Lower Control Arm Bushings at 25K miles????

[NewPTCruiserInPA]

It's me again! 2006 PT Cruiser purchased just 4 months ago and 'Chrysler Certified' with 19+miles on it, and there are 25,000 miles on it now. Just got back from our 2nd oil change where they informed my husband that we need to have the 'lower control arm bushings' replaced plus a full alignment!

The job is going to take 4 hours and has to be left, and every time we have to do that means we have to rent a car or find someone to shuttle my husband back and forth to the car dealership 45 minutes away since it is our only car.

What the heck are arm bushings, and WHY do they need to be replaced at only 25,000 miles? This is the THIRD time this car has been in the shop since we bought it, twice for the a/c (which is a piece of 'you know what'). I have no doubt at all why the previous owners traded it in! Can't go a month without something needing to be replaced on it!

Is this repair covered by the 3yr/36K warranty, or is this something we will have to shell out of pocket for? I really don't think we should have to be out a cent for something they certified was in good working condition, when apparently, nothing is!

[Mean Green]

Should be covered under warranty.

[AlexJB]

Did you find out if it was covered under waranty?

these bushes wear out on FWD cars, especialy ones with reasonable weight and hp outputs, its a fact of life.
25k is a little short so you should try to get them done under waranty though.

[bobs turbo pt]

my wife had them changed twice in her first pt befoore 25,000 miles they are junk and hopefully its covered for you keep us posted

[NewPTCruiserInPA]

The dealership said it was covered, and it better be because I'm not paying a cent. They better not say "Oh, the repair is covered, but the alignment isn't" or anything like that, because we wouldn't need an alignment if their rubberband parts didn't break so easily!

We have an appointment for next week. At least now I know what that 'thunk' noise we've occasionally been hearing is. Every once in a while you would hear a noise from somewhere in the car that sounded like something heavy rolled over (I checked in the glove box, lol). This noise only started AFTER they did the first oil change at 22K.

After that first oil change, the oil lamp light came on once when we got in, and then didn't come on again after that. When I called the dealership to report they said it was just the system resetting itself, it was nothing to worry about, but if it happened again to bring it in (it didn't, but we had that thunk noise every once in a while).

When my husband just took it in for this 2nd oil change, he asked them if it would do that again, and they were all puzzled about the system 'resetting' after the oil change, and denied saying that, saying the car wouldn't do that! NOW it must have been a glitch in the system! I know what they said. Sheesh!

[Teekypt]

Had mine replaced around 50k...

[NewPTCruiserInPA]

Well, we are having the lower control arm bushings replaced today and while they are covered under the warranty (only 25K on the vehicle), the front alignment is NOT. I argued that we wouldn't NEED an alignment if not for the problem with a warranty covered part, but it was a no go. Apparently, that's what Chrysler's warranty says. So that's $65.

I then griped about this being the 3rd major repair on the car in the last 4 months (and we've only had it 4 months!). So much for certified automobiles! I think the only thing it really should have been certified for is to not fall apart as it was driven off the lot. After that, anything is a go!

Hopefully this will be the last major repair for a while, though I said that after the last one too, lol...

[lt4supr]

Does anyone know if the front end bushings meaning any or all are covered under the 7/70 warranty? I've never had a issue with them on any car i have owned even the ones with 2 hundred k on them.

Thanks

[ucantcme]

If you own a PT..you more than likely will have a problem with them. The lower control arm bushings, and the wheel bearings.

As the person above you posted - It was under the warranty. If you can, take it to a family mechanic and have he/she install aftermarket parts because the OEM part is crap.

[lt4supr]

Thanks for the come back.
I see he has under 30,000 miles on it so thats why i wondered it would still be covered at 46,000 miles under the 7/70..

Enjoy this site almost as much as sitting in the garage staring at my gt ..lol