Hi Guys,

I was hoping that maybe you could give me some further insight on some annoying issues that my 2002 Chrysler Sebring LXI Convertible has.

The issues are as follows:

1. When turning the steering wheel you get this sort of "creaking" noise. This noise will only occur when turning the steering wheel slightly between about -40 and 40 degrees. The noise is almost definitely coming from the front left of the car, as I can feel a slight "vibration" from the noise below my feet while driving. Also, the noise will disappear while it's raining.

2. When going over slight bumps there is a squeaking noise coming from the front right side of the car. This occurs every time there is a slight bump in the road or when going over a speed bump.

3. This one’s a bit more of a recent issue (started occurring about 2 weeks ago). The airbag light comes on; when this issue first started it would come on when turning the wheel and then would go away. Now it comes up when the car starts and randomly will go away and come back on.

4. Left side rear window doesn't work (being held up with sticks right now), this makes it a real hassle when wanting to put the top down. This one is probably just a bad motor, but I wanted to post here to make sure. By pushing the window up and down button you can hear a sort of "winding" noise as if a cable was "winding" which will eventually stop. If you push the window button down and then attempt to manually pull the window up once it gets halfway up you won't be able to pull it up anymore, but by pushing the window button up, it allows me to manually pull it all the way up. I assume this is because of the regulator, in which case does this mean the regulators good and the motor is bad? I can look slightly down into the workings of the window and I can see where the cable wraps around a sort of pulley that is attached the window itself (or this is what it appears to be from my limited view), when pushing the button I don't see the cable moving around the pulley.

5. Passenger seat can't move back. The front passenger seat in the LXI isn't a power seat, you have to manually reach down and pull up on the bar to move the seat back. Unfortunately, in my car this doesn't seem to work anymore. By looking underneath the seat, it seems that pulling up on the bar no longer has enough tension to pull the release that allows the seat to move back. As far as I can tell, it seems it's because of the two springs that attach to the pull bar and pull it down have lost their compression. These springs look pretty generic, if I'm right is there any where I can get them?

Also, maybe this is the cause of some of my current issues or could be the cause of future issues. The front strut mount bushings (believe that's what they're called) look really dried out ( and the struts themselves aren't centered but not sure how big of a deal that is), the front left one is in really bad condition, to the point where it is beginning to tear (Picture below).

Front left side (You can clearly see the rubber shavings from the bushing)


Front right side (You can clearly see how off center it is)

 

Judging by those pics, those are probably the original struts.
Do yourself a favor and replace them.
The clunking is probably coming from these puppies.

 

Replacing the whole strut sounds like it'd probably be a big job, am I correct?

For clarification on the noise that is occurring, I've uploaded a quick audio clip of it. You can listen to it here:

http://youtu.be/YT_I1rJoftQ

 

If you want people to listen to the recording, you have to make it unprivate....

 

Sorry about that, I meant to make it unlisted.

Fixed:

Noise - YouTube

 

Replacing the struts requires some special tools. You'll need a puller to separate the upper ball joint and maybe a ball joint press to get the fork bolts out and then a spring compressor to disassemble the spring and strut. Nobody makes a quick strut for that car because the design has the upper arm and bracket holding it attached to the strut so it would all need to be included in the package.
With those shot bushings you really need to replace the shocks (struts) ASAP. If you have the tools you can do it, but get a shop manual to see what the job entails before you decide whether to tackle it yourself or pay a pro.

 

@dcotter0579 Thanks for all the information, both my dad and I are quit handy, but the need for all those special tools will be a problem if we wanted to do it on our own.

When you say
Are you suggesting that by leaving them as they are now, the car could develop some serious issues? If so, can you give me an example of an issue that could possibly occur? (Just trying to judge how urgent of a fix this is)

 

Your shocks are essentially non functional when they are so loosely mounted as that. You might be able to improve the situation a little by grabbing the very top of that threaded part sticking up (not the threads, but the area above the threads) with an appropriate tool and tightening the nut to compress the shock mounts.
There are shock absorber tools available that fit that piece. They are quite inexpensive. You'll want one if you decide to tackle this job as they make disassembly of the strut easier once you have compressed the spring.

 

Well yesterday I removed the rear window regulator to inspect it, the plastic piece that the cable feeds through to hold the window in position broke (motor works fine though). So I've just spent the entire day attempting to track down a new rear window regulator, and so far nobody seems to sell it (I must of called 6 different auto parts stores and 8 junk yards). The only one who has had it is the Chrsyler dealership, but they want $300 for just the regulator which is ridiculous.

Anyone have any suggestion on where I might find a rear window regular or is there any way to "fix" the one I have(doubtful) ?