Chrysler 2.7 Liter V6 Engine Class Action Lawsuits Consolidated

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The United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has issued an order which will transfer all Chrysler engine class action lawsuits pending in various federal district courts throughout the United States to the District of New Jersey for coordinated handling during pretrial proceedings in an MDL, or multidistrict litigation.

There are currently five class action lawsuits pending against Chrysler over their 2.7 liter engines used in several models of Chrysler and Dodge vehicles between 1998 and at least 2003. The Chrysler lawsuits allege that defective designs make the engines prone to form oil sludge, which could causes the engine to fail much earlier than would normally be expected.

A growing number of complaints have been filed by owners of Chrylser Sebring, Chysler Concord, Dodge Intrepid and Dodge Stratus vehicles with the smaller 2.7 liter engine, which have been found to fail around 50,000 to 60,000 miles, but in some cases as early as 20,000 miles.

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This type of catastrophic engine failure would not typically be expected anytime before a vehicle reaches 100,000 miles, yet Chrysler has been denying engine warranty coverage since the problems are caused by a build up of oil sludge.

According to the Center for Auto Safety, at least 2,800 reports of Chrysler engine failure involving oil sludge in the 2.7 liter engines were received as of early 2007. Since that time, as the vehicles age, owners continue to report the engine problems.

Chrysler and Dodge engine failure class action lawsuits are currently pending in the Eastern District of California, Middle District of Florida, Northern District of Illinois, District of New Jersey and Southern District of New Jersey on behalf of vehicle owners in those states. In addition, other class action lawsuits and individual lawsuits could be filed in other districts.

The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation found that the Chrysler engine lawsuits involve common questions of fact and that centralization would serve the convenience of the parties and witnesses and promote the just and efficient conduct of the litigation.

Chrysler’s lawyers opposed the consolidation, arguing that the proposed classes do not overlap and that agreements can be reached between the parties in the lawsuits to minimize any overlapping discovery or risk of inconsistent rulings without the formation of an MDL. However, the Panel rejected these arguments.

“These actions are nearly identical in terms of the facts alleged, and discovery undoubtedly will overlap,” wrote Chairman of the Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, John G. Heyburn, II, in an order issued February 10, 2009. “Centralization will enable one judge to streamline pretrial proceedings and make consistent rulings on discovery disputes, dispositive motions and issues relating to experts.”

The MDL panel decided to transfer all of the Chrysler engine lawsuits to the District of New Jersey, as the action in that Court has been pending longer than the other actions. The litigation will be assigned to U.S. District Judge Faith S. Hochberg for coordinated and consolidated pretrial proceedings.

Since the litigation involves putative statewide class actions for residents of five different states, the MDL panel did indicate that in the future, Judge Hochberg can suggest that the Panel consider remanding the actions to the original courts where they were filed for class certification considerations if that becomes necessary.


370 Comments


  1. Allan

    I have a o6 Sebring water got into the oil some how. See all kinds of problems with these motors. What is aval. Or what do we need to do?


  2. Beth

    Having same problem with a town and country


  3. Yvette

    The 2.7l engine is also in the 2006 Dodge Magnum 6 cly car as well.


  4. Rick

    I was not aware of this class action and was left out of it.
    I have a 2003 dodge intrepid with the 2.7 engine in it.
    The engine began losing engine coolant for no reason, had no visible leaks and there was no coolant in the oil.
    Engine eventually locked up one morning as I was going to work.
    Now the big question is, since I was not aware of this class action and was left out of it, how do I get my part of the settlement?


  5. Karon

    I too was left out of lawsuit and own a 2002 sebring LXi convertible that has had nothing g but problems! How do I get my compensation


  6. Coleen

    My 2014 Chrysler 300 has 87,000 miles on it and has been parked for over a year due to misfiring in the engine. Chrysler said rocker arm and lifters but my mechanic was paid to take the engine apart and they were fine. Problem on diagnostic was misfire on 5. Tune up did not resolve. It was actually #2 and it was running 60 psi. Pressure test done, and oil test done. It was not a gunk build up. It was proven not to repairable and need a replacement engine. So I am left with a bad engine I can not find a replacing for and if I could wouldn’t be able to afford. I am almost completely paid off and I have no way to recoup my losses. Beyond mad and frustrated!


  7. Anita

    I have a 2002 Sebring 4 door Sedan 2.7 engine over 130,000 miles no problem with my engine. Try taking care of your car it will last you forever


  8. Alfonzo

    My 06 chrysler 300 2.7 runs hot and has bad struts as well please help


  9. Donald

    I just bought a 2006 Chrysler seebring with 2.7 engine..it has overheated 3 times.when I got it the wiring was changed so fan would run all the time.allready had to replace 2 coils and the plastic intake is a joke.took me most of the day just to change the thermostat because of where it’s located.the metal pieces that help hold down coils just spin when I tried to take them off. Don’t know whats making it overheat..Can’t get fans to work like there supposed to.no water in oil or no oil in water.with fans running fulltime and no thermostat it still overheats.it only has 125000 miles.when I changed the temp sending unit because it would just spin .I had to remove the intake just to get to one of the bolts.


  10. Dylan

    I have a 2007 chrysler 300 with the 2.7 engine and I owned this car forb1.5 years and was never notified about this


  11. Kim

    I have a 2000 intrepid, had to change out the complete motor .
    I have never heard of the law suit ,
    Still have the car with a 100 thousand on the car and 5000 on new motor ,but it seats in the garage
    Im afraid to drive it and no one wants to buy it .


  12. Vincent

    The Motorola dipstick is very hard to read and how do you check the transmission oil the the motor oil when you get it changed or before change it Janet it sounds like it’s making noise in the bottom of a motor I have over a 154000 miles on it and it was my grandmother’s car I don’t know what to do


  13. Greg

    I have the 2.7 Dodge Charger 2007 with the above descriptions oil sludge and other combinations of water pump timing chain that were defective and now all my engine doesn’t work at all there’s adjusting replacing the engine but I want to know how I can get replacement in no cost


  14. David

    I ha low combustion problem with timing chain 07 chrysler 300 2.7 please help me


  15. John

    They designed the 2.7 L with the water pump inside the block chamber, and when the water pump fails, it pours water into the oil pan i.e. the engine oil. It has been a bad design forever, a stronger consumer protection agency needed to have forced this engine out of the consumer product, due to its high failure rate. I am working on my sister’s car and the water pump bearings have just failed, which isn’t uncommon, but when its inside the engine cavity instead outside the engine, the water doesn’t leak on the ground it leaks in the engine.


  16. Nikita

    I have a 2001 Chrysler Sebring LXI it has 2.7 liter V6 engine 132,000 mile. If you take care of it like it’s your baby then It will last you a lot longer than you expect.


  17. Tarina

    For all those that say “Take care of your Chrysler 2.7 6cyl engines and you won’t have a problem.” You have no clue. My father is meticulous when it comes to their vehicles routine maintenance & upkeep. He religiously follows the manufacturers owners manual to its exact specifications & guidelines. My mother has a 2001 Sebring Convertible Limited with the junky 2.7 V6 engine Chrysler put in the Sebrings from 1998 to 2003 or 2004. My mother has never driven the car hard. Routine maintenance and upkeep has been performed by my father on her car exactly as it should have been to ensure they get the max lifetime use out of thr car. Sometimes done earlier than necessary if the car was driven a little distance that was not my mothers short normal “to town and back” trips. My father has 50 plus years experience & knowledge on maintaining, repairing, and even rebuilding replacing, upgrading all aspects of a car. So don’t even go saying he may have done the work wrong because you would have hundreds if not 1000s of people tell you you are very mistaken. The car has been babied & cared for as if it were a child of theirs. Yet at 132,xxx miles the car suffered a complete engine failure while my mother was on a routine trip to town and back. The failure was not caused by improper maintenance or driver abuse etc. The sole cause is the poor design quality of rhe engine by Chrysler’s engineering team. My parents are not the only ones that have experienced the exact same engine failure issue AND they too have taken care of their vehicles the way they were supposed to. The majority of people don’t go out and spend their hard earned money on something just to say to heck with it & not take of their vehicle nor care if it lasts 20,000 miles or 200,000 miles. No one with any common sense spends thousands on a car only to drive it for way less miles than the expected normal number of miles than it should be able to go only to end up having to spend thousands more in order for their car to be mechanically able to reach that point. If there wasn’t a defect/flaw with the engine from the get go then none of us innocent suckers who put our trust in Chrysler & their products to buy one of their new or used vehicles just to ultimately get screwed out of thousands of dollars by no fault of our own. Take the time to do research before leaving snarky comments based on your assumption people must not be taking care of their vehicles since you have been one of the few lucky ones that hasn’t had to go thru the engine failure experience….not yet at least!


  18. Helen

    1996 Chrysler Concorde (1993-1996 Defective Design)
    Rack And Pinion Steering Center Take Off Systems Fail
    Leak at Transaxle at less than 10k miles
    Highly Flammable
    Dealer Resolution…
    Disclose Without Discussion Dealer Applied Sealant at servicing & maintenance appointments
    see Condition of Intrepid
    After Engulfed in Flames
    dealer charged owners $1574. to replace 1st Steering System at 50kmiles
    knowing it was Defective
    At both 15k & 30k mile The Steering System Is To Have Extensive Service as stated in the Warranty Manual.
    2nd System Snapped within less than 23k miles
    1 1/2” diameter Bolt Seared completely off!!!
    Lost Steering Completely
    A few months prior the Right Front Tire Shredded!
    Brakes on Deputy Sheriffs Vehicles Caught on Fire
    Neither Manufacturer
    Nor Dealer Took Any Responsibility knowing the years listed above were not
    passing safety checks!
    I was given this car by my elderly parents after they purchased a 2002 Mercury
    I did not discover the defects until after the steering snapped. I found an abundance of Similar
    Complaints filed with Dept. of Transportation Highway Safety Administration Early Warning System


  19. Freddie

    I have a Chrysler 300 2.7 and a Dodge Magnum 2.7 both overheated now I’m dead in the water am I eligible for New motors for both of my cars and then I’m going thing for me


  20. Ed

    I have a 05 Sebring with 2.7 engine
    Quit at 46k miles
    I inherited car from father
    Do I have any re course?
    Do


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