Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||||
| 2100804 | 10/16/2004 | 2100804A | 10008383 | Malfunction indicator lamp (mil) illumination -diagnostic trouble code (dtc) p1776 solenoid switch valve latched in lr position. *mj this bulletin replaces 21-008-04 dated june 1, 2004. *tt | 07/29/2004 |
| 0803403 | 03/02/2004 | 0800804 | 10007592 | New spark plug for 2.4l engine. *mj | 07/02/2004 |
| 080503 | 09/01/2003 | 070303 | 10003997 | Reprogramming of the engine controller (ngc) in order to avoid and/or correct engine overheating. *tt | 11/10/2003 |
| 1801603 | 04/18/2003 | 10001525 | Interior/exterior lamps flicker. *tt | 06/05/2003 | |
| 1801803 | 04/25/2003 | 10001527 | Malfunction indicator lamp illumination (mil), erroneous diagnostic trouble codes (dtc). *tt | 06/05/2003 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||
| 08/23/2010 | 65000 | ||
| 2003 turbo pt cruiser issue with engine over heating light comming on engine was not over heating. a week later running lights and foglamps started comming on while car is off and sitting. checked a site that said it was a problem in the turbo 2003 and 2004 turbo cruisers and the issue will get worse. my car is not included in the recall. | |||
| 05/04/2009 | 85000 | 1 | |
| 1. i generally drive our 2003 chrysler pt cruiser with the fog lights on during the day, and the headlights at night. this means i was turning the fog light switch on the turn signal unit several times a day. 2. beginning early in 2009 i experienced times when the fog lights would not turn off with the switch without a lot of cycling, or the fog lights would turn themselves on when the door closed. the vibration of the vehicle made that happen. then, when trying to get the fog lights to turn off, the switch began to smoke. turning off the car cleared that, so i stopped using the fog lights. the turn signals and headlight portion of the switch worked fine. 3. i contacted the chrysler dealership and was told they were out of the switch. i then contacted a local auto maintenance company i have used in the past and trust. they quoted me a better service price, and that the switch was backordered. there were over 5000 switches on backorder and it was six months after the order was placed before we received the switch and had it installed. my concern is two fold: 1. the 5000 may well have been the tip of the iceberg in terms of failures, and 2. if i had not been sitting there, would the lights, after coming on by themselves have cause the switch to actually catch the vehicle on fire? i thought that the brief time i was smoke should have been enough to blow the fuse, but it didn't. *tr | |||
| 06/24/2009 | 122000 | 1 | |
| High beams coming on without being turned on, at first once or twice a week then everyday it would happen then everytime using the vehicle, the high beams came on after i turned them off when getting out of my car upon returning to my car would not crank, the high beams where still on, had to get my car jumped started, removed the fuse and haven't had the high beams to come on again, but i need my high beams esp. for long distance driving through the mountains, there's a shortage somewhere between the fuse and high beams lights. *tr | |||
| 09/26/2007 | 92000 | 1 | |
| I purchased a 2003 chrysler pt cruiser in july 2008 in oct we noticed lights flickering headlight switch started burning fog lights came on didn't work before took it dodge new switch and 22 pin connector . new pcm reprogrammed it still same problem lights flicker and check engine light stays on. *tr | |||
| 03/10/2009 | 1 | ||
| Fog lights continue to flash without my turning them on. this is my third dead battery? is there a recall? *tr | |||
| 05/01/2006 | 10 | 03/08/2003 | |
| This problem started in the spring of 2006. although i didn't know it at the time, the fog lights came on by themselves while just sitting in the parking lot or at home. no warning, so i didn't know until i went to start the car and the battery was dead. since this was intermittent, no lights on the dash advising me the fog lights were on and during daylight hours, i never noticed that the fog lights were on. after several times of this happening. this caused me to replace the battery. while replacing the battery i noticed that the original cables had inferior battery connector leads. the cables connectors were mostly eaten through causing me to have to replace them. (i noticed that when i got the new leads that the connectors were of a better material). due to this not having any rime or reason as to why the battery kept going dead and no one had any idea why this was happening i simply had to wait until i discovered the cause. in dec 2007 i went to start the car and sure enough the battery was dead. however this time when i jumped the battery the fog light on the dash stayed on and that is when i found the problem. i was unable to turn them off since the switch was already in the off position. my only recourse was to remove the fog light fuse. since removing the fog light fuse i have had no further issues to date. i still do not know the cause or the cure so, i logged on to this site to look for a service bulletin or information to tell me that and here i am. the mileage on the vehicle when this whole stuff started was approx 36,000 and it now has 42000 miles on it. *tr | |||
| 07/07/2007 | 20000 | 20 | 10/18/2002 |
| We own a 2003 pt cruiser. it has manifested three separate problems, all of which are similar to complaints i have found from others on the internet: first, the check engine light comes on. the dealer said we needed to click the gas cap. we did that, but the light came back on. second, the fog light switch failed such so that the lights turned on without the switch being touched. we discovered the problem only after the battery had been drained, stranding my wife at work. i fixed this problem by pulling the fuse on the fog lights. i have read complaints in which this faulty switch has actually started fires. third, we have the infamous intermittent startingproblem. i have replaced the starter and the battery. i checked alternator function and integrity of all cable connections to the starter. then i read others' complaints and have found there is no available solution. the problem became more and more frequent, and now the vehicle is dead in the driveway. our vehicle has only 54,000 miles on it, and we believe we should expect many more miles from it. we are afraid to take it to a dealer and have hundreds of dollars worth of fruitless diagnostics done on it. we still owe $1,800 to chrysler financial for the car. it pains us to make payments on a vehicle that is a lump in our driveway. we would like to have the vehicle repaired at no charge, assuming the manufacturer has found a solution. although the vehicle is currently out of warranty, the problem began to occur long before the warranty expiration, but we could not get it to repeat for the dealer. is there a secret warranty for this issue? we cannot find a full-text tsb to find out. *ak | |||
| 03/16/2007 | 10 | 50 | 02/04/2004 |
| I purchased a new 2003 pt gt turbo cruiser and have electrical problems since day one. the battery has been replaced twice and the lights have never stopped flickering since the day i purchased the vehicle. the chrysler repair facilities were nice to deal with but the problem has never been resolved. i have always liked chrysler products and throughout the years have purchased quite a few, after this experience this will be my last chrysler product. | |||
| 09/30/2006 | 59000 | 1 | 09/30/2006 |
| We recently purchased a used 2003 pt cruiser gt turbo. we really love it. however, there is an issue we have been trying to figure out. the lighting flickers when you start the car. it is intermittent. after running awhile it decreases. usually when first starting the car it is really bad. we didn't notice a difference when we used more or less power in the car, like turning on the radio and a/c. the power fluctuation makes all the lights flicker inside and outside of the car, as well as the panel lights and radio. *jb | |||
| 10/17/2004 | 1 | ||
| 2003 pt crusier bought brand new. head lights, interior lights, and dash lights all flicker hard to pay attention when driving. chrysler is aware of the problem and says no fix. i will never buy another chrysler again, poor customer service. just waiting for all lights to finally go out. *jb | |||
| 06/07/2006 | 51523 | 2 | 12/28/2005 |
| Dt*: the contact stated a knocking sound is heard when the vehicle is placed into reverse, or when a stop, and then placed into park. the sound is coming from the driver's side of the vehicle. the vehicle stalls after each start and has to be restarted. the dealership determined the lower control arms and the skim model in the computer was defective and needs to be replaced. updated 07/05/06. *jb | |||
| 12/06/2005 | 500 | 1 | 11/19/2005 |
| Nov 19, 2005 i purchased a new lot model 2003 pt cruiser with 14 miles on it. at 500 miles i notified the dealership where i bought this vehicle that there was a problem of flickering headlights when any other electric was touched in vehicle, this also happens when nothing is touched. they replaced the battery twice to see if this was the problem, but that didn't help. i have taken the vehicle back to the dealer on at least four occasions but they still cannot find the problem.. i was issued a ticket by the police for this problem and have given a copy to the dealership, the ticket said that the problem is to be fixed or i am supposed to stop driving it.. i took it to another dealership and they reprogrammed it and that hasn't helped either. i need to have this problem fixed or replaced as i am not supposed to use it legally by order of police. the dealership where i purchased my vehicle said that this is just a problem that i will have to learn to live with as it is a problem with 2001,2002,2003,2004 pt cruisers. if this is so, then there should be a disclosure when you purchase the vehicles. *nm | |||
| 10/12/2005 | 4 | 07/05/2003 | |
| Check engine light comes on, car idles at low rpm, and stalls at anything near 1000 rpm, which is its normal idle speed, at least 25 stalls in the past 2-3 months. so far chrysler knows there is a problem but can't find it, so they keep giving it back to me. *jb | |||
| 11/18/2004 | 43 | 200 | 10/25/2003 |
| Shortly after purchasing our brand new 2003 pt cruiser, we noticed the dash lights and headlights would occasionally flicker for no apparent reason. at first, it was very intermittent and we did not pay much attention to it. however, since about the middle of october of 2004, the problem has gotten much worse. now whenever the brake is applied, the dash lights and the headlights flicker very noticeably, and the frequency of the flickering for no reason has increased dramatically. on november 18, 2004, we took the cruiser into spokane chrysler to correct the problem (invoice 147545). spokane chrysler was very courteous and tried diligently to fix the problem. they replaced the generator, the powertrain control module, and even tried a new battery -- unfortunately, none of their efforts fixed the problem. spokane chrysler did discover that this flickering lights defect was not unique to our cruiser. the technician tested several 2002, 2004, and even brand new 2005 pt cruisers and found that in each of these models, while not all, but some of them had the same defective electrical system. this problem is particularly disturbing considering the nature of many of the pt cruiser | |||
| 12/05/2003 | 5 | ||
| While driving at any speed, the vehicle stalled without warning. the driver tried to restart the vehicle and was able to do so. the driver noticed that the vehicle did not accelerate over 60 mph. while driving 60 mph, the driver applied the accelerator pedal and the vehicle failed to accelerate. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection numerous time. however, the mechanic can not duplicate the problem. please provide further details. | |||
| 09/17/2004 | 30 | 10 | 03/01/2003 |
| Check engine light came on regularly, prompting visits to the dealer. was told i wasn't clicking the gas cap enough times upon closing it. number of times to be clicked started out at 3 and eventually moved up to 7, increasing with each return visit until i screamed in the middle of the service area and they actually fixed the problem by replacing the leak detection pump and the natural vacuum detector. sunroof motor wouldn't run continuously, the switch would have to be pushed repeatedly to get the roof to close, moving a fraction of an inch at a time. this happened on three separate occasions. parts replaced included the switch, the motor, and eventually the entire sunroof motor assembly. the big problem: car wouldn't start, even after being jumped. this happened on five separate occasions during the first 16 months i owned the car. parts replaced include the battery (replaced twice) the starter, the starter relay, and finally the powertrain control module. the car was deemed a lemon under the florida lemon law and i was refunded my money from chrysler under a byback program not arbitrated by the state.*k | |||
| 07/16/2004 | 17240 | 5 | 04/17/2003 |
| I have taken my 2003 pt cruiser gt back to the dealer eight times to have a check engine light problem repaired. the first visit to the dealer occured on july 3, 2003 the second visit to the dealer occurred on july 9-12, 2003 the third visit to the dealer occured on august 15-18, 2003 the fourth visit to the dealer occurred on may 7-12, 2004 the fifth visit to the dealer occurred on may 26-27, 2004 the sixth visit to the dealer occurred on june 9th, 2004 the seventh visit to the dealer occurred on june 28th., 2004 (replace leak detection pump) the eighth visit to the dealer occurred on july 16th., 2004 (car towed) general syptoms leading to the light coming on were hard starting several days or weeks prior to light coming on, as well as hesitation under acceleration (occured twice), and the latest incident in which the car completely lost power while accelerating away from a stop sign onto a main road. during the course of my many dealership visits, they have reprogrammed the computer, replaced the solenoid duty cycle purge, contacted chrysler's star technical center and replaced what they claimed to be a bad leak detection pump. upon the last failure, the car was driven back to my residence and the dealer contacted to tow to the dealership. *ak | |||
| 07/15/2003 | 4500 | 8 | 03/21/2003 |
| While driving at 55 mph headlights were flickering and finally burned out. vehicle was taken to the dealer eight times for this problem. dealer has checked every component, trying to repair the problem, but to no avail.*ak the manufacturer repurchased the vehcile from the consumer. *mjj | |||
| 11/26/2002 | 2416 | 2 | 09/25/2002 |
| When consumer brakes, the headlights would flicker. this causes a distraction at night time. dealer has been notified. ph this also occured when window switch and auto door locks were engaged. dealer checked wiring to pcm, allg rounds and electrical connections. nothing found. *tt | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR | |||
| 11/21/2003 | 2 | ||
| Purchased 2003 pt cruiser in oct 02. march 03- check engine light came on and engine idled very rough. brought it in and they said it had a cracked spark plug. fixed? no... june 03 check engine light came on and it idled very rough. brought it in and they said it needed a new alternator. fixed? no. same thing is happening again. check engine light is on and it is idling very rough. *la | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY | |||
| 06/01/2007 | 75000 | 2 | 10/09/2005 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 chrysler pt cruiser. the contact stated that the fog lights activate by themselves and cause her to jump start her battery often. she believes that the cause of failure is the switch control device. the manufacturer advised her to take her vehicle to an authorized dealer and have them diagnose the failure. the contact has not yet gone to the dealer, however, she called them and they told her to bring the vehicle in for inspection. the powertrain and dealer information were unknown. the failure mileage was 75,000 and current mileage was 78,000. | |||
| 05/29/2007 | 3 | 08/18/2005 | |
| I bought my 2003 pt cruiser turbo gt in august 2005. in january 2006, august 2006 and may 2007 i have been stranded due to the battery failing. mechanics are befuttled because charging/starting system checks out okay on diagnostic. *tr | |||
| 05/30/2006 | 5000 | 2 | 10/18/2003 |
| Pt cruiser 2003 fog lights come on without warning, battery runs dead, defective parts etc. $75.75 new battery, labor $110.05 $76.14 new switch, and $129.98 a second time labor for the same problem. chrysler mechanics are aware of this issue and clearly are enjoying the profits. in a one (1) week period. *nm | |||
| 10/21/2005 | 59712 | 1 | 01/22/2003 |
| My 2003 chrysler pt cruiser, gt model, has had problems since i have had it. first, the engine light came on and they replaced a hose, then it came on again, and they said they didn't know what was wrong with, and they would have to wait until it went completely out. it did, at 28,000 miles, it was the turbo charger. secondly, the airbag malfunctioned, they had to replace the seat, took three times to get the right seat. third, now, i would put the car in drive or reverse, and it just sit there, then jerks into gear. sometimes if you give it gas it would just rev up. they said it was the pump in the transmission, they took 4 plus days to replace it. when i picked it up i heard a noise and smell something burning. when i took it out there they didn't hear or smell anything so i was sent on my way. then it started doing the same thing it did when you put it in reverse or drive. i took it in, he said it needed a battery. i put a diehard battery in it, but sears said that was not the problem. then the check the engine light came on, they said it was the evac pump. they fixed that. they claimed that was not covered under the warranty i had when i brought it in two weeks before. now, i hear a grinding when i start the car up, someone said it sounds like the flywheel and they didn't assemble the transmission correctly, and that was probably where the burning smell was coming from. i am taking it in to the shop today for this. *nm | |||
| 09/17/2004 | 30 | 10 | 03/01/2003 |
| Check engine light came on regularly, prompting visits to the dealer. was told i wasn't clicking the gas cap enough times upon closing it. number of times to be clicked started out at 3 and eventually moved up to 7, increasing with each return visit until i screamed in the middle of the service area and they actually fixed the problem by replacing the leak detection pump and the natural vacuum detector. sunroof motor wouldn't run continuously, the switch would have to be pushed repeatedly to get the roof to close, moving a fraction of an inch at a time. this happened on three separate occasions. parts replaced included the switch, the motor, and eventually the entire sunroof motor assembly. the big problem: car wouldn't start, even after being jumped. this happened on five separate occasions during the first 16 months i owned the car. parts replaced include the battery (replaced twice) the starter, the starter relay, and finally the powertrain control module. the car was deemed a lemon under the florida lemon law and i was refunded my money from chrysler under a byback program not arbitrated by the state.*k | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY - CABLES | |||
| 06/15/2007 | 18000 | 1 | 10/14/2002 |
| On the street engine stopped, power steering inoperative, smoke appeared from under the hood. turned the key off. raised the hood, had fire beneath the battery area. dealer stated that a misrouted cable between the battery and starter shorted out, causing the fire which ruined the cabling, battery and starter. chrysler's extended warranty will not cover this damage because the battery cable was not covered. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION | |||
| 09/09/2005 | 1 | 03/31/2003 | |
| I have taken my pt cruiser into dealer 10-12 times for problems that they are unable to correct. there have been parts loose that needed to be tightened, such as belts, hoses, connections and interior parts that have fallen off the car and dealer does not know how to fix. i submitted a complaint to manufacturer and applied for lemon law, but chrysler representative did not listen and took dealer side. they claim they cannot duplicate noises, but i recently found out the shop supervisor who has been checking out my car for the noises has a severe hearing loss and a claim against insurance company for hearing problems. there are high pitch whining noises, squeals and loud screeching noises coming from the engine compartment. the car loses power and seems to hesitate at freeway speeds. there is also a noise that sounds like a train whistle in the distance. i have heard popping sounds in the front end and squealing and screeching sounds from the brakes and under hood is constant. there is also a noise that is heard sometimes in steering and turning. the dealer told me they would replace the power steering unit to see if it would solve the problems and ordered the part. when i took the car in for the service, they said they could not duplicate the noise again and did not do anything. when i step on the brakes the noise is so loud it can be heard for a long distance. it sounds like cars being crushed. the noise is also present in turning corners and driving, but worse in stepping on brakes. the dealer acknowledges a brake problem but say they do not know how to fix it. there have been other problems such as radio/cd player did not work when new, sensor light replaced, rattles under dash, check engine light, etc, but the noises and in-ablility to repair have me worried about serious problems. they hear the noise, but then tell me the mechanic cannot duplicate and do nothing to repair. this has been an ongoing problem since i got the vehicle in 2003. *jb | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - STARTER ASSEMBLY | |||
| 06/15/2007 | 18000 | 1 | 10/14/2002 |
| On the street engine stopped, power steering inoperative, smoke appeared from under the hood. turned the key off. raised the hood, had fire beneath the battery area. dealer stated that a misrouted cable between the battery and starter shorted out, causing the fire which ruined the cabling, battery and starter. chrysler's extended warranty will not cover this damage because the battery cable was not covered. *ak | |||
| 09/17/2004 | 30 | 10 | 03/01/2003 |
| Check engine light came on regularly, prompting visits to the dealer. was told i wasn't clicking the gas cap enough times upon closing it. number of times to be clicked started out at 3 and eventually moved up to 7, increasing with each return visit until i screamed in the middle of the service area and they actually fixed the problem by replacing the leak detection pump and the natural vacuum detector. sunroof motor wouldn't run continuously, the switch would have to be pushed repeatedly to get the roof to close, moving a fraction of an inch at a time. this happened on three separate occasions. parts replaced included the switch, the motor, and eventually the entire sunroof motor assembly. the big problem: car wouldn't start, even after being jumped. this happened on five separate occasions during the first 16 months i owned the car. parts replaced include the battery (replaced twice) the starter, the starter relay, and finally the powertrain control module. the car was deemed a lemon under the florida lemon law and i was refunded my money from chrysler under a byback program not arbitrated by the state.*k | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - STARTER ASSEMBLY - RELAY | |||
| 09/17/2004 | 30 | 10 | 03/01/2003 |
| Check engine light came on regularly, prompting visits to the dealer. was told i wasn't clicking the gas cap enough times upon closing it. number of times to be clicked started out at 3 and eventually moved up to 7, increasing with each return visit until i screamed in the middle of the service area and they actually fixed the problem by replacing the leak detection pump and the natural vacuum detector. sunroof motor wouldn't run continuously, the switch would have to be pushed repeatedly to get the roof to close, moving a fraction of an inch at a time. this happened on three separate occasions. parts replaced included the switch, the motor, and eventually the entire sunroof motor assembly. the big problem: car wouldn't start, even after being jumped. this happened on five separate occasions during the first 16 months i owned the car. parts replaced include the battery (replaced twice) the starter, the starter relay, and finally the powertrain control module. the car was deemed a lemon under the florida lemon law and i was refunded my money from chrysler under a byback program not arbitrated by the state.*k | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING | |||
| 05/13/2005 | 45000 | 1 | 02/10/2003 |
| The multi-function light switch on both the pt cruiser and srt-4 has been known to melt and/or catch fire. dcx has known this has been a problem since the pt came out and now the srt-4 is suffering this same problem. i am now afraid to use my fog lights on my srt-4. *jb | |||
| 02/07/2005 | 1 | ||
| Consumer's vehicle caught on fire while driving. driver was able to pull over, and called the fire department to extinguish the fire. no injuries reported. vehicle was towed and totaled by the insurance company. *ak | |||
| 09/17/2004 | 30 | 10 | 03/01/2003 |
| Check engine light came on regularly, prompting visits to the dealer. was told i wasn't clicking the gas cap enough times upon closing it. number of times to be clicked started out at 3 and eventually moved up to 7, increasing with each return visit until i screamed in the middle of the service area and they actually fixed the problem by replacing the leak detection pump and the natural vacuum detector. sunroof motor wouldn't run continuously, the switch would have to be pushed repeatedly to get the roof to close, moving a fraction of an inch at a time. this happened on three separate occasions. parts replaced included the switch, the motor, and eventually the entire sunroof motor assembly. the big problem: car wouldn't start, even after being jumped. this happened on five separate occasions during the first 16 months i owned the car. parts replaced include the battery (replaced twice) the starter, the starter relay, and finally the powertrain control module. the car was deemed a lemon under the florida lemon law and i was refunded my money from chrysler under a byback program not arbitrated by the state.*k | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - INTERIOR/UNDER DASH | |||
| 4 | |||
| While driving consumer noticed that headlights and dashboard light were flickering off and on. vehicle was serviced three to four times, but dealership was still unable to find proper remedy. *ak | |||