2004 Chrysler Sebring: harsh or hard shifting

5 of the 220 complaints about the 2004 Chrysler Sebring describe harsh or hard shifting.

owner complaints: 5
of this car's complaints: 2%
recalls: 0

Is there a fix? 12 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Harsh or hard shifting by model year

2010
1
2008
1
2007
1
2006
1
2004
5
2002
2
2001
4
2000
1
1996
3

What owners say

Filed Aug 14, 2009 · Transmission, Wheels · 72,300 miles · MA

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 chrysler sebring. While driving approximately 20 MPH downhill, the contact heard a loud clunking noise outside of the vehicle. The vehicle stopped without warning. The contact pulled the vehicle over near the sidewalk and noticed that the front passenger side tire was detached from the vehicle. There were no injuries. Roadside assistance was called to the scene and the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The technician stated that the failure was contributed to the cv joints, axle, and rim. The vehicle was repaired. The failure and current mileages were 72,300.

Filed Nov 3, 2008 · Transmission · 27,000 miles · WA

I bought the car used at in 2005 with 23k miles. After about a month we noticed a hard shift problem between 1st and 2nd mainly. We took the car in for repairs several time but the dealer claimed they couldn't find a problem. Finally they acknowledged the problem and did a partial rebuild on the transmission. After about two weeks the problem resurfaced and the dealers still could not find the problem. I tried a different dealer just after the car hit 36k and they also claimed no problem and charged me for the service since it was just out of warranty. The driving lights also quit just after the warranty ran out. At this point I'm just living with the problem because the dealers can't seem to find the problem.

Filed Mar 7, 2006 · Body · 31,332 miles · GA

My vehicle has a loud rattle/clunk coming from the other side of the firewall. My car has been in the repair shop twice with no results. The service manager heard the noise during a test drive with me, but now claims that there are no noises in my car "out of the norm". I am concerned that this could be something serious, since no one gas determined the problem. Chrysler corporation will not get involved because they are claiming that it is a dealer problem.

Filed Jun 13, 2004 · Suspension, Transmission · TX

I have just bought a chrysler sebring 2004, and experienced some problems. I have not been to teh dealer yet for them, just wanted to conform the problem first. I did a search online and saw this website an dthe I agreed with all the complaints already on here. 1). The car idles badly, and when slowing down at a light or while u have your foot on the brake, the vehicle will jump forward suddenly! I almost hit the car in front of me. This has happened twice so far. I have 128 miles on my car. After reading same complaints on this website, I am affraid that the dealer will not be able to fix this, which is pathetic that a 30000 dollar car would have something like this that is so annoying. 2. When u are decellerating with ur foot on brake to stop at a stop light for example, just before the RPM needle reaches teh idle point at "1" almost.. It will suddenly go back up to about 1.5 and then come back to 1. I dont know if its bad gear shifting by teh autotran or just bad timming adjustement? But its annoying, cuz it make teh car jump a little if you are soft braking. 3). Twice already the engine just dies.. And I think thsi is related to the previous two problems. I was backing up in my parking at hime.. And as soon as I put gear in reverse.. The RPM sudeenly dropped.. And eventually engine shut down. Same thing happened when I pulled up to the parking entrance at work to show my access card, and when I put it in p, the RPM dropped causing the car to stall. 4). Transmission makes clunk sound sometimes while driving when changing from n to d. Or when I do a cold start in teh morning and then put teh gear in d, as soon as I move teh car an inch.. It makes thsi sound.. Somethimes looks liek coming from teh front end not the tran.. I donno what that is. But this also has been reported by other people on this same site, no one is hurt but I see my self bumping someone in future sooo clearly.!!

Filed May 9, 2004 · Transmission · 9,300 miles · TX

Ongoing issue with 2004 chrysler sebring convertible (limited edition) automatic transmission "clunking when changing gears", "not engaging gear selected" and twice transmission shift to high, then lower gear resulting in vechicle surging. First time this happened it caused the car to jerk straight forward (was in a curve) toward a bridge abutment. Second time the surging occured, was slowing down for a red light with a car in front of me. I barely missed hitting the car in front of me. Dealer replaced transmission pump, then notified me that the shift cable was broken. It was replaced. Vehicle continues all symptoms described, including new problem with clunking when shifted from park. This is new and was identified by dealer service department on 5/5/04. Dealer says they can't identify the cause so repairs cannot be made. I took the car back within days of taking possession in august 2003 only to be told that it was new and needed some time to break in.