2003 Chrysler PT Cruiser: fire, smoke or burning smell

Filed Jun 28, 2026 · Seats · VA · fire

The front passenger seat heating system experienced a catastrophic electrical malfunction. While the vehicle was started and parked in our driveway, the front passenger seat suddenly developed an extreme hot spot and became engulfed in flames even though the heated seat switch was in the OFF position and had not been activated. The failed heated seat component has been retained and is available for inspection. The vehicle has not been inspected by a dealer or service center because the incident occurred at our residence and the vehicle is currently undriveable due to burned electrical wiring. Attempting to start or operate the vehicle could result in an electrical short because of the exposed and damaged wiring caused by the fire. Both the local police department and fire department responded to the scene and inspected the vehicle. There were no warning lights, warning messages, unusual odors, or prior symptoms indicating a problem before the fire occurred. This incident represents a significant fire hazard because the heated seat ignited without being turned on. Had this occurred while the vehicle was being driven or while occupants were seated in the vehicle, it could have resulted in serious injury or death due to burns, smoke inhalation, or loss of vehicle control. Likewise, had the vehicle been parked inside an attached garage, the fire could have spread to the residence and placed lives at risk.

Filed Sep 15, 2024 · Electrical · NC

WHen the fog lights are engaged, smoke and burning smell appears to be coming inside the steering wheel on the left side.

Filed Jan 6, 2022 · Seats · ND · fire

Was warming my car up and drove 2 miles to my mom's house and turned it off. Came out about 30 minutes later and the car was full of smoke. Aired out the car and noticed a burnt hole in the middle of the passenger seat. The seat warmer had malfunction and started the seat on fire. Even with the vehicle turned off.

Filed May 23, 2018 · Electrical, Lights · 140,000 miles · VA

Vehicle was parked. Turned off. Multifunction switch that had been replaced previoulsy malfunctioned again. Fog lights just came on out of nowhere luckily I turned around and noticed it. When I opened my car door I noticed the switch was smoking. After some quick thinking I pulled the fuse. If I had not thought of this I belive it would have caught my car on fire and the ones parked next to it. I have had the fuse pulled for a year. Flash forward to my current state in va and it's inspection time. I failed for a faulty function switch. The guys replaced the switch first stoplight I come to no signal. Took it back to garage they said switch was bad out of the box. After this epidemic this will be the 4th multifunction switch that I know of installed on this car. How in the world has this part not been recalled yet. Please do something!

Filed Mar 17, 2017 · Engine · 168,000 miles · VA · fire

My car caught fire under the hood while I was backing out a driveway and then the whole car just burned to total loss of it and it caught fire down in the bottom of the engine.

Filed Jun 7, 2016 · Engine · 85,000 miles · OH · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chrysler pt cruiser. After starting the engine, smoke was present under the hood. After driving a short distance, the driver pulled over, looked under the hood, and discovered flames coming from the engine. The fire department extinguished the flames. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 85,000.

Filed Jun 10, 2015 · Engine, Fuel system · 85,000 miles · CA · fire

Car stopped at red light. Engine died and smoke began to rise from engine compartment, then flames shot out. Driver could not get door open at first then after short time locks released and driver was able to escape. Fire department extinguished flames and said fire appeared to be started by fluid leakage. This model had been subject to recall due to fires. Car had recall fix on 9/23/04. It now appears the recall fixes were not permanent and the original problem can recur. It is potentially life threatening. Attempts to discuss the problem with chrysler were unsuccessful. Chrysler stone walled and falsely rigged their response procedure so as to avoid any responsibility. Chrysler refused to allow me to speak with any person in a position of authority. The clerks I spoke with stated that someone would be in touch with me. Finally after three attempts to speak with someone at chrysler, and after more than one month from original contact, a letter dated may 13, 2015 was received from chrysler stating they had tried numerous times to contact us and the claim would be dropped if we did not respond in 10 days. This quite simply is a lie! No attempt was ever made to contact us, even after we contacted chrysler on three occasions asking to speak with someone. The letter instructed us to contact dekra automotive to arrange an inspection. We did and gave them all the information once again. We offered to send photos of the damage but dekra was not interested. On may 27 we received a letter stating they were unable to inspect the car since it had been sold (salvaged) and were closing the file. Thus, chrysler had created circumstances through obfuscation and manipulating the response time which they felt relieved them of any responsibility, even the need to discuss the issue with us. This fire hazard still exists.

Filed Mar 4, 2015 · Electrical · 201,561 miles · MO · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chrysler pt cruiser. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled and then caught fire without warning. The contact did not disclose if a police report was filed or not. The details of who extinguished the fire were unknown. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 201,561.

Filed Feb 4, 2015 · Electrical, Lights · 140,000 miles · GA

The wiring harness melted, which caused the multifunction switch to burn out and running tail lights to not work properly. Replaced multifunction switch and burning smell came from steering column. Pulled new multifunction switch and noticed melted connectors.

Filed Feb 24, 2014 · Brakes · 33,500 miles · FL

We were in stop & go traffic for an hour, the right front brake seized up and stuck on. Smelled burning brake smell. Got home and let sit and cool for 5 hours, all was ok. What has caused this ? Garaged kept, low mileage, car babied.

Filed Jun 13, 2012 · Engine, Steering · 37,000 miles · PA · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chrysler pt cruiser. The contact stated the power steering hose was leaking on the engine. The contact also heard a loud noise and the smell of burning fumes emitting into the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who diagnosed that the hose and motor mount needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not offer any assistance since her vehicle was not included in any recalls. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 37,000 and the current mileage was 42,000.

Filed Nov 24, 2009 · Electrical, Lights · 85,000 miles · WA

1. I generally drive our 2003 chrysler pt cruiser with the fog lights on during the day, and the headlights at night. This means I was turning the fog light switch on the turn signal unit several times a day. 2. Beginning early in 2009 I experienced times when the fog lights would not turn off with the switch without a lot of cycling, or the fog lights would turn themselves on when the door closed. The vibration of the vehicle made that happen. Then, when trying to get the fog lights to turn off, the switch began to smoke. Turning off the car cleared that, so I stopped using the fog lights. The turn signals and headlight portion of the switch worked fine. 3. I contacted the chrysler dealership and was told they were out of the switch. I then contacted a local auto maintenance company I have used in the past and trust. They quoted me a better service price, and that the switch was backordered. There were over 5000 switches on backorder and it was six months after the order was placed before we received the switch and had it installed. My concern is two fold: 1. The 5000 may well have been the tip of the iceberg in terms of failures, and 2. If I had not been sitting there, would the lights, after coming on by themselves have cause the switch to actually catch the vehicle on fire? I thought that the brief time I was smoke should have been enough to blow the fuse, but it didn't.