NHTSA Complaint #10667145 — 2013 CHRYSLER 300

THE CHRYSLER 300C WAS PARKED IN OUR GARAGE FOR ABOUT A WEEK. TRIED TO START IT AND NOTHING HAPPENED. ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL (ETC) LIGHT FLASHED. ALL SYMPTOMS POINTED TO A LOW BATTERY. JUMP STARTED 300 FROM OUR OTHER CAR AND DROVE TO THE DEALER. BY THE TIME I GOT THERE THE BATTERY WAS CHARGED FROM THE GENERATOR. DEALER KEPT IT FOR 5 DAYS AND COULDN'T FIND A PROBLEM. THERE WERE OTHER ANOMALIES ON THE ROAD. CAR WOULD EITHER NOT ACCELERATE OR ENGINE WOULD STALL WHILE DRIVING. THIS BECAME EXTREMELY DANGEROUS ON THE INTERSTATE. COUPLE WEEKS PASSED AND START PROBLEM REPEATED, BUT THIS TIME THE BATTERY WAS COMPLETELY DEAD. ONE SYMPTOM I NOTICED WAS THAT THE BRAKE PEDAL, WHICH YOU HAVE TO DEPRESS WHILE ACTIVATING THE PUSH BUTTON START WAS LOCKED AND WOULDN'T MOVE. REPEATED THE ABOVE DRILL WITH THE SAME RESULTS. THIS TIME, DEALER HAD THE CAR FOR 11 DAYS AND COULDN'T FIND PROBLEM. ALL ALONG I'M PAYING LEASE AND AUTO INSURANCE FEES FOR A CAR THAT'S SITTING AT THE DEALER. DEALER SAID THEY UPDATED SOME OF THE ELECTRONIC CONTROLLERS PER SOME TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETINS, BUT THAT THEY WEREN'T RELATED TO MY "NO START/DEAD BATTERY" ISSUES. CHRYSLER CUSTOMER SERVICE SAID THEY KNEW OF NO COMPLAINTS, RECALLS, ETC. RELATED TO THE ABOVE. HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED ANY PROBLEMS RECENTLY. HOWEVER, I'VE BEEN STARTING THE 300 MORE OFTEN AND LETTING IT RUN. I RECENTLY GOT A 2014 DODGE JOURNEY WHICH ENDED UP WITH A DEAD BATTERY AFTER BEING PARKED FOR 5 DAYS. I FILED A SEPARATE COMPLAINT ON THE JOURNEY. HAVE SINCE BOUGHT A TRICKLE CHARGER. CAN'T BELIEVE THESE ARE COINCIDENCES. THERE IS NO QUESTION CHRYSLER HAS A BASIC DESIGN PROBLEM. ALL THE ELECTRONICS ARE DRAINING THE BATTERY EVEN WHEN EVERYTHING IS SHUT "OFF". HOPE THEY'RE NOT COVERING IT UP LIKE FORD WITH THEIR IGNITION SWITCH. MY NEXT LETTER WILL BE TO [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR