1996 Chrysler Concorde: harsh or hard shifting

Filed Sep 22, 2007 · Steering · 111,765 miles · CA

I recently purchased a 1996 chrysler concorde from an individual party. 2 days after I bought the car, my boyfriend had parked along the street in front of a friends house for a moment, and had just began to pull away from the curb, when he heard a clunking noise. At the same time, he was turning the steering wheel to the left, away from the curb, but the car just kept going straight. Luckily, he was going at a very low speed, so no one was injured. After stopping the car, he looked underneath the vehicle as well as under the hood, and found that the bolts from the rack and pinion steering mechanism had been completely sheared off. They had snapped in half, leaving part of the bolts inside of the unit. I thank god that no one was hurt, and that my 12 year old son wasn't in the car when this happened. I don't have the money for repairs, since I just spent all the money I had buying this vehicle, so I haven't even looked into what this is going to cost me. I truly hope that chrysler accepts responsibility for this problem before even more people are injured or killed.

Filed Apr 2, 2004 · Steering · 140,000 miles · MA

I own a 1996 chrysler concorde which has been giving me steering problems for the past couple of years. I first noticed it during the winter months on very cold days when I would leave for work in the morning. As soon as I pulled out of the driveway and made even the slightest turn of the wheel there would be some loud popping noises and the steering was stiff. Once the car warmed up the steering was more fluid and the noise would diminish. These symptoms have continued and now I seem to experience them even in warmer temperatures. Recently I have noticed that whenever I am applying the brakes and turning the wheel I hear a clunking noise as if something is breaking. I have also noticed that the steering wheel is no longer straight when the vehicle is traveling in a straight line which indicates an alignment is in order. I brought my car to my mechanic this morning and after inspecting it he informed me that the rack & pinion bushings are bad and need to be replaced. He specifically said the problem is where the rack & pinion connect to the body. He also said he does not have the necessary tool(s) to repair this so he referred me to a chrysler dealership where I called and was informed the repair would be a minimum of $1650 perhaps more depending on if struts and mounts were also needed. I am placing this complaint with the federal safety agency because I found several other complaints listed on the federal safety agency website from other consumers who have had the same experience with their 1996 chrysler concorde's. It is my sincere hope that daimler-chrysler will address this issue and compensate it's customers for any/all costs related to this apparent defect in manufacturing.

Filed Jan 12, 2004 · Steering · 45,000 miles · OH

Well as I can tell this is a wide spread problem the rack and pinion, bushings and steering gear failure and tie rod ends. My concord has had a clunk grinding sound for sometime in the steering and now the car is beginning to not turn when I turn the steering wheel. Not every one has a $1000.00 to $2000.00 to get this fixed what will it take to get chrysler to fix the problem a school bus full of children getting hit buy one of the many chrysler cars with the same steering problem on the road. Please help before someone gets killed if not already.

Filed Jul 3, 2002 · Brakes, Steering · PA

Consumer states the right front strut was replaced, the right rear strut was leaking, also there was a clunking noise coming from the steering, the dealer replaced the front sway bar.

Filed Feb 28, 2000 · Steering · MD

When turning the steering wheel to the right or left the vehicle made a metal like grinding sound and a clunk. Dealer has replaced rack and pinion steering. Since repairs, problem has not ocurred. *ak