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300M Cranking Issues------HELP!!


mckinnon91
06-21-2006, 12:52 PM
I have a 2001 Chrysler 300M. My wife and I loved the car until the transmission went out at 45000 miles. A variety of problems have occurred since that time. Here is the one that continues to puzzle me and my mechanic, who has looked the car over at least 3 times and cannot find the problem……and therefore he doesn’t know how to fix. I hope someone here can give me a solution or at least provide some insight.

When cranking cold my car will not start immediately. It will try to crank for approx 3-5 seconds then it will fire up but run “rough” for another 3-5 seconds then smooth out and runs fine after that, good acceleration, etc. It always has a funny gas like smell from the exhaust when it does this as well. If I turn the car off and try to recrank it will fire up immediately….so it seems to be a cold start problem only. My mechanic of 25 plus years cannot figure out what is going on here. He has cleaned the injectors which he originally thought was the problem and checked everything else under the sun, fuel pressure, fuel pump, etc etc. all to no avail. He said whatever the problem it is not serious enough to trigger the “check engine light” so therefore the car’s computer is not sending out any codes. He said he could think of several things that it “might” be but they were all too expensive to be a “trial and error approach” to fixing the car. To date the car has never left me stranded although I am concerned this will eventually happen. It is quite embarrassing when in the parking lot and everyone is looking at you cause your motor is turning over for 5 seconds prior to finally firing up. I would be most appreciative if someone could give me an idea as to what is going on here. My car still only has 56000 miles on it and is paid for so I don’t want to start over with a new car for a while but my wife is adamant about getting this fixed. I don’t blame her. Can anyone help me?

tinmanwpk
06-22-2006, 07:28 AM
You may have a fuel rail leaking. It takes overnight to have the fuel leak down which is why it will start up immediately after it is warmed up. Our forum has had many discussions regarding this issue. PM me if you need more info.

Chief Wiggim
06-22-2006, 09:03 PM
I have heard of a lot of trannys going bad,It scares me about mine. I'm up to about 49,000 miles. What were the signs of the tranny going bad on you,were there any or did it just go all at once. Theres times I didn like the feel of mine,almost a vibration while speeding up and other little things that I didnt like the feel of. Does chrysler come good for any of the tranny work were there have been a tranny prob??

tinmanwpk
06-26-2006, 07:23 AM
The trannys are good on the M in spite of what you may have heard. The input and output sensors may go bad, but not the trannys. The sensors are easy to replace yourself - you need a 1" open end wrench. You know when they go bad - your tranny goes into "limp" mode only driving in second gear and the speedo doesn't work. Once again, check our 300mclub.org for details. A great website for M's - actually the best website, period.

mckinnon91
07-05-2006, 09:19 AM
I have heard of a lot of trannys going bad,It scares me about mine. I'm up to about 49,000 miles. What were the signs of the tranny going bad on you,were there any or did it just go all at once. Theres times I didn like the feel of mine,almost a vibration while speeding up and other little things that I didnt like the feel of. Does chrysler come good for any of the tranny work were there have been a tranny prob??


With my tranny the check engine light came on. The tranny seemed okay and the instruction in the owners manual said if the check engine light did not blink you should drive it for a few cycles to see if the light goes off. Apparently a blinking check engine light is for more serious problem, I followed the directions for a steady burning check engine light. Several days the tranny started to slip and I barely got to the mechanic.

Chrysler dealership tried to rip me a new one....wanted to charge me $2500+ to fix. Went to a reputable local mechanic who said that was "freakin' ridiculous" and fixed it for $1500. The Chrysler people tried to tell me it would be fixed with OEM parts whereas they would use only grade A parts. I asked them was my original tranny made with the Grade A parts and they had nothing more to say after that. The warranty the local mechanic gave me was almost as good as the factory warranty so the dealership shut up.

I am pretty sure I will not buy another Chrysler.

tinmanwpk
07-05-2006, 09:24 AM
What was wrong with your tranny?

And what type of tranny fluid did your mechanic put in?

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