2011 Chrysler 300
This year drew an ordinary 200 complaints for a Chrysler 300 — the model's median is 137. What they were about is the unusual part: 29% of them mention alternator, against 5.7% across the other years of this generation.
First year of a new generation. The Chrysler 300 was redesigned for 2011. A first year carries problems nobody has found yet, and they are found by the people who buy it — which is worth knowing before you become one of them.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 200 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 137 |
| Involving a crash | 7 |
| Involving a fire | 9 |
| Recalls | 7 |
| EPA combined | 20 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- alternator — 29% of this year's complaints, against 5.7% across the other years of this generation (5.1×). Owners wrote it as: alternator, alternator needed, diagnosed alternator, p60.
- shut — 16.5% of this year's complaints, against 5.2% across the other years of this generation (3.2×). Owners wrote it as: shut, shut off, shut down, push.
- smell — 15% of this year's complaints, against 4.2% across the other years of this generation (3.6×). Owners wrote it as: smell, burning, burning smell, strong.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
What owners wrote
ALTERNATOR BURNED UP DURING OPERATION DISABLING CAR, SMOKE POURING OUT FROM UNDER HOOD WITH STRONG BURNING SMELL.
DRIVING VEHICLE ON HIGHWAY 70 MPH, ABS AND TRACTION CONTROL LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. TOOK EXIT TO GET OFF HIGHWAY AND BRAKE LIGHT CAME ON. AC SHUT OFF AND STARTED HIGH HEAT OUTPUT FROM VENTS. RADIO SHUT DOWN. WAS ABLE TO MANEUVER QUICKLY THROUGH TRAFFIC TO GET TO S…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 19V018000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 17V435000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 18V021000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 16V352000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 13V118000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 14V634000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 12V197000 SERVICE BRAKES, AIR Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Chrysler 300 was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2011 Chrysler 300? What happened to yours?
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