My mom's 2000 Chrysler 300M is currently the bane of my existence! What should have been a 10 minute job to replace a battery was a 2 hour ordeal this morning expanding my collection of scars and my daughter's vocabulary.

What fucktard engineer came up with the idea of burying the battery in the nose of the car underneath the cold air intake and passenger headlight assembly necessitating the removal of the entire cold air intake assembly and passenger side inner fender well? Not to mention the swivel attachments for the socket wrench and the 9" extension required to get to the two bolts for the battery hold down.

Then there's the fun of trying to get to the battery terminals to disconnect the cables in a confined space, there's not enough slack in them to slide the battery backwards to they are exposed from underneath the headlight assembly. And then there's the fun of scraping forearms wrestling the battery from a horizontal to a vertical orientation to lift it out between the headlight assembly and the front strut tower.

If ever I decide to buy a Chrysler product all I have to do is remember what a complete and total piece of shit this car has been and what an absolute pain in the ass it has been to work on. Granted it's a 17 year old car, but it's only got 58,000 miles on it. But so far it's on it's second transmission, the AC condenser has been replaced, the driver's side power seat puked, Chrysler no longer stocks parts to it was a junkyard hunt to find a power seat assembly and then when I finally get it started today the ABS and Traction Control warning lights are lit up like a Christmas tree and the engine is rev limited to 3,500 RPM before it starts a violent misfire.

Now they're owned by FIAT, was this an intentional attempt to form the world's most craptacular car company?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 2000Z-71,

Yeah, I really hate it when common maintenance and care is hampered by location and access. With some vehicles even a simple oil change is made difficult.

I gave up on Chrysler back in the 80’s. A relative did buy a Chrysler 300(‘getto Bently’)a handful of years back. It had about 500 miles on it when the 1st electrical gremlins showed up. It was a long, ongoing issue with that car.

I would never buy a Chrysler product for all the reasons you mentioned plus they depreciate in value faster than any other car manufacturer. They do have good looking cars but they don't hold up well in the long term.

Is it possible to get mom into a lease? Just noticed with that old of a car and low miles she would be perfect.

A friend buys high mileage vehicles at auction, does a few repairs and flips them. He stopped buying Chrysler vehicles in about 8 months because of the problems working on them and angry customers coming for blood within weeks.

ETA: I think the symbols in the subject line will cause irritation to the eagle

My brother had a Chrysler minivan of about that vintage, and it was also a piece of shit.

Sorry for your troubles.

It is a lot easier to remove the tire, fenderwell cover, and get it all from the wheel well area.

I refuse to own a vehicle that has a battery that cannot be changed in the parking lot of an Autozone in the rain using only loaner tools and within 5 minutes.

quote:

Originally posted by Jaywendland1981:
It is a lot easier to remove the tire, fenderwell cover, and get it all from the wheel well area.

Ala the Dodge Journey...

Add it's favorite fault, a defective horn sensor, when the car heats
up internally the cover on the airbag tightens and then blows the horns
intermittently, a $1200 fix on a $900 car LOL Neighbor has one for his son, who's overseas playing basketball, they have to disconnect the battery, that's hidden behind the drivers side wheel inner cover...

I feel your pain brother.
I bought a new Dodge Challenger R/T in 1970.

I ordered it and when I picked it up there were things that did not work on it.

At 2000 mi. I started it and no oil pressure.

I took it to the dealer immediately like he told me when I called him.

The oil pump had a crack in it from the factory.

They replaced the oil pump but would not do any more than that. The car started using a qt of oil every 300 mi.

My 5 yr or 50K mile warranty did nothing to get them to fix this and they said that was acceptable to Dodge.

Never again. It was one thing right after another. A new starter every year.

If the distributor got a little wet while driving, it would not start.

Went to open the front door and the door handle came off in my hand. No wonder the Duke boys just slid into their charger, door handles crap.

Motor was total crap by 50K miles I sold the car for scrap, which it was when I bought it.
440 magnum.

Chrysler lost me in 1993 when the 11 month old Dakota 4x4 I bought, as my first new vehicle , started blowing steam and antifreeze out the dash. The dealer let me know that somehow a blown heater core was not covered, and calls all the way to Detroit were met with " sorry, thats on you "
4 can's of Bardall later and it was traded for a Honda, and I swore that I will never buy one of their vehicles again. Was tempted with the Challenger, but it passed. They lost me at the start of the time I was making real money and going through cars like underwear cuz I like them. Just not theirs.

A number of Chrysler models have the battery in this stupid location, dating back to the first LH cars in 1993. They advertised these as "cab-forward" body design. I liked to joke that "cab" stands for "Can't Access Battery."

quote:

Originally posted by Jaywendland1981:
It is a lot easier to remove the tire, fenderwell cover, and get it all from the wheel well area.

We have lifts and power tools to help out, too.

quote:

2000 Chrysler 300M

Not the 2.7 engine, I hope. Its oil sludge problems are legendary, and it also has an internal water pump that you have to disassemble the timing chain to replace.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
Neighbor has one for his son, who's overseas playing basketball, they have to disconnect the battery, that's hidden behind the drivers side wheel inner cover...

Would it be easier to just pull the horn fuse?
Or is the fuse box inaccessible as well?

Had a 300M. It was designed for driving, not maintaining. Sold it. Fast. I could not believe the complexity of the design. I think the Germans were involved.

I am pretty happy with a 12 year old GM product. I think that's about all I deserve. Or need.

quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
Neighbor has one for his son, who's overseas playing basketball, they have to disconnect the battery, that's hidden behind the drivers side wheel inner cover...

Would it be easier to just pull the horn fuse?
Or is the fuse box inaccessible as well?

Yeah they figured that out eventually

quote:

Originally posted by 2000Z-71:
Chrysler 300M

Found your problem in the first sentence.

I think that's one of those cars where walking is the better alternative.

It's easier to take it out through the wheel well (after the tire and inner fender are removed), but that's still effing stupid. And I thing Egregore already mentioned by it, but if it has the 2.7 in it, take that car and sell it now before the engine sludges up or the water pump takes a dump into the oil pan. Every engineer who was in any way associated with the desing of that pos engine should be taken out back and shot...along with the morons who made the decision to offer it in pretty much every passenger car that Chrysler made from that era.

Friends don't let friends but Chrysler.

Any word on the current era Challengers?