Chrysler 300M - History, Major Flaws, & Why It Got Cancelled! (1999-2004)
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- čas přidán 11. 06. 2021
- In this video we are looking at the Chrysler 300M! Launched for the 1999 model year, this was a FWD full-size luxury sports touring sedan produced until 2004. It shared the Chrysler LH platform with vehicles such as the Chrysler Concorde, Chrysler LHS, and Dodge Intrepid. The 300M was a car that was fun to drive, with good performance and handling for it’s size, along with a stylish exterior and elegant interior, all for a very fair price. Unfortunately, by 2004 it was time for a new flagship vehicle, and the LH platform was losing popularity fast. There were also several major flaws, such as electrical issues, and 3.5L V6 engine problems. Watch along for a full history of the 300M, from release in 1999 to its cancellation in 2004!
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SKIP AHEAD:
Chrysler 300M History/Specs: 00:50
Flaws and Reasons for Cancellation: 11:09
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#Chrysler300M #300MCancelled #300MFailure #300M - Auta a dopravní prostředky
I have a 1999 300M That I bought at 200k, best car I've ever owned! I'm almost to 250k now, and the ride is smooth as silk, with plenty of power when I need it!
Still have it? Would you recommend it over an intrepid?
@@Reefer-Rampage69 yep! I'm almost to 256k miles, still rides beautifully and handles great!
@@Reefer-Rampage69 i mean yea fs the chrysler is a lot more desirable.
However the intrepid is bigger.
Only compare them with 3.5s tho
Alot of intrepids came with the 2.7 so be careful.
@@Reefer-Rampage69 Of course. It's a far more luxurious car.
I have a 99 300m too!
She's ugly, but she is damn reliable. I'm at like 125k miles.
Our cars will be classics in like 8 years lol.
Mine has a spoiler, but I haven't seen any others with one. It's, not the special version, so i'm curious if it's after-market
I have owned 2 over the years. A 99 and 04, both went to 300K miles without any major issues. Like any car maintenance is key to avoid issues.
Bullshit
u should know most of spareparts of concorde & sebrings WAS stolen by nutzie-Germ- , greatbrutalin & switzerLOANS . They did infiltrated many capitalis ar3a... NOW they screws lordstown.. everybody knew magnetcoils engine in hole of tires was invented by americans years AGO..
My friends mom had one of these in like 2000. The seats were so damn comfortable
My grandmother owned a 96 Chrysler Cirrus LXi around the time this model was introduced and my auntie who is a younger version of her wanted this car so badly. I’ve never been a huge Chrysler fan, but back then their top of the line models always had super attractive wheel options and top notched sound systems
That was designed in so when your Mom pushed your friends Mom in her Chrysler to the service station when the transmission failed she'd be comfortable.
@@robk9685 TRUE!
Yeah good thing the seats were comfortable…. comes in handy when ur on the side of the road waiting for the tow truck, lol. Chrysler had and still has some great looking vehicles, but I would never recommend it to anyone unless it was a short term lease, because when you rack up a few miles, all Chrysler cars were 💩. I used to rebuild transmissions in the 80’s&90’s and they kept me busy…. If I rebuilt 10 transmissions in a week at least 3 or 4 out of 10 would be Chrysler and the other 6 or 7 would be every other kind of car. A lot of my friends that worked on cars then said that Chrysler’s were the most troublesome in every other area of repair. In the late 90’s when Mercedes Benz bought them out they got slightly better and now that Fiat took it over they are REALLY bad. I’m an old retired guy who sells and delivers parts to garages and all the mechanics said they would never buy a used one and would only do a short lease on one if it was an incredible deal.
@@Cobra3901 I had a brand new '95 Intrepid. Needed it for an outside sales job and just bought my first house so was being conservative with my car purchase and got the full employee discount as a relative works for Chrysler. Brand new in 40 degree weather it would rev and you had to wait for the transmission to engage when shifting in reverse to back out of the driveway. My '77 Grand Prix did that in -10 degree weather with 100,000+ miles on it. The headlights would bounce and flutter at night. Discovered that they're held in place by these itsy bitsy teeny weenie plastic tabs that all broke off. A/C stunk so bad I was afraid my clothes would stink when meeting with clients. Friend jumps in "Why does it smell like wet dog in here?". Had to take it in every 2 months fir them to "clean" something. I traded that Intrepid in with less than 30K on it (2014 Jeep product - same thing - a/c smells like foot and ass). No other option but to trade it on "better" cheap car so got a '95 LHS with 17,000 miles on it. Other salesman pipes in he knew who leased that car, they barely drove it blah, blah. First out of town trip it's leaking coolant, you could smell it. Cab forward was all cool and stuff but it was a heater hose you couldn't get to under that dash. Car sat on the shop waiting for that hose for two weeks. A/C blew like clockwork every season. You'd hear a pop and.....no A/C. I bought the extended warranty on that one. Tried to sell it WELL below KBB value but no takers. Had to trade it in an almost take a loss. Every GM car I had sold within 2 days at my asking price. That latest version of the 200 was actually a nice car but doomed right out the gate with transmission problems. Chrysler has always been notorious for bad transmissions so what do they do? Add 5 more gears.
Bought my 2001 300M new. The best car I've ever owned. Car now has 296,000 miles on it. Besides regular maintenance, only the radiator has been replaced. I'm and engineer by profession, and that's what impressed me about all these years about this car/model. Engineering on the 300M was amazing.
Chrysler 300m - build to last! Therefore!
Is your car still going I have a 2002 with 199,000 miles still going and a 99 that unfortunately got parked because really bad rocker arm failure or possibly crankshaft bearing not sure
Had a 2000 300M. One of the best cars I ever owned and was very reliable. Only major work was starter and transmission. Didnt develope any electrical issues and the engine never ticked. Wasnt fast off the line but when it was at highway speed and I punched it it would keep up with almost anything. Actually beat a buddies 97 Mustang GT traveling on the interstate, He was shocked. As was I.
Hated to get rid of it but it was 15 years old had 186k miles on it and it was starting to fall apart very fast. Lots of memories with that car. Road trips, all 3 of my kids learned how to drive in it, they all drove it to school and sometimes even to their work until they got their own cars. Traded it in so my son could have a good car for college. He hated doing it too. Wouldnt mind having one again for a weekend cruiser but finding one still in good shape is very hard now.
Transmission failure isn't considered reliable....
@@nicblank09 He never did say what went wrong with the transmission who knows what happened. It could have been major or minor.
@@Kingkiel13 man gtfoh
Go online. I found one with 70000 miles beautiful shape for 4600 dollars. We love it !!
A Chrysler was reliable?
I bought a 2004 in 2005. I love the car. So does my son, and grandson. It is still in the family.
Man the thing I remember about owning this car was the heated seats got hot! I loved that during the winter.
My parents had an ‘01. As a kid, I thought it was the nicest damn car. Leather seats and upholstery were so comfortable, the fake wood seemed realistic, the little clock above the radio was so fancy, etc. I was really sad when they traded it in haha.
They are not fake woods. California Nuts.
300m has real wood panels cowered with many layers of clear paint. Confirmed as i broke one panel apart..
@@erikjensen5697 It was real? I just assumed it was fake as it was a Chrysler after all. Plus, they somehow managed to make the wood look fake with all those layers of clear.
I used to own a 300M and later upgraded to a Lexus LS430. Obviously there is no comparison but one look at the wood in my Lexus and there is zero doubt it's real.
I owned a 2002 300M and I loved it! I put about 90,000 miles on it and did oil changes every 3000 miles! I found it to be a great car! Only needed to change the tires once and finally traded it in for the Brand new 2013 Dodge Dart! Currently I'm driving a Brand new 2020 Chrysler 300C and I absolutely love it!
thank you for supporting for the brotherhood
Glutton for punishment.......
I was very much involved with the design development of a few of the LH cars. The 300M used some components of the other models, but most of the body panels were unique. Several studios submitted design proposals, and the one from the California studio (Pacifica Studio) won the competition with what everyone recognized as the best design. It was penned by Keven Verduyn. In my opinion this car still looks good today even after about 25 years!
I assumed responsibility for the studio that followed the 300M into production and oversaw the minor refresh along with the Special model. Tom Gale, the former Design VP, had taken Bob Lutz's position following his exit from Chrysler, and he wanted the Special to see production as we had proposed it. Tom would have regular studio reviews because he always missed being involved with the design side of the business, and that was not the way things worked in the past. I was new at my job and didn't anticipate how my engineering counterparts would react to my presentation of what Tom Gale had reviewed and approved.
Well, the engineering side was truly upset and they let me know in no uncertain terms! In their defense they had to manage the costs of development, manpower, and plant complexity. They felt that they had been blindsided by what appeared as an end run by yours truly! Of course it wasn't my intention because all I wanted was to enhance the 300M and make it something I'd want to drive. In any case I didn't apologize and told them to figure it out because the boss wanted it. And they did.
Looks great!
My 04 special is beautiful long n low with a sporty look I have 20 inch chrome Dayton's on it n it is just beautiful
@@jacobmajors3122 I want a picture of that honestly!
still looks good today even after about 25 years!
AGREED !!!
That is a superb story on my favorite edition of my favorite car. My Special is 21 years old and has 230,000 on it. It runs like a watch and still gets 29 mpg at 55 mph. I had to replace the muffler two years ago and that part has been long gone and there was very little like it, a "2 in and 2 out" pipe arrangement. With a slight bending of its pipes, the muffler from a 1992 Camaro Z-28 is now installed, it is also 2 in and 2 out, and the guys made it fit.
Love the Chrysler LH cars! Bought my 2003 300M in 2012 as my first car. Still have it 9 years later. 😊
My mom had a 300m new j thought it was the coolest car ever
When I was 17, I got a 2004 300M from my Aunt. It was very smooth and handled acceleration and highway speeds very well. I averaged 27 mpg on my daily commute. The trunk was enormous for a sedan, and the rear seats were large enough for adults to sit comfortably. One of my favorite features was the driver's side mirror would automatically angle downwards when in Reverse so you could see parking lines more easily, then return to its previous position when not in Reverse. At 175k miles, the water pump burst and leaked all my coolant on the road while driving, didn't realize anything was wrong until a warning light drew my attention to the temp gauge, at which point the engine had already overheated and necessitated a repair several times more expensive than the car was worth. There was no sound, smell, vibration, no drop in power, nothing to indicate anything was wrong except the temp gauge that I wasn't watching. Needless to say, I now have the habit of closely watching temp gauges any time I'm driving. The most annoying part of the car for me was how far back the front wheels were. The front wheels took up space in the footwell so there was nowhere to stretch my left knee on longer trips (I see several other comments here where people say they loved the 300M for road trips, I'd be curious to know the solution you found to that). Because the front overhang was so large and low I often scraped it on driveways, and the wheelbase was fairly short which could make it do wonky things on concrete highways. Overall though it was a great car while it lasted, and I still miss it sometimes.
I think you meant "Water Pump", not fuel pump.
Ugh, such a wall of text. Please use paragraphs.
Same thing happened to my 1999 but it also had rocker arm failure with really bad knocking nosie luckily I got a 2002 now and still hanging on to the 1999 just in case I need parts also kinda wanna fix it but idk
I remember getting one of these as a rental to go see family and for the time it was pretty damn quick and luxurious. Fell in love with it but couldn't afford to buy one.
I have a beautiful 02 300M Special with 225k and still going strong I love it! Switched out the fake carbon fiber for the real California walnut wood from the luxury version and the half California walnut half leather steering wheel and added the RB1 nav. Love this car it's my 4th LH car. First car ever was a candy apple red metallic 1996 Dodge Intrepid ES my father bought new and gave to me when I was 12. Then at 19 i sold it with 530,000 miles and got an inferno red pearl 02 Intrepid R/T and a black 02 300M special and now currently a silver 02 300M special. I will never let the silver one go I regret selling the others. I never had any issues with any of them just took care of them. Love these cars and still powerful and fast! No it won't take my 2014 Charger SXT Blacktop 3.6 8 speed in a race but it's still wins races. Both are ungoverned from the factory also. But I still love the LH cars I grew up with and the 3.5 still hauls ass and sounds great!
My 1999 is still a daily for me and has 350000 original miles on it!
@@chrisvankauwenberg4009 Again..positive reality with Chrysler veh. counters the negative posts :D My '93 LeBaron is going strong at 28 yrs and 170k mi. Not to mensh my other summer car, a '70 Fury Gran Coupe with a '77 440 :) Enjoy your vintage cruiser! I may yet snag a 300M or Intrepid R/T, someday.
@@tomj4406 I have a 1986 Chrysler Laser XT with 186k on it. All of my 80's Chargers had 200k plus when they were sold.
I owned a 2000 300m and it was one of the best cars I have owned. I had it for 10 years, changed oil every 3,000 miles and kept it serviced and changed the timing belt, water pump and radiator at 100,00 miles. It had 145,000 miles on it when I let my granddaughter have it and she put another 40,000 miles on before it was wrecked. Great car in my opinion. The only thing I didn’t like was that the battery was behind the right front tire.
I still use my 2003 as a daily driver. I absolutely love it. 154k miles and still running strong. I use Autostick all the time.
Chrysler desperately needs more models. Just two models doesn't make the brand competitive enough.
More importantly they need reliability!!
@@Blue-moon12 definitely
It's an odd decision to both forego the crossover market AND hang half their product line on the dying minivan market, highline by calling it the Pacifica no less. The original Pacifica being a nice enough crossover that could have donenwell with the kind of updates the rest of the lineup has recieved.
The 300 is also swimming in a quickly shrinking puddle as one of the last big sedans, with sedans as a whole following minivans towards irrelevance.
Imo the vans are nice, and are likely more suited to most needs than the popular crossovers are, and I'm hoping they stay in the rwd sedan game with a new generation platform. I'm thinking of an embiggened version of the Gulia chassis for the sedans and for dodge a smaller lighter Challenger to go against the more nimble Camaro and Mustang would be nice.
The "Trail Hawk" more than makes up for it..
Blue Moon sadly you are correct. Back in the 90's and 2000's Chrysler products were my favorite (owned four in a ten year period) but just couldn't justify buying any more due something always breaking even on the brand new ones I had.
I have a 2001 with 60,000 original Kms .I keep ahead of the maintenance, use 89 octane fuel. semi synthetic 10W30 oil. it's never been winter driven but drive in summer dunny days . Great highway cruiser
Your comment about oil changes is spot on. Drove my 2.7 Concorde for 175K with NO mechanical issues at all. The reason? Oil changes at 3K using KMART synthetic 5w30. No sludging at all. It ran like Swiss watch, and looked like new when it went to a new home to make room for my 300m.
My dad had a blue LHS when I was growing up. To this day I think it was the coolest sedan he ever had. It was big, comfortable, and smooth.
Dang I remember everyone had one of these back in the day when they first came out
Yep even El Chapo
Owned a '99 300m 3.5 HO for 12 years with the intention to take good care of it. I ended up mistreating the car for the 12 years and 300 000 km . It failed me one time where it "limped " home. I left it at the scrappers with tears in my eyes.
Click on this faster than the speed of light.
That’s impossible
Thumbs DOWN, I presume?
Why
Oh, on god?
Family friend of ours had one and got to drive it quite a bit.
Ended up working at a luxury dealership until 2017 and I can honestly say that this car drove better than any Audi A4 or C Class Mercedes......period!
Yaaas! Truth! My mum had a more tame but still nice Concorde with the 3.3L..amazing handling & ride comfort. Practically no other car company knows how to deliver both. Always resorting to over damped suspensions (That trend started way back in the 80's) and fat tires to make a car "Handle" well. Sure, on a glass smooth track,
rarely on real world roads. I've not owned a 300M, but have driven them and the Intrepid R/T..slightly longer, same car..my aunt had one of those.
Bought it used in early 2000's and fiiinally just recently sold it, still in running condition.
Her go to work daily for nearly 20 yrs in salty wisc, yet.
I currently own a 2002 and I love it! Extremely comfortable car! Great stereo system too!
This car came out when I was 17 and I really wanted one. I'd still pick up a geriatric cared example if I came across one
My mom had a maroon 2002 that was immaculate. Sadly the transmission went in 2008. My mom was devastated but was immediately fine after getting a 2007 300c, in the same maroon.
Would love to find an m in the same color as my mom's old one, in as good of shape.
I used to love this car too and I ended up in 2008 buying a chrysler sebring sedan touring because it looked exactly like this car.
get a 300M Special - That is the one I always wanted
Unfortunately, like many Chrysler cars, they must've all died on the same day. You'd see them all over for maybe 4 years then suddenly realize you hadn't seen one in the road in the PAST year. Not ONE! Odd. Meanwhile you see dozens of the early/mid-80s GM cars with the 3800 engine almost daily.....in 2021.
@@deadinside7600 Chrysler fans consider replacing a transmission every 45,000 miles "regular maintenance".
Had the ‘99 for 12 years; verrry comfortable for long drives, solid, reliable. Constant speed trans solenoid went out once, the only trouble. Good memories of this car.
My black 2013 300C is too nice to park at the concrete plant I work at. So I bought a cheap car for a daily driver work car to take the punishment. After shopping around with no specific car in mind, I found a 1999 300M.
It’s gray, so the outside hides the dust and powder it’s coated with each day. And it had only one previous owner. 90,000 miles. The interior is like new. No dashboard cracks. No leather cracks. All power options work. No engine tick.
The fact that it has a cassette deck made me able to Aux cable my iPad and have touch screen music. It actually rests perfectly in front of the shifter.
So it’s been over a year now without any major issues, and I found that I like the car more than I thought I would.
The one thing that it does occasionally is stall. It seems random, but usually after coming to a stop. And not too frequently. But it fires back up and then off we go.
And just after buying it, the drivers side window came off its track, but it was a cheap fix.
Thanks for the video! Even after owning one for over a year, I still learned a thing or two!
I had one, went to 180k before the transmissions started to act up. Lovely car, it was my first luxury vehicle and it spoiled me. I base a lot of my other vehicles I've owned based on it.
my first vehicle period, good car lots of space kept it 10 years
My trans starting shifting hard at 196k and I changed the fluid and filter and it's been fine ever since now I'm at 198k still going well
I did own one of these, it was a 2001 300M sport, I know you said special but I swear the dealer called it the sport package. I really liked the car, it was comfortable and spacious and pretty fast for a big car. It recommended mid grade gasoline which did make a difference. I think it got about 28 mpg highway. I never experienced any problems with it, but I only kept it for a couple of years. By the way, even though the letter car purists hated this car, it could blow the doors off any of the originals.
300M was fquick..not 'blow the doors off' of the older cars quick, lol. mainly bc of old tire tech. a early 60's 300 letter car with a near 400 hp + or - big block was maybe 500 lbs heavier, if that. physics says yup..with a tire swap, they'd totally
keep up to the fast footed 300M. 300M benefits from lighter weight & an extra gear & the V6 with transaxle takes far less torque to spin up.
I have driven 300M's and an Intrepid R/T & one of my summer cars rn is a
'70 Fury with a very mild 440 (de-smogged '77 engine), only 8:1 compression & it honestly feels about the same, seat of the pants. ofc the 255.60.15 Mastercraft Avenger tires are far stickier than 50+ yr old tires were, i get almost zero burnout, it's all hook & book.
The Special ran from 2002 to 2004. You probably had a sport handling package in 2001
I just watched this.. I’ve had mine for 19 years.. it was never my only vehicle but has outlasted all my others. I know each to their own, but my special is my baby I can’t even express my love for!! Currently has 350000 kms and running perfectly :) unfortunately I’m not sure how many are around anymore (at least here in Canada) I very rarely see another :(
Thank you for the video, I enjoyed it !!
I bought a 2000 300M several years ago and fell in love. I am on my third one, an 03 with 83k miles. I hope to enjoy this one for many years and one day hope to find a clean low mileage Special.
have a 2002 M - I love it - has 147K on the clock everything works - daily driver, for a 22 year old vehicle it has certainly paid for itself.
I had a 99 300M. It only had one major issue: I had to rebuild the engine harness at around 200,000 miles. It melted down right where the harness went under the upper radiator hose boss on the engine block. Since I used to work as an aircraft electrician, this cost me only a few days' work, but I did have to replace the BCM to do it (which cost me $200 and came preprogrammed from Auto Zone).
Other than that, the car was roomy, handled well, was fairly powerful, had a beautiful and comfortable leather interior with seat heaters, and had a huge trunk. I was so sad when I was driving it out of state and it developed the fatal lifter arm knock at 217,000 miles.
This one had the lifter tick when I first got it. When I saw a technical service bulletin that said it was caused by carbon contamination, I started using Marvel Mystery Oil to remove the carbon and that fixed it.
The oil galleries were not actually undersized. Engineers at this point were redesigning engines to use full synthetic motor oil. Using traditional mineral oil resulted in the sludging problem. Changing the PCV, using full synthetic, and changing the oil every 3,000 miles avoided the sludging issues (I saw that in other TSBs as well).
Mine had the universal dash crack (since I bought it at 170,000 miles I figured that was not a major problem); and having to replace the fuel pump, water pump and timing belt (to be expected at that mileage).
I may buy a couple more in a few years. Considering how all the nice features and that I only spent a couple of thousand dollars on it, I loved that car.
My mom had a 1996 LHS that was mint at 50 thousand miles until it was totaled two years ago. Shame cuz it was such a pristine example.
My mom has a 94 New Yorker, 323,000 miles on engine, and replaced trans at 150,000…great car!!!!
Make a video about the "Cloud Cars" next (Cirrus, Stratus and Breeze)
He made one about the Sebring I believed and briefly mentioned the first-gen Cloud car (Cirrus).
I loved my 01 Chrysler 300M but I did have a lot of issues with AC. I had to keep repairing and finally gave up. I still miss the look and it had a much better interior than the next generation
Great video bro 👍 I have a 2004 300M Special 158k miles the engine was rebuild at 126k miles and you are spot on about the cracked dashboard.
Must be a 300M or Chrysler versions of the LH specifically, I owned over 2 dozen of the Intrepid's over the years and never saw a cracked dashboard. Also never had any of the electrical gremlins discussed. The last one which I sold in January {01 ES} had been my wife's car for the last 5 years before I found her an 07 AWD 300 Touring W.P. Chrysler Signature Edition. Has the same 2 tone upholstery as the golfer version of the M.
@@300guy check out my videos I posted of my 300m you will see the cracks in the dashboard
@@300guy
@@tomj4406 I definitely will be keeping my 05, 06 and 07 300's for a long time, the 05 C is my first Hemi and I wouldn't have bought it if it didn't have the bad engine, I found a replacement Hemi from a Ram for $500. Summer project and truly makes it mine.
I got a 99 LHS second owner it had 95,000 miles when I brought it in 2014. Put the petal to the metal 2 weeks after I got and sprung a rod bearing I was pissed. The LHS was super clean as if it just rolled out the factory so I got another engine from the junkyard out of a 2001 300m kept up with the maintenance by it being my daily driver. Not even a year later the head gasket went and the engine overheated. I put another engine in it from a 2000 300m with 35,000 miles that was rear ended. Had the engine fully checked out before I made the switch changing the timing belt, water pump and cleaned the upper intake, throttle body and egr valve. Drove it for another year and a half before the trans went. I couldn't win from losing. Replaced the trans with a rebuilt one from the trans shop ran fine until 4 yrs later the cradle rotted out from the winter weather from living in Detroit cause they heavy on salting the roads. I can honestly say I never had electrical problems but I made sure I replaced the battery cables. I purchased a 2014 300c awd with every option available at that time with a 3.6. I parked the LHS after I had it fully detailed. From time to time I'll crank it up but there is a slight tick until the oil reaches the top and it'll go away. I cant understand why the dash started cracking by it being parked in the garage with no possibility of being exposed to sunlight. Now the LHS has 225,000 miles on it and still look like I just came off the factory floor inside and out with no signs of wear and tear. The weather stripping could be replaced around the doors cause I was experiencing cabin noise. Overall they are great automobiles but it doesn't matter if you kept up with it or not something is gonna go bad. I still see them on rode cause I live in the motorcity but not in tip top condition. Alot of them sits low or had a fender bender. A friend of mines has a 2002 300m and his abs/trac light is on and his acculater blend door failed leaving his climate control stuck on the vents and the head unit display goes in and out.
Loved my 2004. Had 3 water pumps and 3 cam position sensors. And the darn dash crack. EVERY 300m had that dash crack. Had it about 10 years, and it eventually lost second gear, fortunately less than one mile from the house. But it was the only vehicle the wife was actually interested in over 40+ years.
Have a base for 16yrs and a special for 12yrs.No dash crack.🙏🏿
My 99 has the cracks. I'm glad the dash cover hides the,majority of the cracks
My family had a couple and they were great cars! Would love a “what happened” to the early 90’s Chrysler big cars. Currently own a 92 Chrysler New Yorker fifth Ave. Low mileage and awesome!
I still have a 1990 Chrysler Imperial Gloria Vanderbilt edition 👍👍
Very short video. K-Cars were dinosaurs by the time the early 90's rolled around, and Lee had overstayed by that point. He was still putting fake crystal pentastars, landau irons and fake chrome waterfall grills on boxy cars when the industry and consumers had moved on.
That said, I love those NYers, Imperials, etc. It was what it was though...
@@runner3033 K-cars weren't slick, but they were marvels of space efficiency. The 1990 Imperial had about the same leg room as the 1973, despite being about 35" shorter.
I had one of the first 300m cars back in 1998. Great car, very reliable, comfortable, lots of room. A big car by any measure, huge by modern standards. Even though it was shorter than the LHS, the 300m was still a few inches longer than a full-sized Town and Country Mini van. It was more luxury than sport -- never going to win a race with a BMW, but it was fast enough. The design was revolutionary by 1998 standards; a real attention getter until Chrysler used and re-used the same style on so many cars that it wasn't special anymore. The AC developed various problems, and the brake rotors were constantly warping, so it had to go. But by that time, I got 9 years and 160,000 miles out of it, so the car didn't owe me anything.
kept mine 10 years, got it at 105k miles totaled it at 203k miles got hit at an intersection, people still ask me about it
I had a 2001 300M and it was a very nice car for the money. Since I only keep cars for two or three years it was replaced with a 2003 Infiniti Q45. Anyway I had no problems with it and with the Cinnamon Glaze Metallic and tan interior it was a very nice looking car. I never had any electrical problems at all. Only went back to the dealer for normal maintenance. What am I driving now - a 2020Genesis G90 V8.
I bought a 2000 300 M new in silver. I really liked the car and thought it was attractive with a spaceship nose and attractive rear end. Inside it was nice and comfortable with above average technology for 2000, a nice ride and good acceleration. It had a moonroof and infinity stereo system with CD player. My only real problem was an ac issue after the warranty expired that cost about $1k to fix. I sold it in late 2006 with 110,000 miles on it and bought a 2007 300C.
I enjoyed my M!
I bought a new Chrysler 300M Special in 2002. It has been a very comfortable car to own and drive. One consistent problem I have encountered is the shearing off of the stabilizer brackets on the rear shocks. Inspection of these parts revealed that they were attached to the side of the shocks by a pencil point spot weld the seemed to be a design afterthought that was added after the shock was assembled. The other welds on the shock body were substantial and not spot welds. I have replaced at least 5 of these struts for this reason. The car has 175,000 miles on odometer and I have replaced the rack and pinion and the front cv axles and performed Brake maintenance in my home garage. The transmission failed at 165,000 miles and was replaced by a rebuilt one with a guarantee that functions better than the original. I still love the car!
My first car was a '03 300M Special. I bought in 2013. I loved that car. I thought it actually looked great for a 10 year old car. The dual exhaust sounded awesome for a V6.
In a video, Lee Iacocca said that everyone would copy the cab forward design because it was so revolutionary
Every car manufacturer has copied Chrysler since they been making cars!
And they did. Even today. Almost every car is cab forward today. It give a roomier interior for free.
@@peachyclean93 chrysler copied bentley with the 300
@@b1bo840 Yeah, Audi copied the Chrysler LHS grill
@@peachyclean93 sure, 80 years ago
I have one as my daily just hit 200k miles and it’s running strong. For a Chrysler without a V8 it’s a great car.
I bought a 99 300m new and sold it last year. It never gave me any problems and was fun to drive for such a large car. I took many road trips in it and I regret letting it go.
Willing to bet the buyer regrets his/her decision.
I bought one a couple years ago and it's fantastic still. @@TheOzthewiz
I still drive 2003 300m. The electrical issues are so real. Even when i got the car in 2005, interior and display lights would flicker all the time. For many years now, some times when i park, take the key, and exit the vehicle, the dome light will stay on, and headlights will flicker on and off. Happens when driving too. Though both of those are sporadic things that last for a day or two and then they go away again a while.
Edit* oh yeah, and i have a HUGE crack running down the dash that devoped early on. Much bigger crack than those in the video.
I got a used one of these to take to college. The seats are comfortable and there's so much space. It's surprisingly fast and great for highway driving. I didn't realize how great a car it was until I already owned it. Good video, very informative.
presenting the 3.5, yet another ticking timebomb from Cruzler.
The 3.3 or non interference 3.5 were much better. They are great engines for boats.
@ThePatUltra I tested it at the junkyard-93-97 3.5's non interference. The 3.3 had a necklace sized timing chain and pushrods, so maybe you mean that. Dohc 2.4 that was a lie, intake and exhaust get out of sync, piston crushes both. Oh well.
Maintenance.
@ThePatUltra I'm reinforcing what I said and adding something interesting, 'Capishe.
@@ERICtheLATE As an anchor? YES!
Bought a new candy apple red 300M in 1999. 22 + years and 126,000 miles later, I’m still driving it. This is a well maintained and garaged car since new. I keep it looking new. It’s a New England car, so I’ve have done some minor corrosion repairs. The car has been relatively maintenance free with no engine or transmission problems. But there have been some problems as follows:
1. At about 20k miles and driving at over 70 mph, the fuel pump could not keep up with fuel demand and would run out of gas. After several irritating trips to the dealer, they swapped out the gas pump which solved the problem. Warranty repair.
2. At about 26k miles I had to replace the factory supplied Goodyear Eagles due to belt separation. Goodyear dealer would not own up and said “‘all Chrysler’s have the problem”. So, no further business with Goodyear for me.
3. At about 80k, developed A/C problem (low output). Dealer could not detect leakage so just recharged the coolant. This didn’t last, so dealer began replacing A/C components until fixed ($$).
Otherwise, it’s been normal scheduled service including timing belt, transaxle flush, struts etc. I have been using full synthetic oil for about 10 years. I have never kept a car anywhere near as long as this one, but I still enjoy driving it.
I had a 01 LHS and loved that car. It had 175,000 miles when it suffered some bad decision making by the driver, namely me. It kept going even after the wreck, it mainly need 2 doors to fix it, but before I could fix it, my roommate decided to rear end someone and that pretty much ended it. I never new it had a timing belt, so it was never changed or give me any trouble. Lucky I guess.
The detail you provide is amazing, thank you for the content!
Had a 2001...bought in 2008 and 135k. Got it cheap because "transmission failed". Prior owner had trans power flush done and plugged trans filter with crud. I changed the transmission filter and drove to 200k with only the egr valve failing. Was a fantastic car.
I know this is gonna sound impossible...but there was a guy in my grandparents neighborhood that owned a 300M and a Rolls Royce Phantom. I love the 300m, seeing that car next to a huge Phantom made it look like a spaceship at the time.
I had a 2000 LHS. Absolutely loved that car. Never had any problems except an alternator. Sold it at almost 250k miles.
300M Special Production numbers for 02 were 8500, 03: 8500 and for 04: 8000 for a total of 25000. The 300M Special suspension was 1/2" lowered by the factory (different front and rear coil springs). The Special had exclusive HD Axels. Exclusive to the 02 300M Special was a very quick and hard shift program similar to the Prowlers, You could get 2nd gear rubber. Phased out for 03/04 models.
In 2010 I bought a non running 2002 Chrysler 300M Pro Am series with the two tone leather. The seller kept the car garaged and so did I and it didn’t have any dashboard issues. I had the timing belt ,water pump and battery replaced and the car ran great, was fun to drive and got 22 miles per gallon. I really enjoyed that car and would like to own another one. The gauges and the interior impressed me every time I drove it.
Wow. Great video. Some actual research done and a good grasp of the subject matter. Nice to see on CZcams. Thanks!
i had a green 1999 300m as my 2nd car and it was so much fun. Felt like a big sled, just slammed into corners and held and held. Really smooth engine too.
I had an '04 which was a significant upgrade from the previous Intrepid I owned. nice car all around, really felt of quality. the one thing I didn't like, same with the Intrepid, was poor front seat leg room...could never get fully stretched out/comfortable...thinking that was just a consequence of cab-forward and intrusion of the wheel well. Sold the car to a family member...it went through a couple crank sensors with them...the only mechanical problem it ever had.
Great Content as always! Watching this made me think of the Chrysler Concord and how similar they made that look to the 300M.
The 'cab-foreward' design Chrysler came out with in the late 90's and early 2000's was one of the best innovations. I too like these older big Chryslers.
I bought a new one in 1999, put 85000 miles on it with zero problems. Traded it in on a 2005 300 Hemi C. Fantastic car!
This car reminds me a lot of my 96 Tbird, only it's a V8 model.
I love the style and ride of domestic luxury boats.
I bought 1999 300m with 80 thousand did the timing belt when the water pump failed at 100005 thousand. Drove it another hundred thousand along the way replaced whole front end suspension power steering pump, ratiator and all the hoses and thermostat, Rear wheel bearing passenger front axel, the fuel pump. At a twohundred and twenty thousand miles I sold the car. I bought a 2004 Chrysler 300m with 120000.ive owned it for the past two years with no problem. I did however replace the whole frontend suspension. I do all the Labor on the car myself, I only pay for parts. I love the 04 300m. It's a great car.
My first car was a 97 Dodge Intrepid with the 3.5. Loved that car! Looked good, was decently quick, and despite what everyone says about Chryslers, it was very reliable. It’s the only vehicle I’ve ever owned that hasn’t left me stranded somewhere. The transmission did go bad but never left me walking. The dash cracked in one spot by the passenger airbag, and the RF door lock actuator failed. The biggest annoyance for me was the alternator. I could never get an alternator to last more then two years regardless of wether it was OE or aftermarket. But the alternator was cheap and easy to install so I didn’t complain too much. Maybe I’m looking back with rose tinted specs but I honestly loved that car. Having a longitudinally mounted FWD car was unique and always a conversation starter. It had well over 200k miles on it when I finally sold it to a friend. My Intrepid was the exact same color as the one in the picture with the two other cars. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
P.S. my 2003 Ram 1500 also had a cracked dash. MOPAR!
Im from Barcelona, Spain, and my aunt had a white 1998 Chrysler Stratus V6. I know it wasnt very reliable but it made me become interested in american cars.
Interested in avoiding them? 😜
After a 1990 New Yorker I got a 04 300M and it was a major lemon, constant problems but when it was working it was truly an amazing car for the time.
I had 2000 300M in black. That car was loved so much, they had a forum for it and clubs too! Loved that car!!
A blast from the past from the classic 300 letter series to the present day 300 as the 1999 motortrend's car of the year the 300M was truly the most powerful sport sedan in its class.💖👍🌟🇺🇸
And car and driver's 10 best 2 years running.👍🌟💖🇺🇸
That 300L ragtop is one beautiful automobile. Styled by the great Elwood Engel
I miss my Concorde Limited 🥺 I should never have sold it.
My dad had a '99, which made me get my '99, then I got a cleaner example '00
back in 2003 i had bought a used 99 300m. a really nice car for its time and i had it for 3 years and had no issues with it. I wanted a 300m special when those came out but never got one.
I bought a used 2002 in 2006.
I really liked the car, only issue was a bad headlight switch a couple years after I bought it.
Was traded in with 33k miles by a 70+ year old, minutes before I got to the dealer.
Paid I think 12-13k, don't recall exactly.
I traded it for a truck that I ended up hating, wish I had kept the 300M. lol
Was that in Florida? My grandpa bought a silver 2002 300M at around that time. Just curious.
@@Strange_Man1911 No, it was a white 300 purchased in Mass.
Had a 1996 dodge Intrepid that I bought in 1998 and after it's 30,000 mile warrenty it became the most astounding money pit imagineable.The engine even caught fire whe my daughter was driving it at 60mph.
I just came here to figure out why my 2001 300M won't start if not driven every day. I think I found my answer, plus the answer to the engine ticks and a few other things that can be replaced. Thanks, I'm saving this video!!
We had one of these as a training aide in my high school auto shop class. I never drove it, but we did work on it from time to time and the few times I sat in it I was super impressed at how nice the seats actually were.
Very nice and fast car. Good economy. Lots of room. The 3.5 engine was stout.
I had a 2004 300M special with all the options and even navi system and rear spoiler. I kept the car for 7 years and i had no major problems with it. Just replaced the camshaft and crankshaft sensors at one point. Best car I have ever owned....
To think I still have my 2001 300M up and running until now, this is 20 year old with 260K miles over +12 years of ownership, Ill admit I don't drive it as much since I got my 15 Charger Scat Pack. Over the course of abusing this car I could not get the thought of getting rid of it, of all the cars driven this one did not let me down the road and was our family's first Entry Luxury car.
I initially was obsessed with the Dodge Intrepid however finding a ES model or SXT model in good shape in 2008 was hard and were not cheap especially during the recession ($9K-$12K). In the end I decided to get the 300M and ended up buying a repo car by summer 2008, this car had the lowest mileage (58K miles) but was beat on the front like it fell on sidewall or something and the inside had no radio, no internal lights, other than the AC and automatic headlights work and that was it (cannot complain from a guy who drove a 90 Ford Escort). As I struggled to get a job I fixed the car from the inside/out (added a radio, replaced the front and Back speakers slowly but surely, and replaced a lot fuses) and oh boy the car came back to life and now enjoyed the luxury features such its amazing sound system, memory seats, automatic reverse mirrors and so on. This is were I truly appreciated the car as it was fun to drive and had good performance for a car that came in the end of the 90's. I drove and hauled people across the US and Mexico and did not break a sweat and I'm mostly 80-90 mph driver and the gas mileage was around 22-26 MPG average and 30-32 mpg highway at 75-80 MPH (Sweet spot around at 2200-2500 RPM) that's quite impressive for a SOHC V6 with no VVT and 4 speed automatic back in the time.
Now I'm at the point that the car is falling apart from the outside but the engine and trans are still good, the silver paint is now burnt on the roof and got small rust by the windshield, the interiors leather seats are cracked and the back seats started to crack as well not to mention my Dashboard got a 3rd crack :\
I might make this my project car and start fixing the interior and then the exterior slowly but surely once I get my debt under control. I already paid my Charger this year finally ($46K plus interest) however I have no plans to modify it yet as its OK in its stock form for now :)
I've had two over the years and both made it to 350k miles without any big issues. I had a '99 and '03 for those curious
Still my favorite car I've owned
Interesting video, thanks for making it!
The Chrysler 300M had a quirky front end and shape but that's why I like it. It's legendary for being a luxury sedan and that's why it's probably the best car to come out of 1999.
I loved the 300M, today it's one of the best bargains you could get. A friend of mine had an eagle vision and I so wanted the 300M with the 3.5 V6, sadly in europe, the 2.7 was more popular, so the 3.5 is harder to find. But with around 3000 euro, you'd find yourself a fully loaded, completely decked out 300M with no niggles. I might snap one up soon xD
Hmm. Replace my 2003 300m with a 2003 300m, you say? 🤔
I had a 300M during the years 98,99, 00, and found it to be one of the best cars I ever had. Too bad it was discontinued.
Original owner of a 2000 300M with about 195,000 miles. Had regular maintenance and always kept in garage to protect from the Arizona heat. Starting to show some wear and tear, seats are worn, oil leak, dash lights flicker and center clock stop working years ago. Just had a new paint job so it looks really good but getting hard keeping up with all the little thing. Anyway, the wife loves this car and we will try keeping it as long as we can. Unfortunately, not a fan of the newer 300M with the huge grill.
All of my life so far at 71, I basically had GM or Ford products. But I started getting interested in Mopar in 2016 just looking for a daily driver coupe. I saw a red 2002 Dodge Stratus R/T coupe in a local lot and took it for a ride and bought it. Fun car. Next I saw a 2004 Chrysler 300M and really liked the styling. Reviewed it online and test drove one with 110,000 miles. I was very impressed and bought that car. Even with 20 inch rims this car handles and takes the bumps smoothly. A great car, well designed and built.
I owned a 2004 300m but I was always partial to the "Special" version that I was never able to buy because of finances,getting married & buying a house! But I absolutely loved my 300m didn't have any problems for 3½ yrs only a camshaft position sensor that's it! It was very comfortable & pretty fast for what it was.I was always a GM guy for better or for worse but mostly better but I ended up getting a great deal on the 300 so I took a chance & glad to say I wasn't disappointed 😁👍
Amazing channel. Really cool cars bro
I literally just bought a 300m base ( 04 ) like 2 months ago. Equal parts "ooooh wow such cool" to equal parts "oooohh bad decision bank account no likey"
Performance handling package w standard on the exported, European versions (as it was with the successor 300C) and the Eagle Vision was offered in EU under Chrysler brand. The Vision wasn't a success here, but the 300M (they only LH Mopara official offered here) pretty popular in some European countries back then like DE/AT/CH and NL or Scandinavia. Very comfortable seats - too bad they didn't adapt them on the 300C...
Yes, they sold here in Croatia too, along with the Sebrings. Yes, the seats on the 300m look like typical American couch seats, ultra-comfortable. While I never sat in the 300C, the seats do look too European (sporty and hard).
My favorite used car to buy is the LH chrysler cars the 300m is my favorite I never had a problem out of them
Had a 2002 300M Special. As others have said on the comments here, it was the best car I ever owned. Looked great, drove great, extremely comfortable. Nothing but basic maintenance, and it never gave me any problems. I just got back into a Chrysler recently. Picked up a ‘19 300C 5.7. Reminds me of the M in a lot of ways.
I have a 99, and she's a total workhorse.
She's been to hell and back, and is ugly as sin, but i definitely understand how these got car of the year.
23 years old with 145k miles, and she still hums just like this guy's.
Why does mine have a spoiler though? It looks stock, but I don't see other 300m's with one. Did your model year have them?
My best was the 1997 LHS, 318 horses, reg gas, Bright Silver..mags..Awsome..
Dodge aspen/Plymouth volare needs to be on the list