1997 Chrysler Sebring Convertible JXI 2.5 litre from North America

Summary:

Cute, comfy, fun car, fix all the lemon-like issues and you have yourself a peach of a ride!

Faults:

Approx 60,000KM front passenger tie rod arm worn and loose, replaced under warranty by dealership prior to my purchase of car.

90,000KM fuse for starter blew, had to tow the car, 190$ to diagnose and fix the fuse (not covered under warranty, fuse is worth about 30cents)! The turd in service dept. laughed at me because of this. Later turned out to be a faulty solenoid for the starter which was fixed under warranty.

100,000KM convertible top falling apart, numerous fraying spots, trim rotting off, leaks horribly over driver side where the first joint of the top is. Trim has broken down. Trim around the windshield is buckling and warped. Paint on the interior door handles is chipping off. Theres a nasty mildew smell in the car. Headlights are badly oxidized and clouded, not very bright anymore and really expensive to replace (WHY THE HECK DID THEY MAKE THEM OUT OF PLASTIC!?!?!WHY IS PLASTIC SO EXPENSOVE!?!?!) Water is leaking into my rear driver side tail light. I replaced the bulbs and sealed it myself! Auto driver side window down only works when it feels like.

100,000KM rear defrost contact has come off therefore defrost no longer works and cannot be re-attached!?!

100,000KM the rotors were so badly warped, had to be replaced at tune of $300. This car totally eats front brakes because it's way too heavy for the brakes it's equipped with. Needs bigger rotors and brakes.

110,000KM front driver side tie rod arm worn and loose, had to be replaced. $200 approx.

120,000KM instrument panel cluster solder job failed (car is made in Mexico, by the way). Whole dash had to be torn open and the solder repaired. Fortunately a friend of mine at the time was into electronics as this would have cost a fortune!

140,000KM rear hub assembly worn and whining loudly, had to be replaced, approx. $300. The rear hub bearing assembly is all one piece to save money in manufacturing and bearings cannot be repacked. Very expensive part!

140,000KM contact button in driver side door smashed and alarm went off independently when I was out of earshot. Someone called the police when the alarm had been blaring for over 3 hours! Could have been very expensive with towing, fines, repairs etc. The twits at the dealership argued about the part and the problem and wanted me to bring the car in. Took great persuasive skills to get them to sell me the part and I put it in myself in about 5minutes. $15 part.

150,000KM the EGR valve (Electronic Gas Regulator?) failed and the 'check engine' light coming on and off. This part is minimum $250 and quite the job to put it in. The computer even had to come out to get at it. Thank goodness for handy boyfriends and family!

165,000KM I can hear the other rear hub going, a rhythmical whining sound coming from the rear end, very annoying and also apparently unsafe.

165,000KM every time I use the cigarette lighter, a fuse blows in the dash which disables the horn and therefore, the alarm.

168,000KM the stereo 6disk changer has failed and despite all attempts it says 'No Disk' and makes strange noises. Rear speakers blew at about 90K. E-brake is loose and needs re-setting.

168,000KM battery replaced as not holding charge.

General Comments:

I fell in love with my car the minute I sat in it. I have taken REALLY GOOD care of it over the six years that I have owned it. If I didn't love the car I would have shot and buried it a long time ago. Car handles nicely and is (currently) running well. Handles well at high speeds, causing me numerous speeding tickets lol. Comfy ride and not too heavy on the gas. Approx 55litre tank will go 600KM, even at 10 years of age. This car could have used more thought into it's quality and accoutrements. Decent options package.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 29th May, 2007

29th May 2007, 21:43

I sympathize with your problems... but they seem to be somewhat in line for a fully loaded, 10 year old convertible (all those cool features break sooner or later). These things were never really built to be driven year round (If you live in an area that gets salt during the winter, that would explain the top problems). At almost 170kms, you haven’t had to rebuild the transmission, or put a head gasket in it ($$$$), or replace the trans shift computer... so over all, it's not too too bad. I have had other drop tops (some more expensive), and my Sebring comes out as the best. With 250kms, I've done all the usual things, which I admit get a little expensive, but I have a car that still works great, and looks like few others. So I can't really complain... at least I don't have a car payment is the way I see it.

PS: Head light polishing kits work well (wax the lights regularly after). Jeweller’s Rouge polishing compound on a slow speed buffing wheel also does wonders. Glass lights were nice, but cracked from stones... and besides, glass lights pretty much came in 2 shapes: circle or square, which made design options limited.

Best of luck with yours.

29th Sep 2009, 19:13

Regular medium grit rubbing compound will work great for the lights. As for $250 for an EGR valve? Sounds like they took you for a ride.

1997 Chrysler Sebring Convertible 2.5L V6 from North America

Summary:

Fun to drive and not too problematic

Faults:

I drive a 1997 Sebring JXi Convertible. I love the car to death, all of my friends make fun of me cause its supposedly a "girls car". I don't care, I would like to drive something manual and faster, but this car is quite fast.

There are just a few things I would like to list:

- In owning the car for almost 4 years and having 115,000 miles on it, I have had to replace the brakes and rotors one time! In my opinion that is great. Most people say that the Sebring is a lemon and they list this as a fault, however, I'm pretty sure that every car needs this type of maintenance, especially at this mileage.

- There is of course some wear on the leather seats which is expected, but it is nothing too crazy, just wear and its not bad at all

- There is a strong whistling at about 60 MPH that can be annoying, but I do play loud music so its not too bothersome, and even when its off its not that bad I guess I might just be used to it.

- The stock radio is horrible, when I turn it down, the volume goes wayy up before it goes down. So I replaced it and got an aftermarket head unit which really I did not need to get because everything worked fine pretty much

- The indicators on the dash decide to go on randomly. I once had to spend 80 for a diagnostics test on my car because I couldn't figure out why the "check engine" light was on. Well there was no problem at all.

- The trunk is something that really makes me angry, it is so heavy that it will not prop itself up, I have had so many people, including myself, get hurt from the trunk closing on their head.

- Lastly, the door panels. The door panels are coming loose, really only the part where you have the controls on both passenger and driver side. And the speaker covers... the worst idea Chrysler had was putting plastic speaker covers on heavy doors because the tendency of people is to push open the door with their feet, so there is a big hole in my speaker covers. I just took them off and am going to get aftermarket speaker covers that are aluminum.

- One more thing, the tires often get uneven due to the weight distribution on the turns, the front tires get very low quickly so you have to watch that closely.

General Comments:

Overall, this car is wonderful, it is fun to drive. It takes corners well and it is just so much fun!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 6th February, 2007