What's wrong with my 2005 Chrysler Sebring?

Factual Questions
1

My 2005 Chrysler Sebring used to be just about perfect, till about 4 days ago.
It suddenly died. Electricity seems good in it. Had it towed home.
Noticed, under car, about 1 pint or one quart of oil on the ground!
The car will still turn over, but it seems to be a higher pitch while it is turning.Will not start. There is still some oil on the dipstick, but, I’m not messing with it till i get more oil in it.

Any top of your head ideas as to what went wrong?

Thanks,
hh

2

How many miles?

I ask because you say that the pitch sounds higher when you turn the key, and that indicates to me that the starter isn’t working as hard, which in turn indicates to me a broken timing belt/chain. If it’s a belt and you have over 60,000 miles on the engine you’re probably overdue, and if that’s what it is you might be in big trouble.

I might be way off base. If so, consider this a helpful bump.

3

Right at 100 thousand miles.

I haven’t done *any *work to it since I bought it. Just whatever gets done with a super oil change.

Thanks,
hh

4

60,000 miles is a little early on a timing belt, but at 100K I would not be surprised. Even if it slipped or broke, though, I wouldn’t expect that to result in oil on the ground.

5

When you say the car will still turn over, do you mean you can hear the starter, or the engine too?

6

A broken timing belt is consistent with the engine dying while driving, and with it sounding different when cranking. If I knew which body style Sebring and the engine size, I could see if it has a timing belt rather than a timing chain.

My recollection is that the 2.5 engine has a timing belt with a recommended replacement interval of 60,000 miles, but doesn’t list timing belt replacement in the maintenance schedule. On top of which, it’s an interference engine, likely to bend valves if the timing belt breaks - $$$. An incredibly stupid scenario.

Sudden (I assume) oil leakage has nothing to do with a timing belt breaking. Could be a red herring, could have been leaking unnoticed before, could be something other than a timing belt problem that caused it to die.

If it’s only one or two quarts low on oil, which I would expect if there’s an oil reading on the dipstick, there’s no imminent danger in running the engine. Not that it will run, but there should be enough oil in it to run safely for the short term.

7

Sorry for the delay, Really.I think I can hear them both. It sounds like a regular engine turning over, only at a higher pitch. To me, that is.

Thanks,
hh

8

plays Stump The Chumps music

So, what’s the verdict?

9

Thanks for the info, Gary T. Currently, I can’t tell what kind of engine is in it. I’ve lost my keys! But, it is a 4 door, and there is no other designation at all about it. When i got insurance, they kept asking me what kind of Sebring it was, because they had a bunch of designations, and I couldn’t find any. They said they could check by the VIN, and when they ran it into their computers, they just said, “I dunno.” I know it is a 4 cylinder, but that’s all for now.

At any rate, I don’t have the cash to get it fixed, yet, so, let the diagnoses continue!

Thanks,
hh

10

Four door means it’s a sedan (the other possibilities are coupe [2 door] and convertible). Four cylinder means it’s a 2.4 liter. To make life easy for us, Chrysler used three different 2.4 liter engines in 2005 Sebrings. :slight_smile:

The engine can be identified by the 8th character in the VIN (visible through the windshield near its lower left corner).

VIN code X: dual-cam engine used in the convertible and sedan, not an interference engine.

VIN code G: single-cam engine used in the coupe, an interference engine.

VIN code J: dual-cam engine used in the sedan, haven’t been able to determine yet whether it’s interference or not, though I suspect not as repair instructions don’t have typical cautions about it.

So if it’s a code X engine, and maybe if it’s a code J, AND IF the timing belt broke, the repair cost should comprise a tow and timing belt replacement (likely in the 350-400 range). The oil situation is still a mystery.