Owners have filed 510 complaints on the Chrysler New Yorker, covering 1981–1996. The system named most often is Service Brakes (101 reports). Worst years by volume: 1994, 1989, 1991; cleanest: 1981, 1984, 1983. 27 reports describe a crash, 16 a fire, 1 a death. On average the car was 5.8 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Chrysler New Yorker
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 510 New Yorker complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Service Brakes 101 Read
Anti-lock brakes failed, resulting in loss of control/accident
This is interrogative. My wife joined an accident in progress (no. 3 of 3 vehicles) becasue she couldn't stop in time. She was at 35 mph steady, said she had applied full braking. The nyer was pitched down when it contacted the bumper of a s-10 pickup truck. We have sheet metal damage to the hood, left fender and…
ABS braking system failed, vehicle went out of control, resulting in an accident
Fuel System 78 Read
My wife was on her way back from la. When the fire started in the hood. Later we received notification of a recall on this vehicle due to the "o" ring failure. I am wondering if you could develop a cad program to show how a car could catch on fire and total a vehicle
Recall 98V184000; vehicle was included in the recall, but dealer did not replace the "o" rings, and vehicle caught on fire due a fuel leak. Vehicle at the dealer
Undercarriage vehicle fire caused by fuel lines leaking fuel. Tt leaking fuel pump and leaking gas line underneath vehicle, fuel pump was replaced, vehicle kept stalling, consumer began to smell fuel and vehicle caught fire while driving
Power Train 66 Read
Transmission failed, causing left front wheel to lock up, causing vehicle to veer left/accident
Vehicle was parked on a slight incline. Consumer was reaching inside vehicle attempting to grab key out the ignition and hit gear shift, vehicle rolled backwards, rolling overtop off consumer, and causing injuries. Consumer has yet to contact dealer or manufacturer
While driving, at approx. 50mph front axel broke, caused passenger front wheel to come up through floor boards, pulled to side, then went into ditch
Steering 50 Read
Consumer was having problems with the vehicle and smelled a gasoline odor when the weather was cold. While trying to start the vehicle one morning, it would not start, and caught fire in the driveway. The dealer was unable to duplicate the problem. Vehicle was unrepairable. Various other problems consisted of tie…
When turning the vehicle the wheel vibrates, causing the center mounting bolt to come loose. Owner has replaced the rack and pinion twice prior to this. The dealer has been notified
Both inner tie rod bushings and attached rods had to be replaced, the right side had failed and fallen out(rubber bushing), the left side bushing was fractured and worn out causing play in the right side wheel steering, both items were replaced and wheel alignment done
Engine And Engine Cooling 42 Read
While traveling vehicle started making noises, and upon crossing rail road track vehicle stalled. Consumer tried to restart vehicle and engine would not start. By then the train was coming an ran into to vehicle. Please provide further information
Consumer was traveling about 40mph on the highway and noticed that an individual inside of another vehiicle that passed by him yelled outside of the window that consumer's vehicle was on fire. Vehicle was totaled
After coming to a stop the vehicle caught on fire in the engine compartment. Cause was not determined by fire marshall. Owner feels it was gas related. *ak
Electrical System 29 Read
While driving 60 mph consumer heard a noise, felt a pop under accelerator pedal. Then, vehicle revved loudly. Smoke was coming from under the dash, and consumer saw flames. Vehicle at dealership at this time
While driving 30 mph a fire started in the engine compartment. Local fire department arrived and extinguished the fire. Dealer was notified. Feel free to provide any further information
Driving at approx 55 mph went to slow down and stopped/vehicle stalled. Went to restart, it stalled again. Heat gauge was normal. Noticed smoke and flames coming from under hood, whole center of front hood was completly burnt
Suspension 20 Read
Bushing worn out causing the steering to be loose and resulting in tire wear. Nlm
While driving without any warning vehicle severely pulled to the right or the left cause unknown. Please give any further details
The contact stated there is a NHTSA recall campaign 99V215000 regarding the suspension. This vehicle has the same problems as indicated in the recall, but it is not included in the recall due to the VIN. The vehicle has not been repaired
Exterior Lighting 18 Read
The headlights on highbeams are very low. You cannot see the road. Please describe. Tt
The headlights assembly doesn't adjust up far enough to project the lights illumination fully. The light doesn't illuminate the road bright enough to see to driver. High beams have to be engaged. Dealership indicated to correct this problem they would have to installed headlights from the 1996/1997 model. Technical…
Turn signals do not operate until vehicle has been driven for 15 minutes and engine has completely warmed up
New Yorker 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — | |
| 1995 | Air Bags | 3 | — | |
| 1994 | Air Bags | 15 | 4 | |
| 1993 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 1992 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 1991 | Air Bags | — | 3 | |
| 1989 | Electrical System | 4 | 2 | |
| 1988 | Electrical System | — | 1 | |
| 1987 | Electrical System | 2 | 3 | |
| 1986 | Electrical System | — | 1 | |
| 1985 | Electrical System | — | 2 | |
| 1984 | Fuel System, Gasoline | — | — | |
| 1983 | Power Train | — | — | |
| 1981 | Fuel System, Gasoline | — | — |
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 | 234 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.2 |
| Worst single series | 16 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.8 years |
A model average of 2.2 hides a worst series at 16. 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 New Yorker?
By complaint volume, 1994, 1989, 1991 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 New Yorker years are the cleanest?
1981, 1984, 1983 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Chrysler New Yorker have?
510 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1981–1996. Of those, 27 describe a crash and 16 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.