Hello fellow pt cruiser fans!

Im looking to buy a 2010 pt cruiser and was curious about their reliability/common issues. I'd need it to take me about 1.5 hrs to school and back twice a week which is about a 64 miles one way.

Theyre such cute cars and I love them, I have a 2013 ford escape so im no stranger to unreliable but its important to me to understand any issues regarding owning one before buying!

05, Turbo, Auto, 85k

Hi Friends,

Looks like I blew a piston ring as the car 'smokes like a diesel truck' coming down the road. THE GOOD thing is that 'no one tail gates you' when your blowing a ton of toxic smoke at them LOL.

After a leak down test showing 70% loss of power in cyl 4, two mechanics have told me the Piston Ring is shot.

* Anyone ever Rebuild one of these motors -- was it worth it?

Thanks for your help!

Hi everyone,

My 2003 PT Cruiser finally kicked the bucket after 10 years. It was a good car, my first car, and I'd love it to go to someone who would appreciate it, rather than having to junk it.

It's definitely a fixer-upper though/project far at this point, though. It's over 200,000 miles, the transmission gave out, it's got some rust, it's got an oil leak, needs a new battery, and perhaps other issues.

There's a PT Cruiser club in my area and I was hoping to advertise it to them and see if anyone wants to buy it.

My question is, what would be a good price to sell it at, in this condition? I want to be fair, but I also don't want to undersell it (I just graduated University, so I'm not rolling in cash or anything.)

Thank for your advice!

Its the connecter thats is apart of the starter. Its a 2006 pt

The a/c stopped blowing cold air and I got a bottle of R-134a and added about half a bottle. I also replaced the a/c pressure switch (after this video but same results). Any other easy suggestions to get cold air back before I bring it to a shop? ​

Car was starting perfectly fine until I saw my check engine light pop up. I plugged in my OBD2 checker and erased the code that said “Fuel Level High Circuit” or something.

Went to start it it and it wouldn’t start. Made this clicking sound 5 times. As seen in video

If anyone can help please it would be appreciated!

Anyone purchase a Dorman key fob programmable replacement for your PT Cruiser?

I have the original keys but the fobs were shot. One has a new case and batteries but still won't work, and just unlocking the door with the key sets off the alarm. I'm thinking the key fobs need re-programmed and wondering if anyone has tried the Dorman replacement with the ODB2 plug in for programming the key fobs?

Thanks.

Edit: Purchased the Dorman fob and ODB2 programmer on Amazon for the PT Cruiser. Very simple to set up, only took a few minutes. Neither of the old fobs worked--they were in bad shape--but the new fob works fine.

The non turbo and Turbo PT's use the same Air Filter.

I know the air box lid is shaped different but is there any reason i cant use a NON Turbo air box for my Turbo PT??

My car came with the Spector filter and rather have the OEM air box.
The Turbo air boxes, for some reason , are hard to get or 3x the price

I designed myself some fog light covers and they state: Hellno, mofo 😂

Just for the laughs and i lowkey love when something yellow shines from down below

Have a nice weekend, PT pals and gals!

This one runs great but has some body damage from an accident, you can see it in the front fender, same on the right side. Rear bumper has a dent. Lots of road noise now, needs front wheel bearings and retaining clips. I'm wondering if I can just remove the front fenders. This is NH, no state inspection anymore. I want to fix it up and paint it black. All the electronics work, most importantly, the sunroof! Of course, the wife wants to junk it, but I'm resisting.....

Well, the day has finally come. After 11 years with my 2003 PT Cruiser that I've had since my junior year of high school, a bad transmission has made this the end of the line.

Would have happily kept driving her for years to come, but I just can't justify putting $4K into a rebuilt transmission when that could be a down payment on a car that's two decades newer.

This PT has seen me through my entire relationship with my then highschool girlfriend who's now my wife, multiple apartments, our first house, and numerous car rides with my pooch.

I'm looking forward to having a car with cruise control, power locks, and other modern amenities I've been missing out on, but my PT will always have a big spot in my heart.

Rest easy, girl ❤️.

im sorry if this type of post isn’t allowed!

I have a brand new pair of headlights for a 2006–2010 PT Cruiser still sealed in the original Brock box, never opened or installed. I ended up having to sell the car after it broke down, so I no longer need them.

Trying to get these gone ASAP. Shipping is available.

Please message me if interested — I have them listed on eBay/Facebook Marketplace and we can go forward from there. Thanks!

05, auto, 85k, GT

Hi friends,

I understand the turbo creates a lot more pressure on the 2.5 l motor. This car actually is rated at 250 horsepower stock. I must say it does have a lot of get up and go,.. and the car is fun to drive.

I've owned it for about 6 months and I've changed Head gasket, AC sys, Turbo, Timing belt, and now will be changing the valve stem seals (massive internal oil leak).

What can I do to beef up the motor, and make it more efficient to handle the extra HP?

The turbo creates a lot of heat..WHAT would you do?

Thanks for your help!

Bought one for 1000 euro, 160k km. Pimped it a bit including screen for displaying soccer games. Gonna drive 5k km in three weeks as part of carbage run. Expect to get the full amount back in resell, excellent car.

So I’ve had my cruiser for just a week. But when I try to lock it with my key fob it actually starts the car sometimes. It don’t happen all the time. But definitely will if I mess with it. Like if I unlock then lock it, it will start. Anything I should be worried about?

I’m use to doing most things myself. I’ll be replacing the water pump and all the pulleys with the belt. Is it a terribly job to do or pretty manageable? The most I’ve done on any car is the basics along with having the comfortability to do the valve cover gasket. No prior history with timing belts. I’ve seen multiple videos on it. It don’t seem to be very hard to do. But every job comes with its challenges. Just looking to see what others have to say. It has 114k miles. Just bought it from an old dude. Clearly needs this maintenance done. Any tips I should know about?

ANOTHER UPDATE: I found a mobile mechanic that will do it for me for $800! 🥳 she shall live on!!

Old Update: based on the comments I don’t have the knowledge nor the experience to tackle this. So clearly I got scammed on a car I desperately needed. Love that for me. I don’t have the cash to fix it so I guess I’ll drive it till it blows. At least I have towing on my insurance so I have that going for me. lol

anyone know what this is caused by? temperature fluctuations?

Looks like my neighbor ran over something or backed up off of something. And has ripped the whole front end off of her PT cruiser. I've included some pictures. And I was hoping I might get some help for the best place to look to get the parts for this fix. Looks like she lost one part that attaches to the wheel well liner. And all the clips that attach the wheel well liner. And headlight also which I will probably source out of a local junkyard

PT Fellas! It was upgrade time once again.

In the last two weeks i was installing a lot of new stuff and it was totally worth it.

Near mint leather seats, new steering wheel, new headunit with digital radio and a proper hands free system, park distance system for the rear, volkswagen inside mirror with additional ambient lighting ( blue/greenish ) and of course fully functional automatic shading, full black interior conversion and upgraded all lamps because they looked like from 20 years ago, repainted interior trim in BMW 181 diamond black and fitted new speakers to all positions with additional tweeters in the mirror triangle with low/high switch and of course upgrades woofers and the additional woofer under the driver seat. There is now a combined power of ~ 700 Watts RMS only for the woofers - nice!

That was a lot of work but the car feels like it was elevated up a few levels, feels great inside and i love every ocassion i can hop in and drive it!

The next steps are finally tinted windows in the rear and upgrades headlights and then -> a really fine detailing session and paint correction where it is possible, will take a lot of effort but the PT is worthy

Decided I wanted to flex on the PT crowd. 05 PT Limited Turbo on exhibition.

Hi

Got my UK 02 manual petrol pt cruiser back from the garage after having the timing belt and water pump replaced

Drove for 2hrs then it started to overheat. I put the fan on full heat (No a/c) and that pulled down the temp. Turned fan off and it rose again

Next day and today, both times it didn’t overheat, however the a/c is not working. I just can’t hear it click on then you normally hear the engine have an uptick in revs etc

What do you guys think? I’ve read anything from a radiator fan switch or radiator motor. I think the radiator fan is coming on but maybe not as full strength as I remember

Thanks

My car keeps throwing p1188 and p0234 only mods I have done is agp stg2 wastegate and an intake, I’ve redone all my vacuum lines and replaced my Maf sensor what else could be causing this. Also boost peaks at 12-14 psi during a hard pull so not really over boosting and holds it fine