Bulletins


BulletinBulletin dateReplacement BulletinItem no.SummaryAdded
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE
180200108/17/2001623153Exhibiting rough idle, hard start and start & stall.*cls10/26/2001
08149905/21/1999606347Conditions with vehicle start and stall or vehicle no-start. *tt08/17/1999

Investigations


NHTSA IDManufacturerDate openDate closeSubjectRecall campaign
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
EA05019CHRYSLER GROUP LLC11/07/200501/12/2006POWER STEERING FLUID FIRES
 Odi has received 29 reports of engine compartment fires that appear to be related to power steering hose leakage in model year (my) 1999 and 2000 chrysler cirrus, dodge stratus and plymouth breeze vehicles (ja-cars) equipped with 2.4l engines.these reports indicate that the fire resulted from a power steering hose leak or that it occurred after an extended drive and shortly after being parked - conditions consistent with ignition of power steering fluid on a hot engine or exhaust surface during the vehicle hot soak period. on january 6, 2006, daimlerchrysler corporation (dcc) notified nhtsa of a safety defect on my 1999 and 2000 ja-cars built from july 1, 1998 to july 31, 2000 and equipped with 2.4l engines (recall 06v-001).the notification stated that
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE
PE05036CHRYSLER GROUP LLC06/29/200511/07/2005ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES06V001000
 On june 29, 2005, odi opened preliminary evaluation pe05-036 to investigate complaints of engine compartment fires in model year (my) 1999-2000 chrysler cirrus, dodge stratus and plymouth breeze passenger cars (ja cars). the ja cars were introduced in my 1995 and ended with my 2000.they were produced with 2.0l, 2.4l and 2.5l engines.the incident data in the failure report summary of this resume are for subject vehicle engine compartment fires for all causes. according to daimlerchrysler, evidence collected from field inspections of fire incident vehicles indicate that fluid leakage from the high pressure power steering hose is the most likely cause of the fires in the subject vehicles.the subject high pressure power steering hose is used in ja cars with both the 2.4l and 2.0l engines in my 1995 through 2000.the fire incident rate in the my 1999 through 2000 ja vehicles with 2.4l engines is significantly higher than in the prior model year vehicles using that engine and in any of the vehicles with the 2.0l or 2.5l engines.daimlerchrysler is continuing its investigation of the issue and has provided periodic updates to odi. an engineering analysis (ea05-019) has been opened to further assess the scope and frequency of the alleged defect in the subject vehicles.

Consumer Complaints


Fail datemilesoccurencesPurchase date
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
07/12/2007134980103/01/2002
 Tl*the contact owns a 2000 chrysler cirrus. while driving 10 mph, the power steering failed. the contact pulled over, raised the hood, and a fire ignited. the vehicle was towed to a mechanic and a repair was performed. when the contact arrived to pick up his vehicle, the mechanic stated that the high pressure power steering hose had prematurely heated and developed a leak. the failure resulted in an underhood fire. days after the vehicle was repaired, the contact received a recall letter. chrysler stated that they would reimburse him for the repairs. weeks later, chrysler refused to provide reimbursement. the same day he picked up the vehicle from the dealer, it caught fire again after being driven approximately 20 miles. chrysler advised him to leave the vehicle and that they would tow it and take care of the situation. it has currently been six weeks and nothing has been done. a police report was filed. the failure mileage was 134,980. before the fire, the consumer had other work performed on the vehicle such as: a new water pump and timing belt. updated
05/30/200617000609/26/2002
 The vehicle had been stalling on the highway, and restarting alone , and at time when entering the on ramp to a highways, almost caused me to have an accident. and it has always been on the highway when the car is in higher r.p.m's as it never done it while on city roads... now car won't start at all and reads no bus... i entered it at google and many other's have gone through the same problems i have and with many models but the same engines either 2.4 v6 or the 2.5 v6 , dodge or chrysler cirrus ,stratus,breeze,intrepid,and earlier 300's... sounds like it should be a recall to me... thanks for any info. *jb
12/04/200542000111/28/2000
 Car wasn't used for 3 weeks. used car and began to smoke. next day took to a repair shop & said it smelled like oil. next day drove about 3 miles, parked car, 15 min later fire dept is putting out engine fire. *nm
10/14/200547900101/22/2005
 Chrysler cirrus 2000 lx under the hood fire while driving. fire and police were called. car was a write-off. *jb
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM
04/02/201081000
 2000 cirrus 2.5l engine randomly stalls and frost / freeze plugs rust through. stalling: engine stops running while car is being driven at any speed, which leaves the operator with no power steering or brakes. no trouble codes are displayed or pending. after a period of time, roughly 20 minutes, the engine will start and run fine for several days or weeks. when stalled, if you activate the alarm system and lock and unlock the doors it seems to clear the anti-theft system and allow the fuel pump to run, which allows the engine to start. haven't crashed yet, however we have had several harrowing experiences. the internet is full of chrysler owners with this same random stalling issue, to which they have spent thousands of dollars replacing sensors....etc only to find that the car continues this random stalling behavior. bottom line, they sell the car, which moves this dangerous issue on to another unsuspecting owner. bottom line the engine should not randomly stop during operation, and if it does shutdown as programmed in the computer due to a pending or perceived mechanical issue, the trouble codes should be activated. chrysler knows this is and issue and they have chosen to ignore this life threatening defect, hoping it will go away with time. frost or freeze plugs are rusting out, never in my 40 years of driving have i had a car that did this. looked on the internet and again this is a common issue with chrysler. save 50 cents cost the customer owner thousands. i fixed two plugs front and back on engine however now the plugs between the transmission and engine are leaking do to rust. yes i've changed the coolant and this started in 2004 when i purchased the car.
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE
05/23/2008123000
 Tl*the contact owns a 2000 chrysler cirrus. after being previously driven, the vehicle caught fire five minutes after it was parked. the vehicle was never repaired under recall because the dealer stated that it was fine and did not need repairing. the contact feels that the dealer should be responsible for the failure. the recall number was unknown. the current and failure mileages were 123,000.
1
 The driver noticed that the power steering fluid was leaking. while driving the vehicle caught on fire without warning . the driver pulled over and called the fire department who extinguished the fire. the vehicle was towed to a body shop. the cause has not been determined at this time. please provide further details. *nm
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE - BELTS AND ASSOCIATED PULLEYS
05/10/2005102/01/2000
 Dt: chrysler has redesigned a part for the car, the part that was in the car that wasn't redesigned. the part fell apart and has never been replaced. the part caused the timing belt to slip, causing valves to bend in engine . *ak