Owners have filed 392 complaints on the Chrysler Aspen, covering 2007–2009. The system named most often is Air Bags (94 reports). Worst years by volume: 2007, 2008, 2009; cleanest: 2009, 2008, 2007. 28 reports describe a crash, 6 a fire. On average the car was 6.4 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Chrysler Aspen
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 392 Aspen complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Air Bags 94 Read
The contact owned a 2009 Chrysler Aspen. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown rate of speed, she was run off the road by a vehicle by another vehicle. The contact crashed into an unknown object and hit her face on the steering wheel since the airbags did not deploy. The contact temporarily lost…
Takata recall. The contact owns a 2009 chrysler aspen 4x4. The vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign numbers: 16V947000 (air bags) and 16V352000 (air bags). The manufacturer failed to supply the remedy parts to the dealer to receive the repair in a reasonable time frame. While driving downhill on an s curve at an…
The contact owns a 2008 chrysler aspen. The contact stated that while driving 50 mph, the vehicle hydro-planned and crashed into a wall. None of the air bags deployed. The contact suffered a neck injury but did not receive medical treatment. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The contact did not…
Fuel System 89 Read
2008 chrysler aspen. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle fuel system problems. *smd the consumer stated on february 10, 2011 the vehicle caught on fire and exploded without warning. At the time of the fire, her daughter was waiting in the truck and noticed smoke coming from the front of the vehicle, but assumed it…
The fuel spits back when tank is full and spills out on car and on floor. This has happened on multiple occasions. I called chrysler as it is a known problem and they advised it will not be covered under extended warrant or a recall
I was refilling the gas tank at a gas station. Immediately after the gas hose "clicked off" (when the tank was full), a very large amount of gas gushed out of the fuel filler neck past the hose nozzle, back-flowing from the fuel tank. I was standing in front of the fuel filler opening, holding the hose nozzle handle,…
Fuel/propulsion System 57 Read
The contact owns a 2009 chrysler aspen. After refueling the vehicle, the contact began to drive and almost immediately the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The contact, who was a certified mechanic, diagnosed the vehicle. The contact also confirmed with ourisman chrysler dodge jeep ram of…
For the last 1-2 years, every time I fill up my gas tank my 2009 chrysler aspen will stall repeatedly. When the vehicle stalls, all steering and control of the vehicle is lost. The car will restart after about 30-45 seconds. Once the vehicle has been driven approximately three times after fueling up, the problem stops…
SUV stalls after filling fuel tank. Often it will require multiple cycles of starting and stalling before it will continue to run. Problem appears to be more severe in cold weather. The SUV has stalled in traffic on multiple occasions. Additionally gas will splash out during fueling
Power Train 35 Read
First I must start out by saying this vehicle has been a nightmare since buying from a dealership who has refused to correct any of the problems in any fashion mainly because they're not a chrysler dealership. The day after we bought the vehicle the vehicle stalled on us due to a dead battery. Not a big deal, but it…
The contact owns a 2008 chrysler aspen 4x4. The contact stated that when shifting from park into drive, the vehicle rapidly accelerated and crashed into the wall of the garage. The contact then shifted into reverse and the vehicle rapidly accelerated backward, crashing into the home a second time with one half of the…
The aspen lurched backwards approximately fifty feet at a very high rate of speed, just after being put into reverse. It was stopped when it crashed into a garage and a toyota prius. The prius was totaled, the aspen severely damaged, the garage doors were yanked out of the ceiling and shattered, and other parts of the…
Electrical System 30 Read
When the alternator started to fail the driver's dashboard such as the speedometer and any other instruments malfunctions. While driving the speedometer would reed 0 miles per hours even though the vehicle is in motion. I have recorded the issue in a video format
I was driving in the middle of winter, I started to smell something burning I rolled the windows down to check if it was my truck, smoke was coming from the back seat. I pulled over and opened the back door and saw my back seat burning. Had to put water and leave the windows down for a couple days, it's so horrible to…
I'm having several issues. First, I cant fill my gas tank up all the way, if I do my truck will shut off at any given time. Also my dash board lights don't work. I was told the bulb is sautered to the dash and the whole dash has to be replaced, that's $1300! Currently, my major issue is, my truck not starting!!! I…
Steering 26 Read
Rounding corner when steering completely locked up; not allowing me to turn vehicle to make curve. Ran through field into electrical box. Almost ran in to house. Fortunately, my significant other is an experienced driver and was able to react quickly to ensure his safety. However, this vehicle was bought for my 15…
I was pulling into a parking lot w/ my 2007 chyrsler aspen made a right hand turn and the car proceeded straight and struck another vehicles side. I experienced a loss of steering during a right hand turn. There was a trail of power steering fluid from the point of steering loss to the point of impact of other…
There is a recall on the right steering knuckle on my type of vehicle, including same year, make and model. I did not ever get a recall notice, but was involved in a crash where the right steering knuckle broke and caused significant other damage to my vehicle. The vehicle was not safe to drive, so I was forced to…
Suspension 10 Read
The contact owns a 2008 chrysler aspen. While driving at an unknown speed, the front driver's side ball joint detached and the contact crashed into a tree. The air bags failed to deploy. There were no injuries and a police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not taken to…
The manufacturer stop making a part that can fix my car. It’s at the Ford dealership in Opelika, Alabama and they cannot find a part to make the car safe. Please contact and pull the car for analysis to save lives. We love this car and the Ndsd said it does not qualify. Please call them and ask if this vehicle there…
1. No failure has occurred, but it feels very dangerous to drive. 2. Description: the suspension is too soft and bouncy. The front end feels like it skips across the road if you hit a bad spot in the pavement; just normal bumps. Doesn't matter what speed, but if you are on the interstate, it feels incredible…
Engine 9 Read
The contact owns a 2008 chrysler aspen. While driving at various speeds, the contact noticed strong fuel fumes emitting from the vehicle. In addition, the contact stated that the engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who diagnosed that the fuel tank needed to be replaced. The vehicle was…
Chrysler has a major problem with their 5.8 hemi engine. 12/16/2020 I paid $3791.07 to replace a bad camshaft and lifters on a vehicle with only 72,768 miles. After researching this problem, I find hundreds of others having the same issues! In contacting chrysler, they of course, refuse to accept any responsibility…
Vehicle stalls repeatedly after filling up the fuel tank. The vehicle gives no check engine light or provides any obd codes to pinpoint the problem. The vehicle stalls both while in motion and when stationary, when in motion all power assist is lost including the power steering and braking assist. My wife refuses to…
Aspen years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Air Bags | 3 | — | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 10 | 2 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 15 | 4 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 116 |
| Average complaints per series | 3.4 |
| Worst single series | 14 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.4 years |
A model average of 3.4 hides a worst series at 14. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Aspen?
By complaint volume, 2007, 2008, 2009 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Aspen years are the cleanest?
2009, 2008, 2007 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Chrysler Aspen have?
392 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2007–2009. Of those, 28 describe a crash and 6 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.