Saturday, August 8, 2026
RecallGazette

Vehicle problems, recalls & safety intelligence

2002 Chrysler PT Cruiser engine problems

22 owner complaints filed with NHTSA name the engine on the 2002 Chrysler PT Cruiser4% of all complaints for this model year.

22
Engine complaints
4%
share of all complaints
100,000 mi
median reported incident mileage
1 / 7
crash / fire reports

What owners report

  • While driving the vehicle I could begin to smell a strong odor of gas them almost like the smell of plastic melting and the vehicle engine started running hot temperature so I immediately turned off the engine as I pulled over to the side of the road and as I stepped out of the car aflame began…

    filed Jul 27, 2021

  • Drove the vehicle 12 miles to get home. (the vehicle was stationary) immediately turning off engine after making it home. Power steering fluid leakage (big leak) from hose and smoke smell from under hood. (engine looks chard)

    filed Oct 28, 2019

Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.

Counts are unique NHTSA complaints naming this component group. Complaints are unverified owner reports; mileage is computed only from complaints that included a usable odometer reading.