I took my 02 sebring in for brake maintenance back in Dec (08). I had 62k miles and have never had any brake issues until we started having a grabbing feeling and clunking noise when braking. Our personal mechanic as well as 2 dealerships told us the brakes were perfectly fine and easily had another 20k left on them.

Since that time, when we brake, there is a loud clunking/crunching/popping noise when we have to make a hard brake (not letting foot off brake and coasting to a stop). The car has been back to the dealer 9 times and they cannot figure it out. So far, they have replaced the following under the 7/70 warranty:
front sway bar bushings, both rear upper control arms, right axle, sway bar links and bushings (for a 2nd time), and resurfaced the rotors 2xs. Nothing has worked and they keep telling me there is no problem at all.

Any ideas at all???

 

I would want to look at the tie-rod ends, but if they are bad, the dealership should have caught it. Will it make the noise with the car up on a hoist and the wheels rotating in the air? If so, it ought to be easy to find.
There are a lot of things in the front end that could be loose including the brake mountings, the ball joints, front suspension, etc. Keep after them until it's right or find another dealer.

 

The dealer can hear the noise when we test drive but not when they put it up on the hoist. They've checked the suspension each time but to no avail. I can tell you that it often makes the noise 1) when initially putting foot down on brake and 2) when letting foot up off of brake (also at times when braking and turning). In both circumstances, the noise comes from the front right of the car and is pretty loud (passengers in back seat can hear and feel it).

 

There are numerous connections that if loose, or a little loose, could cause a clunk on braking. Those associated with the brakes, those associated with the suspension and those associated with the steering. They've got to check each and every one. The looseness may be of such a nature that it can't be felt by grabbing the parts by hand and wiggling them. It may require a significant load to manifest itself. It may also only show up when the suspension is in the middle range of its motion (loaded with the weight of the car) and therefore not when the wheels are dangling on the hoist.
Given the age of the vehicle, you might want to go to a shop that is more familiar with older suspensions and their wear patterns. Dealers deal more often with newer cars under warranty and don't often see 7 year old models.

 

Same problem with my 08. Mine is most pronounced when the car is driven in hot weather or after 20-30 minutes of city traffic. Still under warranty. We now suspect it is rack and pinion related. Waiting on a new system to be installed. Hope that fixes it!

 

I have this same problem with my wife's 05 GTC with 64000 miles and i was going to take it to a shop to get checked out but if it the rack and pinion it might be more then i want to spend at this time.