Lots of things are wrong, no idea what though!

[lumofny]

I know nothing about cars so any help would be GREATLY appreciated...

A month or two ago my PT began to make a clicking noise under the engine. This noise would increase in speed as the car accelerated and decrease as I slowed. I asked a friend who said it sounded like a belt was loose. Another, more mechanically inclined friend, said it sounded like the serpentine belt needed to be tightened. He said he didnt think this would be covered under the warranty as its a routine thing, so I brought it back to the place where I got the car from (not a Chrysler dealer) for them to check out.

I asked them to check out the vehicle and they concluded that the power steering pump was bad and the control arm bushing/brushings? needed to also be replaced. Both items should be covered under the warranty. Good thing I'm just under the 36k, 3 year mark.

I bring the car to the dealer and explain the noises its making. They said they would check it out and call me when its ready. Didn't hear from them the whole day so I call them up at 5 that afternoon. They tell me that they took the car out at 8 that morning and didnt hear a problem so they didn't do anything with it the whole day. (Didn't bother to call and let me know this, either...) I go and pick up the car and show them the receipt from the shop who found the power steering and arm problem. The dealer says schedule another appointment with them and they'll check out the two things. OK, I do that.

Get to the appointment and they confirm that yes, both parts do need to be replaced, but they don't have either in stock. I have to set up another appointment. I do that. At that appointment they install the power steering pump, but forgot to order the arms. I need to set up yet another appointment to have those installed. I do that. At that appointment, they get the left arm installed, however, the box with the right arm in was missing a shield, so I'll have to wait until they get the shield in to get it replaced. I return home with the car which now has a new power steering pump, good left arm, and a old, bad, right arm. A few days later I return for the appointment and get the right side replaced. I get in, turn the car on and its still making the exact same noise as it was in the begining. Obviously, the parts they replaced were not causing the noise.

Yesterday, a few days after this all happened, I was driving along and hear (in addition to the original noise) a sort of scratching, dragging, screeching noise and also have the check ingine light go on. Once I'm back home and parked I check out under the car and I find that theres some sort of plastic shield, plate haning from the underside of car whcih is dragging when I drive. I can only assume this is the shiled they were supposed to replace, or replaced, at the dealer. None of the screws which hold it to the frame of the car are there, however, its being held to behind the right wheel well somehow.

After checking out the code on the computer, ive concluded that it is:

P0441(M) Evap Purge Flow Monitor Insufficient or excessive vapor flow detected during evaporative emission system operation.

Is this a new problem or somethign realted to the work they did on the car? It just seems a little ironic that since October (when I purchased the car) until now I have no problems until I brought it to the dealer.

Also, while were on the subject of dealer, should I return to them or go to another. I've had nothing but problems with them (had to go there 4-6 times to have a simple noise corrected, which never was, got parts replaced that had nothing to do with the problem, and had them forget to screw *something* back to the underside of the car). On the other hand, they are the ones who in mind mind caused this problem, so they should be held responsible for fixing it.

I'm 5500 miles away from my warranty expiring so I'm leaning toward bringing it to a new dealer who will be more prompt when fixing and id'ing the problem. I don't want to go over in miles without getting this problem (now problems) resolved.

[SRG]

If it was my car, I would run, not walk to another dealer. They are in competition with each other for your business, so tell them that you're unhappy with the current dealer and you're looking for a new one. Any dealer will be able to access what warranty repairs have been done on your car, so they could see what the previous dealer has done. Good Luck!

SRG

[purple04]

This is the same thing we have heard from many owners. BAD dealer service. I'd say that you should go to another dealer, and bring a list for them to attach to the work order. Make sure to write down all of your concerns, and describe why you are not returning to the first dealer. Explain that you want prompt, competent service. Ask if they are able to provide this. Too bad this is still going on. The only saving graces are that there are good dealers out there, and most people have had few problems with the car. There are regional service reps, but that should be used only when you can't get the car fixed. Make sure to let us know if the new dealer works. Good word-of-mouth is the way to support the good dealers.

[lumofny]

Thanks for the suggestions - I plan on calling another Chrysler dealer tomorrow and getting an an appointment to bring the PT in.

As far as the error or the sounds I'm hearing, anyone have any ideas what they may be? I made sure the gas cap was on tight (and clicked) and let the battery set unplugged for an hour. Light is still on though. What else could this error code be for? Thanks again so much!

[quicksilverdon]

Try another dealer. What have you to lose? Odds are it won;t be any worse.
If you've checked gas cap, then let dealer diagnose new error code.
As to clicking noise, any relation to braking? If you hit brake, does noise change? Again, you shouldn't have to diagnose (and hard to do over internet for us...) dealer should.
Give a new one a try.

[lumofny]

Dropped it off at another shop today. Hopefully they'll figure out whats going on. I'll keep you posted.