29th Mar 2007, 17:30

Poor driving does NOT cause brake pulsation. Incorrect lug nut torque causes pulsation. Unevenly or overtightened lug nuts will cause the rotor or possibly the wheel hub to distort causing the pulsation. Insulting people when you don't have the facts straight is very primitive.

31st Mar 2007, 09:01

This is absolutely the worse car I have ever owned. I had it for 2 days, took it to NY, and it stalled in Time Square, luckily it started back up. I continued to have problems with it stalling in rush hour traffic. Main highways just driving down the road. I had the car towed several times to the dealer. The dealer took the car, test drove it several times and had to have the car towed themselves. They replaced the battery, starter, transmission cable line several times. Got the car back, did the same thing.

Then finally one day, I went out to start it and it wouldn't start at all. Again, had the car towed to the dealer. They replaced the computer. That worked for a few months, then it did it again. So I had to have it towed again. Then they replaced the computer again, and some key ignition module. That finally worked and it stopped stalling.

Then the ABS and traction control light came on; some sensor in the front wheels needed replaced. After that was fixed, the transmission started acting up. I could run the car for a little bit, then I would get into rush hour traffic, and the car would get stuck in second gear. I would have to sit along the side of the road, turn off the car and wait about 15 minutes to get to work.

I dealt with that for a while, then a new problem again occurred when I was driving down the road and I dropped below 55 MPH; the speedometer would drop to 0, the car would jerk kick into second gear. I had to make it home, so I drove it in 2nd for several miles. Every time I would stop it would stall.

In all, this car was a big lemon. I bought it with 34k miles, thinking I had a great car, and it was nothing but problems from the start.

I went through tires like crazy; they would go flat almost every day. Would have to stop to get air in them. The tires were expensive and the belts would break every so many months.

I kept the car so long because of all the great features it had. The car was beautiful, but it cause me lots of grief and tons of money. I would not recommend this car to anyone.

For those who have had good luck with theirs, congratulations, I'm happy for you. I wish that could have been me. I loved the car.

Right now I am stuck with a large payment and large repair bills. I will not sell this car or even give to anyone. If I gave it away, it would just be for car parts, and that's just the body, not the mechanicals.

8th Apr 2007, 20:29

I have a 2002 300m special and love it. I have had ZERO problems thus far with 43500 miles and look forward too many more years of service from her. Keep up with your car and it won't leave you on the side of the road!!! I love my special and would not dream of trading for one of those new 300s/bricks with wheels.

28th Oct 2007, 17:24

Yes, poor driving habits DO cause pulsating brakes. Excessive application of brakes causes heat build-up, which causes rotor warp-age. Normal driving equals normal wear on brakes unless the callipers are sticking or seized. If that were the case, the smell of burning brakes would be a tip off.

Your wheel would have to be "wobbling" if improper lug nut torque was that severe.

20th Dec 2008, 10:38

I have owned a 2002 300M Special since 2005, 105000 miles. I want to know the solution for check engine light, transmission clunk on 2nd gear. The transmission solenoids and link have been changed, but the problem is still going on. Thanks!

18th Jan 2009, 18:54

I was looking at this to see if I wanted to give a 300m one more try. I had a 1999 300 and it was a hunk of crap.

For the person with the brakes, we replaced ours with drilled and slot-ed rotors because they always were crappy, so it's not your driving. We also had the lights blinking off and on, crack in the dashboard they say from the airbag.

The car was a nightmare, and at the time we made the last payment, the car threw a rod - no more 300.

There were a lot more problems than that; too many to go into.

So all you people having good luck, that's great, but knock on some wood.

I have a 2007 Honda Accord now cuz I said I would never buy American after that car. But I find myself missing that car, so I was just checking to see if they got better over the years. I see not so much.

I took great care of that car, and never took it to a fly by night place to get it fixed. The same people had it all the time and worked on lots of others. Found out those cars are just not great ones. So still will never buy one.

4th Mar 2009, 11:27

I have an '02 300M Special. Bought it with 15K miles, and it now has 130K miles. It is a great car - handles really well for having such a heavy forward weight bias, looks great and with such a torquey engine it is fun to drive.

But, I have had some irritating issues with mine:

1. The climate control has never worked correctly. Set at 89 degrees, it blows cold air. Set at 90 degrees, it blow hot air - no in-between.

2. The rear sway bar mounts (anti-roll bar mounts) on the rear struts cracked and one broke off. I bought a set of struts off a low miles wreck and they were also cracked. I repaired and reinforced them before I installed them and they have been holding up OK since.

3. The front wheel bearings are growling loudly and I am struggling to remove the old bearing assembly. They are stuck on the splines of the half shaft. What a pain.

4. The front fascia sits very low to the ground and can get hooked on a parking berm. Several times it was pulled off by a curb when my wife backed out of a parking spot. I finally added some panels to the underside to help it hop over the berm.

5. The speaker buzz and rattle. The dealer supposedly replaced them, but all they did was put some glue on them, which didn't last.

6. The front tire wear at twice the rate of the rears, so you have to rotate the tires religiously.

7. The tranny calibration is good for sport driving but it has the habit of hitting first gear just as you hit the gas when rolling through a stop sign, making a big thud noise.

All in all a good car, but due to some of these nagging issues and the dealer's unwillingness to fix them, I probably wouldn't buy another Chrysler.