What's wrong with the Chrysler Sebring's?

They attract strange people with tatoos on their chests....

 

I don't know how they are now but IIRC the conv. is based on the stratus platform. Or it used to be. I had a stratus back in 95 when they came out. The A/c went out 6 times the first year, the engine head cracked and it had various other small problems. Chrysler bought it back after having it a year and a half.

 

LOL...!


Neil, there's currently a safety recall on Sebrings (among other Chryslers and Dodges)... It's the transaxle floor shifter ignition/park interlock... Other than that, i don't know what might be wrong with them... i've some problems with mine, but it was used when i got it, so i can't say for sure whether the problems were Chrysler-oriented or if the previous owner(s) didn't take good care of it...

Despite what the recall suggests and excessive miles, my engine has held up until now... i've never had problems with the a/c - although i don't use it - but if i didn't know any better, i'd swear the electrical system was provided by Lucas...

 

They Sebring was made back when Chrysler was still having quality problems, that no doubt affected buyers. Chrysler currently has no such problems with new cars' quality, i.e. 300 and Crossfire. I honestly think people are just scared of Chrysler's past problems. That, and, no offense NNO or other owners, they just aren't that exciting.

 

I work at a Chrysler dealership, and it seems that every Sebring that comes in is getting a new transmission or long block. I'd stay away from them.

 

I buy and rebuild avengers and sebrings 1995 - 2000. They had a transmission problem mainly in the 1995 transmission. The V-6 is pretty problem free. They are made under diamond star motors and are really a mitsubishi. The new ones are built on the cirrus/stratus/breeze platform and have a few problems, especially the 2.7 which often dies at 40k miles because of a poor oil cirrculation problem. The 3.0s are much better. Feel free to ask if you need to know anything specific.

 

Mine had the 2.4 and the head cracked with about 10k miles on it.

It was ten years ago I assume that if it was a wide spread issue it would have been all sorted out by now.

Edit: It may have been 15-20k miles; but it was low whatever the mileage.

I know a couple of people that had the dodge version of the concorde as company cars and one ended up buying it when his new car was ordered. He drove it a long time and never had any real problems that I heard of.

 

My mom owns a Chrysler Intrepid. Its an ok car, but the gear shift is out of alignment. Like when the gear shift marker things say that you are in Drive, the display pannel on the dash says you are in neutral. So you have to put the shifter down one and then it says you are in drive.

Our oil light is always on. We have gone to the Chrysler dealer ship about nine times to get it fixed and it hasnt happened yet.

 

I can add that the 3.0L and 2.7L V6's are not the same thing, besides the obvious displacement difference.. The 2.7L unit is a relatively new Chrysler design, and before wrecktech's post I hadn't really heard anything bad about them. The 3.0L is is a Mitsu motor, same as in the Eclipse, and (sort-of) the 3000GT before that, and (sort-of) the Galant before that and (sort-of) the late 80's Chryslers before that. The only problem that I know of with the 3.0 is that the older versions would leak oil prior to 100k (probably prior to 75k). I think the 2.7L comes in the Sebring sedan only, while the convertible gets the 3.0, but don't quote me.

 

One of the technicians works on almost every Sebring that comes through, so I'll ask him tomorrow and let you know.

 

I don't know about the transmissions in the new ones. The 3.0 is a mitsubishi and has few problems. The 2.7 has a really bad internal oil flow design and a salvage yard we deal with sells about 4 engines a month for replacements. I would not buy a 2.7 car at all. My mom has a 2000 cirrus with a 2.4 and it has not had any problems. My experiences are with the older ones and I have a couple as personal cars and love them. ECTurboGSX will probably be able to give you the best info.

 

Sorry guys, I got tied up in other things at work today. Tomorrow I'll try to talk to him and I will also look up all of the factory service bulletins regarding the transmission and engine and see what I can dig up. I drove one today trying to get some miles on it after we fixed an emissions problem and it wasn't bad. Of course I don't drive a convertible very often and it was 82 here, so it was definately a pleasent change.

 

Sorry, called out sick yesterday.

I picked 99 as my random year to check Techinical Service Bulletins on and I didn't find anything major yet. I'll put in some other years and check those out over the next few days.

I talked to the tech who generally gets all of the Sebrings normally and he said you couldn't pay him to rely on a Sebring for daily transportation. Thats his opinion of course, but he said that if you have your heart set on one, go for a 98 or newer. He also said that the 2.5 is the better of the Chrysler motors. I'd look around in the Dodge Stealth/Mitsu 3000gt community for information regarding reliability of the 3.0. I'll keep digging for you, but thats what I have so far.

 

Neil...

The recall is for the following (sorry for the late reply):

1993 through 1999 model year Chrysler Concorde, LHS and 300M, Dodge Intrepid and Eagle Vision.

1995 through 1999 model year Chrysler Cirrus and Dodge Stratus.

1996 through 1999 model year Chrysler Sebring Convertible and Plymouth Breeze.

The problem is:

"The transaxle floor shifter ignition/park interlock system on your vehicle may become inoperative. This may allow the shifter to be moved out of the "Park" position with the ignition key removed (or in the "Lock" position). It may also allow the ignition key to be removed when the shifter has not been placed in the "Park" position. If the shifter is not in the "Park" position, these conditions could allow the vehicle to roll away and cause a crash without prior warning."