Both front wheel bearings failed at less than 70,000 miles, causing excessive wear on tie rod ends, that could have led to tie rod failure and loss of vehicle control. This 2004 PT CRUISER was maintained under the Chrysler maintenance schedule which brings into question why both front wheel bearings should fail at this low a mileage. Either the scheduled maintenance was done improperly at some point in time, or the bearing assemblies were defective. At this time there are no service letters that address the parts maintenance or replacements due to wear, normal or otherwise.

- Ridgefield, WA, USA

Loud grinding/growling noise, thumping sound when driving. Gets louder when accelerating. Replaced tires 6/08 thought it was that. Found out its the front wheel bearings and hubs.

- Burnsville, MN, USA

My 2004 PT CRUISER on the way back from Florida just out of the blue, started making horrible front end noise and started shaking violently. I made it to our local dealer only to discover that the both front wheel bearings went bad. It had 36,274 miles on it. The dealer wouldn't do anything about it, so I called Chrysler and they wouldn't do anything about it. I researched the problem and thousands of people are having the same problems, some resulting in crashes. In my opinion since this problem is so wide spread there should be a safety issue recall. Thanks, for your time. John palmer

- Goose Creek, SC, USA

Replacing both front wheel bearings on 2004 Chrysler PT CRUISER limited turbo at 33900 miles. Noise started at 33600 miles. Way too early to have to replace bearings on any vehicle under normal driving conditions. I looked up "PT CRUISER wheel bearings" on google and found a forum on topix.com and discovered that there are so many other pt owners with the same issue. My mechanic told me that the wheel assembly is really loose due to the bearing failure. I have never owned another vehicle that needed bearings replaced before 100,000 miles. I believe Chrysler should be responsible for their product and do a recall of the bearing-hub-knuckle joint assembly. Updated 10/17/08.

- Bend, OR, USA

Front wheel bearing replace two times.

- Gary, IN, USA

2004 PT CRUISER, multiple wheel bear failures in less than 80K miles 1st at approx 40K and second at approx 80K. Both times left side front wheel bearing.

- Fullerton, CA, USA

Front passenger side wheel bearing is bad. Started about 31,000 miles. I took the car to the dealer thinking it's covered under the 7 year, 70,000 mile powertrain warranty! as I read the warranty, it states every thing is covered. But the dealer says it a wear part! I don't understand why a wheel bearing goes bad this early and why they don't cover it as a powertrain part? and the price to repair it is over $600. I just can't stand to bring myself to pay for this, as if I could afford it. And after some research I'm finding out that alot of consumers are getting screwed by the manufacturer because of a defect in the design and weight issue of the frame and body style.

- West Palm Beach, FL, USA

Both front wheel bearings on my wife's 2004 pt cruser with less than 40K miles went bad.

- Vallejo, CA, USA

While driving my 2004 Chrysler PT CRUISER, I started hearing a grinding noise coming from the front end of the car. In just a matter of days I could tell it was getting louder. I thought it might be the brakes but I just had the front brakes replaced 6,000 miles earlier. I took it to the mechanic where I had the brakes done and after checking the car he told me the problem was the left front wheel bearings. It cost me $556.23 to replace the front left hub and the bearings on both front wheels. After the repair, he showed me the old hub and bearings. The part was broken and several of the bearings were missing. He said if I had continued to drive the car in that condition, it was very likely the front left wheel would fall off, possibly causing serious injury or death. This is a serious safety issue and I believe Chrysler needs to issue a recall for this problem. There is only 28,560 miles on this vehicle. There is no way a car with this many miles should be having this kind of problem.

- Anaheim, CA, USA

Experienced front driver side wheel bearing and hub failure - replaced at cost of $350. Inspection during this repair revealed that the front lower control arm bushings had deteriorated and were in need of replacement as well - put off $600 repair until later date. 56,000 miles 2004 PT CRUISER limited.

- Bartlett, IL, USA

Purchased 2004 Chrysler PT CRUISER, used with 31K miles in may, 2007. In about July/August 2007, noticed a grinding noise when making a right turn. It gradually got worse and became noticeable when the car was going straight as well. It felt like the front end was out of alignment. On examination at dealer, they have informed me that both front wheel bearings are bad and must be replaced.

- Roanoke, VA, USA

Front wheel bearings failure before 40,000 miles on odometer.

- Cantonment, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Chrysler PT CRUISER. While driving 45 mph, the contact heard an extremely loud noise. He inspected the undercarriage and noticed that the inner wheel bearing failed on the front driver side wheel. The contact had not taken the vehicle to the dealer and no repairs were made. The current and failure mileages were 40,318.

- Mesa , AZ, USA

Less than 19,000 miles on the 2004 Chrysler PT CRUISER and the wheel bearings on front went bad. The driver's side was so bad I did not drive it further than a block from work, the closest place. They charged me $313 to fix the driver's side. The next day, I found outt he car was still under warranty, bought it second hand. I took it to the dealership, and they confirmed the passenger's side was also going bad and replaced it and the damaged hub. Chrysler will not reimburse me the $313 because it was not fixed at a dealership. The driver's side hub was not replaced, and they will not cover this under warranty either. This should be under warranty as well. A car with less than 19,000 miles should not have bad wheel bearings already. The driver's side was so bad that the wheel could have seized or fallen off and caused a serious injury or death to myself and/or others on the interstate. All four tires have some kind of defect, and the front tires have worn unevenly due to the damaged wheel bearings. Chrysler will not replace front tires under warranty.

- Spring Hill, TN, USA

The wheel bearing are worn out on a new car. There is a problem with the PT CRUISER. The frame is the same as a Dodge neon, but the PT CRUISER body is 600 pounds heavier causing added stress on the wheels.

- Arlington, TX, USA

I have owned a 2004 PT CRUISER for less than one year. I bought it with 28000 miles, on it, and at about 33000 miles heard a bang. It was still under warranty the dealer didn't find anything wrong with it, but the sound continued. I took it back to dealer, but it was out of warranty by a few days. Since that time we have changed brakes, rotors, etc. I finally took it to dealer and discovered it was the bearings. I thought that was a little odd since the vehicle hasn't been driven much. I researched the net, and found a forum with many people experiencing the same problem. In fact, one person even experienced a fatality. As for me, I have lost control going around a bend, and have since changed my driving behavior. Please review the following link, and note all of the complaints: www.topix.net/forum/autos/Chrysler-pt-cruiser/til09od8D72erulqa. there was a design issue since the brakes tended to outlive the bearings. If many owners experienced the same problems and it became too costly what remedies will Chrysler provide?

- Henderson, NV, USA

When shifting from first to second gear vehicle stopped moving and would not shift into gear. Vehicle was towed to the dealer, who informed consumer hat the clutch and bearing needed to be replaced. Consumer was concerned that the parts wore out with less then 17,500 miles.

- Nashua, NH, USA