Owners have filed 217 complaints on the Chrysler Imperial, covering 1990–1993. The system named most often is Service Brakes (164 reports). Worst years by volume: 1990, 1991, 1992; cleanest: 1993, 1992, 1991. 9 reports describe a crash, 2 a fire, 1 a death. On average the car was 9.5 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Chrysler Imperial
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 217 Imperial complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Service Brakes 164 Read
July 26, 2003 bonnie sullivan 7 conyers st greenville s.c. 29609 to whom it may concern, I'm the owner of a 1993 crrys. Imperial which I'm very fund of. Resently I have been haveing a great deal of trouble with the antilock ABS pump system. I have had to have the pump replaced and when this was done the repair man…
The contact owns a 1992 chrysler imperial. While driving approximately 60 mph, the brake pedal extended to the floor when it was depressed. The vehicle swerved off the road into a vineyard. There were no other vehicles involved in the crash. The contact sustained major injuries. A police report was filed. The…
The contact owns a 1991 chrysler imperial. While driving 15 mph, the brakes failed when the pedal was depressed. The contact sideswiped another vehicle. The other vehicle sustained substantial damages, but the contact's vehicle was in tact. Three weeks prior to the crash, the brakes were serviced by the dealer. The…
Suspension 17 Read
I have had problems with the ABS system, power assisted brake system and the suspension for over a year. About a year ago the ABS light came on and stayed on. At this point my power assisted brake system was working fine. Then about a month later the brake light also came on and stayed and I had very tight braking as…
Air suspension fails, causing vehicle to ride on frame, making it difficult to control
The costs of the repairs are $1900.00 for the transmission and torque converter and around $2500.00 for the air suspension system. What made these problems suspect, was after my problems with the car my father had the same exact problems with the car. This second car was purchaced at a different dealer
Fuel System 9 Read
The fuel rail on my 3.3l engine failed, the crossover tube sprayed onto the exaust and soaked the engine compartment with fuel. I was not able to purchase a replacement part from the dealer because all of the 'replasement parts' they have for 3.3l fuel rail are for 'recalls only'. So I get a engine fire and lose my…
Strong odor of gasoline. Chrysler says vehicle year from 1993- 1997 has been recalled but not the 1992 year but that car should not be driven because of fire possibility. Have been waiting on parts from chrysler for about 6 weeks. The reason given is that there are so many failures that parts are distributed by…
While driving, starting and making a left into mall, vehicle stalled as if not in gear, floored pedal & vehicle moved, then had parked it; started vehicle & again it stalled; had floored pedal to move. Turned on & off to move. Not at dealer. Mechanic said its a filter
Power Train 9 Read
Transmission failure. Owner requesting that an investigation or report be initiated
Master cylinder failure
Hole in air conditioner, causing failure
Engine And Engine Cooling 4 Read
While driving 35 mph the belt tensioner idle pulley broke, causing loss of control, and the vehicle overheated. Please give any further details
Vehicle stalls continually, loosing all steering control
Vehicle began violently shaking and stalled in oncoming traffic almost resulting in fatal accident due to carrier on the top of the cylinder head breaking off
Steering 4 Read
Power steering belt tensioner belt fractured, total loss of power steering. Tt
The contact owns a 1991 chrysler imperial. The contact stated that the linkage for the transmission disconnected from the steering column while she was driving approximately 15 mph. The failure was not diagnosed by a mechanic. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure and current mileages were 82,000
The contact owned a 1991 chrysler imperial. The contact stated that the vehicle was extremely difficult to steer and he had heard a loud popping noise each time the vehicle was driven. The vehicle had not been inspected, diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not notified of the…
Air Bags 3 Read
While driving, the driver side air bags deployed. The consumer lost control of the vehicle and hit a pole. The dealer was notified. Ph scc
While driving, the air bag deployed without warning, hitting the consumer in the face. The consumer wrecked the vehicle. Scc
While driving, the air bag blew in the consumers face without warning. Scc
Electrical System 3 Read
Air ride suspension, defective air pump causing the vehicle to drag on the frame. Tt
ABS pump motor and ABS pressure switch failed
No description
Imperial 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | 1 | |
| 1992 | Exterior Lighting | 1 | — | |
| 1991 | Air Bags | 4 | — | |
| 1990 | Electrical System | 4 | 1 |
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 | 68 |
| Average complaints per series | 3.2 |
| Worst single series | 14 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 9.5 years |
A model average of 3.2 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
- No ads, on every page
- 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 Imperial?
By complaint volume, 1990, 1991, 1992 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 Imperial years are the cleanest?
1993, 1992, 1991 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Chrysler Imperial have?
217 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1990–1993. Of those, 9 describe a crash and 2 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.