2000 Chrysler LHS: ball joint or control arm failure

Filed Feb 17, 2012 · Steering · 96,500 miles · PA

For some time now when I would start my car ,I would hear a banging sound and feel the steering wheel move. I took the car for service and tie rod ends and I think center link were replaced . It was fine for a while and than I started to get a grinding noise when the wheel was turned. Took it in for service and nothing could be found. On feb. 16th 2012 I was leaving work and noticed the grinding and banging had increased. My route home consists mostly of right turns. It is when I attempted to make a left turn off a busy bridge ,to my horror the wheel would not turn left, it took every ounce of my strength to finally get the wheel to turn. I drove slowly the remainder of my trip home, each time a left turn came I had to use all my strength to turn the wheel. I could not park the car properly on my arrival as my strength was gone and I was extremely emotional. I talked to a co-worker with the same vehicle and he is having a similar problem but continues to drive as he can muscle the wheel.

Filed Feb 6, 2012 · Steering, Suspension · 99,000 miles · NY

Tl* the contact owns a 2000 chrysler lhs. The contact was driving 45 MPH when the power steering failed and the front driver side control arm detached from the vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired and the VIN was unavailable. The failure and the current mileages were 99,000.

Filed Jan 17, 2012 · Acceleration, Electrical · 17,000 miles · IL

I purchased my vehicle as a pre-certified car with only 14,100 original miles in june of 2003. On 4/4/2004 my vehicle speedometer sensor failed causing my vehicle to be place in a safety mode of no more than 25 miles an hour..(felt like the transmission dropped). Then a year later around the same time, my power steering pump failed and almost causing me an accident. I have also repaired the cradle bushing 3 times since owning this vehicle and now I have to replace them again. I also just recently (dec. Of 2011) had all the struts complete assembly replaced with both lower control arms with ball joints. Replaced both upper outer tie rods, both lateral links. I am constantly replacing my tires before there warranty time and replacing front-end brake pads. Also my seat belts are defective and not working properly. The rear defroster/antenna module started smoking and melted causing my defroster not to work anymore. I have been having nothing but problem with this vehicle since day one, with no help or concern from chrysler. The bumper to bumper warranty I had purchased for the vehicle did not cover any of these failed parts. I also tried getting the recall parts replaced and was told by several dealerships that my car was not part of the recall because I have a sunroof lhs. I am constantly having to replace front-end suspension parts that keep failing on this vehicle. This vehicle only had 1 owner before me. I have receipts for all updated maintenance and repairs for this vehicle. Chrysler has denied me of any failed parts, warranty parts and recalls for the vehicle. This is just the beginning of the issues with this vehicle, there are other issues as well but will not be able to fit it on this form.

Filed Sep 24, 2007 · Brakes, Electrical · 78,000 miles · NY

Steering issues, noise in wheel area while driving, loss of traction control and ABS, tie rods to be replaced, play in steering wheel, vehicle shifts heavy while rolling over a bump, dome lights go on sporadically, fuel gauge drops to e and goes back up all the time, tires worn and they were brand new.

Filed Jul 24, 2007 · Steering · 54,848 miles · NE

On july 15, 2007, I entered my chrysler lhs to drive home from a local business parking lot. After starting the car and slightly turning the steering wheel, I heard a "pop", "pop". I thought that I had a blow out and checked the wheels. All were ok. I tried again to turn the steering wheel and it turned freely from right to left and back with no effort what so ever. Checked the front wheels after turning steering wheel fully to the left and found the wheels pointed straight ahead. Left the car overnight and the next day had it transported to baxter chrysler for repair. They found that the bolts holding the steering assembly to the frame had broken and as a result caused the tie rods, steering gear and associated parts to break including the rack. This is the second catastrophic failure of the steering assembly on this car. See complaint filed 6/20/2006, odi # 10160292. As in the previous incident, I or my wife was lucky that we were not driving at highway speeds when this failure occurred.

Filed Sep 5, 2006 · Steering, Suspension · 73,000 miles · CT

Dt*: the contact stated while traveling 50 MPH, a very loud noise was heard when the vehicle hit a bump in the road, vibrated, and shifted to the right. The dealership determined the right inner tie rod, rack and pinion, bushings and sway bar were bad. The rear bushings, sway bar, strut and strut mount were also bad.

Filed Jun 20, 2006 · Steering · 41,468 miles · NE

I towed my 2000 chrysler lhs on a two-wheel tow dolly behind my rv from papillion, ne to fort benning, ga. Since there were no pull-through sites available when I arrived at the campground at ft. Benning, I had to remove the car from the dolly so I could back the rv in. Once off the dolly, I found that I couldn't drive forward. Both front tires were facing in different directions. Next morning car was transported to a chrysler dealer in columbus, ga who repaired the steering. Turns out that the inner tie rods separated from the rack-n-pinion assembly. The power steering rack had been replaced by baxter chrysler of omaha, ne on aug 24, 2004. Dealer rep in ga indicated that if I had been driving when the parts separated, the car would have rolled and I and my wife could have been killed. For approximately 9 - 12 months prior to this incident in ga, I had complained to baxter of noises in the steering when making slow speed turns and steering wheel vibration at highway speeds. Baxter couldn't find anything wrong. Improper repairs back in aug 04 may have caused separation of parts.

Filed Apr 1, 2005 · Body · 54,000 miles · OH

There was a problem with the front end of the car before I bought it, I was told by the dealer that everything was checked and all it needed was a rotate and tire balance.a few months later I take it in to have it checked becuase it has gotten worse. All left turns would make the driver side slam down like I hit a pothole and it made teribble noises going over bumps. A different dealer told me I needed four new tie rods and a rack & pinion. I had those replaced, the tie rods were not under warranty, I also had the AC compressor, transmission service,and transmission cooler lines replaced. The repairs did not make a difference, and the service department tells me oh we should have told you about the other problems,cradle bushings and sway bar links. I knew this service depatment was not worth the troubles so I took the car to my personal mechanic. He found the rear cradle bushings were gone, there was nothing protecting the cradle, the sway bar links were ok. I had new cradle bushings installed but the front is still shakey and the steering has become worse since a new rack & pinion was installed. The car wonders on the freeway, shakes at all speeds and there are stiff spots in my steering. I have the old bushings, not the other parts that were replaced.

Filed Dec 13, 2004 · Steering, Suspension · 93,000 miles · NY

The upper ball joints and the tie rods malfunctioned.