Eight problems related to front suspension lower ball joint have been reported for the 2002 Chrysler Sebring. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The contact owns a 2002 Chrysler Sebring. The contact stated that while driving 20 mph, the left front lower ball joint failed, causing the wheel to cave inward. The vehicle was towed to the contacts home and was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 160,000.
Coming to a stop and turning right. Noise and wheel just fell flat on roadway. Lower ball joint disconnedted and made steering impossible and car uncontrollable. After repair about 6 months later the sam wheel top ball joint disconnected and nearly resulted in a accident on a busy street. The mechanic who repaired also checked the driver side ball joins and I was told they were within specs. In may of 2014 while driving around 50 miles an hour the bottom balljoint on the driver side disengaged and the steering was lost and the tire fell flat and nearly cause a head on crash. I have had many cars and diven for years and this has nevr happened in my life. There should be a recall on these vehicles ASAP. Some research indicates that the casting on the ball joint ring were heat treated improperly and Chrysler it aware that this could have and result in th whell separation from the control arm leading to steering lost to the vehile and danger to the occupants. .
On may 22, 2011, I was driving my 2002 Chrysler Sebring convertible onto a main road here in florida and all of the sudden there was a huge thud, my car crashed to the ground, and it jolted forward after forcing a stop. I got out of the car and the body of my front passenger side had fallen on top of my tire. The police arrived and said that it was my control arm. I spent over $150 getting it towed numerous places and I was finally told that it was my front control arm and lower ball joint. They told me it was going to be $1500 to repair because my drivers side control arm and lower ball joint look like they are going to do the same thing. I went to the vehicle center section on my car insurance website and to my surprise there are three vehicle recalls for my year and model. I did not think that I was going to find anything, but there is a recall for the exact thing that happened to my car. I called the manufacturer and they said that my VIN does not match for any recalls. This is a very dangerous situation. The exact thing that is being recalled happened to me, but it doesn't seem to matter. Shouldn't my safety be number one? the police and towing company, as well as my parents, said that I am lucky to be alive. If I would have been on the highway that I was headed to and the control arm and ball joint would have broken/fallen off, I could have been seriously injured or worse. There needs to be justification for them to deny my claim. Just because it doesn't fall under their recall list doesn't mean it shouldn't. These types of parts are made to last in all other cars. My car is not that old, and this didn't just happen out of the blue. I think that my car should be checked out for the recall, otherwise the other one is going to do the same thing, and next time I might not be so lucky.
The contact owns a 2002 Chrysler Sebring. The contact stated that while driving out of a parking lot, she heard a noise when she turned the steering wheel and noticed that the drivers side wheel and tire were out of place. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic who stated that failure was caused by the front suspension lower ball joint arm. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure and the current mileage were 99,000.
The contact owns a 2002 Chrysler Sebring. While driving approximately 35 mph, the passenger front wheel seemed to cave in. The wheel collapsed and folded inward. She lost all steering capabilities the failure did not cause a crash; however, the vehicle was stuck in the middle of the road. The vehicle was towed. The tow truck driver stated that the ball joint were broken which caused the vehicle to collapse. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer stated that they had no knowledge of recall 09e056000, suspension:front:control arm: lower ball joint. The current and failure mileages were approximately 96,000.
The contact owns a 2002 Chrysler Sebring convertible. Corrosion was present on the lower control arm ball joint seal. No repairs have been made. The failure mileage was 7,000 and the current mileage was 9,000. Updated 10/27/09 the consumer stated the lower control arm ball joint seal boot failed. It deteriorated which caused separation of the ball joint. Updated 10/28/09.
While driving the tire came off on front passenger side. The dealer said the lower ball joint failed. The manufacturer said they will talk to the dealer. They said they will pay for half. Manufacturer said that was their best offer. Last November the consumer heard a squeaking noise, and took it to dealer. They said it was nothing. Dealer did say after the tire came off other parts were damaged.
2002 Chrysler Sebring with broken ball joint. Consumer states that the ball joint broke and almost killed him. He would like to know if she should file a lemon law complaint.