Audited US model-year file

2003 CHRYSLER PT Cruiser

Exact make, model and year evidence from official US sources. Recall campaigns, ODI investigations, complaint allegations and EPA estimates remain separate.

Model-year evidence is not a VIN check.

A campaign may cover only certain production dates, plants or equipment. A zero result here is not safety clearance. Use NHTSA’s official VIN tool for the individual vehicle.

Official VIN lookup ↗

01 · Safety actions first

4 NHTSA recall campaigns

Exact model-level NHTSA results for 2003 CHRYSLER PT Cruiser. Campaign records are official safety actions; applicability to a particular car still requires its VIN.

01
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 2008-04-14

SUSPENSION

Campaign 08E033000
Summary

FEDERAL MOGUL IS RECALLING 6,903 AFTERMARKET BALL JOINT ASSEMBLIES SHIPPED BETWEEN NOVEMBER 9, 2007 AND MARCH 26, 2008, WHICH MAY HAVE BEEN PACKAGED WITH INCORRECT NUTS. THE PART NUMBERS PACKAGED WITH INCORRECT NUTS ARE: K7147, K7329, K8683, AND 104353. THESE PARTS WERE MADE FOR USE ON THE VARIOUS VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE.

Consequence

THE NUTS INCLUDED IN THE PACKAGING FOR THESE BALL JOINT ASSEMBLIES ARE MISSING THE INTENDED PREVAILING TORQUE (SELF-LOCKING) FEATURE. IF THE INCORRECT NUT WAS TO BECOME LOOSE, THE JOINING MEMBERS MAY LOOSEN LEADING TO A SEPARATION OF THE BALL JOINT. THIS MAY RESULT IN LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH.

Remedy

FEDERAL MOGUL WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE PARTS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 22, 2008. OWNERS CAN CONTACT FEDERAL MOGUL AT 877-489-6659.

02
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 2009-04-07

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

Campaign 09E012000
Summary

SABERSPORT IS RECALLING 16,270 COMBINATION CORNER AND BUMPER LAMP ASSEMBLIES OF VARIOUS PART NUMBERS SOLD FOR USE AS AFTERMARKET EQUIPMENT FOR VARIOUS PASSENGER VEHICLES. THESE HEADLAMPS FAIL TO CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, "LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT." THESE LAMPS DO NOT CONTAIN THE REQUIRED AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS.

Consequence

DECREASED LIGHTING VISIBILITY MAY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.

Remedy

SABERSPORT WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND FOR THE NONCOMPLIANT COMBINATION LAMPS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 11, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT SABERSPORT AT 1-909-598-7589.

03
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 2004-06-03

STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST:HOSE, PIPING, AND CONNECTIONS

Campaign 04V268000
Summary

ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 2.4L NON-TURBOCHARGED ENGINES AND AUTOMATIC TRANSAXLES, THE POWER STEERING PRESSURE HOSE MAY CONTACT THE AUTOMATIC TRANSAXLE DIFFERENTIAL COVER, POTENTIALLY DAMAGING THE HOSE.

Consequence

POWER STEERING FLUID LEAKAGE IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE CAN RESULT IN AN UNDERHOOD FIRE.

Remedy

DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND RELOCATE, OR REPLACE AS NECESSARY, THE POWER STEERING HOSE AND CONFIRM TORQUE OF THE HOSE FASTENER AT THE STEERING GEAR END. THE RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 20, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT DAIMLERCHRYSLER AT 1-800-853-1403.

04
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 2003-03-10

POWER TRAIN:CLUTCH ASSEMBLY

Campaign 03V076000
Summary

ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, MANUAL TRANSMISSION MODELS ONLY, A WELDED PIN INTERNAL TO THE DUAL-MASS FLYWHEEL (DMF) ASSEMBLY CAN UNSEAT AND BECOME LODGED BETWEEN THE FLYWHEEL AND THE CLUTCH DISC.

Consequence

IF THIS OCCURS, THE CLUTCH MAY NOT DISENGAGE WHEN THE CLUTCH PEDAL IS DEPRESSED.

Remedy

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FLYWHEEL AND CLUTCH ASSEMBLIES WITH THE UPDATED DESIGN PARTS. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN ON APRIL 14, 2003. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT DAIMLERCHRYSLER AT 1-800-853-1403.

02 · Owner allegations

258 NHTSA complaints

Counts are not adjusted for sales, vehicle age, mileage, publicity or reporting behavior. They are allegations, not defect findings or a reliability score.

Crash mentions
22
Fire mentions
15
Injuries reported
20
Most-reported component labels
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM45
POWER TRAIN35
SUSPENSION35
EXTERIOR LIGHTING34
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING29
STEERING29
Complaints across nearby Chrysler PT Cruiser model years

Totals for the same nameplate, scaled against its highest year here. They are not adjusted for how many were sold, how old they are, how far they are driven, or how much publicity a fault received — an older or better-selling year will usually carry more reports. This shows where the reporting sits, not which year is better.

  1. 6182001
  2. 5112002
  3. 2582003
  4. 2172004
  5. 1872005
  6. 3492006

A dash means NHTSA holds no complaint record for that exact year, make and model. See all PT Cruiser years with specs and fuel economy →

03 · Agency review

2 NHTSA ODI investigations

An investigation means ODI reviewed a possible safety issue for this exact model-year identity. Opening one is not a defect finding; closing one does not by itself clear a vehicle.

PE04028
Closed 2004-06-18 · opened 2004-03-15

ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES

NHTSA source ↗

STEERING · Associated recall campaign 04V268000.

PE02082
Closed 2003-04-23 · opened 2002-11-06

SAFETY BELT CINCHING LATCH PLATE

NHTSA source ↗

SEAT BELTS · No associated recall campaign number was published in this investigation row.

04 · EPA configurations

Fuel economy & specifications

FuelEconomy.gov records are summarized as ranges where this model name has multiple engines, drivetrains or trims.

EPA configurations
4
Combined economy
19–22 mpg/MPGe
City / highway
17–19 / 23–26 mpg/MPGe
Engine displacement
2.4 L
Cylinders
4
Fuel type
Premium · Regular
Drive
Front-Wheel Drive
Vehicle class
Sport Utility Vehicle - 2WD
Annual fuel-cost estimate
$2950–4200

05 · Evidence strength

Exact identity. Explicit limits.

No opaque score. Evidence strength is expressed through source availability, exact match method, jurisdiction and honest empty states.

exact match

Recall campaigns

4 exact US model-year records in this bounded view.

exact match

Complaints

258 exact US model-year allegations; narratives and VIN fragments are omitted.

exact match

ODI investigations

2 exact US model-year action numbers in the approved import snapshot.

canonical only

Model aliases

Only the exact NHTSA vPIC model name is published; unverified aliases are not merged.

not published

Manufacturer ownership

No rights-reviewed official ownership record is joined to this exact model-year.

PUBLIC EVIDENCE PASSPORT

Identity, freshness and provenance.

The canonical URL is this file’s permanent public identifier. Source IDs and timestamps show exactly what was matched and when; they do not turn the evidence into a verdict.

Permanent public ID
https://modelyearfacts.com/vehicle/2003/chrysler/pt-cruiser
NHTSA make ID
477
NHTSA model ID
3595
Match key
2003 · CHRYSLER · PT Cruiser · US
Live evidence requested
EPA publication catalogue
Complaint matrix snapshot
Imported safety snapshot
nhtsa-investigations · exact match

NHTSA ODI investigations

Action number, component, subject and open/close dates from the approved bulk import; long summaries omitted.

Open official source ↗
US-market boundary

Only NHTSA vPIC, NHTSA ODI complaints and investigations, NHTSA recalls and FuelEconomy.gov contribute to this vehicle claim. CPSC equipment notices are searched separately and never joined to vehicle fitment. UK MOT, Canadian, New Zealand and European records are not merged into this US claim.

06 · Research paths

Diagnose first. Confirm fitment.

These are transparent searches, not diagnoses or endorsed parts. Recall remedies come before purchases; exact part fitment requires VIN, trim, powertrain, production date and OE number.

Offers status: held

Awin US and R2 affiliate inventory are not published until a US programme, merchant and exact-fitment projection are approved. No offer currently has both merchant approval and exact vehicle fitment, so commercial links never count as evidence.