2008 Chrysler Sebring
Complaints about this year name convertible far more often than the model's other years — 16% of them, about 39× the usual rate of 0.4%.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 352 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 104 |
| Involving a crash | 21 |
| Involving a fire | 7 |
| Recalls | 4 |
| EPA combined | 21 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- convertible — 17.9% of this year's complaints, against 2.2% across the model's other years (8.2×). Owners wrote it as: convertible, sebring convertible, convertible top, trunk.
- electrical — 18.2% of this year's complaints, against 6.7% across the model's other years (2.7×). Owners wrote it as: electrical, electrical system, cruise control, wiring.
- stuck — 11.4% of this year's complaints, against 4.4% across the model's other years (2.6×). Owners wrote it as: stuck, wont.
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
- sebring convertible — 11% of complaints, 26× usual
- electrical — 11% of complaints, 7× usual
- stuck — 11% of complaints, 5× usual
What owners wrote
WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY, THE CONVERTIBLE TOP BECAME STUCK IN MID AIR. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE OCCURED AT LEAST FIVE TIMES, ONE OF WHICH A TOW TRUCK WAS CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TOWED BECAUSE THE FAILURE CORRECTED ITSELF UPON ARRIVAL…
THE CONVERTIBLE ROOF WOULD OPEN WITH PAUSING. THE TRUNK WAS STUCK OPEN NOT CLOSING BUT YOU COULD HEAR MOTOR. NOW TRUNK CLOSED AND STAY CLOSED WITH NO MOTOR SOUND. CONVERTIBLE TOP ISN'T OPENING BUT WHEN CAR DRIVES AT 30MPH THE ROOF FLIES OPEN. THE DASHBOARD LIG…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 08V152000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 07V473000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
- 07V414000 LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES
- 07V240000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Chrysler Sebring 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 Sebring? What happened to yours?
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