2004 CHRYSLER PT CRUISER — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 208 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (28 complaints · 13.5%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 16
  • Fires 15
  • Injuries 18
  • Deaths 3
Compare with 2003 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution ELECTRICAL SYSTEM appears in 28 of 208 owner complaints (13.5%) in this vehicle snapshot. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 28 complaints, 13.5% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 28 · 13.5% · 2 crash reports 8 fire reports SUSPENSION: 28 complaints, 13.5% of reports SUSPENSION 28 · 13.5% · 1 crash reports ENGINE: 27 complaints, 13.0% of reports ENGINE 27 · 13.0% · 2 fire reports WHEELS: 22 complaints, 10.6% of reports WHEELS 22 · 10.6% EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 21 complaints, 10.1% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 21 · 10.1% · 2 fire reports STEERING: 21 complaints, 10.1% of reports STEERING 21 · 10.1% · 2 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 17 complaints, 8.2% of reports POWER TRAIN 17 · 8.2% AIR BAGS: 11 complaints, 5.3% of reports AIR BAGS 11 · 5.3% · 7 crash reports 1 fire reports SERVICE BRAKES: 9 complaints, 4.3% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 9 · 4.3% · 1 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 93 complaints, 44.7% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 93 · 44.7% · 6 crash reports 4 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 28 13.5% 2 crashes · 8 fires
SUSPENSION 28 13.5% 1 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 27 13.0% 0 crashes · 2 fires
WHEELS 22 10.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 21 10.1% 0 crashes · 2 fires
STEERING 21 10.1% 2 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 17 8.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 11 5.3% 7 crashes · 1 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 9 4.3% 1 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 93 44.7% 6 crashes · 4 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 2004. 2004-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2004-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2004-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2005-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2005-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2005-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2006-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2007-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2007-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2007-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2007-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2008-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2008-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2008-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2008-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2009-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2009-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2009-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2009-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2010-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2010-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2010-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2011-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2011-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2011-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2012-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2012-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2012-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2013-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2013-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2014-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2015-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2018-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2026-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jan 2004 Apr 2026 Investigation PE04028 ● Investigation PE04028
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2004-Q1 Owner reports 1
2004-Q2 Owner reports 6
2004-Q3 Owner reports 6
2004-Q4 Owner reports 6
2005-Q1 Owner reports 10
2005-Q2 Owner reports 8
2005-Q3 Owner reports 2
2005-Q4 Owner reports 2
2006-Q1 Owner reports 2
2006-Q2 Owner reports 2
2006-Q3 Owner reports 5
2006-Q4 Owner reports 6
2007-Q1 Owner reports 3
2007-Q2 Owner reports 10
2007-Q3 Owner reports 7
2007-Q4 Owner reports 5
2008-Q1 Owner reports 7
2008-Q2 Owner reports 9
2008-Q3 Owner reports 7
2008-Q4 Owner reports 6
2009-Q1 Owner reports 5
2009-Q2 Owner reports 3
2009-Q3 Owner reports 3
2009-Q4 Owner reports 5
2010-Q1 Owner reports 4
2010-Q2 Owner reports 2
2010-Q3 Owner reports 4
2010-Q4 Owner reports 2
2011-Q1 Owner reports 2
2011-Q2 Owner reports 1
2011-Q3 Owner reports 3
2011-Q4 Owner reports 3
2012-Q2 Owner reports 5
2012-Q3 Owner reports 6
2012-Q4 Owner reports 4
2013-Q1 Owner reports 3
2013-Q2 Owner reports 1
2013-Q3 Owner reports 2
2014-Q1 Owner reports 2
2014-Q2 Owner reports 5
2014-Q3 Owner reports 2
2014-Q4 Owner reports 8
2015-Q1 Owner reports 1
2015-Q2 Owner reports 2
2015-Q4 Owner reports 2
2016-Q1 Owner reports 2
2016-Q3 Owner reports 2
2017-Q1 Owner reports 1
2017-Q3 Owner reports 2
2017-Q4 Owner reports 3
2018-Q3 Owner reports 1
2018-Q4 Owner reports 1
2019-Q1 Owner reports 1
2019-Q3 Owner reports 1
2020-Q1 Owner reports 1
2020-Q3 Owner reports 1
2021-Q1 Owner reports 1
2026-Q2 Owner reports 1
Defect investigation 1 PE04028
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA records.

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 208 complaints · page 1 of 9

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources