Common problems

Chrysler PT Cruiser common problems

What MOT testers find on the Chrysler PT Cruiser: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 8,190 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 18 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=1,947)24.1

All cars at 18 years (n=3,261,622)21.4

Suspension advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=1,947)44.6

All cars, same age (n=3,261,622)35.3

What stands out

Brakes fails show up on 18.7 of every 100 MOTs of a Chrysler PT Cruiser at 18 years old (n=1,947), against 12.9 for all cars of that age (n=3,261,622).
Body and structure fails are less common: 7.1 per 100 MOTs against 8.7 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 18 years: headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect, on 7.7 per 100 MOTs (all cars 4.0).
The most common advisory or minor defect: suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement, on 21.9 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 18 years

How many of every 100 MOTs found a fail, or an advisory or minor defect, in each area. A test with faults in two areas counts in both.

Chrysler PT Cruiser at 18 years (n=1,947) against all cars at 18 years (n=3,261,622). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	24.1	21.4	20.0	17.8
Suspension	22.5	17.2	44.6	35.3
Brakes	18.7	12.9	41.8	32.3
Body and structure	7.1	8.7	14.1	14.7
Steering	6.9	3.9	10.2	5.6
Tyres	6.4	7.0	25.9	27.6
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	6.3	7.3	5.2	6.2
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	6.2	6.8	18.1	14.1
Seat belts and airbags	3.7	2.7	1.6	1.3
Road wheels	0.7	0.5	1.3	1.3
Number plates and VIN	0.6	0.6	4.0	5.5

What testers fail most on the PT Cruiser at 18 years

Fail items on the Chrysler PT Cruiser at 18 years (n=1,947), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=3,261,622).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect	Lights and electrics	7.7	4.0	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)
Anti-lock braking system: warning lamp indicates an ABS fault	Brakes	6.5	1.1	diagnosis from £59 (rough guide)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	5.3	5.6	£10 to £47 per lamp
Steering track rod end: ball joint play	Steering	4.9	2.0	£54 to £128 per side (rough guide)
Suspension ball joint worn	Suspension	4.5	2.4	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Suspension arm bush worn	Suspension	4.3	2.2	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	4.1	3.0	£15 to £30 per blade
Service brake performance: excessively binding	Brakes	3.7	1.5	£55 to £267 per wheel (rough guide)
Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength	Suspension	3.6	2.3
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	3.5	4.0	£10 to £47 per lamp

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 18 years

Advisories and minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Across all cars, a part with an advisory or minor defect failed at the next MOT 5.5 times in 100 (n=88,666,940 pairs of consecutive MOTs), against 0.3 times in 100 when the same part had none (n=12,936,860,350).

Advisories and minor defects on the Chrysler PT Cruiser at 18 years (n=1,947), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=3,261,622).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	21.9	8.5	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	16.8	12.6
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	16.8	11.1	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	15.7	12.3	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	14.6	17.4	£88 to £145 per tyre
Coil spring: corroded	Suspension	13.5	7.7
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	11.1	9.8	£88 to £145 per tyre
Headlamp: lens slightly defective	Lights and electrics	6.7	4.2
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	6.5	6.4	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Service brake performance: binding but not excessively	Brakes	6.4	2.5	£55 to £267 per wheel (rough guide)

Repair estimates are a guide for an independent garage: labour at the national median local garage rate (median £78 an hour from 65 garages, ONS price quotes) times estimated labour hours, plus a parts band. Labour hours and most parts bands are estimates, not quotes, and prices vary by model, engine and region. A warning light fault shows the cost of the diagnosis only.

How problems change with age

Fails per 100 MOTs in the three most common areas at 18 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Suspension	Brakes
16 years	1,586	21.4	18.0	17.7
17 years	1,904	24.2	20.7	17.7
18 years	1,947	24.1	22.5	18.7
19 years	1,576	23.0	23.8	18.1
20 years	1,177	23.0	24.6	16.8

What to check on a viewing

On the Chrysler PT Cruiser, testers most often record headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect; anti-lock braking system: warning lamp indicates an ABS fault; side/position light not working. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Lights and electrics

With someone outside, try every light: dipped and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and number plate lamps.
Check that the warning lights come on with the ignition and go out once the engine runs.
Look for misted, cracked or yellowed headlamp lenses.

Suspension

Listen for knocks or clonks over speed bumps and rough roads on the test drive.
Push down hard on each corner: the car should settle at once rather than keep bouncing.
Look behind the wheels for broken or heavily rusted coil springs and split rubber bushes.
Check that the car sits level and that no tyre is worn on one edge only.

Brakes

On the test drive the car should stop in a straight line without pulling, juddering or grinding.
Look at the discs through the wheels for a deep lip, heavy rust or scoring.
Check that the handbrake or electronic parking brake holds the car on a slope.
Ask when the pads, discs and brake fluid were last changed, and for the receipts.

Ask for the car's MOT history and service record: advisories that repeat from one year to the next show what has been left. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the most common problems on the Chrysler PT Cruiser?

At 18 years, the age with the most MOT tests (1,947), the fail items testers record most often on the Chrysler PT Cruiser are headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect (7.7 per 100 MOTs), anti-lock braking system: warning lamp indicates an ABS fault (6.5 per 100 MOTs), side/position light not working (5.3 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement (21.9) and engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive (16.8).

Which parts of the Chrysler PT Cruiser fail more often than on other cars?

At 18 years: brakes (18.7 per 100 MOTs against 12.9 for all cars); suspension (22.5 per 100 MOTs against 17.2 for all cars); steering (6.9 per 100 MOTs against 3.9 for all cars). Compared with 3,261,622 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Chrysler PT Cruiser problems by area

Other Chrysler models

All Chrysler models · Common problems by make

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

The all cars figures cover all class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans) tested at the same age.

Looking at a Chrysler PT Cruiser?

These figures describe the model, not the car in front of you. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report covers, or use the tools that work without a registration.

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Repair estimates: ONS consumer price quotes for local garage labour (09/2025 to 08/2026), the MOT inspection manual for defect wording, and estimated labour hours and parts bands. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ONS.

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 28 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources