Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1997 Chrysler Sebring owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Dt: consumer received recall 04V021000, on March 15, 2005. She had called dealer to arrange for repairs, but they told her to bring the vehicle in at her convenience. The recall work was never performed. On May 7, 2005 she was picking her daughter and while the vehicle was in park it went down a small hill in a parking lot and traveled at least 200-300 feet. The vehicle was also turned off. This happened so fast she could not remember whether the brakes worked at that time. There was a telephone pole that stopped the vehicle. Upon impact, the airbags did not deploy, and the seat belts did not restrain the passengers. The passengers head went through the windshield and her knees hit the dash board. The driver's right rotor cuff and neck were injured. There was $8700 worth of damage to the vehicle, and it was totaled. The manufacturer stated that they could not do anything about it. …
This is the second time this car was involved in an accident involving sudden uncommanded acceleration. Vehicle was stopped awaiting opening of automatic garage door when throttle fully engaged driving car into garage door. An identical occurrance happened in spring of 1998 when car was stopped at traffic light and sudden acceleration sent car into vehicles in front of it. At the time dealer could find no defect. There was a different driver during each incident. Further, my son owns an identical vehicle which had a similar problem however, his malfunction did not result in any vehicle damage as car was in a parking lot and came to rest on a lawn.
Car continued to accelerate and brakes would not stop the car. Had to swerve to the side of the road, pull the emergency brake, and turn the car off. Tried to turn car back on, and the car was still accelerating. Note: luckily had not got on the major southern california freeway. Car was towed to mechanic, and repair was diagnosed as high idle, replaced idle, air control motor. Total cost (not including tow) $186.82.
Vehicle experienced sudden acceleration. Owner was driving to an intersection. Upon approaching the intersection, driver applied the brakes and the vehicle began to accelerate. Although, the driver had there foot on the brake.
Driver & vehicle leaving toll plaza on the dallas north tollway, headed south towards I-635, about 6 pm on incident date. Driver accelerated out of the toll booth, up to about 40-45 MPH, and felt a surge in acceleration. Attempted to reduce speed by taking foot from the gas pedal, but there was no reduction in speed. Applied brake, but still no reduction in speed. Pulled hand brake, no reduction. The accelerator seemed to be stuck or hung up. Finally thought to shift into neutral, and at some point the accelerator finally "let go." was able to exit from the tollway. On 635 access road, attempted acceleration again, and again the accelerator seemed to "stick" at about 15 MPH. Backed off, and made way slowly to a Nissan automotive dealership off 635 in north dallas. There, a service rep looked under the hood and observed the accelerator cable was badly frayed. …
In passing a vehicle the accelerator cable broke and the throttle jammed in the full on position. This caused the car to dramatically increase speed on a busy highway. I shifted the car into neutral, and the engine raced to over 7000 RPM. I then had to turn off the engine to stop the racing. The automatic gas cut off did not appear to work. I ended up in the grassy mediam to avoid hitting cars as I had little braking and steering power. Upon restarting the car it appeared to work and I was able to get almost home when it happened again. The pedal was full open and when I shut the car off, the automatic cut off apparently worked as the car wouldn't start again. It was towed to a service station. I am told the cable was seriously frayed which caused it to jam in the open position. I was lucky to have not had an accident and was grateful my daughter or wife were not driving.
Consumer states she received a recall notice for her auto regarding the driver control cable. She called the dealer and took her auto to the dealer only to be told that they did not have the part, and to call back in two weeks. Consumer states she called and went back and then no one knew what she was talking about. She took her auto to quality Dodge at 200 n main street, tooele, ut [phone]. She is afraid that she will be in an accident if her control cable breaks.
The cruise control application does not consistently follow the comands as described on page 66 of the owners manual. (1) the cruise will not regularly set a desired speed, unless the cancel button is pressed following the on/off button. (2) after depressing the brake pedal to de-activate a speed setting, the resume button ignors the prior setting speed and continues to accelerate. (3) while pressing and holding the set/coast button, the speed accelerates.
NHTSA recall campaign 02V186000 concerning accelerator cable; received recall notice in the mail and contacted dealership over a month ago. Owner was informed by service department that there were no parts available to repair the recall. Owner has checked back with service department several weeks later, on 9-12-02, still no parts, the consumer called the maunfacturer on the same day then the local dealer set up an appointment and replaced the part.
Problems with vehicle throttle control cable. The consumer received a recall notice regarding the throttle cable. The consumer was told the part had not arrived and when it did arrive the consumer would get a call, the consumer had to call the dealer back and found out the part had arrived, but no one called to let the consumer know. The dealer stated someone would come to the consumer's home, however no one ever called to confirm.
Related recalls
Vehicle speed control
On certain passenger vehicles equipped with 2.5l v6 engines, the throttle control cable can fray causing the throttle to bind or stick.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the throttle cable assembly. Owner notification began August 5, 2002. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within…
Acceleration complaints in other Sebring years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 1997 Chrysler Sebring?
NHTSA has 24 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 1997 Chrysler Sebring, 8% of the model year's 287 complaints. The component named most often is cables (4 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1997 Chrysler Sebring acceleration problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 02V-186 (vehicle speed control, Jul 8, 2002). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 1997 Chrysler Sebring acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 81,000 miles, and 25% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 5 crashes, 0 fires and 2 injuries to speed control & acceleration 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.