2002 Chrysler PT Cruiser: adaptive cruise control problems

Filed Aug 20, 2010 · Acceleration · 84,042 miles · ME

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 chrysler pt cruiser. The contact was driving 20 MPH when the cruise control light illuminated and independently activated. The vehicle began to increase in speed and there was an unusual increase in engine rpms. The contact was able to disengage the cruise control by depressing the brakes and manually deactivating the mechanism. The contact stated that he had also encountered unintended acceleration while in park. The dealer advised having a diagnostic performed on the vehicle. The vehicle was neither diagnosed nor repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 84,042. Updated 11/19/10. *lj the computer was replaced. Updated 12/02/10

Filed Jun 23, 2010 · Acceleration · 50,000 miles · WI

The cruise control turns on by itself, causing the car to accelerate. After turning the cruise control off, it comes back on several seconds later, and accelerates! Very scary and dangerous! This happens every time it's driven. The car was taken to a dealer for service, and they just called saying they had completed updates to the car's computer system, and it doesn't seem to malfunction anymore. They are going to keep the car for another day, and drive it around periodically, to see if it's solved, and I'll get it back tomorrow.

Filed Aug 23, 2007 · Acceleration · MI

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 chrysler pt cruiser. While driving 55 MPH the cruise control light turned on. The vehicle suddenly accelerated to 65 MPH. The brake was applied and the vehicle slowed down. The vehicle was pulled over for a few minutes and turned off. He restarted the vehicle and drove home. The dealer was able to duplicate the failure, however; they were unable to determine what caused the failure. The engine size and failure mileage were unknown. The current mileage was 94,266.

Filed Jun 15, 2006 · Acceleration · MA

2002 chrysler pt cruiser brakes failed. *kb when the consumer applied the brake to release the cruise control, the vehicle did not reduce speed. Eventually, the consumer was able to bring the vehicle to a manageable speed until she reached the highway. The vehicle would not reduce speed below 2000 RPM.

Filed May 20, 2002 · Acceleration · RI

Unpredictabley, when I 'click' the cruise control lever to slow down, it will acelerate, creating unexpected and occasionally dangerous situations. It has been reported to the dealer at least 5 times. The old service mgr refused to deal with it, blaming me. The new service mgr took it in, tested, and 'repaired' it. The frequency of this unpredictable resonse has gone down, but it still happens. It shouldn't be this way. Two notes: my previous car had an almost identical control arrangement, a very good one, so I am familiar with using it to control my speed. And, there is a long response time before the cruise control system responds to almost any 'command'. Thhis by itself can be irritating. I don't know I the two are related. Thank you. Jsl.