Buyer Research

2011 Chrysler 300 — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $7,000–$13,000. There are 4 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 13 Chrysler 300 years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

The first year of the second-generation 300 — new body, new interior, the 3.6L Pentastar replacing the old V6 — and the record is about one part more than any car we have written up in this family: 119 of 200 complaints, 60%, are the electrical system, and read them and the word is alternator, 97 times. It whines, it smells hot, the dash shows 'battery saver mode', and then the car shuts off in traffic; nine fires in this file, most of them that alternator. Two recalls replace it. Around that sit three more things that matter: a fuse box that can overheat and drop ABS and stability control (a recall), four airbag campaigns including three Takata passenger inflators, and an engine cluster that is partly the alternator again and partly the early Pentastar's left cylinder head. Seven recalls on one car is a lot to verify, and every one of them is on the NHTSA VIN lookup. A 2011 300 with all seven closed, a charging system that holds voltage under load, and a quiet cold start is an enormous amount of comfortable car for the money. One with an open alternator campaign and a seller who shrugs is the reason this file is 200 lines long.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 200 owner complaints for the 2011 Chrysler 300, and 7 recall campaigns.

A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. 60% of them are about one thing — electrics and electronics. That much concentration is a genuine pattern rather than background noise, and it is the first thing to check on any example you look at.

7 recall campaigns cover this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2011 Chrysler 300

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

Alternator quits and the car dies in traffic — two recalls, nine fires, 60% of the recordHigh — wallet impact

This is the 2011 300's defining fault. The sequence owners describe is consistent: a whine from under the hood that rises with engine speed, a 'battery saver mode' message on the dash, a burning smell, then the ABS, traction and brake lights all at once and the engine shuts off — at 15 mph in one report, on the interstate in another, and in one case the alternator caught fire after the car was parked. Recall 14V634 replaces the alternator on 3.6L cars with the 160-amp unit built before January 2, 2014; recall 17V435 widened it to 3.6L and 5.7L cars with electro-hydraulic steering, where a shorted alternator is also a fire risk. Dozens of these complaints are owners who got the letter and were told there were no parts, so an open campaign today usually means it was never done — and one owner's replacement alternator brought the ABS light back months later. Pull both recalls on the VIN, then have the charging system load-tested: 13.8–14.4 volts at idle with the headlights, rear defroster and blower all on, and quiet.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $450–$950 for an alternator outside the campaigns

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (119); 7 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Fuse box can overheat and switch off ABS and stability control (recall)High — wallet impact

Recall 12V197 covers 2011–2012 300s and Chargers: the power distribution centre — the fuse box under the hood — can overheat at the ABS/ESC fuse, and when it does the anti-lock brakes and stability control stop working without the driver doing anything. The remedy is to relocate that fuse, free. It is a quick job, and it was issued in 2012, so most cars had it done early — but this is a 15-year-old car and a used one may have had its fuse box replaced since with the original layout. The 19 brake complaints and 12 stability-control complaints on this year are mostly the warning lights that come with this fault and with a failing alternator, not the pads and rotors. Check the recall on the VIN and, on the test drive, brake hard once from 40 mph on a quiet road and feel for the ABS pulsing under your foot; if the ABS light is on, it will not.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $150–$400 for a fuse relocation or a fuse box repair outside it

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the brakes (19), stability control (12); 7 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Three Takata passenger inflator recalls and a seat side-airbag wiring harness recallHigh — wallet impact

Four of this car's seven recalls are airbags. 16V352, 18V021 and 19V018 all replace the passenger frontal inflator, which can rupture on deployment and throw metal into the cabin; NHTSA's advice was not to drive the car until it was replaced. 13V118 covers cars built April 11 to December 14, 2011, where the wiring crimps on the seat-mounted side airbags were undersized, so the side bags may not fire — dealers replace both front seat harnesses. The complaint cluster is 27 filings and most are owners waiting on Takata parts, plus an airbag light that stayed on after the recall repair on one car and three crash reports. All four campaigns are on the NHTSA VIN lookup; if any is open, the car is a walk-away until it is closed, and if the airbag light is on after the recall, the system is offline and needs a diagnosis before you pay.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $300–$900 for an airbag light outside the campaigns

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under airbags (27); 7 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

3.6L Pentastar left cylinder head — cylinder 2 misfire, limp mode, stalls; and an overheat that read coldHigh — wallet impact

Twenty engine complaints, two fires. Take out the ones that are the alternator filed under the wrong heading — 'battery saving mode', then a burning smell, then everything shuts off — and the rest is the fault the first-year Pentastar is known for: a misfire on cylinder 2 (code P0302), the check-engine light, limp mode, and the car dying while driving, on a car bought two days earlier. That is the left-bank cylinder head, and Chrysler extended the warranty on it for early 2011–2013 engines; whether this VIN still has any of that coverage is a question for a Chrysler dealer, not something to assume. One owner's engine overheated and melted while the gauge read cold, which is a temperature sensor or a thermostat failing silently. Cold-start the car yourself and listen from the driver's side of the engine for a tick; read the codes with a $20 scanner before you drive it; and watch the temperature gauge climb to normal within ten minutes of driving.

Repair cost (estimate): $2,000–$4,000 for a Pentastar cylinder head; $150–$500 for a thermostat or temperature sensor — about 40% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (20).

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗A whine from under the hood that rises with revs, a hot electrical smell after the drive, or a 'battery saver mode' message
✗Seller cannot show 14V634 and 17V435 closed on the NHTSA VIN lookup
✗ABS, traction or brake warning lights on together, or an airbag light that stays lit
✗A tick from the driver's side of a 3.6L on a cold start, or a check-engine light with a P0302 code
✗Any stall during the test drive, including at idle in a parking lot

Good Signs

✓Alternator replaced under 14V634 or 17V435 with the dealer work order in hand
✓All seven recalls shown closed on a dealer-printed VIN report, including the four airbag campaigns
✓Charging system tested at 13.8–14.4V at idle with headlights, rear defroster and blower on
✓A quiet cold start on the 3.6L and a dealer record of the left cylinder head being inspected or replaced
✓ABS pulsing felt through the pedal on a hard stop from 40 mph, with every warning light off afterwards