50,000 miles is not when you expect to have the heads fail on your engine. This is a known flaw in the engine for PT cruisers but because it is not a safety issue, no recalls have ever been issued. The light for getting a tune-up comes on but it is not the real issue. You get the tuneup (which runs around $300 due to having to pull the top of the engine off to reach everything) and the light keeps coming on. Then I found out the heads were bad. Had to have them replaced since the original were so bad they could not be fixed. Also, the gaskets, distributor caps, wiring etc had to be replaced too. I have maintained my vehicle as per the factory specs since getting it. This is usually covered under the extended warranty but if you got your car under the Cash for Klunker's program, check to make sure. I thought I had it but it was not included by my dealer. They held my paperwork for two months while waiting to get the money from the government and left me w/o the extended warranty. This is also a known way that Chrysler is getting out of covering this defect in their engines. So if you had a tuneup and your engine light keeps coming on, it is probably from this issue. Lots of mechanics have been talking about this online which is where my mechanic finally found out why the engine light would not respond to the normal reset as he was told to do by Chrysler. Chrysler does not want to recall the engines affected because it would be every engine they made for the PT Cruiser line. They all have the same defect and mine just showed up early. Usually this happens around 60-70,000 miles. So if you have a PT Cruiser that you love like I love mine, watch for the light. That is the only indicator that the heads are failing, oh and watch your gas mileage. If you see it dropping, that is another indicator. Since getting my heads replaced, my mileage has gone up a lot! Even when I speed!
50,000 miles is not when you expect to have the heads fail on your engine. This is a known flaw in the engine for PT cruisers but because it is not a safety issue, no recalls have ever been issued. The light for getting a tune-up comes on but it is not the real issue. You get the tuneup (which runs around $300 due to having to pull the top of the engine off to reach everything) and the light keeps coming on. Then I found out the heads were bad. Had to have them replaced since the original were so bad they could not be fixed. Also, the gaskets, distributor caps, wiring etc had to be replaced too. I have maintained my vehicle as per the factory specs since getting it. This is usually covered under the extended warranty but if you got your car under the Cash for Klunker's program, check to make sure. I thought I had it but it was not included by my dealer. They held my paperwork for two months while waiting to get the money from the government and left me w/o the extended warranty. This is also a known way that Chrysler is getting out of covering this defect in their engines. So if you had a tuneup and your engine light keeps coming on, it is probably from this issue. Lots of mechanics have been talking about this online which is where my mechanic finally found out why the engine light would not respond to the normal reset as he was told to do by Chrysler. Chrysler does not want to recall the engines affected because it would be every engine they made for the PT Cruiser line. They all have the same defect and mine just showed up early. Usually this happens around 60-70,000 miles. So if you have a PT Cruiser that you love like I love mine, watch for the light. That is the only indicator that the heads are failing, oh and watch your gas mileage. If you see it dropping, that is another indicator. Since getting my heads replaced, my mileage has gone up a lot! Even when I speed!
- Cynthia S., Magna, UT, US