does.
The engine is notorious among mechanics for being one of the worst engines ever made. Just go to your local mechanic and ask him his opinion of the Chrysler/Dodge 2.7, watch him grimace, and prepare for an earful. There are a number of class-action lawsuits over this horrible excuse for an engine, and the failures of the 2.7 are so numerous that they've impacted the resale value of the car.
About 2 years ago, I could have fetched about $14,000 for my well-maintained car -- but the 2.7 problems have brought resale value down to about $4,000 today. NO DEALER will take a Chrysler 2.7 car in trade without running the engine for 10 minutes and listening for knocking, tapping or other noises indicating engine failure.
The worst thing is that whenever the Chrysler 2.7 fails under warranty, Chrysler will try to blame YOU for the failure and will not repair the engine -- despite the engine's reputation for self-destructing.
STEER CLEAR of products equipped with the Chrysler 2.7, unless you like HUGE repair bills. Frankly, I'm steering clear from all Chrysler products, since the company doesn't seem to want to stand behind its products -- what good is a "lifetime powertrain warranty" if Chrysler will simply blame the owner when the inevitable explosion of the 2.7L engine occurs?
Look, I have a 2003 Chrysler Sebring LXI Sedan and it has over 160k miles on it and I have not had a single problem with this car, it uses no oil, and I have used synthetic from day one. Usually I don't change it for 4 or 5000 miles. Just thought I would give my opinion.
I own a Sebring Lxi, which sludged out at 35,000 miles. Got the same run around from the dealer, who insisted I should eat the 6K it would take to replace the engine. Lucky for me, I just bought another car to tide me over while I called in the legal talent. It took 8 months, but Chrysler eventually replaced the entire engine for free. Since then, I use full synthetic and change the oil every 2k. Which worked great until last month when the transmission died. I love the car, but am resigned to it being a "garage queen" that I only take out on sunny days.
We have a 2003 Lxi. Within 50K the read shocks completely failed. My wife drives quite carefully and it was a shame, since I just sacrificed a 97 Concorde at 197K with the OEM shocks on the back (the front ones did rust out last year). What's worse (in my opinion) is the interior trim. The black trim on the doors has simply cracked into little pieces. I have had to glue sections back together and recently epoxied the drivers window controls back to the door system. The injection moldings are very poor. Either they have been plasticized wrong or the pigment loading is bad. While this problem is less severe than tranny or engine problems, it suggests that Chrysler did a poor job on this car. (By the way, because the whole door panel assembly is just glued together, the only solution to the cracked trim problem is to buy an entire new door panel assembly for $800.)
Have you noticed how FEW 2001 - 2002 Sebrings are out there nowadays. They sold THOUSANDS of them. That was only 6-7 years ago and you only see them now and then. Used to see them everywhere. My 2001 Sebring is the last Chrysler I will buy!
Bought a Convertible Sebring '01 with 37K miles on it from the dealer. Have replaced the oil every 4K miles with full synthetic as well as higher end oil filter. At 89K miles the "oil" light started flickering at idle. Within 100 miles of that the engine was ready. I did search in the meantime on the 2.7L engine - so went straight to a mechanic (family friend). While the engine was not dead yet, he rebuilt it completely - most bearings were almost gone when he opened it with some damage on both heads...
I got the car back yesterday (2,300$ repair cost) - so I am lucky so far... I am just writing several stickers "SLUDGEMOBILE CHRYSLER, NEEDS a NEW/REBUILT engine every 90K miles (@ 5,000$ avg cost). PROUDLY SOLD BY PALACE CHRYSLER/JEEP AND PROUDLY BUILT BY CHRYSLER COPR." and putting them on the sides and the back of the car...
The funny part - I live 5 min from Chrysler HQ in A Hills - so will be going for lunch as well as going for the Dream Cruise on Woodward...
The other funny part - the passenger door is currently stuck open as the lock appears to have rusted from water seeping in between the window and the rubber gasket...
And the final funny part - I did like the car - how it looks and how it drives. I love American... But I am done with Chrysler...
PS The dealer I bought the car from - he says it is "POOR" maintenance... Haha...
My 2001 Lxi convertible I bought in 2004 with 17000 miles on it. 6 months later my car began to shake like crazy, I took it back to Chrysler. There was a problem with a computer and fuel injection. OK, that was replaced and fixed, covered by a warranty. (Lucky me!)
So, I enjoyed my car for another year. A year later my car had major oil and all kinds of fluid leaking! I had to replace oil pan gasket, timing cover gasket, water pump, to repair main seal etc. All that cost me $2500! : ( ( (After all those troubles being fixes my car runs perfect for 2 years already (knock on the wood 3 times LOL!), it has 63000 miles on it. I replaced breaks and all 4 tires last month.
I recently shopped for cars and I loved Volkswagen EOS convertible. And that will be my next car! Good bye Chrysler. From Russia, Lena.
I have a nice 2000 JXi with the 2.5 liter. With 8 years and 55k miles everything works. It does need front brakes (rotors and pads) at about 20k on the dot, but it's an inexpensive job and only takes about 20 minutes.
The only maintenance other than routine has been to replace the drivers side electric window motor. Other than that it gets great gas mileage on the highway, about 32, and had been very reliable.
No transmission issues.
Most enjoyable when the top is down.
Hi I am a mechanic and I agree with most of you guys, just last year I have fixed 18 of them, and it is the same problem.
The timing chain, tensior and everything else is from the timing goes bad on them, because lack of lubrication, but is not because customer does not do oil changes, it is because of its design.
If you are going to buy a Chrysler, DO NOT BUY THE 2.7 ENGINE, and if you are trying another brand, try FORD, it is the only car that has not been brought in my shop.
Chevrolet is a piece of junk with the fuel delivery system. And now if you are gonna get a import, just get a BMW. It is the same price as if you buy an american car now.
Note: A Comments RSS Feed 
is available. New comments appear in the Members Area before the main site