Model years Chrysler PT Cruiser
2008 Chrysler PT Cruiser
This year drew an ordinary 115 complaints for a Chrysler PT Cruiser — the model's median is 149. What they were about is the unusual part: 16.5% of them mention airbag, against 6.5% across the model's other years.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 115 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 149 |
| Involving a crash | 11 |
| Involving a fire | 6 |
| Recalls | 0 |
| EPA combined | 21.5 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- airbag — 16.5% of this year's complaints, against 6.5% across the model's other years (2.5×). Owners wrote it as: airbag, airbag light, sitting, goes off.
- manager — 7% of this year's complaints, against 1.6% across the model's other years (4.4×). Owners wrote it as: manager, likely, arrived.
- etc — 6.1% of this year's complaints, against 2% across the model's other years (3×).
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.
What owners wrote
PASSENGER SEAT AIRBAG LIGHT REMAINS OFF WHEN UNOCCUPIED, GOES ON AND CHIMES WHEN SOMEONE IS SEATED. HORN STICKS. OVERHEATS WHEN IDLED SHORT PERIODS (TRAFFIC LIGHTS, ETC.) BLOWS COLD AIR WHEN AT IDLE, ONLY PROVIDES HEAT WHEN ROLLING. ALL THESE PROBLEMS ARE COMM…
WHEN PASSENGER IS SEATED IN FRONT PASSENGER SEAT . AIRBAG LIGHT TURNS ON AND CHIMES UNTIL PASSENGER EXITS VEHICAL.
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
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 2008 Chrysler PT Cruiser? What happened to yours?
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