2002 Chrysler 300M Special 3.5 from North America

Summary:

Great car that was fun and reliable, and was cheap (used)

Faults:

The only thing that went wrong with it at below 100k miles, was the engine computer needed replacing at 67k miles (covered under warranty), and I had all 4 02 sensors replaced at around the 95k mile mark (recommended replacement is every 50k). Other than that, the car was dead reliable.

I consider items such as wheel bearings and belts as part of normal maintenance, once the car gets over 100k miles.

General Comments:

This has been a very reliable car for me. I do a lot of driving for work, so I rely on my car quite often. The miles are getting pretty high on the car, and I have decided to start looking for another vehicle, but will miss this car dearly.

This car was a very versatile car, I could tow (up to 3500lbs) with it, it was comfortable, it had a lot of high end luxury items that are options on cars of today, and the gas mileage was pretty good for how big it was.

I'm having a heck of a time finding a replacement, as most new cars today will not allow for towing...

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 20th January, 2013

2002 Chrysler 300M PHP 3.5 SOHC from North America

Summary:

Keep up on the service, and this can be a reliable car

Faults:

Soon after purchasing the car, the blend door (part inside the dash for controlling the air temp) went bad. It was replaced under warranty.

The temperature control in the car never seemed to work quite right - dealer could never pinpoint the problem. On long trips, the climate system never could keep up. On one trip to Vermont, the interior windows started to ice up because the heater wasn't putting out enough heat.

Transmission went at 106k, but was replaced with a used unit. Failure was attributed to the AutoStick manual shift mode. Dealer suggested we not use it - which we did not on the replacement transmission.

We had to have the tire sensors replaced multiple times to due excessive corrosion on the wheels. Original wheels eventually had to be replaced.

General Comments:

Generally speaking, our M was a very reliable car. It was very comfortable, and had plenty of power for passing or driving through the mountains. We had several upgrades made to the car that increased the enjoyment of driving it:

Dealer added the factory Sirius Radio.

Headlights were upgraded to the factory xenon HID lights.

All the factory speakers were upgraded to better Infinity speakers.

18" wheels replaced the factory 17" chrome wheels that corroded badly.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 31st July, 2012

2002 Chrysler 300M Pro Am edition 3.5 HO from North America

Summary:

Love her

Faults:

I was in a wreck yesterday, I was rear-ended at a traffic light, had $4,000 damage done to my car. She was in mint condition, no dings, dents or a mark on her, garage kept.

My question is can I find the parts I need, rear bumper, rear passenger tail light assem., rear pass. panel and a maybe a new sound system, my system was in the rear panel. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Robert from VA.

General Comments:

It's awesome!!! Shes quick, fast and handles like shes on rails.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 7th January, 2010

8th Aug 2012, 10:53

If you're not already a member, join the 300m forum - they can be a wealth of information.

As far as parts go, try using car-part.com or Pull-a-part to find the body parts you need. It's best to find used parts that are the same color, because re-painted parts never match.

Any aftermarket parts (meaning not original OEM) do not seem to fit very well on these cars. And again, color match will not be perfect when painted.

Good luck with your quest.

2002 Chrysler 300M Pro Am Edition 3.5L H.O. from North America

Summary:

Style, luxury, quick, reliable, affordable

Faults:

Rough shifting at 69,000 miles. Transmission flush fixed that issue.

Battery had to be replaced at 65,000 miles.

Alternator was just changed at 74,000 miles.

Needs constant alignments. Get a lifetime alignment.

General Comments:

For $10k this car is great. Not great in taking off from a stop, but once it's moving it's pretty quick.

Handling suffers due to the extra weight in the front, plus the fact it's a front wheel drive car.

The high output engine says it has 250hp, but put it on a dyno test and it's only putting 180hp on the ground. Drive axle takes away most of that power.

Depending how you drive on the freeway, my car averages 18mpg to 26mpg. As for the city, 14mpg to 21mpg.

Just about any part on the car can be found at a Napa except for the transmission cooler lines. I had to fly from VA. to CA. to find and pick them up.

Clear coat still on and no signs of the interior falling apart. All electronics still work.

Very roomy trunk... constantly have to dive in to reach items in the back.

A good buy, and I plan to keep her for many many years.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 25th March, 2009