Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (struts, shocks, control arms, ball joints, springs).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2004 Chrysler PT Cruiser owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Starting in the fall of 2006 when making a left turn it made a grinding, squealing noise. It was very loud. Thought it needed brakes, and had it checked . They were fine. Then, it felt like the tire was bad on the passenger's front. Took the car to dealer in mid March 2007 to have the tire checked and it was a loose axle instead. That stopped the squealing for the time being. Just recently we thought the rotors needed turned because the vibrations and noises had started again. On 5-06-07 my son was killed when he went off the right side of the road and supposedly overcorrected and rolled several times. After further investigation into the crash it was discovered that half of the front passenger rotor broke off with a bubble defect in the metal. There appeared to be an old crack across the rotor along with the brake that severed it. …
While driving, sometimes when driving, the car will jerk to the left or the right without probacation. Vechile accelerates without foot being on the pedal. One time I was at a stop light. My foot was on the brake, but the car lurched forward and the engine starting reving. I had to use both feet with extreme force to slow the car down. Finally, I just threw the car into park; once in park, the car kept reving. The pedal was not pressed.this has happened on three occasions. This makes for unsafe driving, and only due to my good driving skills did I avoid an accident. This has been occuring for the past three months.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Chrysler PT Cruiser. The contact stated that while the vehicle being inspected, it was discovered that the suspension needed to be repaired and that the power steering needed to be replaced. The vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign numbers: 04V268000 (steering) and 08e033000 (suspension) however it was informed that the recalls had expired. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 81,000. Updated 3/31/15 updated 7/8/2015
Less than 19,000 miles on the 2004 Chrysler PT Cruiser and the wheel bearings on front went bad. The driver's side was so bad I did not drive it further than a block from work , the closest place. They charged me $313.00 to fix the driver's side. The next day, I found outt he car was still under warranty ,bought it second hand. I took it to the dealership, and they confirmed the passenger's side was also going bad and replaced it and the damaged hub. Chrysler will not reimburse me the $313.00 because it was not fixed at a dealership. The driver's side hub was not replaced, and they will not cover this under warranty either. This should be under warranty as well. A car with less than 19,000 miles should not have bad wheel bearings already. …
I have owned a 2004 PT Cruiser for less than one year. I bought it with 28000 miles, on it, and at about 33000 miles heard a bang. It was still under warranty the dealer didn't find anything wrong with it, but the sound continued. I took it back to dealer, but it was out of warranty by a few days. Since that time we have changed brakes, rotors, etc. I finally took it to dealer and discovered it was the bearings. I thought that was a little odd since the vehicle hasn't been driven much. I researched the net, and found a forum with many people experiencing the same problem. In fact, one person even experienced a fatality. As for me, I have lost control going around a bend, and have since changed my driving behavior. Please review the following link, and note all of the complaints: http://www.topix.net/forum/autos/Chrysler-PT-Cruiser/til09od8d72erulqa . …
While driving my 2004 Chrysler PT Cruiser, I started hearing a grinding noise coming from the front end of the car. In just a matter of days I could tell it was getting louder. I thought it might be the brakes but I just had the front brakes replaced 6,000 miles earlier. I took it to the mechanic where I had the brakes done and after checking the car he told me the problem was the left front wheel bearings. It cost me $556.23 to replace the front left hub and the bearings on both front wheels. After the repair, he showed me the old hub and bearings. The part was broken and several of the bearings were missing. He said if I had continued to drive the car in that condition, it was very likely the front left wheel would fall off, possibly causing serious injury or death. This is a serious safety issue and I believe Chrysler needs to issue a recall for this problem. …
Could not ask for a better car, but once it got close to 50,000 miles the transmission went out, thank god it was under warranty, then wheel bearing, control arm, motor mount, sway bar bushing, rack and pinon, almost everything in the front of this car has been replaced. When contacting Chrysler they say there has been alot of recalls for the front end supension but my VIN number did not fall under it. Things that should of not worn out this soon has worn out, I just had to do the bushing in the lower control arm after replacing the whole control not over 2 years ago. I have max out 2 Firestone credit cards trying to keep my car on the road. Love the design but hate that I just can not depend on this car... Ps I am the only owner of this car and it has less than 82,000 miles on it today 06/19/2012.
Replacing both front wheel bearings on 2004 Chrysler PT Cruiser limited turbo at 33900 miles. Noise started at 33600 miles. Way too early to have to replace bearings on any vehicle under normal driving conditions. I looked up "PT Cruiser wheel bearings" on google and found a forum on topix.com and discovered that there are so many other PT owners with the same issue. My mechanic told me that the wheel assembly is really loose due to the bearing failure. I have never owned another vehicle that needed bearings replaced before 100,000 miles. I believe Chrysler should be responsible for their product and do a recall of the bearing-hub-knuckle joint assembly. Updated 10/17/08.
Front passenger side wheel bearing is bad. Started about 31,000 miles. I took the car to the dealer thinking it's covered under the 7 year, 70,000 mile powertrain warranty! As I read the warranty, it states every thing is covered. But the dealer says it a wear part! I don't understand why a wheel bearing goes bad this early and why they don't cover it as a powertrain part? And the price to repair it is over 600.00. I just can't stand to bring myself to pay for this, as if I could afford it . And after some research I'm finding out that alot of consumers are getting screwed by the manufacturer because of a defect in the design and weight issue of the frame and body style.
My 2004 PT Cruiser on the way back from florida just out of the blue, started making horrible front end noise and started shaking violently. I made it to our local dealer only to discover that the both front wheel bearings went bad. It had 36,274 miles on it. The dealer wouldn't do anything about it, so I called Chrysler and they wouldn't do anything about it. I researched the problem and thousands of people are having the same problems, some resulting in crashes. In my opinion since this problem is so wide spread there should be a safety issue recall. Thanks, for your time. John palmer
Suspension complaints in other PT Cruiser years
Frequently asked questions
How common are suspension problems on the 2004 Chrysler PT Cruiser?
NHTSA has 36 complaints about the suspension of the 2004 Chrysler PT Cruiser, 17% of the model year's 217 complaints. The component named most often is front › wheel bearing (17 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2004 Chrysler PT Cruiser suspension problems?
No. NHTSA lists no suspension recall for the 2004 Chrysler PT Cruiser, though it has 1 recall for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2004 Chrysler PT Cruiser suspension problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 40,000 miles, and 10% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 0 injuries and 1 death to suspension problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.