Chrysler 300M fire or smoke problems

Filed Feb 2, 2016 · Electrical · 115,000 miles · IN · fire

After starting my car before work in the morning, the drivers steering column/dash area burst into flames that were bright blue/white in color and unable to extinguish. The fire department report stated an electrical fire in the drivers dash area or steering column. This fire engulfed my entire car very quickly, and nearly burnt down my house! The car was in my driveway about 6 feet from my home. As it was burning, I heard the engine keep restarting itself as if something was going on with the ignition cylinder or system. It was stationary. Please help!

Filed May 12, 2014 · Engine · 125,000 miles · FL · fire · 1 injury

On my way to work on may 8th 2014, my battery light came on. In a split second decision I decided to go to work instead of coffee first to call a mechanic and within 2 minutes my car had died. Smoke was coming in through my vents and I had witnesses yelling at me to get away from my car it was on fire. In the 5 minutes it took the fire department to get there, the front of my car was gone. I had little to no warning of this and have since found that chrysler was aware of this problem with no recall of the vehicle. I am very thankful that my children were not with me that day and thankful that the only injury to me was smoke/fume inhalation.

Filed Aug 9, 2013 · Electrical · CA · fire

Tl-the contact owns a 2001 chrysler 300. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, she noticed flames and smoke emitted from underneath the hood. The vehicle was maneuvered to the side of the road. The driver exited the vehicle immediately without sustaining any injury. The fire department extinguished the fire. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The cause of failure had not been determined. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The failure mileage and VIN were unavailable. Js

Filed Feb 22, 2012 · Seats · 130,000 miles · MI · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 chrysler 300m. While driving approximately 30 MPH, the contact noticed that the right side of the front driver's side seat back rest was on fire and burning a hole through his coat. The contact was not injured. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The technicians were unable to diagnose the failure and advised the contact that there was no defect in the seat heater. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000.

Filed Nov 5, 2010 · Engine · IL · fire

There were no eventa leading up to the failure- my chrysler 300 m had been sitting in our garage for 4 hours.. And started on fire, which then caught our house on fire ( which we owned 19 days) , resulting in a total loss of our home, the vehicle, and 2 outside buildings- deemed a total loss.

Filed Jan 7, 2009 · Brakes, Steering · 104,000 miles · FL · crash · fire · 1 injury

December 20th 2008 accident occurred. Vehicle started on fire and was totaled on the right passenger side. Inner tie rods and bushings were replaced not even two weeks before along with two tires and brakes. Vehicle pulled to the left while in an intersection. A truck coming from the opposite direction hit the vehicle on the front left passenger side and the hood. Vehicle was in a 180 degree position with little damage to the left side.

Filed Feb 9, 2008 · Electrical, Transmission · 112,809 miles · CA

I recently purchased a used 1999 chrysler 300m. I had no problems with the car for the first couple of months. After about 3 months I noticed the interior lights began to turn on and off by themselves. Shortly after that my factory stereo went out. The next thing I noticed was the transmission slipping. After that my driver and passenger side speakers went out. After that my headlights began turning on and off by themselves when the car was parked and turned off. After that my heating unit would come on automatically whenever I would start the car. I've noticed a slight burning smell inside the car once I've started it up. My heated seats work when they want to. There's a whistling noise underneath the hood. My engine sounds loud now. There's a strange noise coming from the rear wheel on the driver side. It sounds like something electrical is shorting out. Its has a dense high pitched sound. Sometimes when I'm driving at night and I have my headlights on they will flicker on and off. When I try to start the car the engine struggles to turn over. It seems as if either my battery is dying or my alternator has had it. The car has died on me before while I was driving it. There is a mysterious electrical problem with these chrysler 300m cars. I've taken my car to several mechanics and none of them could pinpoint the exact cause of all these problems I'm having with the car. I guess I'm '!@#$%. I can't afford to pay for all of these defects and I no longer have a warranty on the car. Yeah, I'm really !@#$%.

Filed Aug 3, 2007 · Engine · 110,000 miles · VA · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 1999 chrysler 300m. On july 29, 2007, while parked in the driveway for five hours, the vehicle caught fire. The vehicle and three other vehicles were destroyed. The driveway sustained property damage. A fire report was filed. The powertrain was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 110,000.

Filed Feb 14, 2007 · Seats · 90,000 miles · CO

My wife was driving our 2001 300m when she smelled something burning in the car ,the lights started flashing,and it smelled so hot that she was afraid the car was going to catch on fire. She stopped and could not find the source at the time. After she got home we discovered that the heated drivers seat had shorted out and started to burn the seat back before power was cut off to the heating element. We took the car to the dealership to complain about a possible fire hazard. The service manager did not seem to concerned and would not cover repairs because it was out of warranty. It was never repaired.

Filed Mar 12, 2006 · Brakes · 67,500 miles · TN

Today I was driving my vehicle at a speed of about 50 MPH. I was coming upon a intersection and the light had just turned red. There were other vehicles traveling along the road in the same and opposite direction as I was. There were two lanes in each direction. Approximately 2 vehicles in front of me coming up to the light. As I began to stop my brakes completely failed. I tried pumping them, but got very little help from my brakes. Thinking quickly I moved into the second lane, that had no other vehicles. However it was very close for me to have rear ended the driver in front of me. I was traveling with my two children. I thought may be my brakes were wet. So I continued driving, but was cautious. As I came up to the next opportunity to stop, I encountered the same problem. However this time, smoke came billowing from my hood. I had about 3 more miles to make it home, so I continued home and there was no accident. However my husband inspected my vehicle and said that the brake line was burnt by the catalytic converter. He said it looked as if they brake line was installed to close to the converter. He felt this was a hazard. This incident could have turned out very differently, had I had hit another driver. Luckily we were safe and now have the opportunity to fix this manufacturing defect. I hope chrysler recognizes this defect and notifies other owners, as people could be seriously hurt without brakes!!