Consumer Complaint Detail
CHRYSLER / SEBRING CONVERTIBLE / 1997
0 Injured
0 Death
No Fire
| Components - Details | |
|---|---|
| NHTSA Complaint Number: 002102237 | Incident Date: Oct, 27 2002 |
| Consumer's City: SAN MATEO | Consumer's State: CA |
| Vehicle Transmission Type: | Manufacturers Name: Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) |
| Model Name: SEBRING CONVERTIBLE | Model Year: 1997 |
| Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No | Component's Description: Steering:rack and pinion |
| Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No | Persons Injured: 0 |
| Vehicle's VIN#: 3C3EL55H1VT | Date added to File: May, 25 2021 |
| Date Complaint Received: Nov, 06 2002 | Complaint Type: IVOQ |
| Incident Reported To Police: No | Purchase Date: May, 31 2097 |
| Was Original Owner: Yes | Anti-lock Brakes: Yes |
| Number of Cylinders: 0 | Date of Manufacturer: - |
| Was Vehicle Towed: - | Description of the Complaints: Driving at approx. 15 mph the steering system failed/locked on my car. the car was towed to the dealer on 10/28/02, and was initially diagnosed a "failure of the power steering pump". the dealer replaced the pump, and during the mechanic testing found that the newly replaced pump also immediately failed and steering again locked. the dealer then diagnosed the problem as being a total failure of the "rack" which needed replacement as it had "failed and was contaminating the pumps". both the power steering rack and power steering pump was replaced at a cost to me of $1728.33 parts/labor. the dealer service representative admitted to me that they had seen such failures before, and that the failure was not a result of my maintainence of this vehicle. in fact, i have vigorously maintained the vehicle with this dealer since its purchase on 6/30/97 - and they have performed all scheduled minor and major services. yet, since i was just outside of the 5 year/50k mile warranty, the dealer refused to cover any of the labor/parts charges for the replacement. i then contacted damiler chrylser's customer service center on this matter. daimler chrysler confirmed that there were no vehicle recalls for rack/pump failures, and held no responsibility. they were uninterested in any discussion of defects, or risk if the failures occurred at highway speeds. if my failure had occurred under those circumstances, rather than on a residential street, there would have been injuries or fatalities since there was no ability to turn or control the steering of the vehicle. chrysler may not be interested in customer satisfaction, but i would have hoped that they would have some concern for such dangerous failures. dt |