3rd Jul 2007, 09:38

I have a 99 300m that has for the most part been a good car. I have noticed however some occasional weirdness in the electrical that causes concern... Sometimes my lights will come on and blink a few times when the car is parked and the dash lights have done similar things while driving. I am on my third battery and the replacement is a total pain to do. However it is still better to do it myself than spend the hundreds of dollars and days that it takes to get it done by Chrysler or anywhere else.

A "seven" year battery seems to be good for about 3 years in these cars... not sure why... but combine that with the difficult replacement and it is annoying. Other than that the car has been a dream... and the styling still holds up today after 8 years.

3rd Jul 2007, 16:30

One more thing: after five years of normal usage, I decided to sell the Intrepid and go for the 300M Special. I was pretty satisfied with the Intrepid's behaviour, just some small annoyances, but I did not expect after I bought this one that I would smile every time I'm climbing into the cockpit: my point is that I changed the battery of the Intrepid myself after 8 years and when I did some maintenance to the 300M, I saw that I had to deal with the same procedure, when it comes to replacing the battery. You don't have to remove the headlight assy to do this (will ease the job), it's only necessary to remove the wheel and the mud cover and you will have enough room to slide out the old one and to put the new one back in. So do not go to the dealer if you want to save big. A good suggestion may be to put some grease on the battery connectors ON THE BATTERY to protect them against corrosion and to check also how well they are tightened.

25th Jul 2007, 22:03

As I said in my previous Post, my 1999 300M has over 170,000 miles on it. Out of the blue, I was at a midwest Casino last week when I parked next to a twin to my 1999 300M and it only had 43,000 miles on it. The owner was leaving as I drove up and we struck up a conversation and I am buying his 300M as a back up to my present one. His is showroom pristine and he is the original owner. Been in a garage for 8 years except for Florida trips. His car rides and drives like mine did 130,000 miles ago. I plan on keeping both of them. My wife and I both feel the 1999 300M is by far the most comfortable car to travel in that we have owned during the last 40 years.

He had the same problems that I have repeatedly seen posts on, bad battery, battery cable and speed sensor on the front of the trans. All three things happened to him in the first 40,000 miles. I have to believe poor engineering as these things seem to happen over and over on the 1999 model.

Still a great car.

14th Sep 2007, 13:43

I really appreciate everyone's comments on the 1999 chrysler 300m I too have had similar problems and now have great instincts and awareness about my 300m! I've come across my car not being able to start right away, usually after 2-3 times turning the key over! When I listen I can hear a fluid moving around the engine when it does start and it does stutter! any ideas? I really think it is the fuel pump! does anybody know if the fuel pump is in the gas tank or between the engine and fuel tank because I would like to replace it! Thanks Again!

18th Nov 2007, 20:49

Amazing to read of others with the flickering lights, battery problems and all. We've had them too, I just put in our 3rd battery - definitely no fun - all heavy duty that lasted just long enough to make the warranty not worth cashing in on.

But we also still love the car. I am tall with long legs and it is one of the few cars I can fit in halfway comfortably.

We have less than 50,000 miles on ours and I am now getting ready to replace the starter. Sometimes it just clicks loudly, but the starter does not engage. After a little research I believe it to be the solenoid. I jumped the relay switch and had the same problem. Sometimes it cranks right over and starts right up... sometimes it will have the loud click, 2 4, 5, 8, 10-12 times and then suddenly engage and start. I am a little concerned because there have been times when I just turned the lights on and off, or played with the interior dimmer switch and the car seemed to "miraculously" start right after doing so. I am hoping the starter is the problem and not some impossible to find electrical problem.

I have always been concerned that someday I could be driving on a winding mountain road at night and that all my lights could just suddenly go out... gulp! I have never lost lights, but have had the flickering of the dash and headlights for absolutely no reason that I could see which makes me wonder how secure the electronics are in the car.

It is now relegated to 2nd car "light duty" in the household, but can't see getting rid of it or ever finding something I like better at a reasonable cost.

1st Dec 2007, 13:25

Well, I finally had my battery looked at on my Chrysler 1999 300M. And to my surprise, the new battery was installed with bad cables, which were draining my battery acid & causing it to not start at all. It would only start if jumper cables were on it. So now I have a new battery as well as new connection cables. It is running fine.

6th Dec 2007, 16:35

I would love to add some comments about my 1999 300M. I have also had several of the same problems such as the rear passenger window not working, the interior lights blinking off and on while driving down the street, and moisture in the headlights. My battery situation must be the exception here since I just recently replaced the original battery and my car now has 105,000 miles on it! I did this job by pulling off the wheel well. Also replaced the cables and connectors. I believe this stopped the lights flickering.

However, the main problem I have had (that I am surprised no one else has mentioned here) is the fact that when my 300 was 4 years old, the dash started cracking open. It is now cracked in a complete parallel outline around the entire passenger side airbag. I originally called Dr. Vinyl to see about having it repaired and he said it would be 50.00 to repair what was at that time a 2 inch split, but that he would not guarantee it because "All those cars did that, and the repair will not hold". He said that it is a "design flaw". I contacted Chrysler about it at that time and they told me they "Are not aware of any such problem". It is $700.00 to replace this dash assembly. I let it go until now. Then my air conditioner quit last summer. I had my mechanic do a dye test and found the evaporator coil is bad. Since it is located under the dash, this cracked dash will have to come off. I am sure it will finish tearing up when it is removed. The dealer told me that the dash is on National Back order which tells me that this problem is very widespread. I sent Chrysler another email about this, but so far no reply. I also told them of reading on the Internet where quite a few individuals had posted comments about having the very same problem with this car. I don't think they want to back up the product because of the cost of such an expensive part, and it sure takes away from the looks of the interior. Comments on this issue will be appreciated.