2001 Chrysler Sebring Problems & Complaints

Use caution1.9× as many complaints as a typical year of the Sebring at the same age

Owners have filed 387 complaints about the 2001 Chrysler Sebring with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That is 1.9× as many as a typical Sebring model year at the same age — above average, so look closely at the problem areas below before you buy. The most reported problem area is the engine & cooling (163 complaints, typically around 74,000 miles). 9 recalls cover this model year.

387complaints
9recalls
30crashes
7fires
31injuries
2deaths

Most common 2001 Chrysler Sebring problems

Share of the 387 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.

Chrysler Sebring complaints by model year

’95’96’97’98’99’00’01’02’03’04’05’06’07’08’09’10132419287319264172387358742921321383372384386
Owner complaints per model year, Chrysler Sebring. Colour = our verdict for that year (red: avoid, orange: caution, green: better than average, blue: too new).

Best Sebring years: 2009, 2003, 2010. Years to avoid: 1996, 2001, 2002, 1998, 2007. Compare all years →

2001 Chrysler Sebring recalls (9)

Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module

NHTSA recall 16V-401 · Jun 3, 2016 · 16,315 vehicles

Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) is recalling certain model year 2001-2002 Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Stratus vehicles, equipped with beige interiors. The affected vehicles were previously repaired for a recall issue using an incorrect part.

Remedy: Chrysler will notify the affected owners. Dealers will install the correct tether strap to retain the passenger sun visor, free of charge.

Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module

NHTSA recall 15V-338 · Jun 2, 2015 · 443,442 vehicles

Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) is recalling certain model year 2000-2005 Eclipse vehicles manufactured April 5, 1999, to December 17, 2004, 2001-2005 Eclipse Spyder vehicles manufactured January 19, 2000, to March 18, 2005, 2001-2005 Chrysler Sebring vehicles manufactured April 17, 2000, to February 21, 2005, and…

Remedy: MMNA will notify their owners, and Chrysler will notify the Chrysler and Dodge owners. Dealers will install a tether strap to retain the passenger sun visor, free of charge. The recall began on July 20, 2015.

Power train › Automatic transmission › Cooling unit and lines

NHTSA recall 01V011002 · Jan 16, 2001 · 28,439 vehicles

Vehicle description: passenger vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions. A hose manufacturing process allowed the reinforcement yard to breach the inner layer of some automatic transmission hoses weakening the inner wall which could result in leakage of the automatic transmission fluid.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the transaxle oil cooler hoses. Owner notification began April 9, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy…

Seats

NHTSA recall 01V005002 · Jan 8, 2001 · 20 vehicles

Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. A number of incorrect driver side seat mounting bolts were installed into vehicles.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect the seat mounting bolts and then replace the bolts if necessary. Owner notification began February 5, 2001.

Child seat

NHTSA recall 00V-366 · Nov 9, 2000 · 1,211,756 vehicles

Vehicle description: certain passenger vehicles, pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of FMVSS no. 225, "child restraint anchorage systems." some of the owner's manuals for these vehicles are missing instructions that provide a step-by-step procedure, including diagrams, for properly…

Remedy: Owners will be provided with an addendum to the owner's manuals.

Show 3 more recalls

Air bags › Frontal

NHTSA recall 00V-306 · Oct 12, 2000 · 419 vehicles

Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. Passenger air bags were built with suspect aluminum extrusion sections which May not retain the air bag door during an air bag deployment event.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the passenger side air bag.

Engine and engine cooling › Engine

NHTSA recall 00V299002 · Oct 2, 2000 · 554 vehicles

Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The harness for the crankshaft position sensor could come in contact with a new protective shield causing a grounded circuit.

Remedy: Dealers will re-route the crankshaft position sensor harness.

Structure › Frame and members › Underbody shields

NHTSA recall 00V-278 · Sep 18, 2000 · 4,504 vehicles

Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. Through degradation of the bond between the silencer pad and a sheet metal panel (quarter inner upper), the pad May fall onto the map light located in the rear seating area near the c-pillar trim panel (lh and rh).

Remedy: Dealers will remove the insulation pad from behind both rear map lights.

NHTSA defect investigations

Federal safety investigators have looked into a possible defect involving the 2001 Chrysler Sebring:

Safety belt cinching latch plate

NHTSA investigation PE02082 · opened Nov 6, 2002 · closed Apr 23, 2003

There are no injuries or fatalities associated with this alleged defect.while conducting this investigation, odi found that the subject cinches meet the load bearing requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard 208, and that many of the reported failures were due to incorrect child safety seat installations.

What 2001 Chrysler Sebring owners say

Engine & cooling all 163 →

2001 Chrysler Sebring turns off while driving - the exact same problem as the hundreds of thousands of chryslers recalled last year. Everyone wants to try a body control module, fuel pump, new crank shaft but the problem keeps occurring - perhaps because they were not aware of this recall/problem as not even my local Chrysler dealership knew. This has happened to me frequently over the past 1.5-2 years or so, it comes and goes. I was rear ended once but it was light enough (thank god) that it did not cause any damage. Extremely dangerous. Almost a quarter of a million Chrysler vehicles were recalled last year for this problem. As of right now, I believe just van/crossover models - why not all models with this same problem? Please leave your complaints on the message boards alone and bring them to NHTSA so that Chrysler can be held accountable for these issues.

60,000 miles · Feb 2010 · crash

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 Chrysler Sebring. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled without warning. In addition, there was smoke coming from under the hood. The dealer advised the contact that the recall under NHTSA campaign id number: 00V299002 (engine and engine cooling: engine) was not associated with the contact's VIN. A local mechanic inspected the vehicle and diagnosed that antifreeze leaked into the engine, causing the vehicle to stall. The failure and the current mileage was 138,000.

138,000 miles · Nov 2011 · fire

Air bags all 50 →

Tl* the contact owned a 2001 Chrysler Sebring. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, she attempted to avoid another vehicle from crashing into the vehicle. As a result, the contact crashed into a concrete wall and the air bags deployed. The front passenger sustained face injuries from the plastic cover from the air bags and required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a police lot. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000. The VIN was not available.

150,000 miles · Aug 2013 · crash · 1 injury

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 Chrysler Sebring. While driving at 55 MPH, the contact crashed into an animal. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact was not injured and a police report was not filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 57,000.

57,000 miles · Aug 2009 · crash

Suspension all 39 →

I was driving on savannah springs drive (a patio home community) and I heard a horrible noise and stopped. I though I had a flat tire but when I got out and looked, my left front wheel had off. (the balljoint came loose from the control arm) the car was not drivable and had to be towed home. We just purchased this car on 4/23/2015 from new life auto in noblesville, in and drove it home to louisville, ky on i65. The car drove great and I took it out for a drive and turned into a neighborhood less than 1/2 mile from my house when this happened. I was on a very busy road prior to this and thank the lord that I was not on that road when it happened. The tow driver said I would have totaled the car and hit someone else. No injuries occurred and not other vehicles were involved. We see there is a recall on the control arm and wonder if we are covered.

89,000 miles · Apr 2015

It was christmas eve we were leaving a friends house headed home I was at a stop sign making a right turn when I started to smell rubber burning but assumed it was the car ahead of me I started to pick up speed I was in a 35mph zone when we heard a loud boom I pulled over at a local park. I looked to see my driver side back tire was facing inward and would not stand straight I call my father inlaw who is a mechanic and he replaced the lower control arm. I am now having to replace the front passenger side now because it is sitting on the side of the road for a second time.

193,000 miles · Dec 2014

2001 Chrysler Sebring engines & fuel economy

EngineTransmissionDriveMPG city / hwy / combined
2.4L 4-cyl5-speed manualFWD20 / 27 / 23
2.4L 4-cyl4-speed automaticFWD18 / 25 / 21
3.0L 6-cyl5-speed manualFWD18 / 26 / 21
2.7L 6-cyl4-speed automaticFWD18 / 26 / 21
3.0L 6-cyl4-speed automaticFWD17 / 25 / 20

EPA ratings. Class: Compact car.

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2001 Chrysler Sebring a good car?

Based on 387 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2001 Sebring rates use caution: 1.9× as many complaints as a typical year of the Sebring at the same age. It is one of the Sebring years we suggest avoiding. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.

What is the most common problem with the 2001 Chrysler Sebring?

The engine & cooling — 163 complaints, 42% of all complaints for this model year, most often about engine. Next are the air bags (50) and suspension (39).

How many recalls does the 2001 Chrysler Sebring have?

There are 9 recalls for the 2001 Chrysler Sebring, the most recent from June 3, 2016 (inflator module). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.

What are the best and worst years of the Chrysler Sebring?

The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2009, 2003 and 2010. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 1996, 2001, 2002, 1998 and 2007. See the full Chrysler Sebring years comparison.

At what mileage do 2001 Chrysler Sebring problems happen?

The median mileage reported in complaints is about 69,000 miles; 24% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.

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.