[Fifty4F100]

I've been wanting a PT Cruiser since they 1st came out. I literally drove a 2005 PT convertible off a used car lot today and inside of 6 hours it dies waiting at a stoplight. Check engine light comes on. It dies a few more times, again while idling at stops. so I drive to my local Autozone to check for codes. He said it is showing 12 different trouble codes. I hope I haven't bought a lemon!

It is supposed to have a 1 month/1000 mile warranty so I'll have to see if they back it up. I traded a very good F350 for this thing!

Glenn

 

[ImperialCrown]

Congrats on the PT convertible. The multiple codes may all be from a single issue. I doubt that 12 things went wrong all at once.
What were the fault codes? You have a printout?
Depending on the original in-service date and current mileage. you may still have the extended federal emissions warranty good for 8/80 that covers the PCM and cat.

 

[mr2tim]

I agree with Crown that most likely the last one or two CEL (Check Engine Light) codes are the problem related to your current condition.

There is a good chance that when you review these "other" codes you will indeed be discovering what other problems this car has encountered. Sorry to say.

Many lazy non-factory mechanics will not go to the trouble of removing the air cleaner box and unhooking the battery which erases the CEL's in the computer. Hence many problem codes may still be in the computer.

Respectfully suggest you understand what the code means so that the repair delivered by this car seller does indeed match what is wrong with the car.

BTW Code interpretation can be found on the Internet

 

[Fifty4F100]

Turns out it has everything to do with the key. I recieved 2 when we purchased the car. One is thicker with Chrysler on it. The other thinner one is a cut key. That one was giving us fits at 1st. Now the chipped key is not working from time to time. Is this something I have to live with, or is there a fix or at least a way to disable it and just live without the security of the chip? Looks like the 1 month/1000 mile warranty isn't going to help as the car lot wants me to "keep trying it".

 

[ImperialCrown]

You shouldn't have to live with an unreliable car if it has the potential to strand you. 'Keep trying it' is a cop-out and won't change the situation.
The chipped (SKIM) key has an internal transponder that communicates with an antenna surrounding the ignition key cylinder. The PCM reads the transponder code, notes that the correct key is in the ignition and allows the car to keep running.
SKIM keys have a gray body and conventional keys have a black or bare metal body. If it doesn't say 'Chrysler' or have the pentastar symbol on it, then it may be a generic key.
The SKIM feature is embedded and can't be disabled. If it was easy to disable, then the crooks could do it and the anti-theft feature would be worthless.
It may be a problem either with the key itself or the steering column SKIM module.
A good scan tool like the dealer DRB III may be necessary to diagnose this. Bring both keys with you. Get all communication and work documented for your protection if things go sour. I feel that the used car dealer should cover this repair in good faith under your 1/1000 warranty.

 

[coyote2781]

According to the manual - "The system will shut the engine off after 2 seconds of
running if an invalid key is used to start the vehicle." You should not be getting a check engine light from the sentry key system, if there is a problem with the keys the alarm light would come on and remain on. Does the chipped key work in the door locks? Our PT came with two keys also, the chipped one only works in the ignition not the doors, the un-chipped one only works the doors. There is a method to bring up the codes on your odometer readout by turning the key from lock to on three to four times within 10 seconds. It took me a few tries to get the timing just right, go too fast and it wont work. A list of diagnostic trouble codes can be found here- http://www.ptcruiserlinks.com/forum/tech-performance-forum/39935-pt-cruiser-technical-documents-library.html plus allot of other handy files.

 

[browens1534]

I have a SKIM key that was cut by a locksmith for the dealer, it says STARTEC instead of Chrysler. There are "aftermarket" SkiM keys, but they are just the OE supplier with out the OE name...