Common problems

Chrysler PT Cruiser brake problems

How often MOT testers find brake faults on the Chrysler PT Cruiser at each age, against all cars of the same age, and which items come up most. From 8,190 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 18 years, the most tested age

Brakes fails per 100 MOTs (n=1,947)18.7

All cars at 18 years (n=3,261,622)12.9

Brakes advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=1,947)41.8

All cars, same age (n=3,261,622)32.3

What stands out

At 18 years, 18.7 of every 100 MOTs of the Chrysler PT Cruiser found a brake fail (n=1,947), against 12.9 for all cars of that age (n=3,261,622).
It is above the all-car rate at every age with at least 1,000 tests (5 ages).
The gap is widest at 16 years: 17.7 per 100 MOTs against 11.6 for all cars.
The brake fail item recorded most often at 18 years: anti-lock braking system: warning lamp indicates an ABS fault, on 6.5 per 100 MOTs.
The most common brake advisory or minor defect: brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened, on 16.8 per 100 MOTs.

Brakes fails by age

Solid line: this model. Dashed line: all cars at the same age.

Chrysler PT Cruiser: brakes fails and advisories per 100 MOTs, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
16 years	1,586	17.7	11.6	40.5	29.5
17 years	1,904	17.7	12.3	41.8	31.1
18 years	1,947	18.7	12.9	41.8	32.3
19 years	1,576	18.1	13.3	40.6	33.3
20 years	1,177	16.8	13.5	40.4	33.7

Brakes fail items at 18 years

Brakes 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	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Anti-lock braking system: warning lamp indicates an ABS fault	6.5	1.1	diagnosis from £59 (rough guide)
Service brake performance: excessively binding	3.7	1.5	£55 to £267 per wheel (rough guide)
Handbrake too weak	2.7	2.8
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	2.6	1.8	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Electronic stability control: warning lamp indicates a fault	2.4	0.3
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded	1.7	2.2	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)

Brakes 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).

Brakes 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	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	16.8	11.1	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	15.7	12.3	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Brake pads: wearing thin	6.5	6.4	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Service brake performance: binding but not excessively	6.4	2.5	£55 to £267 per wheel (rough guide)
Flexible brake hoses: has slight corrosion to ferrule	5.4	2.4

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.

What to check on a viewing

On the Chrysler PT Cruiser, the brake items testers fail most are anti-lock braking system: warning lamp indicates an ABS fault; service brake performance: excessively binding; handbrake too weak.

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: a brake advisory that repeats from year to year has not been fixed. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

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

At 18 years (1,947 MOTs), the brake fail items testers record most often are anti-lock braking system: warning lamp indicates an ABS fault (6.5 per 100 MOTs), service brake performance: excessively binding (3.7 per 100 MOTs), handbrake too weak (2.7 per 100 MOTs). The most common brake advisories or minor defects are brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (16.8) and rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material (15.7).

Does the Chrysler PT Cruiser have more brake problems than other cars?

At 18 years it has 18.7 brake fails per 100 MOTs against 12.9 for all cars of the same age (5.8 more). It is above the all-car rate at every age with enough tests (5 ages).

What does a brake repair cost on the Chrysler PT Cruiser?

For anti-lock braking system: warning lamp indicates an ABS fault, an independent garage estimate is diagnosis from £59 (rough guide). This is a guide built from the national median garage labour rate and estimated labour hours, not a quote.

Brake problems on other Chrysler models

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?

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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