6th Apr 2006, 01:43

Yes. I have figured the cargo shelf out.

I felt like a dummy when I finally read the instructions and found out how to use it.

22nd Jan 2007, 00:04

I am the original writer of this review, again.

I have hit just over 82,000 miles on my PT Cruiser Touring Edition.

At around 65,000 miles my trunk light has quit working.

At around 67,000 miles the thermostat destroyed itself.

When I replaced it, the thing came out in 4 pieces. Fortunately none of it went into the radiator.

It was a very inexpensive repair, done yourself. But will cost about $120 at Chrysler dealer to do it.

My only complaint is, it is so darn hard to get around in the little area 'cause I have big hands.

My suggestion that I will pass on that I read on Auto Zone's website is replace your thermostat every 2 or 3 years to prevent this from happening.

I didn't listen and it happened.

Also, I wish to let everyone know how well a PT Cruiser holds up in a fender bender.

On 12/13/06 I had a guy make a U-turn into the driver front fender and door of my PT Cruiser.

My car held up better than the '95 Toyota 4Runner. His radiator got punctured by his bumper. I believe he had front end damage already though.

My fender is dented as well as the door, which is also slightly sprung.

A word of wisdom. When the fender gets bent, it bends the splash guard towards the tire and it rubs. And also the way the fender and door are made the metal bent kinda weird, so I had to exit my car from the passenger side.

I was able to bend the fender back to where the guard doesn't rub the tire and I can open my door.

PT Cruisers are not cheap to fix. $2,015 to fix my car. Thank goodness for insurance.

Unlucky for the other guy, though. His vehicle was totalled out.

15th Sep 2007, 20:20

Have you changed the timing belt? When the timing belt goes out, it will damage the whole engine.

13th Jan 2008, 01:14

I am the poster of this review.

Just updating on my '03 PT Cruiser.

I now have over 102,000 miles and my PT is still running strong. I recently changed the coolant which was really easy to do fortunately.

Next on my list is the tranny fluid and getting the timing belt and serpentine belt replaced. Not looking forward to that expense, but if it saves me an engine I'll go for it.

I also want to note if anyone has a problem with pulsating lights while driving at night you might want to get the battery checked out. My battery was bad and I didn't even know it until one morning the engine almost didn't crank over. Once I replaced the battery, not only did the pulsating lights go away, but the engine runs much stronger and smoother at highway speeds. I think it was the alternator trying to keep the battery charged and was sucking power from the motor.

Please note that Wal-Mart will not replace the battery because it is too labor intensive. Apparently the air filter box has to be taken out to get the battery out which in all takes about 45 minutes.

I got lucky though since I work in the Tire & Lube Express at the Wal-Mart that installed my battery so the tech did it anyway.

15th Mar 2008, 23:52

OK. Never mind what I said above about Wal-Mart not being able to install the battery in a PT Cruiser. They can. It's just going to take a long time because the air box has to come off as well as a couple of other things.

11th Apr 2008, 11:56

Giving an update on my PT Cruiser.

I have nearly 108,000 miles on it now with no problems. Today 4/11/2008, I am doing some preventative maintenance. I am getting the timing belt, water pump and main drive belt replaced. The whole repair cost estimate is $558. Not a terrible price, it could be more, but it could be cheaper also.

My PT Cruiser is still in the shop and am just killing time for now. The maintenance is going to take about 5 hours.

I will update how things went and if the price changed on my next comment.

25th Jul 2008, 02:00

Okay, another update.

I replaced the front brakes and rotors on my PT Cruiser.

The original brake pads did not cover the entire surface of the rotors so they made a wonderful groove in them so I had to replace the rotors too.

The parts I purchased are Raysbestos. Rotors were just over $100 for the pair and the brake pads were $65 for the set.

I still have an intermittent problem with the drum brakes squeaking and squealing. I checked them myself and they are still good. Oh well, drum brakes suck anyway.

14th Aug 2008, 01:32

I have a 03 that had a similar problem with rough idle. There was a service bulletin regarding faulty wires. First the dealer replaced the number three wire. That worked for a few months. The problem came back. This time they replaced all four. A few months later same problem. After doing some research I found the Chrysler plug wires are cheap. I purchased a set of MSD wires about two years ago and never had a problem.

1st Sep 2008, 00:54

Thank you for the comment.

I always wondered why the way my PT ran wasn't the same as before my tune-up. It changed then and after having my timing belt replaced. But now it has gotten a bit better. Hopefully things will be fine. If not then maybe I'll upgrade my plug wires also.

The Chrysler dealership that I had my car worked on has closed up. And it's no wonder why, the service writer was a total creep. They probably didn't get enough business because of him.