2004 Chrysler PT Cruiser problems
The 2004 Chrysler PT Cruiser has 291 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (15%) concerns electrical system. After that come suspension (14%) and engine (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 291 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 15% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 23 and 21
- Injuries and deaths
- 22 and 5
- Typical mileage
- 53,000 miles 220 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 44 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 34 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 46 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 33 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 18 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 19 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 10 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 6 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 8 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 220 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 53,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 75,000 miles (36 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 23 complaints mention a crash; 21 complaints mention a fire; 22 injuries reported; 5 deaths reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 86% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2004 ranks 5th most-complained-about out of 10 model years of the Chrysler PT Cruiser with enough data (179 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
While driving, the vehicle veered off the road hitting a culder. Once this occurred the vehicle struck a telephone pole flipping on the nose of the vehicle. The consumer had to be cut out of the vehicle after being trapped for over an hour. The consumer died on the scene. Please complete form.
Vehicle was in an accident. It flipped into a phone pole, upon impact the air bags failed to deploy, killing the driver.
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.
My 2004 pt cruiser after I was driving for aprox 15 min., and then parked, started smoking from under the hood. It then quickly caught fire and destroyed from the dash forward. I had the car serviced 11 days earlier at the dealership. I had no warning lights, no smoke or smell while driving. The car is a total loss.
When entering the freeway on the on-ramp, a van in front of me stopped. I crashed into the van. I hit my chest hard on the steering wheel. The airbags did not go off.