PT Cruisers are cute looking little cars. Our experience with the car, and the large Phoenix area Chrysler dealership that we bought it from is that it is a horrible vehicle to own.  
 
In 40 years of car ownership, with at least 12 new cars and numerous used cars purchased, this was our first genuine "lemon." Aside from being a gas hog, and not comfortable enough for anything other than short trips around town, the car has proven to be unreliable for use as basic transportation.  
 
Shortly after the installation of a 4th battery in 25 months in our 2002, (13,300 total miles driven) PT Cruiser, (Normal, according to the dealer's service department!) we elected to trade that pile of junk in for a Honda.  
 
In two years of ownership, the PT Cruiser had warranty or recall work on the electrical system, suspension system, windows, tires, and fuel system. My wife had a high-speed unexplained blow-out/tread failure in heavy urban traffic that nearly resulted in an accident. Granted, this may (or may not) have been the PT's fault, BUT when she called for the "roadside service," a feature touted as part of the 3 year bumper-to-bumper warranty, (towing, tire changes, lock-outs, gas, etc.) the Chrysler warranty folks refused to honor the request to come to her aid to change the blown out tire. They told us that according to THEIR records, "we weren't the actual owners of the car!" The VIN was (in their records) registered to someone we never heard of. This was a shock, since we ordered it and waited exactly one year for delivery...then paid cash (the full sticker price) at the dealer's only eighteen months (and 8,000 miles) prior to the mishap.  
 
Three different times, the wife had to call me to "jump start" the car and drive it to the dealer because of sudden, totally failed batteries. Upon installation of the car's 4th battery, the dealership STILL maintained there was nothing "wrong" with the electrical system. At 6000 miles, the OEM tires mysteriously "slipped" on the chrome wheels, creating a bad out of balance situation. (Again..."normal," according to the dealership.) After a year, the left rear brake drum began to rust (light rust is normal on a brake drum exterior), but in this case, the rust was so severe that the drum began to slough off layers and slivers of iron, and bleed oxidation out onto the chrome wheel. When I asked the dealer's service department to evaluate it, (while they changed out another dead battery) our "service manager" glanced at it and said: "Normal! They all do that!" Since "they all do that," I asked him to show me another car on his huge lot that had a brake drum that was defoliating layers of iron anywhere nearly like ours. He got defensive and walked away, snapping that they would "check it out." They dismissed the situation as "normal" again. There was a strong, sour (as in sour milk) odor each time the air conditioning was turned on after the car sat for a few hours in hot weather. It usually took about 10 minutes to abate.  
 
In total, the PT Cruiser was easily THE SINGLE WORST new car I have ever had the misfortune to own. Unfortunately, a poor service department at our dealership, Earnhardt's Chrysler/Jeep made the experience even worse. We're very happy to be rid of it.  
