2003 Chrysler PT Cruiser Suspension Problems

Which parts fail

• Front
  13
• Front › Control arm › Lower arm
  5
• Front › Wheel bearing
  4
• Rear
  2

Components named in complaints (struts, shocks, control arms, ball joints, springs).

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  27%
• 25k–50k
  1348%
• 50k–75k
  1037%
• 75k–100k
  14%
• 100k–150k
  00%
• 150k+
  14%

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2003 Chrysler PT Cruiser owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

I purchased the car and right from the start I've had to replace the wheel bearings , I have had to do so 3 times already within the short amount of time I have had the car , there has been no unusual stress on the bearings to make them wear out , now in my experience I have never had to replace a wheel bearing on a car with anything less than 100K mi on it , let alone 3 times , I don't know what to make of it, also im having stalling/rough idle problems that no one can seem to figure out it has stalled 5 times already and regularly idles rough, these problems are not normal and cannot be figured our ,I've replaces several parts including the erg valve pvc valve spark plugs and wires the iac cleaned the throttle body and the carb and im still having these issues.

I just found a recall on my PT Cruiser on the web and I haven't gotten a notice to date. I took my car back to the dealer many times to complain about the problem and I think they knew about the recalls. My problems with my car are problems related to the recall issues.

2003 PT Cruiser gt 2.4l 96K miles started to notice tire tread problems at 40K. Thought it was a bad alignment from ntb and they did another alignment for now charge. 10K later and I am having tires replaced again! Also hear alignment problems and knocking coming from the front end. Took it in and service tech recommended alignment and front driver side bearing be replaced. He add the bushings on the driver side control arm was going bad but not necessary for immediate replacement. I had the front bearing replaced and alignment done. Front drivers side bearing went bad again but on both sides in the front at 88K. Now I am being told from the chrylser dealer that hub and bearing in the front on both sides need to be replaced. 600 bucks. Just spent 500 on new tires and I still hear knocking on control arm. …

I had purchesed a used 2003 PT Cruiser and on the hwy home short time later I heard clunking sound three times first when merging onto hwy from car dealership. Futhermore, about 10 min into my hwy drive home I became frightend when my car ended up having a mind if its own and stared going to the left so I tried to turn stearing wheel towards right and I was unable to correct it for few seconds and ended on the otheride of white line just about off hwy and into gravel but at that point I seened to regain control of my car stearing and proceeding back beteeen yellow and white line on the hwy, following was another incident was when I came to complete stop following with left turn (started to make a clunking sound even louder).durning my route I made a right turn the sound again. I ended up taking it to a dealership to take a look at . …

I just found out that I have to replace both the right and left front hub bearings on my 2003 PT Cruiser. The dealership is charging me $600 to do the job. I have 69K miles on the car and Chrysler says it is normal wear and tear and is not covered under the 7/70K warranty....so I searched the internet and to my surprise I found out I am not the only PT Cruiser owner with this problem....I searched for front hub bearings for a PT Cruiser and found many complaints about the defective bearings....the bearings are supposed to be a sealed bearing and never require maintenance....this is a safety issue and needs to be addressed by Chrysler by issuing a recall and pay to fixed the problem...and repay the customers who had to have the bearings replaced.... …

Rear bushing on front-right lower control arm of suspension failed at approximately 35,000 miles, causing slop in control arm, wheel camber to vary during operation and auto to tend to wander on road (along with the sound of metal-to-metal contact in the suspension). The bushing was replaced by dealer under warranty at that time. At 64,000 miles 1/10/06) the rear bushing on front-left lower control arm of suspension failed causing similar problems. I then inspected the rear bushing on the right side that was replaced at 35,000 miles and determined that it is showing indications of beginnings of another failure. Dc dealer refused to cover left side as a defective bushing (out of warranty) and advised me on 1/16/06 that the part is currently unavailable - on back order - 7,500 units on order from supplier. …

Rear bushing on front-right and left lower control arm of suspension failed at approximately 65,000 miles, causing slop in control arm, wheel camber to vary during operation and auto to tend to wander on road (along with the sound of metal-to-metal contact in the suspension). Dc dealer refused to cover replacements as a defective bushing (out of warranty) and advised me on 1/20/06 that the part is currently unavailable - on back order - 7,500 units on order from supplier. I am very concerned that this is a potentially wide-spread failure of this bushing with the resultant loss of steering control due to camber changes during operation. - I have also been informed that this failure can lead to damage to the watts linkage in the drive train, and excessive wear of tires.

I went to have my brakes checked and was told my right and left lower control arm bushings were broken. I took the car to the dealership (towed in because the transmission went out) and the bushings were replaced. The mechanic said he has very seldom seen bushings in the suspension break with only 60,000 miles on the car. My car is a 2003 Chrysler PT Cruiser. I complained numerous times about the transmission but was not acknowledged until the car was inoperable. I am quite happy that the mechanic who does my brakes noticed the control arms. I asked Chrysler to check them while my transmission was being repaired, if not, they would never have checked. The suspension is of course, not covered by the warranty any longer. Repair costs were nearly $600.

I have a 2003 PT Cruiser that just went out of power train warranty 7K miles ago-with no warning, no hesitation, lack of power, my transmission went out taking the converter, pump and torque converter-leaving me stranded in the middle of a busy intersection! I was not able to move in 1,2,3,d or r-now I am stuck with a $2643.50 bill. My right front tire constantly vibrates, been to shop numerous time to resolve but no body can find anything-tires are fine, cv joint, nothing can be found. I am absolutely terrified to drive this car anymore-my seat belt unbuckles by itself, possibly leaving me with no restraint in the possibility of a wreck. I am filing complaints with Chrysler, bbb, district attorneys office, nhts, lemon law and anything else I can find-

The lower control bushings have been replaced 3 times in 46,197 miles over 12 years. The last time control arm and bushing were replaced. First time was 5-21-07 with 20,204 miles on the car. Second time was 5-21-08, only one year later, 22,309 miles on the vehicle, just over 2000 miles from a year ago when it was done. The dealer covered it because it was warranty from a year ago. Wonder if it was ever done the first or second time. We just had the control arm and bushings replaced 5-27-2015 at 46,197 miles. Now the dealer originally told my wife this does not happen until the vehicle has about 80,000. Wow looks like a major issue for them.

Suspension complaints in other PT Cruiser years