Model years Chrysler PT Cruiser
2006 Chrysler PT Cruiser
Complaints about this year name module far more often than the model's other years — 8% of them, about 7× the usual rate of 1%.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 373 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 115 |
| Involving a crash | 35 |
| Involving a fire | 6 |
| Recalls | 1 |
| EPA combined | 21 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- windshield — 11.5% of this year's complaints, against 4.1% across the model's other years (2.8×). Owners wrote it as: windshield, wipers, windshield wipers, wiper.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
Also unusual this year
- wipers — 6% of complaints, 5× usual
- instrument — 7% of complaints, 5× usual
- dangerous — 8% of complaints, 3× usual
What owners wrote
THE HEADLIGHTS AND THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS STOPPED WORKING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INSPECTED, BUT THE CONTACT DID RESEARCH AND WAS CONCERNED THAT THE FAILURE WAS CAUSED BY THE TOTALLY INTEGRATED POWER MODULE. THE CONTACT STATED THE FAILURE ALSO CAUSED THE BRAKES TO…
THE WIRING IN THE STEERING COLUMN IS FAULTY, IT CAUSES THE INSTRUMENT LIGHTS TO FLICKER THEN THEN EVERY THING SHUTS DOWN, INCLUDING THE ENGINE,BRAKES,STEERING ETC: THAT IS VERY DANGEROUS DRIVING ON HIGHWAYS, IT HAS HAPPENED AND SCARES YOU TO DEATH. I HAVE CALL…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 07V149000 VISIBILITY
How this was worked out
Every year of the Chrysler PT Cruiser was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2006 Chrysler PT Cruiser? What happened to yours?
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