2004 Chrysler Sebring Transmission Problems

I BOUGHT MY USED TOURING MODEL SEBRING IN MAY OF 2011, AND SINCE THEN IT HAS REPEATEDLY JUMPED OR LEAPED FORWARD WHEN COMING TO A STOP OR IDLING, EVEN WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE. I HAVE ALMOST CAUSED A FEW ACCIDENTS BY RAMMING THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME AT A STOP LIGHT AND SUCH. AS WELL, IT STALLED OUT ON ME WHEN I MADE A COMPLETE STOP ON 10/11/11. I HAVE SEEN MANY, MANY OF THE SAME COMPLAINTS AND WISH I KNEW WHAT THE ISSUE WAS. WILL BE TAKING IT INTO THE REPAIR SHOP TOMORROW. *KB

NHTSA ID

10429549

Incident

Oct 11, 2011

Mileage

80,291 mi

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. *TR

NHTSA ID

10247602

Incident

Oct 15, 2005

Mileage

27,000 mi

I HAVE A 2004 CHRYSLER SEBRING WITH A 2.7L V6 ENGINE. THE POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS PROBLEM WHICH HAS COME UP NUMEROUS TIMES IS THE ENGINE RPM WILL SURGE CAUSING THE CAR TO LURCH FORWARD. THE PROBLEM OCCURS WHEN COMING TO A STOP - THE ENGINE RPM WILL DROP TO THE POINT WHERE THE ENGINE WILL ALMOST STALL, THEN SURGE EXCESSIVELY CAUSING THE CAR TO LURCH FORWARD. THIS SURGE OF RPMS HAS CAUSED ME TO ALMOST HIT CARS IN FRONT OF ME AND WORSE, SENDING ME INTO AN INTERSECTION WITH ONCOMING CARS. I HAVE CALLED ABOUT THIS ISSUE AND BROUGHT MY CAR IN TO HAVE THIS ISSUE EXAMINED - THE ONLY THING THAT WAS DOES WAS TO REPROGRAM THE TRANSMISSION PCM. I DO SEE THAT THIS IS A FAIRLY COMMON PROBLEM WITH OTHER OWNERS. *TR

NHTSA ID

10214847

Incident

Dec 12, 2007

Mileage

47,000 mi

ENGINE WAS LEAKING SOME TYPE OF RED FLUID. TURNED OUT TO BE TRANSMISSION FLUID, PAPERWORK SAID REPLACED TRANS HOSES, CLAMPS, AND SOLENOID PACK (2/6/07). BLOWER MOTOR ONLY WORKED ON HIGHEST SETTING, THE REPLACED THE BAD BLOWER MOTOR FOR HEAT/COOLING(10/17/06). REPLACED RESONATOR PIPE AND MUFFLER AFTER NOTICING ACCELERATION WAS SLUGGISH AND LOUD (3/22/06). *NM

NHTSA ID

10183684

Incident

Feb 6, 2007

I PURCHASED MY CAR IN NOV 2005 AND ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS THE CAR HAS STALLED ON ME I STARTED THE CAR BACK UP IMMEDIATELY. ON OTHER OCCASIONS THE ENGINE WOULD REV UP WHILE SITTING AT A RED LIGHT OR EITHER IN A DRIVE THRU LANE AT A RESTAURANT. THE CAR WAS NOT IN PARK IT SCARED ME TO DEATH. I DON'T KNOW THE REASON FOR THIS. THE CAR ISN'T UNDER WARRANTY ANY LONGER AND I KNOW THE WONT FIX IT PROBLEM. *JB

NHTSA ID

10167851

Incident

May 10, 2006

Mileage

30,258 mi

I PURCHASED MY SEBRING TOURING FALL 2005. SINCE MY PURCHASED I HAVE NOTICED THAT THERE IS A VIBRATION (THE CAR KIND OF SHAKES) BETWEEN THE SPEEDS OF 30 MPH AND 45 MPH. ONCE IT SHIFTS AGAIN (AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION) IT STOPS. *JB

NHTSA ID

10158699

Incident

May 31, 2006

2004 SEBRING 4 DOOR SEDAN HAS OCCASIONALLY LUNGED OR SURGED FORWARD WHEN STOPPED AT A LIGHT OR IN TRAFFIC. THIS OCCURS WHILE MY FOOT HAS BEEN ON THE BRAKE AND I HATE TO THINK OF WHAT COULD HAPPEN IF I DID NOT HAVE MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE WHEN IT LUNGES FORWARD. I COULD HIT SOMEONE OR SOMETHING. HAVE HAD IT TO THE DEALER 3 TIMES FOR THIS. THE 2ND TIME I HAD FOUND A SERVICE BULLETIN ON THIS WEBSITE DESCRIBING WHAT SHOULD BE DONE TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM.(THE FIRST TIME THEY JUST SAID THEY COULDN'T DO ANYTHING BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T MAKE THE PROBLEM HAPPEN)WHEN I BROUGHT THE SERVICE BULLETIN TO THEM LAST DEC 2005, THEY SAID THEY FIXED IT. IT HAS NOW HAPPENED AGAIN, AND IS BACK INTO THE DEALERSHIP WHERE I WAS AT FIRST TOLD THAT IF THEY COULDN'T MAKE IT HAPPEN, THEY COULDN'T FIX IT. I TOLD THEM THIS WAS THE 3RD TIME IN THE SHOP FOR THE SAME ISSUE AND IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE. THEY ARE GOING TO TRY REPLACING A THROTTLE POSITIONING SENSOR. I WAS READING OTHER COMPLAINTS ON THIS WEBSITE AND DECIDED IT WAS TIME TO WRITE ONE BECAUSE THIS IS DEFINITELY HAPPENING TO OTHER PEOPLE AND IS A SAFETY ISSUE. IS CHRYSLER WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO GET HURT BEFORE THEY FIND OUT WHAT THE PROBLEM IS? SOMEONE NEEDS TO HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE. IT ONLY HAPPENS OCCASIONALLY SO IT IS HARD TO RECREATE IT WHEN YOU BRING IT TO THE DEALER, BUT THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE WITH THE SAME TYPES OF PROBLEMS ON THIS SITE. *NM

NHTSA ID

10155650

Incident

Apr 14, 2005

Mileage

25,000 mi

1) PARKING GEAR GETS STUCK IN GEAR AND WILL NOT COME OUT OF GEAR AT TIMES. 2) EVEN WHEN CAR IN PARK THE KEY WILL NOT COME OUT OR GO INTO THE ACCESS KEY MODE. 3) CAR CUTS OFF AT THE SPARE OF THE MOMENT WITH NO NOTICE AND NO INDICATION WHY. *JB

NHTSA ID

10143592

Incident

Oct 23, 2005

Mileage

28,420 mi

DT: THE CONTACT STATED TRANSMISSION FAILED AFTER OWNING THE CAR FOR ONE YEAR. SHE CALLED THE DEALER AND THE MANUFACTURER ,AND BECAUSE SHE DID NOT HAVE A WARRANTY, NO ONE WILL DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. THE COOLING SYSTEM MALFUNCTIONED SHORTLY AFTER SHE BOUGHT THE CAR. THEN, THE FOLLOWING YEAR, THE ENGINE WENT OUT. THE LABOR WILL BE $2,000 AND THE PARTS WILL COST $5,000.00. WHEN SHE BOUGHT THE CAR IT HAD 28,838 MILES ON IT. CURRENTLY, IT HAS 51,488 MILES ON IT.*AK

NHTSA ID

10137208

Incident

Sep 7, 2005

Mileage

51,488 mi

DT: THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHRYSLER SEBRING CONVERTIBLE. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN TO THE REPAIR SHOP TO FIX THE TRANSMISSION THREE TIMES. THE VEHICLE WILL BUCK , AND THE RPMS WILL GO UP TO 3000-4000 RPMS. IT WILL NOT SHIFT OUT OF SECOND OR THIRD GEAR. IT WAS A HAZARD TO DRIVE. THE DEALERSHIP COULD NOT DO ANYTHING TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. CHRYSLER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. CHRYSLER CHANGED PARTS VENDORS TO TRY AND CORRECT THE PROBLEM . HE RECEIVED VEHICLE BACK YESTERDAY, AND THE PROBLEM RECURRED. THE PROBLEM FIRST BEGAN IN AUGUST 2005. AND HAS BEEN OCCURRING SINCE THEN. *AK UPDATED 11/15/2005 - *NM

NHTSA ID

10136030

Incident

Aug 1, 2005

MY 2004 SEBRING HAS BEEN TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP ON A NUMBER OF OCCASIONS. TOMORROW 8/23/05 WILL BE MY FOURTH OR FIFTH ATTEMPT TO RESOLVE THE ON GOING PROBLEM OF MY CAR SURGING FORWARD WHILE AT IDLE/COMING TO A STOP OR WHILE SETTING AT A LIGHT HOLD THE BRAKE. THE CAR STALLED WHILE CROSSING TRAFFIC. THE CAR SHAKES AS IF THE ENGINE IS ABOUT TO ROCK OUT OF IT. IT MISS-FIRES ON A REGULAR BASES. THE LAST TIME I TOOK THE CAR IN THEY TOLD ME IT WAS THE SPARK PLUGS THIS WAS 6/23/05.

NHTSA ID

10133691

Incident

Aug 22, 2004

PURCHASED 4 DOOR CHRYSLER SEBRING SEDAN (4 CYLINDER AT MCDONNOUGH CHRYLSER OF EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ 7/9/04 W/ 13 MILES. 2 DAYS FOLLOWING THE PURCHASE, CAR STALLED AT APPROXIMATELY 42 MPH ON A CROWDED INTERSTATE, AND STARTED RIGHT BACK UP. DROVE TO DEALER TO FIND THAT I NEEDED A COMPUTER SOFTWARE UPDATE. TOOK THE VEHICLE BACK, IDLING ROUGH, RPMS JUMPING ALL OVER THE PLACE. SEVERAL WEEKS LATER, VEHICLE STALLED AGAIN THIS TIME ON NJ TURNPIKE WHILE SLOWING DOWN, BUT NOT BEFORE SURGING FORWARD, MY FOOT WAS NOT ON THE ACCELERATOR, AND AGAIN STARTED RIGHT BACK UP. RETURNED TO DEALER @ 994 MI, NOTHING REGISTERED ON DIAGNOSTIC CHECK, ANOTHER CPU UPDATE. CAR STILL IN SAME CONDITION ONLY DID NOT STALL. SURGING GOT PROGRESSIVELY WORSE, FINALLY AT APPROXIMATELY 8,000 MILES CAR STALLED COUNTLESS TIMES IN THE 13 MILE RIDE TO DEALER, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED, COULD HARDLY DRIVE THE ENTIRE WAY. DEALER FOUND BAD IGNITION COIL, BUT ONLY BECAUSE THE LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED COULD THEY DETECT A PROBLEM. DEALER KEPT CAR 3 DAYS, DID NOT OFFER RENTAL OR COMP CAR, NOR TRANSPORTATION TO MY WORK. PICKED UP CAR, NOT STALLING BUT STILL IDLING ROUGH, STEERING WHEEL VISIBLY SHAKING. CAR SURGES FORWARD AT EVERY STOPLIGHT, I HAVE JUST LEARNED TO CONTROL THE BRAKE TO AVOID ACCIDENT, NOT ACCELERATING PROPERLY & TRANSMISSION SLIPS AT LOW SPEEDS. WHY CAN'T THIS PROBLEM BE ERRADICATED, THIS IS MY FIRST BRAND NEW CAR, AND RUNS AS POORLY AS MY TRADE IN DID AT 230,000 MILES! I NEED A BREAK, AND I NEED A SOLUTION. IN ADDITION, CAR MAKES LOUD WHISTLING NOISE BETWEEN 68-73 MPH , AND HEADLIGHTS HAVE SHUT OFF 2 TIMES IN THE MIDDLE OF DRIVING AT NIGHT AND FLICKERED BACK ON ALSO, NOT TRACABLE BY DEALER COMPUTER.*AK

NHTSA ID

10118509

Incident

Jul 11, 2004

Mileage

8,000 mi

CONSUMER COMPLAINED ABOUT AN ELECTRICAL SYSTEM PROBLEM. VEHICLE CAUGHT ON FIRE AND BURNED THE WIRING. ALSO, TRANSMISSION EXPERIENCED PROBLEMS, SUCH AS DOWN SHIFTING. WHILE DRIVING AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION WOULD GO INTO A LOWER GEAR AND REMAIN THEIR FOR AN EXTENSIVE PERIOD OF TIME. *AK

NHTSA ID

10106634

Incident

Jan 2, 2005

Mileage

36,000 mi

I PURCHASED A NEW 2004 SEBRING LIMITED CONVERTIBLE FROM EGOLF MOTORS, HENDERSONVILLE, NC IN SEPT., 2003. I IMMEDIATELY NOTICED THE ENGINE IDLE WAS A PROBLEM BECAUSE WHEN THE BRAKES ARE APPLIED WHEN SLOWING TO STOP, THE ENGINE SEEMS TO PULSE OR REV UP AND THEN DIE DOWN TO A NORMAL IDLE. NO ACCIDENTS HAVE OCCURRED, BUT THE ENGINE HAS DIED ON TWO OCCASIONS WHILE IDLING. WHEN THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTS IT IS JERKY AND AT TIMES NOISY. I HAVE HAD THE SERVICE MANAGER AND TRANSMISSION SPECIALIST AT EGOLF MOTORS INSPECT AND DRIVE THE CAR AND THEIR RESPONSE IS THAT IT IS NORMAL FOR THIS VEHICLE. HOWEVER, I DROVE ANOTHER NEW SEBRING ON THE CAR LOT AND FOUND THE TRANSMISSION TO SHIFT SMOOTHLY AND THE IDLE HAD NONE OF THE SURGING FEATURES OF MY CAR. I POINTED THIS OUT TO THE SERVICE MANAGER AND HE SAID MY CAR IS NORMAL AND IF I COULD REPLICATE WHAT IS HAPPENING THEN TO BRING THE CAR BACK. I LEFT THE CAR OVER NIGHT FOR THEM TO EXAMINE UNDER COLD CONDITIONS AND THEY STILL SAID IT WAS WITHIN NORMAL RANGE ACCORDING TO THEIR COMPUTER ANALYSIS. GRANTED, THE IDLE, TRANSMISSION AND STALLING PROBLEMS ARE SOMEHWHAT INTERMITTENT, BUT I WOULD HOPE THEIR IS SOMETHING THAT CAN BE DONE TO FIX THESE ANNOYING PROBLEMS. IN ONE ON-LINE SUGGESTION I READ THAT SOME OF THE PROBLEM COULD BE CAUSED BY A FAULTY IDLE CONTROL SENSOR.*AK

NHTSA ID

10086258

Incident

Oct 1, 2003

Mileage

50 mi

TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED AFTER ONLY 1,000 MILES. ALSO, VEHICLE EXPERIENCED INTERMITTENT POWER SURGES. CONSUMER CONTACTED THE DEALER, AND DEALER COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. THEN, DEALER STATED NO PROBLEM, GOOD-BYE. CONSUMER WAS EXTREMELY UPSET. *AK

NHTSA ID

10079969

Incident

Jun 24, 2004

Mileage

1,000 mi

ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS WHEN RELEASING THE BRAKE PEDAL FROM A STOPPING POSITION VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED AND LURCHED FORWARD, CONSUMER HAD TO SLAM ON THE BRAKES TO GET THE VEHICLE UNDER CONTROL. VEHICLE HAD BEEN TO THE DEALER ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS, AND THE TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED TWICE. *AK

NHTSA ID

10079965

Incident

May 25, 2004

Mileage

5,550 mi

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.!!*AK

NHTSA ID

10075295

Incident

Jun 12, 2004

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.*AK

NHTSA ID

10072311

Incident

May 9, 2004

Mileage

9,300 mi

MY 2004 SEBRING CONVERTIBLE HAS MADE TWO DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT NOISES: 1ST AT ANY SPEED WHEN I RELEASE MY FOOT FROM THE GAS PEDAL I GET WHAT I CALL A CRICKET SOUNDING NOISE - VERY ANNOYING. 2ND AT SPEEDS OF 70 MPH AND UP I GET WHAT I CALL A WHISTLING SOUND THAT IS ALSO VERY ANNOYING AND STAYS ON WHEN I USE CRUISE CONTROL. I HAVE HAD THE CAR IN FOR SERVICE AT MASSEY YARDLEY, HOBE SOUND, FL ON AT LEAST 3 DIFFERENT OCCASIONS AND GONE FOR TEST DRIVES WITH THE SERVICE MANAGER. HE RECOGNIZES THE PROBLEM TRIES TO FIX IT TO NO AVAIL. FINALLY HAVE HAD CHRYSLER LOOK AT THE PROBLEM - THEY ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE THE PROBLEM, BUT TELL ME I HAVE TO LIVE WITH IT. I AM GOING TO ARBITRATION SHORTLY. *JB

NHTSA ID

10060623

Incident

Jun 20, 2003

LOOSE BRAKES, TRANSMISSION SLIPS, ACCIDENT AND AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY IT TAKES A LONG DISTANCE TO STOP. BRAKES ARE NOT ABS. 9/11 TRUCK PULLED OUT IN FRONT OF ME, STOMPED ON BRAKE, WHEELS DID NOT LOCK, CAR DID NOT STOP ROLLING AND I HIT THE VEHICLE. TRANSMISSION ALWAYS SLIPS, ESPECIALLY AT 30 MPH. I HAVE BEEN IN TWO FRONTAL HITS AND AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. DEALER HAS BEEN TOLD ABOUT THE PROBLEM NUMEROUS TIMES. *LA

NHTSA ID

10049501

Incident

Sep 11, 2003

Mileage

24 mi