What breaks most · 1995 to 2011 model years
Chrysler Sebring problems by year
Owners have filed 2,694 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Chrysler Sebring across model years 1995 to 2011. Three years stand out: 1996 for suspension complaints, 2007 for electrical system complaints and 1998 for body and structure complaints. The quietest years are 2009, 2003 and 2005.
- Years to check closely: 1996, 2007, 1998
- Fewest complaints: 2009, 2003, 2005
- Complaints on file
- 26941995 to 2011, all trims
- Worst year
- 1996339 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 28984 fires · 220 injuries · 9 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 65kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 107Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 132 | 19 | 5 | Suspension (46) | |
| 339 | 41 | 12 | Suspension (70) | |
| 209 | 36 | 11 | Brakes (hydraulic) (30) | |
| 266 | 33 | 10 | Body and structure (65) | |
| 172 | 25 | 9 | Powertrain and transmission (33) | |
| 88 | 12 | 6 | Brakes (hydraulic) (14) | |
| 242 | 21 | 12 | Engine and cooling (89) | |
| 207 | 17 | 5 | Engine and cooling (48) | |
| 41 | 4 | 5 | Suspension (8) | |
| 210 | 21 | 7 | Engine and cooling (52) | |
| 67 | 9 | 6 | Air bags (19) | |
| 109 | 6 | 2 | Electrical system (58) | |
| 313 | 18 | 7 | Electrical system (110) | |
| 194 | 19 | 4 | Electrical system (71) | |
| 33 | 3 | 2 | Electrical system (7) | |
| 69 | 5 | 3 | Air bags (19) | |
| 3 | 0 | 1 | Unknown or other (1) |
What fails on the 1996 Chrysler Sebring
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SuspensionStruts, springs and control arms | 21% |
70 | 5 | Shop suspension parts for the 1996 Chrysler Sebring |
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 15% |
52 | 5 | Shop brakes (hydraulic) parts for the 1996 Chrysler Sebring |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 14% |
47 | 4 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 12% |
39 | 2 | Shop engine and cooling parts for the 1996 Chrysler Sebring |
| Body and structureDoors, latches and body hardware | 12% |
39 | 1 | Shop body and structure parts for the 1996 Chrysler Sebring |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 10% |
34 | 1 | Shop electrical system parts for the 1996 Chrysler Sebring |
| Air bags | 9% |
29 | 24 | Check recalls for air bags on NHTSA.gov |
| VisibilityMirrors and glass | 8% |
28 | 0 | Shop visibility parts for the 1996 Chrysler Sebring |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
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Lower lateral arm broke on our 1996 chrysler sebring. Dealer and chrysler have refused to fix the car under recall. This is the 3rd major failure and inconvenience of this part. The last failure was 8 moths ago. There is clearly a safety issue here as well as a mechanical defect. *jb
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My instrument panel has no background lights, they do t turn on at all. I took it into a local shop and they said all the fuse are good and they think it might be a modgular (battery) that needs to be replaced. I have seen a lot of other owners having this same issue with their sebring as well.
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Dt*: the contact stated both outside door handles are plastic and have cracked. The doors will not open therefore; the vehicle has not been to a dealership. *nm
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 30, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Chrysler Sebring years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 1996, 2007, 1998 carry the most filings on the Chrysler Sebring. The 1996 alone has 339 complaints, led by suspension.
What is the most common Chrysler Sebring problem?
On the 1996 model year, the most-reported component is suspension with 70 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Chrysler Sebring problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Chrysler Sebring complaints that include mileage is about 65,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.