2005 Chrysler Pt Cruiser

I WAS ON THE FREEWAY, AND THE ROAD HAD A NATURAL "BUMP" IN IT, CAUSING A SLIGHT BIT OF LIFT WITH THE VEHICLE, AND THE VEHICLE SWAYED FROM SIDE TO SIDE, AND I HAD TO IMMEDIATELY SLOW DOWN, AND COUNTER STEER IN ORDER TO KEEP IT IN MY LANE. I TOOK IT TO MY MECHANIC TODAY, AND THE RIGHT LOWER MOTOR MOUNT IS BROKEN. I JUST REPLACED THAT SAME MOUNT LESS THEN 6 MONTHS AGO. MY MECHANIC SAID THEY KNOW OF A CRUISER THAT HAD 8 FRONT RIGHT MOTOR MOUNTS REPLACED. THERE IS AN ENTIRE SITE ON THE INTERNET DEDICATED TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD MAJOR ISSUES WITH MOTOR MOUNTS GOING OUT OVER AND OVER AGAIN ON THEIR CRUISERS. *TR

RECENTLY, I NOTICED A PUDDLE OF OIL FORMING UNDER MY CAR WHEN IT WAS PARKED BRIEFLY. A CHECK OF OIL SHOWED THAT IT WAS SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL, BUT WELL WITHIN RANGE. TOPPED UP OIL AND STARTED ENGINE, AND STEADY STREAM OF OIL WAS SEEN TO BE COMING FROM CRANK OIL SEAL. THE DAY BEFORE THIS CAR DID NOT DRIP A DROP OF OIL. MECHANIC FOUND SEAL WAS IN TACT, BUT COMPLETELY LOOSE FROM ENGINE. HAD SEAL REPLACED BY CERTIFIED MECHANIC, AND IN LESS THAN 15 MILES THE OIL LEAK RETURNED. AFTER SEEING MULTIPLE SIMILAR ACCOUNTS ON INTERNET, HAD THE MECHANIC OPEN THE ENGINE AND FOUND THE CRANK END PLAY TO BE WELL OVER .020" AND THE THRUST BEARING WIPED ALONG WITH DAMAGE TO THE CRANK THRUST FACE. ODDLY CHRYSLER SEEMS TO ONLY INSTALL THE THRUST BEARING ON ONLY THE TOP HALF IN THIS DESIGN. THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE THE THRUST BEARING FAILS, THE CRANKSHAFT THEN WALKS INTO THE BACK OF THE SEAL AND KNOCKS IT OUT. FORTUNATELY, I NOTICED THE PUDDLE, BEFORE THIS FAILED AT HIGHWAY SPEED. THIS COULD HAVE EMPTIED THE OIL IN MINUTES AND SEIZED UP THE ENGINE AT SPEED. THIS IS CLEARLY A KNOWN DESIGN FLAW THAT CHRYSLER IS AVOIDING TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR. NO ENGINE SHOULD HAVE THIS SORT OF FAILURE IN THE 21ST CENTURY! *TR

THE PT CRUISER 2005 TURBO WAS PURCHASED NEW AND CURRENTLY HAS 68,296 MILES. THE VEHICLE HAS SHUT OFF ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS WHILE WE WERE DRIVING. WE IMMEDIATELY CONTACTED CERRITOS DODGE CHRYSLER JEEP (CERRITOS, CA) AND GLEN E. THOMAS (SIGNAL HILL,CA} AND BOTH SERVICED VEHICLE. NEITHER DEALERS FIXED THE PROBLEM.THE LAST TIME WE PAID A SERVICE TECHNICIAN ALMOST $100 TO JUST RIDE AROUND WITH US TO SEE IF VEHICLE WOULD STOP. AGAIN NOTHING WAS DONE. AFTER FINALLY BRINGING THE CAR BACK 6 TIMES FOR THE SAME PROBLEM, WITHIN A 12 WEEK PERIOD, THEY TOLD US TO CONTACT THE CORPORATE DIVISION AT CHRYSLER BECAUSE THEY WOULD NOT SERVICE OUR VEHICLE. THE MOST RECENT OCCURRENCE WAS IN SEPTEMBER 2011( WHICH PUT OTHERS LIFE IN DANGER) WE WERE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY AT 60 MILES/HR. THE CAR JUST SHUT OFF, AGAIN WITHOUT ANY WARNING. WE ARE AFRAID TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE ON A REGULAR BASIS, FOR FEAR OF RISKING THE LIVES OF OTHERS AND OURSELVES. WE ARE CURRENTLY SEEKING A RECALL BECAUSE WE KNOW OF OTHER OWNERS WHO HAS EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEM. *TR

I PURCHASED A 2005 PT CRUISER IN JUNE 2008. SEVERAL MONTHS LATER I NOTICED THAT MY CAR WOULD SHAKE ONCE I TURNED ON MY AC. WHILE IT WAS UNDER WARRANTY, I TOOK IT BACK TO THE CAR DEALERSHIP AND THEY ADVISED ME THAT I NEEDED A TUNE UP. SO I HAD MY CAR SERVICED FOR A TUNE UP TO ONLY FIND OUT THAT THE PROBLEM ON PERSISTED. I TOOK THE CAR TO SEVERAL MECHANICS AND NO ONE COULD FIGURE OUT THE PROBLEM. THEY ALL SAID I NEEDED SPARK PLUGS ALTHOUGH I JUST HAD THEM REPLACED. FLASH FORWARD TO NOVEMBER 2010, ON MY WAY TO WORK OUT OF NO WHERE MY CAR STARTED PUTTING AND MY ENGINE WAS SHAKING AS IF MY CAR WAS ABOUT TO EXPLODE. AGAIN I TOOK IT TO A MECHANIC AND HE SAID THE SAME THING... TUNE UP. CLEARLY THIS WAS NOT THE CASE, HOWEVER I HAD MY GASKETS CHANGED TO SEE IF THAT WAS THE ISSUE...NEGATIVE. SO I DECIDED TO GOOGLE WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS MYSELF JUST TO SEE IF I MISSED A RECALL OR IF THIS IS A PROBLEM. T O MY SURPRISE I FOUND SEVERAL FORUMS SPECIFICALLLY FOR TEH CHRYSLER PT CRUISER. TO TOP THE CAKE THEIR ISSUES WAS THE EXACT SAME ISSUES I WAS HAVING WITH MY CAR. ENGINE SHAKING, CAR PUTTING, AND THE CAR CUTTING OFF WHILE DRIVING! I CALLED CHRYSLER TO SEE IF THERE WAS A RECALL AND I WAS SO BAFFELED THAT THERE WAS NOT. THIS IS CLEARLY A SAFETY ISSUE AND I'M VERY DISSAPOINTED THAT CHRYLSER IS IGNORING THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE MATTER! THIS CAN POTENTIALLY CAUSE A FATAL ACCIDENT. HOW SCARY IS IT DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AND YOUR CAR JUST STOPS OR STARTS PUTTING! I HAVE SPENT OVER $500 TRYING TO FIX THIS ISSUE AND OTHERS HAVE SPENT THOUSANDS ON CHRYSLERS BEHALF. MY CAR STILL HAS THE SAME ISSUES TODAY 8/26/2011. I CAN'T AFFORD A NEW ENGINE ESPECIALLY WHEN THIS IS A MORE THAN COMMON ISSUE. PLEASE GOOGLE "PT CRUISER ENGINE SHAKING PROBLEMS" AND SEE THE MANY BLOGS AND COMPLAINTS. EACH BLOG HAS THE SAME ISSUES LISTED, AND I KNOW THIS HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO CHRYSLER'S ATTENTION BUT THEY CHOOSE TO IGNORE IT. FYI.. IT ONLY TOOK TOYOTA 11 COMPLAINTS FOR THEM TO RECALL THEIR VEHICALS. *TT

I OWN A 2005 PT CRUISER; I HAVE 134,000 MILES ON THE CAR, AND KEEP IT SERVICED REGULARLY. I HAVE HAD NUMEROUS ISSUES WITH SAFETY FACTORS CONCERNING THIS VEHICLE SINCE OCTOBER 2009. DECEMBER 2009 MY TIMING BELT WENT OUT ON INTERSTATE. I LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AS THE VEHICLE WAS TRAVELING 70 MPH. I HAD IT REPAIRED BY A CERTIFIED MECHANIC, WHICH INCLUDED A NEW WATER PUMP. I CONTINUED TO HAVE OVERHEATING ISSUES, AND CONTINUED TO HAVE DIAGNOSTICS AND NOTHING COULD BE IDENTIFIED AS THE PROBLEM. FEBRUARY 2010: I HAD TO HAVE VALVES SEALS REPAIRED DUE TO THEM LEAKING OIL ONTO THE ENGINE WHICH WAS A POTENTIAL FIRE HAZARD. THIS WAS DONE BY A CERTIFIED MECHANIC. APRIL 2010: I CONTINUED TO HAVE OVERHEATING ISSUES. I WAS ALSO NOW HAVING ELECTRICAL ISSUES WHERE MY TAILLIGHTS WERE CONTINUOUSLY BLOWING THE BULBS COMPLETELY OUT, TO WHERE THE BULBS WOULD BE BROKEN AND I WOULD HAVE NO LIGHTS AT ALL ON THE BACK OF MY VEHICLE, THERE WERE TIMES THIS WOULD OCCUR AT NIGHT WHICH WAS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. MAY 2010: I BROUGHT MY VEHICLE BACK TO CHRYSLER DEALER; AGAIN NOTHING COULD BE RESOLVED. JUNE 2010: BROUGHT THE CAR BACK FOR DIAGNOSTICS. THE DEALER KEPT THE VEHICLE ALL DAY. THE DEALER CONCLUDED THAT THE COOLER SENSOR AND SENSOR PLUG NEEDED REPLACED, AND TAIL LIGHT RECEPTORS WERE CHANGED OUT. JUNE 2010: ALTERNATOR WENT OUT AND IT WAS REPLACED, AND ALSO INSTALLED A NEW BATTERY. WHEN TRAVELING I SET MY CRUISE CONTROL ON 55. THE CRUISE CONTROL TOOK OVER MY ACCELERATION AND IN NO MY VEHICLE ACCELERATED TO 115+ MPH, I COULD NOT TURN OFF THE CRUISE CONTROL, THE BRAKES FAILED TO WORK, THE KEY WOULD NOT TURN OFF. I FINALLY PULLED THE E-BRAKE TO SLOW THE CAR, AND HAD TO PUT THE CAR INTO NEUTRAL, THEN INTO PARK. IT WAS NOT UNTIL I MANAGED TO GET THE CAR INTO PARK THAT THE VEHICLE STOPPED ACCELERATING BY ITSELF. I TURNED OFF THE VEHICLE. I FEEL THESE ISSUES NEED TO BE ADDRESSED. THESE SAFETY ISSUES ARE OF A SERIOUS NATURE. YOUR TIME IN LOOKING INTO THIS. *TR

I HAVE A 2005 TOURING EDITION PT CRUISER AND IT HAS BEEN A HEADACHE FOR THE LAST 21 MONTHS. IN SPRING 2009, AFTER HAVING THE CAR ONLY 2 YEARS, IT STARTING LEAKING OIL SO I TOOK INTO THE DEALERSHIP. THEY SAID THE OIL PAN GASKET WAS LOOSE. THEY FIXED IT IN A DAY AND IT RAN FINE, THEN A FEW MONTHS LATER, IN AUGUST, IT STARTED LEAKING AGAIN. THIS TIME THEY SAID THE OIL WAS LEAKING FROM THE FRONT OF THE ENGINE SO THEY HAD TO REPLACE THE CAM SEALS, FRONT CRANK SEAL AND THE OIL PAN GASKET. I GOT IT BACK A WEEK LATER AND WAS TOLD THE FRONT BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. I TOOK IT TO A REPAIR SHOP FOR THE BRAKES AND THE MECHANIC SAID HE'D NEVER SEEN ROTORS WEAR THAT FAST BEFORE. IT RAN PRETTY GOOD UNTIL SEPTEMBER 2009 WHEN IT STARTED LEAKING OIL AGAIN, TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AGAIN THIS TIME THEY SAID THEY HAD TO REPLACE THE SHORT BLOCK, GASKETS FOR THE UPPER AND LOWER ENGINE, TIMING BELT COVER, CRANKSHAFT SPROCKET, AND ALL THE FLUIDS IN THE CAR. THEY DIDN'T CHARGE FOR FIXING THIS TIME BECAUSE THE SAID IT WAS A MANUFACTURING DEFECT. ANOTHER WEEK IN THE SHOP AND THEY SAID IT WAS IN RUNNING CONDITION AGAIN. IN MAY 2010 ALL FOUR TIRES NEEDED TO BE REPLACED BECAUSE OF TIRE ROT AND THE SPARE DIDN'T LOOK THAT MUCH BETTER THEN THE TIRES. LATER THE SAME MONTH THE CAR STARTED MAKING A HORRIBLE NOISE NEED SLOWING TO STOP AND STARTING. TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AGAIN, THE STARTER AND FLEXPLATE NEED TO BE REPLACED. IT WAS IN SHOP A WEEK, WENT TO PICK IT UP AND WAS INFORMED THAT ONE OF THE MOTOR MOUNT BOLTS WAS BROKEN. IT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED ALONG WITH THE MOTOR MOUNT ITSELF. THEY ALSO SAID THEY DEEMED THE CAR UNSAFE TO DRIVE AND WOULD NOT TEST DRIVE IT TO MAKE SURE IT WAS RUNNING CORRECTLY. I TOOK THE CAR HOME, TWO DAYS LATER AS I WAS DRIVING HOME THE GAS PEDAL BROKE. IT WAS AGAINST THE MAT AND I COULD NOT GET THE ENGINE TO REV. THANKFULLY I WAS BY THE MEDIAN LANE SO I COULD ROLL OUT OF TRAFFIC. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 CHRYSLER PT CRUISER. THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THERE WAS A SLIGHT OIL LEAK. SHE CHECKED THE ENGINE AND SAW THAT THERE WAS AN ADEQUATE AMOUNT OF OIL INSIDE OF IT. LATER THAT EVENING, THE OIL LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE DASHBOARD. WHEN SHE CHECKED THE ENGINE, THERE WAS NO OIL ON THE STICK AT ALL. THE NEXT MORNING, SHE PUT FOUR QUARTS OF OIL IN THE ENGINE. BEFORE LEAVING WORK, SHE PUT TWO MORE QUARTS IN THE VEHICLE AS IT SHOWED THAT SHE WAS TWO QUARTS LOW. BY THE TIME SHE REACHED HOME, THE OIL LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED AGAIN. SHE PUT FOUR QUARTS OF OIL AND TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A REPAIR SHOP THE NEXT MORNING. THE MECHANIC TOLD HER THAT CAM SEAL FAILED AND POSSIBLY CAUSED THE OIL LEAK. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. WHEN THE MECHANIC RESTARTED THE VEHICLE AFTER IT WAS REPAIRED, ALL OF THE OIL LEAKED ONTO THE GROUND. THE MECHANIC THEN CALLED HER TO SAY THAT THE FAILURE COULD HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY THE ENGINE PUMP. SHE CALLED THE DEALER AND WAS TOLD TO INSTRUCT THE MECHANIC TO INSPECT THE THRUST BEARINGS. THE MECHANIC CONFIRMED THAT THE THRUST BEARINGS WERE DEFECTIVE. SHE CALLED THE MANUFACTURER AND WAS TOLD THAT SOMEONE WOULD CALL HER IN 24 TO 48 HOURS (SHE WAS CURRENTLY AWAITING A RESPONSE). THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED AT THE TIME OF THE COMPLAINT. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE APPROXIMATELY 66,000.