29th Jul 2008, 08:24

I have a 1996 Chrysler Cirrus LX V6. It would stall / die on the highway with no warning. I replaced the camshaft and crankshaft position sensors and now it runs fine. The camshaft position sensor cannot be purchased alone, you have to get the entire distributor which contains this part. I used Rock Auto's web site for re-man parts. Recently it began leaking coolant so now I have to replace the water pump (currently at 133K miles.) Also, for some reason when I put gas in the tank, the pump shuts off at the high flow rate and gas overflows from the fill tube. Any idea what is causing that?

1st Aug 2008, 14:43

Started to get worried about my 1998 Chrysler Cirrus LXi a week and a half ago when the check engine light came on. Let it go for a couple days and it went out. Wasn't entirely convinced, and sure enough the car started "stuttering" for a few seconds on my daily work commute. It would only happen once, and at the same spots during the commute. This started a few days ago, and the car ended up stalling out completely. I tried restarting it immediately after I pulled over and stopped, but had to wait a few seconds before it would start. It stalled again a couple seconds later, before I could get moving, but started up and kept going all the way home. Took it to a mechanic, (one my family has dealt with for years), and he says it's the EGR valve. We'll see if it's the problem.

12th Aug 2008, 10:05

As a conclusion to the comment made the 1st of Aug. about the EGR valve in the '98 Cirrus. As it turned out, it wasn't the valve that was the whole problem. It might have been part of the problem, but replacing it didn't fix it.

After doing some research online, it was decided to try replacing the crankshaft position sensor, auto shutoff relay, and distributor (because of the cam position sensor inside). The crankshaft sensor was replaced first, then the relay, and finally the distributor. That seemed to do it, although the one connector in the distributor cap was very corroded.

All the parts were very cheap, coming from a junkyard. The space is very tight inside the engine bay, but once you start working around in it, it gets easier. I think I spent half the time trying to retrieve dropped nuts and bolts.

30th Sep 2008, 18:59

I have a 1998 Chrysler Cirrus and it keeps shutting off with no warning. Many times it won't even start up! Check engine light comes on, but no codes can be read when diagnostic is done. Many suggest an 02 sensor, etc. Went to the shop and they said it was the EGR valve and the PCM needed to be reflashed. However, upon replacing the EGR valve and reflashing the PCM, it still shuts off and won't start. It mainly happens when there is moisture in the air. Does anybody know what is wrong with my car??? Please help. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

24th Oct 2008, 14:54

To the person on Sept.30th... Replace the crankshaft sensor. It's most likely the problem...

25th Oct 2008, 18:43

I have a 1996 Chrysler Cirrus LXI. We recently replaced the front header and all gaskets, spark plugs and wires.

However, since the work was done, the car has been having the same problems mentioned above.

It hasn't stalled at high speed yet, but has skipped or stuttered when pulling away from a stop. The most nerve wracking was pulling out to cross traffic on a left and having the car shudder and almost stall.

It also skips or stutters when idling. We are going to replace the ECG(?) thing first and then probably the fuel filter. Apparently, you need to remove (unhook) the fuel tank in order to get at the filter.

I have to agree that this is a very poorly designed engine space. Half the spark plugs are completely inaccessible unless other parts are removed. It seems to me that Chrysler designed a car that must be taken to a pricey mechanic for any little thing.

I have driven and worked on other makes of cars and been able to make various repairs, tune ups etc without lots of complicated or lengthy effort required, but this one is pretty much a pain in the A$$ to fix.

17th Nov 2008, 14:37

My fellow Chrysler owners:

I received my 1998 Chrysler Cirrus from my mother in 2006. It only had about 35,000 miles and now it has 80,000. I am having the same problems a lot of you are having:

- Sudden Stop Syndrome

- Sputters and if I am traveling 15 MPH or less

- Once I crank it up, the speedometer and RPM gages go crazy. When this happens, she won't go into reverse, let alone any gear.

I am really frustrated and no one can tell me what is wrong. I am going to replace the crank shaft sensor and see if that helps. I will keep you all posted as to what happens. This site is very helpful and it feels good to know I'm not alone in this. I truly believe we should write Chrysler to have these cars recalled, although I do love it otherwise.

18th Dec 2008, 16:32

I just recently purchased 98 cir thinking I was getting a deal of the life time from a private sale! once I got home it looked like white smoke was coming out of the exhaust, but in the morning nothing. Then all of the above happend and the car will not start at all. Plus it's snowing!!! I first thought it was the battery and tried to jump it. But it will act like it wants to turn over but it won't. I'll start with the crank shaft sensor and keep you all informed. Why can't this be easy!!

14th Jan 2009, 12:40

I have a 97 Cirrus, I bought new, with 276,000 miles on it. Never a problem with the old gal, I'm still running with the original battery. Since December, it has developed the sudden stop syndrome. When it first did it, I noticed my fuel pump was not turning on when I keyed on the ignition. So I swapped the pump and the car started right up. This morning while driving to work it stalled and I had it towed home. It started back up and I drove around for about 45 minutes then it quit again. I am not looking forward to chasing all the issues listed on this post with cam and crank sensors etc, but the problem seems to happen when the car is warm. It may just be time to bury her.