Owners have filed 632 complaints on the Chrysler Cirrus, covering 1995–2000. The system named most often is Service Brakes (115 reports). Worst years by volume: 1995, 1996, 2000; cleanest: 1998, 1997, 1999. 68 reports describe a crash, 39 a fire. On average the car was 4.3 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Chrysler Cirrus
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 632 Cirrus complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Service Brakes 115 Read
I reported this incident to NHTSA earlier. Odi id = 862355, never received a follow up questionaire. The damage estimate was to the cirrus only. No idea of damage to the other vehicles. Brakes were checked by crown collision after repairs were made and no problem found. Stopping distance still seems longer than I have…
Driver went to make a panic stop , applied ABS brakes hard, but vehicle did not seem to stop ,causing a rear end accident. Please provide further information
When I first bought the car I had problems with connections under the hood which lead to steering problems and the line. Brakes failed me on march 22, 2010 had a bad car accident because my brakes nor my emergency brakes didn't work, both failed me
Engine And Engine Cooling 82 Read
Chrysler cirrus 2000 lx under the hood fire while driving. Fire and police were called. Car was a write-off
Car wasn't used for 3 weeks. Used car and began to smoke. Next day took to a repair shop & said it smelled like oil. Next day drove about 3 miles, parked car, 15 min later fire dept is putting out engine fire
The contact owns a 2000 chrysler cirrus. After being previously driven, the vehicle caught fire five minutes after it was parked. The vehicle was never repaired under recall because the dealer stated that it was fine and did not need repairing. The contact feels that the dealer should be responsible for the failure.…
Power Train 73 Read
- the contact parked her 1997 chrysler cirrus in the driveway, removed the keyes and approximately 30-45 seconds later the vehicle rolled out of the parking lot and crashed into the neighbors carport. The vehicle was parked on a flat surface, and emergency brake was not engaged. The road conditions were dry. The…
Parked vehicle. Getting out of vehicle when it started rolling backwards. Driver knocked down by door. Vehicle hit tree in woods after owner got loose. Emergency brakes not on at time. Will be taking vehicle to dealership
My 1996 cirrus with only 87+++ miles suddenly downshifts while driving over 40 mph. This is a recent purchase. I live in wyoming and it is winter time with icy road conditions nearly everywhere. I am a single mother with a 10 year old daughter. When this happened to us on the highway, it caused us to spin off of the…
Steering 68 Read
When driving felt the car lost control and veered to the right hitting a concret light pole. Manufacutrer stated was done on impact. But car lost control. Please check any other cars. There is a car in st louis with the same problem, through merdian mutual please contact me for information. Also please do a nation…
The driver noticed that the power steering fluid was leaking. While driving the vehicle caught on fire without warning . The driver pulled over and called the fire department who extinguished the fire. The vehicle was towed to a body shop. The cause has not been determined at this time. Please provide further details
Consumer 2000 cirrus caught on fire due to a faulty power steering hose. *ts ***nar** * the power steering hose was recalled
Suspension 56 Read
Both tie rods on the left rear tire broke causing the tire to lock up. Which caused loss of control of the car sending the car into a ditch. Front end of car stopped in ditch and rear then came over landing upside down. None of the air bags empolyed
The contact owns a 1996 chrysler cirrus. The contact stated that the driver was traveling 42 mph when the steering wheel became excessively loose. This made it difficult for the driver to maintain control of the vehicle. The vehicle independently veered off the road, and crashed into a electric pole, yet the vehicle…
My 1995 chrysler cirrus, with 92,000 miles, has had some engine damage in result in an fire erruption. My car spent 5 1/2 months in an chrysler dealership and when I got it back it ran for less than 30 days. It has had multiple failures including electrical, engine, and vibration. I found that this car run fine until…
Electrical System 44 Read
The 2000 chrsler cirrus, without any warning went up in flames while the car was not being operated. This happened no more that ten minutes after it was parked. No was was injured, nor any other property as the car was parked in my church parking lot. The fire department extinguished the fire
My car began smoking from under hood. It smelled like plastic burning. Then the car caught on fire
The contact stated that while at a stop light, smoke began to eminate from under the hood. Once the vehicle was exited, flames were observed coming from the underside of the front end of the vehicle. The police and fire departments were called. A police report was filed, and the vehicle was determined to be a total…
Vehicle Speed Control 40 Read
Dt: the consumer's wife was pulling up to a stop sign and the vehicle plunged forward and it crashed into another vehicle. The vehicle has not been to the dealership for inspection. T the consumer does plan to have vehicle fixed. A police report was taken
Consumer was parked at gate of storage lot. She was inside of vehicle punching in numbers to gain access, and the gates began to open. Then, without prior warning engine roared up and vehicle took off, like a jet. Vehicle smashed into the gate, and consumer was thrown between two steel posts. Then, car went into…
On 2/16/99, I was in the drive through lane at a bank to make a deposit. There were approximately 8 vehicles in front of me. As each vehicle advanced to the window, I took my car out of park, put it into drive, and advanced the little you do when you are sitting in line. I did this approximately 5 or 6 times while…
Fuel System 22 Read
Car consumed by fire - fuel line front of engine severed with front end collision. *ph *jb **dimsii ivoq entry posted after 12/12/02 cut over to artemis**768010
Vehicle wouldn't start due to fuel pump failure. Once part was replaced, old fuel pump showed burned areas. Fuel pump is availabe for investigations. Consumer hit a deer and had four thousand dollars of damage due to a 35-40 mph impact. Deer hit in front of vehicle and smashed into the windshield. Upon impact, air…
While driving at any speed vehicle lost power without prior warning. This has happened three times, onece power went low. Another time, it stalled. Third time, engine went low, but did not lose power. Thechnician replaced fuel pump/ computer, and part of fuel tank
Cirrus 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Air Bags | 13 | 21 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 4 | 1 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags,tires | 3 | 2 | |
| 1997 | Air Bags,vehicle Speed Control | 7 | 6 | |
| 1996 | Air Bags | 9 | 4 | |
| 1995 | Air Bags | 32 | 5 |
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 | 170 |
| Average complaints per series | 3.7 |
| Worst single series | 27 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 4.3 years |
A model average of 3.7 hides a worst series at 27. 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 Cirrus?
By complaint volume, 1995, 1996, 2000 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 Cirrus years are the cleanest?
1998, 1997, 1999 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Chrysler Cirrus have?
632 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1995–2000. Of those, 68 describe a crash and 39 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.