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

 

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 http://www.ptcruiserlinks.com/forum/default.asp

punch

 

wax the window panels on occasion.

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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.

 

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

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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

 

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.

 

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")

 

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.

 

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.