PT Cruiser Questions

I have a 2002 with 23,000 miles. I noticed when I was washing it yesterday that the black "window panels" that border the windows are fading. I also noticed that the back bumper has a similar problem on each end. Anyone else having problems with sun damage?

I also seem to remember reading something about the factory tires on these cars being bad. I've developed a vibration that feels like a broken belt. Happen to any other PT owners?

So far, I've had the interior panel around the radio and AC controls replaced, as well as the airbag sensor. I also have vanishing coolant and oil - down a quart of oil between changes and slowly losing coolant. The dealership couldn't find anything either time I've had it checked. Ideas? My only theory is a headgasket, but the thing has never been hot..........

Thanks, Steve

Reply to
Steve Moore
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Steve join one of the many forum type groups for the pt cruiser, I have a

2003 gt, so far no problems, but I have read about the bumber discoloration it was due to the tape the used at the factory.

I belong to

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punch

Reply to
Punch

wax the window panels on occasion.

Reply to
god

I agree. Wash them up so that they're nice and clean, and be sure to dry them before the sun causes water spots. Then use a wax or polish on them, but not a cleaner-wax style. Cleaner wax would be too abrasive. Once you have something on them to protect them (the wax or polish) they will look nice for a very long time.

Reply to
BraytonAK

I haven't had any problems with my 2001 Limited Edition. I did have a slight vibration at speeds over 50 MPH, but a wheel alignment took care of that. Sometimes speed bumps in parking lots can cause the alignment to change if hit hard enough at an angle. I have noticed this on all my FWD cars from various manufacturers. The black surrounds on the windows are fine, but I do use Armor-All on all the plastic parts outside which are not painted the body color. The bumpers are not true black, but more grey on my car and there is uniformity in the color, so I don't have a clue as to why yours has a problem. I think your suggestion about the head gasket is probably more correct than not. Does there seem to be water in the oil? I remember someone writing about their 2002 PT having to have the head gasket replaced. I don't remember whether it was in this newsgroup or on a forum somewhere, sorry. Occasionally, some things are not made as well as they should be and someone gets the crappy end of the stick. You may have a bad head gasket or a poor assembly of head to block. BTW, my tires are original factory tires and I have 29.000 miles on them and no other problems than the vibration due to mis-alignment.

Hope you get it solved,

Mark

Steve Moore wrote:

Reply to
Mark Stuart

I saw a PT Crusiser the other day with a panel in horrible shape. No amount of wax would have saved it. There must be some defective panels out there.

Reply to
Art Begun

There are some defective ones but I think the root of the problem may be car washes or too harsh of chemicals being used to clean them. Many have had their black panels replaced under warranty. The ones on my 2001 PT are in perfect shape, I do clean them, dry them and wax them regularly. The PT does not go through a car wash. However...on my 2002 Dodge Intrepid, I do run it through a wash and they did the same thing. They were replaced under warranty. And the replacements are doing the same thing. Before the car is out of warranty, I will have them replaced.

Many PT Cruiser owners have had theirs painted the same color of the car which looks good. Waxing still required.

Reply to
CopperTop

My 99 300M has similar panels and are in fine shape. Been thru plenty of car washes and not waxed for ages so I would think the bad panels are defective.

Intrepid, I do

replaced under

Reply to
Art Begun

Not all of them do it. But I think you'll find all that have faded are regular car wash users. Mine didn't for a year but just in the last 8 months, it's happened twice. I think it's the individual car wash, maybe not all of them dump the cheapest or strongest cleaner they can find in there.

Reply to
CopperTop

Au contraire:-) I have never taken my PT through a car wash, and I never will. I've been using Turtle Wax brand car wash soap since I got it. My car does sit out quite a bit, and my theory is that my panels just couldn't take the sun exposure.

Are these panels hard to remove? I like the idea of painting them to match the body.

Steve

Reply to
Steve Moore

I have no idea what is involved with removing them. You may want to get a price from a body shop to have them and your bumpers painted. The whitish tape marks on each end of the bumper is becoming more of a problem as the

01/02's start aging.
Reply to
CopperTop

The 300M ezBoard has a sub-forum devoted almost exclusively to this problem and fixing it - the sub-forum is titled "Black Trim and Weatherstripping" under the "General Maintenance" heading. I will have to start reading thru there myself as the windshield moldings on my Concorde are starting to show bare metal.

Bill Putney (to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with "x")

Reply to
Bill Putney

In case anyone is thinking about ranking on Chrylser quality regarding this, I've see Acura's with the same problem but their's looked unfixable. The Acura seemed to have a layer of black material on top of chrome window molding and the black material seems to rip off in small chunks.

Reply to
Art Begun

No ranking on quality here. I've had a number of cars from Audi's to Volvo's and a lot of US cars, this PT has not been in the shop yet for anything except oil changes and routine maintanance and it has 52k miles and is 3 years old. Still no rattles, runs great, looks great. The fit and finish were superb when it was new and it has held up fantastically. I do question Chrysler's choice in metals for the rotors, brake pads last longer than the rotors, but other than that...no complaints.

Reply to
CopperTop

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