my 2003 pt cruiser just stopped running.
While driving I got an ding the check engine light came on and the car just died on me. No sputter or any indication of a problem. Just stopped running. It has 3/4 of a tank of gas so that isn't my problem. This happened on trhe final leg of a 45 mile drive home from work. The car ran perfectly during the drive home until it just stopped running. Thre is no gas smell. When I try to restart it, it cranks strongly, but will not catch. Any ideas out there would be very helpful.
bit by the chrysler bug... ummm wow... this could be a lot of things... i would recomend that the check engine light be diagnosed and go from there... it could be something as stupid as a dead O2 seonsor or something as dramatic as a head gasket i suppose... does your oil look milky or mirky... (looking for coolant in the oil...) i suppose you could have a dead fuel pump but that would usually cough to death not just cut out... have your wiring checked it could be something as simple as a lost connection which is preventing the car from firing the cylinders properley... like i said in the start have the light diagnosed... that will give you the easiest diagnosis and solution...
thanks ALex I will look into the diagnosis. The oil is clean. I was thinking the same thing regarding the fuel pump. But,no cough at all so it as they say it "ain't gonna be easy " but then again it never is. I'm hoping its not the PCM. But we'll have to wait and see. Thanks for your response I'll try to keep you posted as to my progress...or lack of it. Happy Holidays
No sputter or lack of indication usually denotes a fail safe. Dead sensor or similar... Possible failure of fuel pump... Every similar situation I've seen has turned out to be a snapped or slipped timing belt, so that is something to look at... Most of what I'm thinking of ought to throw a code so get the codes read. If that leads nowhere, check compression, check spark, check fuel pressure... not necessarily in that order. That should be enough to get started.
What is the mileage on your PT Cruiser? Our 2003 PT Cruiser GT just turned over 100,000 km and just before that milestone the engine was running rough and had a harder time starting. I changed the spark plugs and the spark plug wires and now the engine runs like it was new. Passed the emmissions test with flying colours too. I found out that Chrysler recommends changing the plug wires every 65,000 km.
If you haven't already get it to a Chrysler shop ASAP I had a electrical problem on my 2002 cruiser witch shorted out my overhead console, sunroof, radio and gages. they never did find the problem . They only charged me the $195 to look at it, it has been fine sense but I would look in the relay center near the battery maybe a short to the computer or ignition system. Also check all vacuum hoses and sensors including the MAP. Your Cruiser sounds like its nearing 100k miles mine is around 70k I never had a engine problem or any body in the club I'm in ether. Please let me know what you find out. Thanks Chris Fry
turn the ignition off, then on, then off, on, off, on.... make sure to wait for the odometer to come on everytime, it will give you trouble codes then go here http://www.allpar.com/fix/computer-codes.html or here depening on which set of codes your car falls under,http://www.ptcruizer.com/computer-codes.html the code you get, if any, should only be listed on one of those. from there you can basically see whats going on, and it could be a simple fix. also you can push in the trip reset button, while turning on the ignition, dont start the car, just turn on the ignition,it does a check of the guages, and seems to "reset" the ecm somehow. a friends pt had died on the side of the road, and upon doing this would start right up, no troubles at all, until it quit again.
it sounds like to me that your timing belt broke.....this happens a lot with mileges around 100,000 mile....check your timing belt
Your problem sounds like maybe its electrical. Since there was no sputtering or gas starvation. Hopefully you have oil in the engine and the thing didn't just seize up.
I am having exactly the same problem with my 2003 turbo. I has died 6 or 8 times. I comes back to life after anywhere from a few minutes to a couple hours and is fine again for months, then dies again. I have had two different mechanics look it over and neither one has found anything wrong. There never are any codes. I'd take it to the dealer but I think I would rater be boiled in oil. My wife took the car to the dealer to have the plugs change and he charged her $400.00. Not much of a chance that we will be returning th him for ANYTHING.
Alex, Unfotunately, that's all I am getting from everyone is< "it might be." I hate to pour $300 into a fuel pump just to find out it isn't that. Same thing with O2 sensors, another $500 and it is only a guess. Jim
This sounds like a fuel system problem. My car did the exact same thing and it turned out to be the fuel pump. One test for this is listening for the fuel pump turning on when you turn the key to "ON". If you don't hear anything, it is probably either the fuel pump or fuel pump relay. You can save a lot on the fuel pump or relay if you just purchase the parts and replace them yourself.
Jonathan, I don't have any trouble starting the car, generally. My problem is that it just abruptly stops while driving. If I wait a few minutes, occasionally a lot of minutes, it will restart and run fine for months. Jim
hey guys, mine died the other day.....but wouldn't start again, and no fuel pump whizz sound or the click from the starter. got it solved today, so here might be some help. a buddy and i replaced the downstream o2 sensor, and while doing so, i noticed that the frame, or floor, ribs, run very close to where the sensor sits. so, the new sensor, was a bit longer than the factory one, which made it sit up against the frame even tighter than before. since the exhaust moves freely on the hangers, the wires, being really squished against the frame, caused the frame to wear away the sheathing on the new sensor's wires, causing a short out in the main fuse panel under the hood. heads up for you all and get your o2 sensor wires out of the way of the frame. to find this out has cost me over 450.00....yikes, but not going to the dealer caused at least 100.00 in towing fees from garage to dealer garage. heads up.
My daughter in laws pt 2003 just did this same thing. We checkd for spark-none, changed the plugs, filters, changed the coil, camshaft position modular (cpm)- and still no go. WHat was the result of your car failure.. would appreciate any help. Thank you at a loss... Krystal
Unless you have the capability you need to take it to the shop. If you can you need to get codes. There is a reason its there. Then, even if there is a code, you need to test the fuel pump, and check for spark. I work in a shop and when I diagnose a vehicle that is the first thing to start with. Because even if there is a code, for example, that points to the o2 sensor a faulty fuel pump will throw multiple codes. The exhaust will lean out and the o2 sensor picks up an issue with the air coming in the motor and the air leaving the motor. As much as I hate being the bearer of bad news, Chrysler has had many problems with ecm and pcm problems, good thing is, as long is the computer isnt totally toasted, you may be able to have the computer reflashed. But if you buy a new computer you cant just put it in, because they come from the factory dumber than a rock. There is no information stored on a new computer and you will have to have it programmed.
Same thing, listen for the fuel pump to make any strange noises or even turn on when the car dies and won't start again.
I would have the code run for starters. That will more than likely point you in a direction as to what the issue is.
Hi everybody, hope this info helps. My PT has a little over 105,000 miles on it and it died on me twice within a 2 week period. Both times, I was backing up when it would shut off- no sputtering, gas smell, or anything. The check engine light did not turn on either time and when I took it to the shop, they could not find a code. Luckily, the mechanic was pretty knowedgeable and he replaced the cam shift sensor. Interestingly enough, my check engine light came on soon after they replaced the sensor. I took it back and it turns out that the sensor was defective! They ordered a new sensor from the actual dealership and she's been running great!
Rohn my 2004 PT also done the same thing I had to replace the cam shaft position sensor at 81000, and just last week had to replace timing belt 129000, crank shaft pos. sensor will also cause the same problem. Just 2 days after replacing belt the battery light came on and check eng light , checked alternator, and battery fine, shut car off and it wont start back , no click from starter and no whizz from fuel pump. Steve did you have to replace the main fuse panel or
My 2001 PT had some of the same problems. It died for no reason about 1/2 a mile from home. Code reader said camshaft sensor and crankshaft sensor. Replaced both it ran long enough to die again about 300 feet from the house. This time no codes but we couldn't hear the fuel pump run so we replaced that. It still didn't start. This time code said no communication with crankshaft sensor. We traced the wires and found one wire going to the sensor that had fallen down on the transaxle and rubbed through. Spliced the wire and everything's fine.
My 2004 PT has the same problem, if the camshaft position sensor is bad does it shut off ignition or fuel?
Brand new addition to this thread. I have a 2005 Chrysler PT Cruiser Base model. In the past two months I went ahead and got the timing belt replaced because we flew over 100000 miles, unfortunately the mechanic didnt know what he was doing so we had to do it again. About a week later the fuel pump gave out and the car began to sputter to a nasty halt regularily. Got a new pump from a well known distributor, drove it in great condition for 3 days and that pump went bad on me. Had the fuel pump replaced again and two weeks later while driving down the road the the car sputtered when the acceleration was pressed and came to a complete stop. Upon trying to restart the vehicle, it simply cranks but won't start. When cranking it doesn't sound like the previous fuel pump issue, but it still won't start. Can anyone HELP!!!!!!!!
I had same problem with mine I used a pocket scanner and codes came up for camshaft and crankshaft sensors I replaced both n car still wouldn't start. I gave up n sent it to a shop and had computer replaced. I recommended taking it to local Chrysler dealer
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