Hello everyone. I am the second owner of a 2000 Chrysler Sebring and have recently been having problems with the vehicle. I have been hearing some sounds coming from the front end that I believed was the ball joint. I took the car to a mechanic, since I'm not very confident in my mechanical abilities, and told him to check to see what the problem was and expressed my concerns of it being the ball joint. The mechanic told me he did not find anything wrong with the car other then a screw in my front tire which he plugged. This was three days ago. Today I was driving with my son in the car and the lower ball joint broke. It also pulled out my axle. Luckily I wasn't going fast and was actually about to pull into my driveway. But anyways, I could not reach the garage since they don't work on weekends. But I did some research and discovered there was a recall on that year and model. One of my questions: Is this covered under the recall? Or is there a time limit? Another question I have is when the axle was pulled from the transmission would that cause damage to the trans? Or does it just slide in and out when the lower ball joint is removed?

Any answers would be awesome!

 

The best way to find out if the ball joint is covered is to contact a Chrysler dealer and ask. They will want the VIN and a description of what exactly broke and you may need to tow the car in for them to look at it. The car is now 13 years old and completely beyond warranty so frankly, it's doubtful that at this point in time they are going to be interested but there's no harm in asking.
As for whether there is additional damage as a result of the thing coming apart, somebody knowledgeable is going to have to examine it closely to see. The axle does come out by snapping it out when taking it apart, but that is done under controlled conditions and not when the wheel is loaded with the weight of the car and rolling, even slowly. The axle may have damaged the seal or trans housing on the way out, and there is no way of knowing without looking at it carefully.
Ball joints wear out, but slowly and probably that mechanic should have noticed something when you brought it in with that specific complaint. I think I'd want to find a better mechanic.