NHTSA Complaint #10118509 — 2004 CHRYSLER SEBRING

PURCHASED 4 DOOR CHRYSLER SEBRING SEDAN (4 CYLINDER AT MCDONNOUGH CHRYLSER OF EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ 7/9/04 W/ 13 MILES. 2 DAYS FOLLOWING THE PURCHASE, CAR STALLED AT APPROXIMATELY 42 MPH ON A CROWDED INTERSTATE, AND STARTED RIGHT BACK UP. DROVE TO DEALER TO FIND THAT I NEEDED A COMPUTER SOFTWARE UPDATE. TOOK THE VEHICLE BACK, IDLING ROUGH, RPMS JUMPING ALL OVER THE PLACE. SEVERAL WEEKS LATER, VEHICLE STALLED AGAIN THIS TIME ON NJ TURNPIKE WHILE SLOWING DOWN, BUT NOT BEFORE SURGING FORWARD, MY FOOT WAS NOT ON THE ACCELERATOR, AND AGAIN STARTED RIGHT BACK UP. RETURNED TO DEALER @ 994 MI, NOTHING REGISTERED ON DIAGNOSTIC CHECK, ANOTHER CPU UPDATE. CAR STILL IN SAME CONDITION ONLY DID NOT STALL. SURGING GOT PROGRESSIVELY WORSE, FINALLY AT APPROXIMATELY 8,000 MILES CAR STALLED COUNTLESS TIMES IN THE 13 MILE RIDE TO DEALER, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED, COULD HARDLY DRIVE THE ENTIRE WAY. DEALER FOUND BAD IGNITION COIL, BUT ONLY BECAUSE THE LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED COULD THEY DETECT A PROBLEM. DEALER KEPT CAR 3 DAYS, DID NOT OFFER RENTAL OR COMP CAR, NOR TRANSPORTATION TO MY WORK. PICKED UP CAR, NOT STALLING BUT STILL IDLING ROUGH, STEERING WHEEL VISIBLY SHAKING. CAR SURGES FORWARD AT EVERY STOPLIGHT, I HAVE JUST LEARNED TO CONTROL THE BRAKE TO AVOID ACCIDENT, NOT ACCELERATING PROPERLY & TRANSMISSION SLIPS AT LOW SPEEDS. WHY CAN'T THIS PROBLEM BE ERRADICATED, THIS IS MY FIRST BRAND NEW CAR, AND RUNS AS POORLY AS MY TRADE IN DID AT 230,000 MILES! I NEED A BREAK, AND I NEED A SOLUTION. IN ADDITION, CAR MAKES LOUD WHISTLING NOISE BETWEEN 68-73 MPH , AND HEADLIGHTS HAVE SHUT OFF 2 TIMES IN THE MIDDLE OF DRIVING AT NIGHT AND FLICKERED BACK ON ALSO, NOT TRACABLE BY DEALER COMPUTER.*AK