Tl* the contact owns a 2002 chrysler pt cruiser. While parked at a gas station, the vehicle overheated and the contact noticed coolant bubbling on the reservoir. The contact also stated that the cooling fan was not activating. The dealer stated that piston number two failed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was invalid. The approximate failure mileage was 91,000.
2002 Chrysler PT Cruiser engine complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 60, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Our pt cruiser overheated one day after my wife had left work, thankfully she made it home before it got worse. I have replaced all components known to cause overheating problems such as thermostat, radiator, spark plugs and wires, water heater, flushed the block out, even changed the temp sensor. I have also checked all the hoses and gave it an oil change and yet it still over heats. I have researched this problem online and have found that thousands of people are having the same issue.
Ok I am so upset I bought this car 2 years ago it is a 2002 chrysler pt cruiser with a back check from my disability cause I had to have something low to the ground to get in and out of. I have had nothing but problems and I can't afford anymore on this car this is like a brand new car with such low miles I can't get to therapy, doctor's appointments and when you go on all these sights it is the same report overheating for model tears 2001-2005. I have had to take out a loan to have a radiator installed,sensor for fan, thermostat,fan,hoses and it still overheats and now being told that it is a cracked head gasket now tell me how the couple of times it did overheat and was immediately turned off and towed it got into this bad of shape and why so many cruisers have the overheating problems? I am a single mom on disability with no other income and now have to make payments on a car I can't drive. I even as soon as got car had the timing belt changed and whatever else needed for near future just so didn't have that expense later on. I really appreciate the fact I can't go anywhere to necessary appointments for my disability and paying on a car for repairs and now completely down and won't be fixed have been quoted a thousand dollars and already have a loan out for $700 because of other repairs not to mention have loan when bought the car paying on! This isn't right and trust me have plenty of others who can give you their stories! I have a son who will graduate next year only car we have and now he can't go to college! There have been several of them and mine did but thank god did have some bottled water in the car start a small fire in the front this is serious!
As I was driving down the highway my car started to overheat so I pulled over and let it cool down. After adding more coolant to it I started to drive it home only to have it start to overheat again, so parked it at a nearby school and left it over night. Upon getting it the next morning it started right up and I drove it home, when I went to go start it again it wouldn't start. After calling my mechanic and having him look at it he informed me that there was water in the exhaust and I would have to get a new motor. After reading all the complaints on here for the same or similar thing, it makes me wonder why there hasn't been a recall on these systems in this particular car?
Vehicle pulled out of business complex turn in left about a car lengths away from me when he pulled out..attempted to stop but vehicle was too close. No air bags deployed.
Driving at 35mph. Suddenly the engine shut off. The car coasted/rolled down-hill for 1.5 blocks. I stopped at the first red light. The car would not re-start. It began to crank but would never turn the engine over. Checked the oil stick and there was no (zero) oil on the stick. We added 4 quarts of oil. The oil did not leak out of the car. We let the engine cool and tried to start the car. It would not start, it cranked again but didn't turn over. I had the car towed to the mechanic shop.
The ignition key does not stay in when the engine is running. The mechanic who worked on the car in october said he has replaced several ignition switches in this model car. Could it have been manufactured by the same company as those involved in the gm recall? This problem has existed for several years.
Driving down highway oil light came on and the car began to slow down, had to pull over. When checking under the hood there was oil on the cap. Just had an oil change a couple of days ago, car had been running fine.....before this incident my power steering fluid was leaking, took my car to the dealership because there was a recall dealing with the power steering and the hose, they said that it was something else. I took my car to another person he put my car on the lift and there it was fluid leaking from the hose something that should have been fixed by the dealer but wasn't.
Car has been overheating when AC is put on. Overheating while idling sometimes. I have spent over $2000 trying to fix it. It's not head gasket or heads according to 2 shops. I called chrysler, they said no complaints about cooling system have ever been reported. I filed a complaint. Shops have changed everything and can not find the problem. Check engine light stays on even after everything has been replaced. There should be a recall!!
2002 chrysler pt cruiser. Consumer writes in regards to no instrument panel illumination, fuel and oil leaks, brake warning lights comes when applying brakes, inoperative windshield wiper switch. *smd the consumer stated the instrument panel was completely dark and he was unable to see the gauges at night. Updated 05/22/13
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 chrysler pt cruiser. The contact stated that the heater had become inoperable. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic who ran a diagnostic test and advised the contact that the head gasket, timing belt and water pump needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified and the contact filed a complaint. No other assistance was provided. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.
Well maintain pt cruiser blew head gasket going down interstate at 70mph. Caused engine to over heat. Causing the engine to spray boiling water from the water overflow tank back on to the windshield. Car had right at 32,550 miles on it. The spraying water and steam could have caused the driver to lose control and crash.
I unlocked my car doors with remote, and drove to the store, it was dark out so I had my head lights on. When I came out of the store and tried to unlock my car, it would not work. So I manually unlocked the doors with my key. It was very cold weather at that time and my heater would not work as well then I turned on my car to go home, and my lights would not come on. And so I was towed home. The next day I took it in to a chrysler repair shop and they did a quick check on it and said that it might be the electrical and they would have to go through the entire electrical to find the problem. They checked everything out without tearing the entire car apart and said that they could not find a problem with it. There went $100.00 of my money to find out that they could not find the problem. I don't know what else to do to get the car repaired with out having to spend $1,000.00 plus.... Which is a quote by the chrysler repair. I have not been able to drive my car at night, due to no lights and now that we have hot 90 to 101 degree weather, I can not drive my car during this period of time due to not being able to use the air conditioner or to roll my windows down. I have spent over $3,000.00 in repairs for my car and I have only had it for just two years. There is one thing after another with my car, the problems are having to replace parts and sometimes having to replace those same parts a year later when they have just ran out of the warranties. I have service records for all of these problems and it is almost 2 inches thick. I am on disability and it took me over a year to save the enough money to buy this car and I have no more money to fix it again... And I have to take it through deq here in oregon and it will not pass their test due to exhaustion problems with the emissions leaking as well.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 chrysler pt cruiser. The contact stated that the vehicle overheated constantly and the air conditioning was blowing hot air. The contact waited for the temperature on the vehicle to cool off. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who replaced the open circuit fan motor. The failure recurred and the radiator exploded. The failure resulted in two replacements of the radiator fan belt assembly and a repair to the cooling fan ground. The approximate current mileage was 100,600. The failure mileage was 37,678.
My car has decided to "sometimes" not start at the end of the day. It runs just fine in the morning, but then on my return trip home, you turn the key and nothing. The lights go on, but no ignition, no sound of the engine turning over. Three battery replacements, and that is not the problem. Called chrysler personally as directed by a website that sited hundreds of complaints over this exact same problem, but they denied knowledge of any such complaint. Complaints date back to 2002. Tried having our trusted mechanic look at it, but since he can't recreate the problem, he is at a loss. Car has 100k miles and ran fine up until the start of summer.
Premature water pump and timing chain failure 2002 pt cruiser.
Every time I unplug my battery it takes some hours of driving before the fan comes back on and that causes overheating by the time the car's fan start working again. When it over heat it boils the coolant and I would have to put the heater on full blast in order to suppress the overheating. And the power steering hose is on part of the radiator that makes it melt when the coolant gets too hot.
I was driving my 2002 pt cruiser, I was stopped and noticed flames coming from under the hood. I got out and within a minute the car was fully engulfed. The car was completely destroyed. I have pictures of the car after the damage.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 chrysler pt cruiser. While driving 55 MPH, the contact noticed smoke under the hood of the vehicle. She then noticed flames under the hood through the dashboard of the vehicle. The engine turned off, which forced the contact to coast the vehicle to a stop. The passenger of the vehicle injured her nose and wrist while attempting to exit the vehicle. The driver was not injured. The vehicle was diagnosed by the manufacturer and they stated that the failure was not caused by a vehicle defect. The fire department extinguished the fire and a police report was filed. There were no warnings prior to the failure. The current and failure mileages were 71,300.
2002 pt cruiser, was serviced about 3-4 mos prior, running fine, all of a sudden smoke was coming out of the inside of the car vents, I pulled over when I exit the car, I saw smoke and heard something ignite in the hood. There was no warning of anything was wrong with the car, there were no warning lights, there was no stalling of the car, nothing.
Can was due for inspection the check engine light was on the car failed for emissions but the code that was given was for a power steering sector shortly after that on my way to work the car just stopped running as I was driving down the road I pulled over try a few times to start it but it would not start had the car towed to a garage I told that it was the timing belt which I had replaced 2 weeks later drove car for about 30 or 35 mins when I shut the car off I heard the water in the engine boiling there was not warning lights or anything to show that the car was over heated I had to have the car towed again and have not been able to drive it and will not drive it until I cae see about having it repaired again this it getting to be very expensive and is costing me time at work because im a one car owner living in a rural area with not many transportation options.
We purchased a 2002 chrysler pt cruiser with a 4 cylinder engine. After we had it a few month the check engine light came on. We were told it was just needing to be reset. In november of 2007 we took it to puckett dodge in south boston, va for the check engine light and no power. We were told it was the exhaust valve on cylinder #3. We paid them 1700+ to fix it and since january it has been coding on the obd cylinder mis fire on #3. We took it back yesterday and since the miles were over the warranty we would need to pay to have this problem fixed again. We are both retired and just don't have the money to fix a recurring problem that chrysler should have done right the fist time. Maybe the dealership did all they could do and it is just a bad engine but we don't have the time nor the money to help them solve this before it becomes and epidemic.
Cracking dashboard and the cooling fan assembly has failed.
Pt cruiser overheating at idle. No repairs help.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 chrysler pt cruiser. The contact stated that the steering wheel vibrated and she heard a rattling sound coming from underneath the vehicle while it was stationary. She felt that a failed motor mount caused the failure. As of november 8, 2007, the dealer had not completed an inspection. The failure mileage was 75,000 and current mileage was 85,000. Updated 03/13/08. *lj the solenoid pack was leaking. The fog lights were inoperative.
My car overheats just when going slow changed radiator cap thermostat cleaned radiator still overheats.
2002 pt cruiser, regularly maintained and with 50, 000 miles on it currently had an episode of overheating. When checked, one of the soft plugs (freeze plugs) had rusted through and all the coolant had leaked out. Plug was replaced, correct coolant put in, ran fine for 2 weeks. Overheated again, stopped driving it and had the radiator flushed and new cap installed. Driving home (30 minutes) overheated worse than before flush and new cap. New mechanic says needs a new radiator (leaking and clogged) and the #1 cylinder has water in it so the head must be replaced. The mechanic said this is the 2nd 2002 they've seen in 2 weeks, and he's done 5 others this year. And this is not a large city - and only one mechanic. May forums seems to be filling with messages about this overheating issue and the warping of the aluminum heads. Poorly designed and out of warranty?
Fire in engine department.
Bought a 2002 pt cruise new. Before the 3 year warranty ran out the water pump had to be replaced and at the 36,000 mark the head gasket had to be replaced. Now at just over 60,000 the water pump again had to be replaced. Now I noticed it is starting to run on the hot side. I am so afraid it is the head gasket again.
Tl* - the contact has a 2002 pt cruiser. The contact's pt cruiser stalled while driving 45 miles an hour. There were no indicator or service lights. The contact checked the vehicle for leaks and the hoses for damage. She did not smell any fluids and no visible damage was apparent. The dealer informed the contact today that the fuel pump is in the transmission and it was damaged. The mileage at the time of the incident is 40,000. The contact is not the original owner of the vehicle.
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