2001 Chrysler Sebring Convertible

ON 7/27 BEFORE LEAVING HOME, CAR WAS SERVICED BY PALMER DODGE (ROSWELL, GA ). EXPLAINED THAT I WAS GOING ON TRIP FROM ALPHARETTA, GA-OSSINING, NY (2000 MILES ROUNDTRIP). TOLD DEALER CAR HAD APPROX. 85,000 & WAS WILLING TO RENT A CAR. "PLEASE GO OVER CAR & TELL ME IF I WAS YOUR WIFE...WOULD YOU HAVE ME RENT A CAR OR TAKE MY 2001 CHRYSLER SEBRING CONVERTIBLE LTD. TO NY & BACK."LEFT THE DEALERSHIP WITH AN OIL CHANGE & A 24 POINT SAFETY CHECK W/NO CONCERNS ABOUT CAR. WE ARRIVED IN NY ON 7/29 SAFELY (9 YR. OLD TWINS & MALTESE ARRIVED IN NY). ON JULY 31 WE DROVE FROM THE HOTEL IN TARRYTOWN TO OSSINING VISITED MY MOTHER, FATHER GRAVES. WHILE AT THE LAST GRAVE THE OIL LIGHT FLICKERED WHILE THE CAR SAT RUNNING. I PRESSED GAS PEDAL IT WENT OUT. WE STARTED BACK TO HOTEL VIA ROUTE 9., A NARROW, 2 LANE HIGHWAY. GOT ABOUT 3 MILES TO BRIARCLIFF MANOR WHEN I HEARD THE CAR MAKE A TAPPING SOUND. DESPITE TRAFFIC AND NO WARNING...NO OIL LIGHT, ENGINE LIGHT ETC. I MAKE A SHARP TURN TO SIDE STREET & TURNED OFF CAR. MY CHILDREN ARE CRYING, MY SISTER & DOG ARE FREAKED OUT & THERE WE ARE STRANDED WITH 1.5 HRS BEFORE MY NEPHEWS BABY DEDICATION. I START THE CAR BACK UP & PUT THE FLASHERS ON /DRIVE THE CAR MOSTLY IN NEUTRAL PRAYING ALL THE WAY TO THE ENTRANCE TO SLEEPY HOLLOW AUTOMOTIVE WHO QUICKLY TOLD ME THE ENGINE IS SHOT & THE CAR WHICH I THOUGHT WAS WORTH AT LEAST $5000 WAS NOT WORTH FIXING. I CALLED JENKIN ENGINES & WAS TOLD ME THERE ARE 3 MAJOR PROBLEMS WITH THIS CHRYSLER 2.7 ENGINE AND IT WOULD COST $3600 FOR A REMAN. ENGINE & $1800 FOR LABOR (MINIMUM)- 3 WEEKS TO FIX... I WAS NOW STRANDED IN NY, VACATION RUINED, CHILDREN FREAKED OUT. I HAVE READ HUNDREDS OF OTHER COMPLAINTS. HOW IN 2010 CAN AN ENGINE "DIE" WITH NO WARNING? THIS IS RECALL CAND. & NHTSA SHOULD MAKE CHRYSLER REPAIR OR REIMBURSE CAR OWNERS. MY CAR IS STILL IN NY...GA DEALER NOT RETURNING CALLS. RECOM OIL TOO THIN? OIL SLUDGE? EASY TO BLAME OWNERS FOR OIL CHANGES WHEN CHRYSLER THIS IS YOUR FAULT. BE RESPONSIBLE. *TR

I BOUGHT MY 2001 SEBRING LXI CONVERTIBLE IN DEC 2003, WITH JUST OVER 500 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. IT HAD SUFFERED A TRANSMISSION FAILURE AT THE ORIGINAL DEALER, HAD NEVER BEEN SOLD TO A CUSTOMER, WAS RETURNED TO CHRYSLER FOR A REPLACEMENT, THEN SAT ON A BACK LOT FOR NEARLY TWO YEARS BEFORE BEING RESOLD TO ANOTHER DEALER. I BOUGHT IT WITH A NEW CAR WARRANTY AND BOUGHT THE EXTENDED (7 YEAR/70,000 MILE) WARRANTY. AFTER INITIAL PROBLEMS WITH THE TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE, HEATER AND WARPED BRAKE ROTORS (ALL FIXED BY THE DEALER), THE CAR SERVED ME VERY WELL FOR 50,000 MILES--NO SERIOUS ISSUES AT ALL. AT EACH SERVICE AFTER ROUGHLY 20,000 MILES, I WOULD TELL THE CHRYSLER SERVICE DEPT THAT THE OIL PRESSURE LIGHT WAS COMING ON INTERMITTENTLY. THEY WOULD DULY CHECK THE OIL LEVEL AND TELL ME NOT TO WORRY. THEN I TOOK IT TO A CHRYSLER DEALER (ROSENTHAL, ARLINGTON, VA) FOR THE 50K SERVICE AND TOLD THEM THAT THE OIL PRESSURE LIGHT HAD BEEN COMING ON FREQUENTLY AT IDLE OR VERY LOW RPMS FOR THE PAST 10,000 MILES OR SO, BUT THE OIL LEVEL WAS FINE, AND ALSO THAT THE ENGINE HAD BEGUN TO USE OIL AT ABOUT 1 QUART EVERY COUPLE OF THOUSAND MILES. THE DEALER SERVICE MANAGER TOLD ME NOT TO WORRY, THAT THIS PARTICULAR ENGINE (2.7L) WITH THAT MUCH MILEAGE TENDED TO USE OIL. HE SAID JUST TO KEEP IT TOPPED UP. I KEPT CHECKING AND ADDING OIL FOR THE NEXT 5,000 MILES. JUST BEFORE I INTENDED TO TAKE THE CAR IN FOR ANOTHER OIL CHANGE, THE ENGINE BLEW WITHOUT WARNING ON AN INTER-STATE HIGHWAY. I HAD IT HAULED TO THE NEAREST CHRYSLER DEALER AND PAID TO HAVE THE OIL PAN PULLED AND ASSESSED. THE MECHANIC SAID THE ENGINE WAS BLOWN AND THE CAUSE WAS SLUDGE BUILD-UP, AND THAT MY EXTENDED WARRANTY DID NOT COVER THAT CAUSE FOR ENGINE FAILURE. *TR

I WAS DRIVING WEST ON JEFFERSON AVE IN DETROIT. THERE ARE TRAFFIC SIGNALS AT BOTH ENDS OF A SHORT BRIDGE WHERE IT PASSES OVER I-375. I STOPPED AT THE FIRST AND, WHEN THE LIGHT CHANGED, STARTED FORWARD, THE SECOND TRAFFIC SIGNAL TURNED RED. THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME STOPPED, BUT, WHEN I TOOK MY FOOT OFF OF THE ACCELERATOR AND PUT IT ON THE BRAKE, THE CAR CONTINUED ACCELERATING AND, ALTHOUGH I WAS LITERALLY STANDING UP ON THE BRAKE, IT HAD NO EFFECT AND I HIT THE STOPPED VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME GOING ABOUT 25 OR 30 MILES AN HOUR. THE AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. SIMILAR EVENTS HAVE OCCURRED A HALF DOZEN OR MORE TIMES BEFORE, BUT NEVER WITH THE SAME CONSEQUENCES. ON PREVIOUS OCCASIONS, THE CONTINUING ACCELERATION STOPPED AFTER A DELAY AND I WAS ABLE TO BRING THE CAR TO A STOP, ON TWO PREVIOUS OCCASIONS, THERE WAS ANOTHER AUTO A CAR LENGTH OR MORE IN FRONT OF ME, AND THE DELAY BEFORE THE BRAKE TOOK OVER CAUSED ME TO BUMP INTO IT. IN NEITHER CASE WAS THERE ANY BODILY OR SERIOUS VEHICLE DAMAGE. IN OTHER INSTANCES, I WAS ABLE TO AVOID COLLISION, AFTER SUFFERING A SCARE. AFTER EACH EPISODE, I REPORTED THE PROBLEM WHEN I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER. ON TWO OCCASIONS, THE DEALER'S SERVICE DEPARTMENT KEPT THE CAR SEVERAL DAYS TRYING TO REPLICATE THE OCCURRENCE. THEY WERE NEVER SUCCESSFUL. (IF THEY RETAIN COPIES OF THEIR SERVICE ORDERS, THEY WILL REFLECT THAT I REPORTED THE PROBLEM AND THEY WERE UNABLE TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OR TO FIX IT.) MY VEHICLE IS SERIOUSLY DAMAGED AND, ALTHOUGH I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE IT TO THE PARKING LOT AT MY NEARBY OFFICE, I DO NOT EXPECT TO REPAIR IT OR, OF COURSE, TO EVER DRIVE IT AGAIN. WHEN CHRYSLER CUSTOMER SERVICE WAS CALLED BY MY WIFE AFTER ONE OF THE EARLIER ACCELERATION EVENTS, THEY TOLD HER THERE WAS NO RECALL OR RECORD OF SIMILAR COMPLAINTS AND TO TAKE THE CAR TO A DEALER. *TR

2001 CHRYSLER SEBRING CONVERTIBLE 2.7 L, 89500 MILES, ENGINE LOOSES OF POWER AT 70 MPH ON I95 WITHOUT WARNING IN HEAVY TRAFFIC, FORCING DRIVER TO MAKE A UNSAFE LANE CHANGES TO COAST OFF OF THE ROADWAY. INVESTIGATION ON INTERNET HAS RESULTED IN FIND OUT THAT CHRYSLER CORP HAS HAD A BIG PROBLEM WITH THIS ENGINE FAILING BUT TAKES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE FAILURE AND CONTINUES TO BLAME IT ALL ON THE CONSUMER FOR IMPROPER MAINTENANCE, OIL CHANGES. THE ENGINE WILL NEED TO BE REBUILT OR REPLACED ONCE THE EXACT COMPONENT FAILURE MOST LIKELY A ROD BEARING IS FOUND, THIS WILL RESULT IN TOTAL REPLACEMENT AT A COST OF $6,000 - $8,000 OR MORE AT MY EXPENSE WHEN IT SHOULD BE COVERED BY THE VEHICLE WARRANTY

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 CHRYSLER SEBRING. WHILE DRIVING 25 MPH THE FRONT SUSPENSION COLLAPSED CAUSING THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE TIRE TO COME OFF. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DRIVABLE SO THE CONTACT HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO A LOCAL MECHANIC. THE LOCAL MECHANIC REPLACED BOTH OUTER TIE-RODS, LEFT DRIVE AXLE, THE LOWER CONTROL ARM, AND THE LEFT LOWER BALL JOINT. A LOCAL MECHANIC INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THE RIGHT LOWER BALL JOINT ALSO WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED SOON. THE CONTACT CALLED THE MANUFACTURER REGARDING A RECALL FOR THE SUSPENSION FRONT, CONTROL ARM LOWER BALL JOINT BUT THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. THE CONTACT STATED THIS VEHICLE SHOULD BE ADDED TO THE RECALL. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 139,039 UPDATED 4/19/10 *CN CHRYSLER INFORMED THE CONSUMER THE MATTER WOULD NOT BE INVESTIGATED DUE TO THE HIGH MILEAGE ON THE VEHICLE, EVEN THOUGH A RECALL HAD BEEN ISSUED. UPDATED 06/18/10.*JB

WAS DRIVING MY 2001 CHRYSLER SEBRING CONVERTIBLE THAT I HAD ONLY OWNED FOR 2 MOS. FOR MY DELIVERY JOB. WHEN I NOTICED THAT THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT WAS SMOKING BAD AND ALSO STARTED RUNNING REALLY ROUGH WHEN STOPPED AT TRAFFIC LIGHTS. ADDED QUART OF OIL AFTER LETTING THE ENGINE COOL AND IT SEEMED TO RUN FINE. TRIED TO USE FOR WORK THE NEXT DAY AND IT DID THE SAME THING + DIED 2X. TOOK TO MECHANIC AND WAS INFORMED THAT ONE OF THE HEAD GASKETS HAD BLOWN AND WAS ALSO LEAKING COOLANT INTO THE ENGINE AND A LOT OF SLUDGE. AFTER GETTING A QUOTE OF $850 I LEFT IT AT HIS SHOP HE DID FURTHER RESEARCH & CALLED TO INFORM ME THAT THE 2.7 DOHC V6 IN THE SEBRING CONVERTIBLE HAS A HISTORY OF PROBLEMS LIKE THIS AND THE ONLY SURE SORT OF LONG TERM SOLUTION WAS TO REPLACE THE ENGINE. ALSO HAVE FOUND OUT AFTER MY OWN RESEARCH THAT CHRYSLER IS DOING NOTHING TO REMEDY THIS DEFECT. I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO SEE CHRYSLER RECALL THESE PIECE OF JUNK ENGINES AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS DEFECT. *TR