Front Suspension Control Arm problems of the 2001 Chrysler Pt Cruiser

While driving the vehicle pulled the steering wheel hard to the right. We were driving slow in town, had this happened at highway speed a wreck would have been unavoidable . Got the vehicle towed home and took a look at it . Found the front sub frame (to which the steering gear, lower control arms and such are bolted to) had rusted to the point that it cracked , on the right hand side. This allowed the right lower control arm to shift backward causing the death pull to the right.

I bought a car from north coast auto mall and it had a lot of suspension problems. They ensured me that they would fix these issues if I bought the car. After buying the car, they have had me in and out of their shop 4 or 5 times to which they only lube the parts or lie to me claiming that the car has been fixed. I feel that this business practice is unsafe and misleading. They claimed to have replaced a control arm to which goodyear later (when I was buying tires) informed me that my control arms were bad. I was surprised to hear this. North coast should be investigated as they are selling unsafe cars, claiming to repair issues and then putting me in an unsafe car. 30 claims have been made about similar issues via the better business bureau, the federal trade commission and the ohio attorney general. I feel that they should be investigated for safety reasons.

-steering wheel began shaking while driving car and steering became very loose. Pulled into a pep boys and was told that the front control arms and bearings needed to be replaced (the car had 75k miles). I was told that this was a very common defect with these cars and that a recall should have been warranted. $1200 repair and car started shaking again 50k miles later. -continuous oil consumption. I put a quart of oil every two weeks in the car. I have had the car completely tuned by a family member who is a certified mechanic, and it still eats oil. I mentioned this to the repair technician who did the controls arms and bearings, and he confirmed that this was also a common problem with these cars. Many of the websites I went on to research this have hundreds of the same comments for both issues.

Control arm bushings worn out at 37000 miles. Excessive tire wear and difficult steering.

Premature failure of front lower control arm bushings. This vehicle had 37,000 miles with both right and left bushings failed. Without replacement, this can lead to additional suspension wear and in an extreme case, loss of control. Bushings of this type in typical vehicles lasts the life of the vehicle. According to my independent garage this component shows an inordinately high failure rate, as evidenced by their experience in replacing them in many pt crusiers. They see them at a rate of one every two weeks, and this was an independent garage, not a Chrysler dealership. This problem was caught at pennsylvania annual state inspection.

: the contact stated during an annual inspection the dealership determined the front control arm bushing was cracked. There was not a noticeable problem while driving the vehicle. An independent repair shop replaced the front control arm. Updated 6/19/2006 - the consumer feels that the rubber of the bushing poorly bonds to the steel outer ring causing failure.

: the contact stated the rear front bushing on the control arm fractured. The vehicle was making a humming sound when turning to the right. The bushing fracture was discovered by an independent mechanic during normal routine maintenance. The local dealership was contacted; however they have been unsuccessful in getting the part from the manufacturer.

Front control arm bushings were replaced in Feb of 2005 3 months they were replaced again and now November the noise that caused them to be replaced is present again. 2001 Pt Cruiser touring 60,000 miles.

Consumer's vehicle was involved in a minor accident. Was in a small accident. Took vehicle to a repair shop, a repair shop, and they referred him to a dealership. They said that the bushing has been forced out of the control arm. Previously, the steering wheel shimmied and rattled back and forth. The consumer had the accident repair work done. But not the bushing and the control arm. This problem occurred for about a year.

Consumer states that the control arm bushing is defective causing tires to wear fast. Ts.