Owner-reported complaints naming the driver-assistance system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming forward-collision avoidance, lane keeping, back-over prevention, cruise control and related electronic driver-assistance systems. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2009 Chrysler Pt Cruiser submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 18 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
INTERMITTENTLY ALL DASH LIGHTS COME ON AND ALL GAUGES BEGIN FLUCTUATING AND THE CAR WILL BEGIN TO SPUTTER AND SOMETIMES DIES AND THEN IT DOESN'T DO IT AGAIN FOR MILES
MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, ALL THE LIGHTS ON DASH ILLUMINATE WHEN THE CAR IS FIRST STARTED, SOMETIMES FLASHING ON AND THEN OFF WHEN DRIVING. IF DRIVING, SOMETIMES THE CAR WILL EITHER ACCELERATE OR SLOW DOWN. BECAUSE THE SPEEDOMETER GOES BACK AND FORTH, I HAVE NO IDEA HOW FAST I'M GOING. IF I SLOW DOWN WHEN APPROACHING A RED LIGHT OR TO MAKE A TURN, THE CAR HAS CUT OFF. LOOKING ONLINE, THIS APPEARS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM OF PT CRUISER OWNERS, YET I'VE NEVER SEEN A RECALL. DIAGNOSTICS RAN A FEW TIMES AND NO READING SHOWS UP. ONLY TOLD, IT APPEARS TO BE AN ELECTRICAL ISSUE.
I WAS IN A HWY. ALL OF A SUDDEN, ALL THE GAUGES LIGHT UP AND I LOST POWER. I PUSH THE GAS PEDAL BUT NO ACCELERATION. I MANAGED TO PARK ON THE SIDE. I TURNED OFF THE ENGINE AND RESTARTED THE CAR AGAIN. THIS HAPPENED JUST 3 WEEKS AFTER I BOUGHT THE CAR. IT HAPPENED AGAIN ONE MONTH LATER. IT HAS BEEN NOW ONE WEEK LATER. I AM AFRAID IT IS GOING TO HAPPEN AGAIN. IT IS A VERY SAFETY HAZARD SINCE I ALWAYS TRAVEL ON A BUSY HIGHWAY.
ALL WARNING LIGHTS FLASH WHILE DRIVING, CAR DIES THEN RESTARTS, VERY DANGEROUS IN TRAFFIC. CHRYSLER CAN'T FIND THE ISSUE, TOOK IT MECHANICS THEY CAN'T FIND THE ISSUE. SEEMS LIKE THERE ARE 100'S OF ISSUES WITH MANY DIFFERENT YEARS OF THE PT CRUISER HOWEVER CHRYSLER IS IGNORING AND THERE IS NOTHING TO FIX. SOME DAYS THIS HAPPENS A LOT THEN IT WILL GO 3 OR 4 DAYS WITHOUT.
I'VE HAD MY PT CRUISER FOR ATLEAST 3 YEARS NOW. TODAY AS I WAS DRIVING ALL THE LIGHTS STARTED GOING ON AND OFF ON THE DASH BOARD AND WAS ACTING AS IF IT WERE GOING TO STALL OUT. HOWEVER , EVERY TIME I HIT THE GAS THE MPH GAUGE WOULD GO UP. HOWEVER MY GAUGES ON MY DASH BOARD HAD STOPPED WORKING UNTIL I'D HIT THE GAS PETAL AGAIN. IT DID THIS FOR AT LEAST A FEW MINUTES I WAS ON A BUSY ROAD WHEN IT HAPPENED AND WAS NOT ABLE TO PULL OFF THE ROAD. I'VE BEEN HEARING A LOT OF RUMORS GOING ON ABOUT PT CRUISERS LOSING POWER AND LOCKING UP ON PEOPLE AND BAD THINGS HAPPENING I THINK CHRYSLER NEEDS TO GET ON THE BALL AND FIX THESE ISSUES WITH THEIR VEHICLES SINCE WE ARE ONLY THE ONES THAT BUY THEM UNDER FAITH OF SAFETY. I HAD THIS HAPPEN ONE OTHER TIME WHEN I FIRST GOT IT BUT I DIDN'T THINK NOTHING OF IT. THE ISSUE SEEMS TO BE HAPPENING MORE AND MORE OFTEN. IT'S NOT EVEN AT 100,000 MILES YET AND I AM HAVING THIS MANY ISSUES. THIS PT CRUISER NEEDS TO BE RECALLED! ME OR MY CHILDREN BEST NOT GET HURT IT THIS THING DUE TO CHRYSLER'S NEGLECT ON THIS ISSUE. I'VE SEEN MANY PEOPLE COMPLAIN ABOUT THIS ISSUE AND NOTHING BEING DONE. WHO HAS TO DIE BEFORE IT'S RESOLVED?!? I WOULD'VE HAD PICTURES BUT THE LIGHTS TURNED OFF AND IT WENT BACK TO NORMAL BEFORE I WAS ABLE TO TAKE A SNAP SHOT OR VIDEO OF IT. BECAUSE IF I LOSE POWER AGAIN AND IT MALFUNCTIONS AND ME OR MY KIDS GET HURT WHEN CHRYSLER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED AND THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING THERE WILL BE A LAW SUIT. IF I HAD KNOWN THIS ISSUE WOULD OCCUR I WOULD HAVE NEVER BOUGHT IT, INFACT I'M STILL PAYING ON IT FOR ANOTHER 2 YRS.
DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, ALL WARNING LIGHTS FLASH ON AND OFF, THEN ALL GUAGES GO UP AND DOWN DRAMATICALLY, THE LOSS OF POWER, CAR COMES TO STOP BUT ENGINE DOESN'T DIE. TURN OFF ENGINE, THEN ON THEN SAME THING 2-3 MORE X ON WAY HOME. DANGEROUS. DUE TO FAULTY TIPM MADE BY CHRYSLER? THIS HAS HAPPENED 20 DIFFERENT DAYS IN LAST MONTH, ALSO BATTERY DEAD ONCE, ENGINE COOLING FAN FAILED TWICE, REAR TAILLIGHTS BLEW FROM ELECTRICAL SURGES 3X, TWICE POWER WINDOW WOULDN'T GO. TAKEN INTO SHOP TWO DIFF. OCCASIONS BUT CAN'T REPEAT PROBLEM SO THEY CAN'T FIX IT. HELP! CAR WAS ON HIGHWAY SEVERAL TIMES AND ON 30-40 MPH STREETS OTHER TIMES.
I'M DRIVING THE CAR AND ALL THE DASH LIGHTS INSTRUMENT CLUSTER LIGHTS COME ON & OFF BLINKING . ALL THE HANDS LIKE FUEL HAND AND RPM START BLINKING UP AND DOWN. IT DROPS IN SPEED. SO I PRESS ON THE GAS. IT COMES BACK UP BUT IT GUNS THE ENGINE AND STARTS JERKING. EVERY TIME WARNING LIGHT COMES ON ALL THE HANDS START BLINKING AGAIN AND IT DROPS IN SPEED BUT THIS TIME IT CUTS OFF! IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY! I COAST TO THE SIDE AND CRANK THE CAR AGAIN. THE DASH LIGHTS AND ALL THE HAND GAUGES BLINGING BUT THIS TIME IT DIDN'T CUT OFF. I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE ON 2009! IF I HAD KNOWN THAT PT'S WERE FAULTY, I WOULD NEVER HAVE BOUGHT IT. THIS INCIDENT HAS HAPPENED NUMEROUS TIMES SINCE. SOMETIMES AT HIGHER SPEEDS SOMETIMES AT LOWER SPEEDS. SOMETIME JUST SITTING PARKED IT CUTS OFF! FROM THE RESEARCH I'VE DONE SINCE,THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF THE SAME COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE PT. IT'S NOT SAFE! IT'S NOT SAFE WHEN YOU'RE GOING 70 IN HEAVY TRAFFIC AND THE CAR CUTS OFF!
PURCHASED VEHICLE A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WITH ABOUT 32,000 MILES, EVERYTHING HAS BEEN GREAT UNTIL A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO. AT ABOUT 41,000 VEHICLE HAS STARTED STALLING WHEN MOVING, HORN WILL NOT QUIT, STARTING ISSUES AND DASH LIGHTS FLASH ON AND OFF. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS ISSUE AND I HAVE READ MOST OF THE PRIOR 60 COMPLAINTS DATING BACK TO 2010 AND NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE BY CHRYSLER . I HAVE HEARD ON THE NATIONAL NEWS THAT THERE IS FINALLY A RECALL WITH THIS VEHICLE BUT MY VIN # IS NOT INCLUDED FOR SOME REASON. *TR
AS STATED IN A PREVIOUS COMPLAINT. THE GAUGES START LIGHTING UP AND THE VEHICLE SHUTS OFF, I HAVE FOUND THAT IF YOU WIGGLE THE KEY IT CAN STOP WHAT IS HAPPENING. IT IS VERY DANGEROUS BECAUSE THE VEHICLE LOSES ALL POWER WHEN THIS HAPPENS AND WHEN TRAVELING ON THE HIGHWAY OR TRYING TO PASS THIS COULD CAUSE SERIOUS INJURY. I RECEIVED NOTIFICATION THAT THIS ITEM HAS BEEN ADDRESSED BY YOUR OFFICE FOR OTHER CHRYSLER AND DODGE VEHICLES BUT THE RECALL DID NOT INCLUDE THE PT CRUISER. NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 14V373 SOUNDS IDENTICAL TO WHAT MY VEHICLE IS DOING. I ALSO HAVE VIDEO THAT SHOWS WHAT THE VEHICLE IS DOING. PLEASE ADVISE IF THE PT CRUISER IS GOING TO BE INCLUDED IN THIS RECALL AND IF NOT AND I PAY TO HAVE THE IGNITION SWITCH REPLACE WILL I BE REFUNDED IN THE EVENT THAT THE PTA CRUISER IS INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. THIS IS A VERY COSTLY REPAIR. IN ADDITION I WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS THE HORN ON MY VEHICLE. IT HAS BEEN REPAIRED PREVIOUSLY BY THE CHRYSLER DEALER BUT DOES NOT WORK PROPERLY. WHEN DEPRESSED IT STICKS OR DOESN'T WORK AT ALL WITHOUT ALOT OF FORCE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND CONSIDERATION. *TR
DRIVING AT 55MPH AND ALL THE GAUGES (GAS, SPEED, TACH) WENT TO ZERO AND FLUTTERED UP AND DOWN, THE VEHICLE STALLED. WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO PULL OVER SAFELY AND RESTART THE VEHICLE WITHOUT INCIDENCE. THE VEHICLE HAS REPEATED THIS ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. I WAS ABLE TO RECORD ON MY PHONE THE INSTRUMENT PANEL WHILE IT WAS ACTING UP. THINK I HAVE ISOLATED THE PROBLEM TO THE KEY AND IGNITION. I HAVE FOUND IF I WIGGLE THE KEY WHEN THIS HAPPENS IT STOPS. THIS COULD BE VERY DANGEROUS SINCE YOU LOSE POWER TO THE VEHICLE WHILE DRIVING, IT HAPPENS WITHOUT WARNING. SEVERAL INTERNET SEARCHES REVEAL ALOT OF PEOPLE WITH THE SAME COMPLAINT. I THINK CHRYSLER SHOULD SO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR REPAIR OF THIS PROBLEM, THEY EVIDENTLY PRODUCED A PRODUCT WITH A DEFECT THAT COULD POTENTIALLY CAUSE LOSS OF LIFE OR BODILY DAMAGE. *TR
I JUST PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE AND HAD IT FOR LESS THEN 3 WEEKS. I DROVE IT A TOTAL OF 5 TIMES. WHEN I WAS DRIVING TO WORK ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY, THE CAR STARTED TO ACT UP. THE SPEEDOMETER WENT FROM 55 TO ZERO THEN BACK UP TO 80, I LOST THE ABILITY TO STEER AND ACCELERATE, ALL OF THE LIGHTS CAME ON THE DASH BOARD, THE CAR FUEL GAUGES WENT UP AND DOWN, AND FINALLY THE CAR STALLED. I WAS ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY WHICH WAS A VERY SCARY. NO CODES WERE RECORDED FOR A MECHANIC TO FIND OUT THE PROBLEM. THE PROBLEM IS NOT FIXED, AND SEEMS TO BE A PROBLEM WITH SEVERAL PT CRUISERS FROM WHAT I HAVE RESEARCHED. I AM WORKING WITH THE DEALER ATTEMPTING FOR A REFUND, AS I FEEL MY SAFETY AND THE SAFETY OF OTHERS ARE AT RISK. *TR
I WAS DRIVING ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY, DOING ABOUT 55MPH. ALL OF MY GAUGES STARTED TO LIGHT UP, THE SPEEDOMETER WENT FROM 55 TO ZERO THEN UP TO 65, THE LIGHTS FLASHED ON AND OFF, THE CAR THEN STARTED TO SLOW DOWN TO ABOUT 40, WOULD NOT ACCELERATE, THEN EVENTUALLY JUST SHUT OFF. I WAS DRIVING ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY, BUT ABLE TO PULL OFF TO THE RIGHT SIDE LANE. THE WHEELS TIGHTENED SO I COULD NOT STEER, I SHUT THE CAR OFF AND LEFT IT FOR ABOUT 20 MINS. IT STARTED AGAIN BUT STRUGGLES TO GO OVER 40 BEFORE IT STARTS ACTING UP AGAIN. I CAN NOT FIND THE PROBLEM, NO CODES ARE RECORDED. I AM CONVINCED THAT THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE WITH PT CRUISERS AS I HAVE READ SIMILAR PROBLEMS. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 CHRYSLER PT CRUISER. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE TRAVELING 30 MPH, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED. THE CONTACT APPLIED THE BRAKES, BUT THE VEHICLE DID NOT SLOW DOWN CAUSING THE CONTACT TO CRASH INTO A TREE. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. THERE WERE NO INJURIES AND A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 73,000. *TR
WHILE DRIVING AT SPEED OF 40 MPH ALL LIGHTS ON THE CONSOLE BEGAN BLINKING REPEATEDLY, THE TACHOMETER AND SPEEDOMETER BEGAN GOING UP AND DOWN, CAR BEGAN TO RAPIDLY DECELERATE AND THEN DIED GIVING ME JUST ENOUGH TIME TO GET OFF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD BEFORE CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. TURNED OFF IGNITION AND RESTARTED THE IGNITION CAR GAVE NO INDICATIONS OF MALFUNCTION, DROVE HOME AND HAVE NOT DROVE SINCE. IF YOU GOOGLE "PT CRUISER CONSOLE GOING CRAZY" YOU WILL SEE MULTIPLE OTHER OWNERS ARE HAVING THE SAME ISSUE. THIS IS NOT JUST A SIMPLE MALFUNCTION THIS IS A DANGER TO NOT ONLY THE OWNER BUT TO OTHERS ON THE ROADWAY. CHRYSLER SHOULD BE CHECKING INTO THE ISSUE, BUT INSTEAD AFTER CONTACTING THEM AND LETTING THEM KNOW OTHERS ARE EXPERIENCING THE SAME ISSUE, THEY TOLD ME "UNFORTUNATELY, WE ARE UNABLE TO PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO DIAGNOSE THE SITUATION YOU HAVE OUTLINED IN YOUR EMAIL...IF YOU HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH AN AUTHORIZED DEALERSHIP BUT THE PROBLEM IS NOT YET RESOLVED, SEEKING A SECOND OPINION FROM A DIFFERENT DEALER MAY BE A VIABLE OPTION." WHICH I TAKE TO MEAN TAKE IT TO A DEALERSHIP, GET CHARGED AN OUTRAGEOUS AMOUNT FOR THEM TO SEE IF THEY KNOW WHAT IS WRONG, IF THEY STILL DON'T KNOW AFTER CHARGING YOU $600 THEN TAKE IT TO ANOTHER DEALERSHIP WHICH MAY KNOW MORE ABOUT OUR CARS THAN WE DO. <BR> THIS IS AN IRRESPONSIBLE, SLIPSHODDY WAY TO RUN A COMPANY. IF WE WANT TO HAVE A GOOD REPUTATION FOR CARS THEN THE COMPANIES THAT MAKE THEM HAVE TO STAND BY THEM AND NOT TRY TO SEND THEIR CUSTOMERS OFF TO OTHER DEALERSHIPS AFTER CHARGING THEM AN ARM AND A LEG AND STILL NOT KNOWING HOW TO FIX IT. THEY SHOULD KNOW THEIR CARS BETTER THAN SAY A HONDA DEALERSHIP WOULD. I HOPE OTHER PEOPLE HAVE POSTED COMPLAINTS SO THAT CHRYSLER WILL FIX THIS LIFE THREATENING ISSUE BECAUSE GOING FROM 40 TO 0 ON A BUSY ROAD IS DANGEROUS! *TR
PURCHASED A USED 2009 PT CRUISER IN MAY 2011, WITH 37,000 MILES. APPROXIMATELY 2 MONTHS AND 3,000 MILES LATER THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER ON THE DASH STARTED TO LIGHT UP LIKE A CHRISTMAS TREE. FIRST THE SEATBELT LIGHT CAME ON, THEN THE WHOLE CLUSTER LIT UP AND THEN THE SEATBELT LIGHT CAME ON AND WENT OFF. THE SPEEDOMETER AND TACHOMETER ALSO DROPPED. I THOUGHT THIS MIGHT BE AN ALTERNATOR PROBLEM, BUT IT CHECKED OUT OK AND I DID NOT HAVE THE PROBLEM AGAIN FOR A FEW MORE MONTHS. THIS TIME IT FLASHED ON AND OFF APPROXIMATELY 3 TIMES. TODAY, 10/29/11, AT 49,000 IT HAPPENED APPROXIMATELY 10 TIMES. I DID NOT LOSE POWER OR ACCELERATION, BUT AT ONE POINT I DID FEEL A HICCUP IN THE ACCELERATION. I HAVE HEARD THAT SEVERAL PEOPLE HAVE STALLED OUT IN TRAFFIC AND THAT THE DEALERSHIPS CANNOT EXPLAIN THIS. I LOOKS LIKE THERE IS A PROBLEM AND CHRYSLER NEEDS TO ADDRESS IT. *TR
2009 CHRYSLER PT CRUISER. CONSUMER STATES UNINTENDED ACCELERATION *TGW THE CONSUMER STATED WHEN THE CRUISE CONTROL WAS ACTIVATED, THE VEHICLE WOULD SURPASS THE SET SPEED, BY 2-3 MPH. THE CONSUMER STATED HE HAD AN ACCIDENT WHEN HE WENT AROUND A CURVE WITH THE CRUISE CONTROL ACTIVATED WHEN SUDDENLY THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED OUT OF CONTROL AND LEFT THE ROAD WAY. THE CONSUMER ATTEMPTED TO REGAIN CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE, BUT CONSEQUENTLY THE VEHICLE ROLLED OVER TWICE AND LANDED UPSIDE DOWN. THE VEHICLE WAS TOTALED. *JB
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 CHRYSLER PT CRUISER. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE SITTING IDLE, THE VEHICLE ABNORMALLY ACCELERATED. THE CONTACT CRASHED INTO THE REAR OF A PRECEDING VEHICLE. HE THEN ATTEMPTED TO SHIFT THE VEHICLE INTO NEUTRAL TO STOP THE UNINTENDED ACCELERATION BUT INSTEAD, THE VEHICLE REVERSED AND CRASHED INTO THE VEHICLE BEHIND HIS. THE VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED AT AN AUTHORIZED DEALER BUT THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. ON A SEPARATE OCCASION, WHILE SITTING IDLE AT A STOP SIGN, THE VEHICLE INDEPENDENTLY ACCELERATED. HE ATTEMPTED TO DEPRESS THE BRAKES BUT TO NO AVAIL. THE CONTACT THEN SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL AND APPLIED THE BRAKES. HE WAS ABLE TO STOP THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT PREVIOUSLY ENCOUNTERED UNINTENDED ACCELERATION AND CRASHED INTO THE REAR OF ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE OR PROVIDE A REASON FOR THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 7,800 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 8,000.
I HAVE A 2009 PT CRUISER, I HAVE ON 2 SEPARATE OCCASIONS, ENGAGED THE CRUISE CONTROL, TO FIND THAT IT HAS SURGED AND CAUSED THE CAR TO SPEED UP WITH OUT WARNING. I THOUGHT IT WAS ME UNTIL IT HAPPENED AGAIN. I HAVE NOT USED IT SINCE. IT DID NOT WANT TO DISENGAGE AND I HAD TO HIT THE BRAKES REALLY HARD AND HOLD THEM DOWN TO GET THE CAR TO RELEASE THE CRUISE CONTROL FEATURE. CONTACTED DEALER TO ASK IF ANYONE ELSE WAS HAVING PROBLEMS, WAS TOLD I MUST BE DRIVING A TOYOTA? DID NOT FIND THAT HUMOROUS, THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE AND NEEDS TO BE DEALT WITH. I DO SEE THAT THEY HAD AN ISSUE IN THE 2001 MODELS FOR SOMETHING SIMILAR TO WHAT I AM REPORTING. *TR
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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