Wheel Problems of Chrysler Sebring - part 2

My car (2001 chrylser Sebring) came equipped with chromed wheels. Apparently the chrome over time cracks allowing air to leak from the tires. As I was driving I noticed that there was a strange vibration from the front so I pulled over and discover the low tire. I reinflated the tire and took it to a repair shop. They told me what the problem was and patched the tire. They also told me that the patch was only temporary and that eventually all the wheels would fail. I would either need to rechrome the wheels or replace them. I took the car back to the dealer who told me that this was normally wear and the wheels were only covered for 3 years even though I have an 7 year warranty. I have not yet decided which option to do but I feel that wheels that can fail like this are a danger. This time I was not driving that fast and the leak was not that bad but it could be worse in the future. Also researching the issue over the internet, I discovered many people with this problem across many makes and models.

See all problems of the 2001 Chrysler Sebring 🔎.

: the contact stated the chrome on the wheels flake off. As a result, there is a loss of air. When this first occurred air was added once a week now air must be added daily. This occurs on all four wheels however the rear is worse. The vehicle was taken to the dealership a couple of years ago under warranty and something was added around the wheels to seal off the leak. Since this the tires were replaced and rotated. The dealership has not been alerted again.

: the contact stated the aluminum wheels have become pitted over time with normal use. The pits allowed air to escape through the sidewall, where the rim and tire meet. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer who determined the wheels needed to be replaced with stainless steel in order to avoid the same problem in the future.

See all problems of the 2002 Chrysler Sebring 🔎.

I have a 2003 Chrysler Sebring convertible that has chrome/aluminum wheels. I noticed that I was losing substantial pressure in my tires on a regular basis. Thinking this was a problem with the tires, and the car was under warranty, I took the car back to the Chrysler service center in wyckoff NJ where I purchased it. Upon inspection, the service technician indicated that there was nothing wrong with the wheels and that I should make sure to keep the tires properly inflated. The problem persisted and, when I brought the car to my regular (non-Chrysler) mechanic, he pointed out that my rims were corroding from the inside and that this affected the bead on the tire and caused it to lose pressure. He indicated that he had called Chrysler and been told the problem was not covered under warranty. I have since read that this is a common problem with Sebring rims. I sent an internet complaint to Chrysler's website but received no response. My mechanic advised that all he could do, instead of total replacement, was grind down the old rims and tar over them as a stop gap solution. I experience additional loss of pressure about every other day and have taken the car back to tire dealers twice to regrind the rims. Each time they point to the corrosion and their frustration with Chrysler not dealing the problem. Having tires lose pressure because of a defect in the design and performance of the wheel is a clear safety hazard. I hope NHTSA will look into this and require Chrysler to stand behind its product. Thank you.

See all problems of the 2003 Chrysler Sebring 🔎.

: the contact stated the chrome wheels became corroded due to the weather and damaged the tires. The service dealer determined the problem was weather related and could only be addressed by continuously adding air to the tires. The contact expressed that air needs to be added to the tires on a daily basis.

I was driving residential streets when I suddenly heard a knocking noise coming from the right front passenger wheel well when the car went over bumps in the road at about 20-25 mph. But I didn't feel any compromise in vehicle handling. I pulled over, visually inspected the tire and tried to bounce the car front to replicate the sound with no success. I decided to proceed on and entered the highway and accelerated to about 60-65 mph. After 15 minutes of highway driving the engine made a loud clanking sound and the car began vibrating. I moved off the road, to the right and stopped with a great deal of difficulty both in braking and steering. Upon stopping the vehicle made a loud single bang noise and black smoke rose up from the right front passenger tire. The vehicle could not be moved forward or backward and was towed to the dealer repair shop. The diagnosis was that a bolt fell off of a support arm that holds the right brake caliper in place. The support arm had become entangled in the rim and locked the tire. I replaced the premium rim, support arm, bolt and was able to keep the brake caliper. My brakes have not been changed, my car is 3 yrs old and has 27,000 miles and is in otherwise perfect condition.

The wheels corroded from the inside at the center hubs. This happened on all four wheels. The consumer took the vehicle to the dealer for a state inspection last week and the inspector found this problem. Contacted manufacturer, and was told to take the vehicle to the dealer, but this was not covered under warranty. The consumer was going to replace all four wheels, one wheel was almost completely corroded. Consumer was still driving the vehicle. There was no mailing address provided for the dealer by the consumer.

Consumer states: noticed air leaking from tires. Chrome wheels were corroded, and it caused the tires to leak. However, dealer confirmed that they wanted to charge consumer out of pocket to fix it.

Dt consumer states the wheels on his vehicle have corroded and caused air to leak out. When the wheels were replaced by the service dealer they stated it was from the road salt during the winter. The vehicle is still under warranty.

Driver noticed that all four tires were losing air pressure from the wheels. The wheels contained alumina chrome alloy plated, and the seal deteriorated. This caused low tire pressure. Driver took vehicle to the dealer, and mechanic determined that the wheels would be changed at driver's expense.

The consumer noticed that the vehicle's rear tires were losing air constantly. The consumer took the vehicle in for servicing and found that the chrome wheels were crumbling causing air leakage. All of the chrome wheels on the vehicle needed replacement.

I have replaced 8 tires so far in the 7 months I have owned the car. . . 3 local mechanics blame problem on soft aluminum wheels or manufacturer defect in wheels (tires are not to blame).

See all problems of the 1999 Chrysler Sebring 🔎.

This failure of the wheel hub cap is the third time that this item has failed and departed the vehicle while it was in motion. The design of the wheel hub on the chrome optional wheels is extremely poor as these hubs do not stay in place. Each time I have had to purchase a new hub at $58. These center hubs should be redesigned and replaced on all vehicles. Dt.

This is the 4th wheel for this vehicle that has bent in 2 years.

See all problems of the 1998 Chrysler Sebring 🔎.

All four aluminum wheels were causing loss of air, due to deoxidizing of wheels. Dealer/manufacturer were notified.

See all problems of the 2000 Chrysler Sebring 🔎.

Front left wheel assembly on vehicle fell off completely while traveling at approximately 30 mph. Dealership did not give consumer a reason for possible defect. Prior work was done by a private mechanic - an investigator looked into this matter. Please provide any additional information/attachments/photographs.

I have had 3 out of 4 my rims bend (at speed from 40 - 55 mph), which claused flat tires. These rims are highly unreliable!!! please investigate!!! I have talked to other Sebring owners, and all have had the same problems!!!.

The right front and left front tires went flat while driving damaging the alloy wheel, a goodyear manager stated that the wheel design on the vehicle is faulty and is too large for the car. Nlm.

See all problems of the 1997 Chrysler Sebring 🔎.

Design of wheels causes the rim to bend resulting in intermittent tire failure.

The problem with the wheels on my Sebring lxi is that they are all warped. I noticed the car had a bad vibration and when I went to get new tires installed, the tire dealer said that all four wheels were warped. The car shimmies all over the road at any speed. I have seen many complaints on the internet about this problem. There are wheel companies on ebay advertising replacement wheels for the lxi, saying "replacement wheels for the warp prone Sebring lxi wheels". I have contacted Chrysler about my problem and they said the car was out of warranty. The wheel manufacturer, weld wheels, has not responded to my email attempts.

All 4 wheels are bent on car from road pot holes. The rims are made from aluminum. They are to soft for the low profile good year tire that is on the car. Went the rim bends the tire belts break causing the car to vibrate. The goodyear tire that is on the car is the only 17 inch tire that fits the car. I have checked out many other Sebrings most of their rims are bent also. This is a very bad safty issue. I use my car to travel for my work.

Rear left wheel corroded making it hard to change flat tire.

See all problems of the 1996 Chrysler Sebring 🔎.