2004 Chrysler Sebring problems - can someone help!

[Heather]

I just recently bought a used 2004 Chrysler Sebring LX. I bought the
CarFax report and everything seemed fine and so I bought it. I have had
the car for about a month and in the last couple of weeks I have been
hearing this clicking sound in the engine when the car is running. It
appears to be getting louder and louder....people in the drive-thru ask
me to turn my car off so they can hear me!!!! It is really embarassing
especially since I just got it! Anyway, here recently in the last day
or so, when I am sitting idle with my engine running (like in a
drive-thru) it is starting to shimmy some and feels almost like it is
going to quit.....Does anybody out there have any idea, what this would
be? The car only has a drivetrain warranty on it because the miles went
over. Does anybody have any suggestions??????

 

[Mr.X]

I just recently bought a used 2004 Chrysler Sebring LX. I bought the
CarFax report and everything seemed fine and so I bought it. I have had
the car for about a month and in the last couple of weeks I have been
hearing this clicking sound in the engine when the car is running. It
appears to be getting louder and louder....people in the drive-thru ask
me to turn my car off so they can hear me!!!! It is really embarassing
especially since I just got it! Anyway, here recently in the last day
or so, when I am sitting idle with my engine running (like in a
drive-thru) it is starting to shimmy some and feels almost like it is
going to quit.....Does anybody out there have any idea, what this would
be? The car only has a drivetrain warranty on it because the miles went
over. Does anybody have any suggestions??????

First it would help if you stated the exact type of engine in the
car, the milage on it would be of interest.

An uninformed guess would be valve noise, it also could be many other
things not covered by a powertrain warrenty. use something like a cut
off broomstick , one end to the ear, other to various engine locations
to try and pin down the location of the noise

 

[Heather]

Mr.X wrote:

First it would help if you stated the exact type of engine in the
car, the milage on it would be of interest.

An uninformed guess would be valve noise, it also could be many other
things not covered by a powertrain warrenty. use something like a cut
off broomstick , one end to the ear, other to various engine locations
to try and pin down the location of the noise

It is a 2.4 liter, 4 cylinder engine and it has about 50,000 miles on
it. Yesterday evening it started to smell like oil??? I didn't smell it
this morning when I got in it to come to work, but I did yesterday....I
don't know what is wrong, or even if there is anything wrong....it
could be normal. The sound seems to be coming from the passenger side
close to the dash and underneath - if that makes any sense.....does
that help?

 

[Ralph Shapiro]

Check the Carfax website. I seem to recall they have a buyback clause(saw
this on the tube)
You should take the car to a mechanic to have the noise diagnosed. Trying to
determine what it is here is like playing pin the tail on the donkey.
the noise could be many different things, and since you're not able to
attach the noise to your email, we just can't really tell.

 

[kmatheson]

I just recently bought a used 2004 Chrysler Sebring LX. I bought the
CarFax report and everything seemed fine and so I bought it. I have had
the car for about a month and in the last couple of weeks I have been
hearing this clicking sound in the engine when the car is running. It
appears to be getting louder and louder....people in the drive-thru ask
me to turn my car off so they can hear me!!!! It is really embarassing
especially since I just got it! Anyway, here recently in the last day
or so, when I am sitting idle with my engine running (like in a
drive-thru) it is starting to shimmy some and feels almost like it is
going to quit.....Does anybody out there have any idea, what this would
be? The car only has a drivetrain warranty on it because the miles went
over. Does anybody have any suggestions??????

If your Sebring has the 2.7L engine, and the oil has not been changed
at regular intervals, it could have the infamous *sludging* problem.
This can cause several engine problems that could generate noise.

Since you still have the drive train warranty, it might be a good idea
to have it checked by the dealer.

-Kirk Matheson