general problems of the 2009 Chrysler Pt Cruiser - part 1

Sporadic instrument cluster powers on and off illuminating all lights. When condition occurs it is vastly distracting unable to determine vehicle speed accurately. When the issue is present the engine will typically shut off. This seems like an incredibly bad condition to allow in a vehicle and contacting Chrysler led to no solution for resolving. Internet search suggests this is not a one off situation and exists across several model years. Chrysler does have a recall notice "01v288000" for model year 2001 which appears to be very similar in nature. Due to the highly distracting nature of this condition and frequency of similar owner reports it seems particularly egregious that a recall notice does not exist.

While running at 45 mph all the warning lights came on, the gauges went to zero, and the motor started stumbling. Trying to nurse it home, I stopped at a red light where the previous things happened again but also the motor completely shut off. This left me stopped in the middle of a busy 4 lane highway. Engine finally restarted where I drove it home. This is the 3rd time this has happened and I see where online this has been complained about over and over. I can not afford to throw thousands of dollars at it and Chrysler doesn't care.

While driving all the warning light come on engine stalls even at freeway speeds. Car has to stopped, key turned off and restarted and the errors clear. It has done since it was new. . It has been researched by dealer while in for service. Never fixed it is still doing it. .

Intermittently all dash lights come on and all gauges begin fluctuating and the car will begin to sputter and sometimes dies and then it doesn't do it again for miles.

More often than not, all the lights on dash illuminate when the car is first started, sometimes flashing on and then off when driving. If driving, sometimes the car will either accelerate or slow down. Because the speedometer goes back and forth, I have no idea how fast I'm going. If I slow down when approaching a red light or to make a turn, the car has cut off. Looking online, this appears to be a common problem of Pt Cruiser owners, yet I've never seen a recall. Diagnostics ran a few times and no reading shows up. Only told, it appears to be an electrical issue.

I purchased the vehicle in December of 2016. The odometer reading was 74,000 miles at that time. It functioned without problems until March 2018. The car was driven about 2 miles and then was parked for about 5 hours. I started the car and drove about 2 blocks at about 25 mph when all the dashboard lights came on, the gas gauge went to empty and I felt a loss of power. It recovered after a few seconds. It happened again about 1 minute later. I coasted to a stop sign and turned off the engine. I turned it back on about 30 seconds later and drove on. I turned onto a busy street and after driving a few blocks in traffic the power loss happened again. It recovered on its own after about 5 seconds. I got off the busy s street and onto a side street. It happened again after driving a few blocks and did not recover. I coasted into a parking spot and turned off the ignition. After about 5 minutes I started the car and drove about 1. 5 miles to my house without incident. The car spent several weeks in a reputable local repair shop. They could not replicate the problem, so could not diagnose. I then drove the car for about 2 months without incident. It has started doing it again. I do not believe I can safely drive it on a busy street or a freeway.

I was in a hwy. All of a sudden, all the gauges light up and I lost power. I push the gas pedal but no acceleration. I managed to park on the side. I turned off the engine and restarted the car again. This happened just 3 weeks after I bought the car. It happened again one month later. It has been now one week later. I am afraid it is going to happen again. It is a very safety hazard since I always travel on a busy highway.

My vehicle shuts off randomly while driving 2 mph and while on the highway going 65 mph. Very scary, do not feel safe in my own car. Fear for the safety of my family.

All warning lights flash while driving, car dies then restarts, very dangerous in traffic. Chrysler can't find the issue, took it mechanics they can't find the issue. Seems like there are 100's of issues with many different years of the Pt Cruiser however Chrysler is ignoring and there is nothing to fix. Some days this happens a lot then it will go 3 or 4 days without.

I've had my Pt Cruiser for atleast 3 years now. Today as I was driving all the lights started going on and off on the dash board and was acting as if it were going to stall out. However , every time I hit the gas the mph gauge would go up. However my gauges on my dash board had stopped working until I'd hit the gas petal again. It did this for at least a few minutes I was on a busy road when it happened and was not able to pull off the road. I've been hearing a lot of rumors going on about Pt Cruisers losing power and locking up on people and bad things happening I think Chrysler needs to get on the ball and fix these issues with their vehicles since we are only the ones that buy them under faith of safety. I had this happen one other time when I first got it but I didn't think nothing of it. The issue seems to be happening more and more often. It's not even at 100,000 miles yet and I am having this many issues. This Pt Cruiser needs to be recalled! me or my children best not get hurt it this thing due to Chrysler's neglect on this issue. I've seen many people complain about this issue and nothing being done. Who has to die before it's resolved?!? I would've had pictures but the lights turned off and it went back to normal before I was able to take a snap shot or video of it. Because if I lose power again and it malfunctions and me or my kids get hurt when Chrysler has been notified and they don't do anything there will be a law suit. If I had known this issue would occur I would have never bought it, infact I'm still paying on it for another 2 yrs.

After starting and running normally for about 20 minutes, the vehicle will begin to exhibit electrical issues. The gauges will drop to zero and then slowly return, the warning lights will flash, and the warning chime will sound repeatedly. It seems like when this happens the engine goes through a start cycle. Most of the time, this problem is otherwise asymptomatic, but occasionally it results in sudden power loss to the engine. It does not seem to matter if the vehicle is moving or not; it happens if the vehicle is stopped, moving slowly, moving quickly, etc. The engine has lost power more than once at a critical moment (turning left, clearing an intersection) and multiple times in moving traffic.

I'm driving the car and all the lights come on in the middle. All the hands like fuel hand and rpm start bobbing up and down. It drops in speed. So I press on the gas. It comes back up in speed but it guns the engine and starts jerking. Every warning light comes on again all the hands start bobbing again and it drops in speed but this time it cuts off! in the middle of the highway! I coast to the side and crank the car again. It starts doing the warning lights and the hand gauges bobbing but this time it didn't cut off. This was the first incident on 12/23/2014. I purchased this vehicle on 11/22/2014! if I had known that pt's were faulty, I would never have bought it. This incident has happened numorous times since. Sometimes at higher speeds sometimes at lower speeds. Sometime just sitting parked it cuts off! from the research I've done since,their have been alot of the same complaints about the pt. It's not safe! you know it's not safe when you're going 70 on the interstate in heavy traffic and the car cutts off! this is not good.

I purchased this 2009 Pt Cruiser in 2012 with about 45000 miles. Since the odometer has reached about 80000 this problem has been recurring. While driving at any speed or even when parked and during all types of weather, all warning lights flash on and off. Then all gauges go up and down dramatically. Sometimes this is all that happens. However if it happens too many times in a short period of time, the car's engine just stops. It comes back but it is jerking the transmission violently. I have pulled off of the road and turned the car off, waited a couple of minutes, and then turned it back on. So far I have been lucky that it hasn't stopped at high speed and have been able to get out of traffic fairly easily. However this is very dangerous. This is our only vehicle, so we have to use it, but we are unwilling to leave town with it doing this.

Travelling at about 60 mph on the freeway, suddenly I noticed all the warning lights on the instrument panel coming on at once, for about 2 or 3 seconds, then going off again. I also noticed the fuel gauge and tachometer needles dancing around at the same time, before stabilizing. This happened several times within approximately 40 minutes of driving. I was afraid that the engine could stall but luckily the motor kept running without any indication of stalling. I have read several other posts and descriptions of people with identical problems and some of them described the engine stalling. Many of these state that dealerships are unable to find the problem and that Chrysler has not publicly acknowledged it. I find this difficult to believe as this has the potential of a major lawsuit waiting to happen as soon as someone gets hurt as a result. There are just too many of these descriptions to believe that this issue has not been identified.

While driving all dash lights going crazy, car engine shut down, driving approx. 55 miles per hour. This has happened approximately 3 times. Took to Chrysler dealership. Unable to replicate the problem. I was directly in front of 18 wheeler when engine just shut down.

After driving for about 5 minutes and going about 35 mph the lights on the instrument panel went on and all the gauges went to zero. I didn't totally lost power but slowed down and the gauges popped back and the instrument lights came back on. It has continued to run ok for the last 3 days. Took it to the dealer and was told nothing could be done unless they could duplicate the problem. This exact same thing occurred on September 8, 2013 at a mileage of about 39,100. The car has run ok since up to this latest incident on June 1, 2014.

I was driving on a major highway, doing about 55mph. All of my gauges started to light up, the speedometer went from 55 to zero then up to 65, the lights flashed on and off, the car then started to slow down to about 40, would not accelerate, then eventually just shut off. I was driving on a major highway, but able to pull off to the right side lane. The wheels tightened so I could not steer, I shut the car off and left it for about 20 mins. It started again but struggles to go over 40 before it starts acting up again. I can not find the problem, no codes are recorded. I am convinced that this is a serious safety issue with Pt Cruisers as I have read similar problems.

I just purchased this vehicle and had it for less then 3 weeks. I drove it a total of 5 times. When I was driving to work on a major highway, the car started to act up. The speedometer went from 55 to zero then back up to 80, I lost the ability to steer and accelerate, all of the lights came on the dash board, the car fuel gauges went up and down, and finally the car stalled. I was on a major highway which was a very scary. No codes were recorded for a mechanic to find out the problem. The problem is not fixed, and seems to be a problem with several Pt Cruisers from what I have researched. I am working with the dealer attempting for a refund, as I feel my safety and the safety of others are at risk.

Driving at 55mph and all the gauges (gas, speed, tach) went to zero and fluttered up and down, the vehicle stalled. Was fortunate enough to be able to pull over safely and restart the vehicle without incidence. The vehicle has repeated this on several occasions. I was able to record on my phone the instrument panel while it was acting up. Think I have isolated the problem to the key and ignition. I have found if I wiggle the key when this happens it stops. This could be very dangerous since you lose power to the vehicle while driving, it happens without warning. Several internet searches reveal alot of people with the same complaint. I think Chrysler should so be responsible for repair of this problem, they evidently produced a product with a defect that could potentially cause loss of life or bodily damage.

Gauges go crazy, sometimes it dies but will start up again. Wont trip codes to find the problem.

Last year (2013) I was driving around 35mph, all panel lights flash on and off intermittently for several days. Then one day it started again all panel lights came on again and all gauges dropped down, fuel tank gauge dropped to empty, etc and engine died. Placed car in park and thankful the car started up again. Took car to chapman dealership and no error codes appeared and they couldn't find the problem. Now it is April 2014 and the same problem is starting again all panel lights are blinking on and off and I am afraid the car will shut down while driving at a higher speed. I believe this is an safety issue.

3 times in 3 yrs. Ive found water in my driver-side rear tail-light????? ive had to unscew it and drain the water out and replace my bulb. .

Driving down the road, all gauges go crazy, all dash warning lights come on and off, vehicle loses power and stalls, very dangerous while driving. Dealer unable to locate the problem despite numerous repairs and having the car for weeks at a time. I cannot express how unsafe this is. Seems to be a problem reported by others but the dealer acts as if they have never heard of the issue before.

While traveling down the qew highway in ontario, the instrument panel on my pt 2009 cruiser started blinking on and off, the gauges went wild with up and down full-range swings, then blinking on and off on and off; I thought the seatbelt may be the problem since the fasten seatbelt indicator remained "on. " it happened again a second time right away (less than 2 minutes) accompanied by loss of engine power. I heard sputtering, and then the engine died, and I had to guide it to a resting spot on the side of the road without power steering; not fun. I was in near hamilton, ontario, and managed to get off the highway safely. I inspected under the hood and nothing seemed out of the ordinary at all. Engine restarted right away, and I was able to make it back to e. Amherst NY. This is totally unsafe! I was concerned about getting my family home safely. And there is no way to know what is wrong with the vehicle! I cannot trust my car and that stinks! I had same type of problem with a grand caravan (1994?) and the mechanics could never locate the problem. Makes me wonder about Chrysler.

While driving to work the gauges all dip to zero then all the dash lights come like when the engine is first started. If the gauge dip is short then the engine continues to run. Lately (since Jan) the gauges have staying in the zero position longer and the engine loses power. Sometimes the engine will pick back up sometimes not. If it doesn't then I have put the car in neutral and it will restart. This happens several times in succession and sometimes just every once in a while but almost always 4 or 5 times in 45 miles. Once the car has had a chance to sit during the day I don't have the problem on the way home. It seems to have this issue the most on days when we have a heavy dew. Rain does not seem to be a problem. I think moisture is being pulled in during the cool down and causing this issue. I just don't know where. The dealer (after 4 days) can't seem to duplicate the problem. My biggest fear is if this should happen when pulling out in traffic or in a corner as I lose power steering.

While driving down the road all the dash lights came on and the car started beeping, the gas gauge and mph and rpm dials go to zero. Can't pull a code and there seems to be no apparent problem that can be located by the dealer or a mechanic. This is very dangerous!.

I'm driving the car and all the dash lights instrument cluster lights come on & off blinking . All the hands like fuel hand and rpm start blinking up and down. It drops in speed. So I press on the gas. It comes back up but it guns the engine and starts jerking. Every time warning light comes on all the hands start blinking again and it drops in speed but this time it cuts off! in the middle of the highway! I coast to the side and crank the car again. The dash lights and all the hand gauges blinging but this time it didn't cut off. I purchased this vehicle on 2009! if I had known that pt's were faulty, I would never have bought it. This incident has happened numerous times since. Sometimes at higher speeds sometimes at lower speeds. Sometime just sitting parked it cuts off! from the research I've done since,there have been a lot of the same complaints about the pt. It's not safe! it's not safe when you're going 70 in heavy traffic and the car cuts off!.

While driving on the highway, all the gauges on the dashboard light up, car loses power. Sometimes it will restart but sometimes I will have to pull over to the side of the road. I have had the battery replaced and wires checked. I am afraid to drive for fear of getting into an accident since the car just stops without warning. This is so unsafe and seems to be a common issue for this car.

All the lights on the dash light up, dials start dropping, engine goes quiet and car starts coasting. Sometimes engine shuts off completely then turns on after a second or two; other times have to put the car in park, turn the ignition off and back on again- starts up normally. Has died at very low (sub 5mph) and very high (about 60mph) speeds; have blocked roads and intersections.

While driving car all dashlights flashes off and on gauges dance up and down car looses power and shuts down while driving.

Door will not open after car is in park, engine turned off, key is removed from ignition. I have to re-start engine to power down driver's window to reach through open window to open door from outside door latch. This has happened muliple occurrences with no obvious reasons. Should there be an emergency to exit vehicle, my concern is would I be able to get out.

While driving on the interstate, my car's dash board started going haywire. All gauges (except fuel and temperature) would drop down to zero for a second, and then go right back up to where they should be. The car never actually stalled, but acted a couple times like it might. I gave it a little extra gas and it kept running. This continued for the entire trip on the interstate. (approximately 100 miles. ).

The contact owns a 2009 Chrysler Pt Cruiser. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, all of the lights on the instrument panel flickered followed by the vehicle completely stalling. The vehicle was diagnosed by two different dealers, who both stated that they could not duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 25,500. The current mileage was 66,000.

The car was in motion when passenger airbag off light on dash illuminated, and then all gauges on dash dropped to zero and reset several times in succession. This has occurred several times, often including a loss of acceleration or engine stalls (though engine has never shut completely off, often it is only revived with a press of the accelerator). As with other complaints on this site, the vehicle was taken a dealership on several occasions for diagnosis, but the issue was never replicated. It has occurred several times in the past years, the most common symptom being the passenger airbag light coming on (practically weekly), indicating my passenger has no airbag and could be jeopardy in the event of an accident. No one has ever found this issue, which as repeated even after battery, electrical system, and battery contacts have been replaced. The vehicle has undergone numerous repairs related to the electrical system but this hasn't stopped, and I don't have the money to replace this car. Please look into this, the lives of my family are at risk if the passenger airbag doesn't work!!.

Tl - the contact owns a 2009 Chrysler Pt Cruiser. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, all of the gauges and warning lamps illuminated and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 35,000 and the current mileage was 47,000. Kmj.