Five problems related to front suspension control arm have been reported for the 2001 Chrysler Sebring. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
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.
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 facng 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.
The ball joint on the control arm assembly can fail causing the ball stud to wear through the control arm housing resulting in noise and/or separation of the ball stud from the housing.
The dash, radio, & cd player lights flash off and on intermittently. This occurs on random occasions, but seems to happen more often in wet weather. It also happens when operating the turn signal. The lights will dim low and will not return to a "normal" brightness until you adjust the turn signal arm. Another alarming issue is on occasion, smoke will appear from the steering column when turning on the lights. The other electrical problem is when turning a corner and accelerating after a stop, the cd player hesitates, or skips as if the power has been switched off. The suspension problem is the noise of metal and banging in the suspension. We had a very dangerous incident happen while on a trip when the upper drivers side control arm disintegrated while driving at highway speed (65 mph). I fought to control the car and managed to get it off the highway to the shoulder of the road. There was no warning or indication that a problem was about to occur. We nearly died. The repair was expensive, and now it appears a similar problem may be occurring on the right side.
The contact owns a 2001 Chrysler Sebring convertible. While driving approximately 35 mph, the contact heard a loud banging noise. The contact pulled over and shut the vehicle off. Upon examining the vehicle, he noticed that the front passenger side wheel became loose. The ball joint fractured from the control arm. The vehicle had not been repaired. The VIN was unavailable. The current and failure mileages were approximately 104,000.