Hey everybody! I've been driving a 2008 Chrysler Sebring for the past couple of years. It's been passed down throughout my family. 127,000 miles, though my family has done a nice job of taking care of it and keeping up to date with parts.

As I was driving home on Tuesday, my 2008 Sebring suddenly stopped. The wheel locked up and was difficult to turn, and I couldn't accelerate or reverse. I had to use the emergency brake so the car would stop slowly rolling backwards. Essentially, it was like the key was taken out, though the radio was still working and the key was turned to ignition. I took the key out, put it back in and turned it, and the car worked fine and I pulled right in.

Yesterday, I turned the car on a few times and drove it around for about 10 minutes around my neighborhood. No issues, started up well, drove smoothly. This morning, I drove it to an auto parts store to get the engine scanned and they didn't detect any issues. I called an auto repair center but they can't get me in until next Friday, but cautioned me from driving it too often this next week. I drove it about 20 minutes this morning.

Has anyone had a similar issue and has any advice? Fuel tank is currently half-full, coolant is at a good level, I just put in a quart of oil last week, and I got the battery replaced last year. Maybe something with wiring that got messed up? Or a strange fluke, as the auto parts employee suggested?

Thanks in advance!

 

Let's begin with a clarification of what happened. The car didn't "suddenly stop". The engine stalled. With the engine stalled, the power steering is not available, because the power steering is driven by the engine. The steering did not "lock" but without power steering, it was very difficult to steer, but still possible. Similarly, with a stalled engine, you lose power brakes, but not immediately, and without power brakes you need to press much harder on the brakes to stop the car. Again, it's possible to use the brakes but more effort is required. The parking brake is not the best choice in an "emergency" as it can lock up the rear wheels; on slippery pavement, locked rear wheels can result in an uncontrollable spin. Better to press harder on the regular brake pedal to stop the car if the engine stalls. By the way, now that you have had the experience with a stalled engine, if it happens again, while you're still rolling, you should slip it into Neutral (NOT PARK!) and turn the key to try to re-start the engine right away. If you are on the highway, and it won't start right up, let it continue to roll and steer it out of traffic, to the right shoulder if at all possible. Stopping it in a traffic lane is a bad idea. Keep your head and remember that you can still control the car.
If you come back, let us know which engine the car has and what were the circumstances when it stalled. Driving at highway speeds? Turning? Rolled over a bump? Through a puddle? There might be a clue to solving the mystery in the circumstances.

 

Hey,

So I have an 08 sebring (199k on it, 2.4l still -- i believe -- original transmission and engine). I had posted a thread a while back (link -> https://www.chryslerforum.com/forum/...running-34130/ ) about a similar issue. Long and short of it though was basically what was a completely random but infrequent issue (random shut down of the engine, oil light came on few seconds later) became full blown, every time I would try to start it it would run for some length of time, sometimes seconds, other times would run like it didnt have an issue.

I need to update that thread but I ultimately condemned the TIPM under the hood. I had other symptoms which pointed to TIPM issues and ultimately decided to try swapping it for one out of a junkyard, seeing as how Chrysler wants 980$ for the part brand new. Picked one up at the junkyard for $23 and, after replacing a couple of damaged fuses, no more issues with the car stalling out and whatnot.

Seems like your issue may be similar. If its $20-something to replace it with a junkyard part, may be worth trying to see if it fixes your issue before it becomes full-blown like mine did.