Buyer Research

2021 Chrysler 300 — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $22,000–$30,000. There is 1 high-severity known issue 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

Twenty complaints, and eight of them are the same letter: owners of 2021 300s told that the side-curtain airbag recall (24V198) has no parts yet, some after four dealer visits. That is 40% of the record and it is not a failure report, it is a queue. The rest is a handful of filings — two cars that shut off at random with the dealer finding nothing, a rough idle with a whiff of oil consumption on a 3.6L, and three seat belts whose webbing split or unravelled — plus the windshield-bonding recall (21V516) this car shares with the 2020. A record of twenty cannot tell you the 2021 is reliable; it can tell you that what few people filed spreads across four unrelated parts rather than pointing at one expensive fault. The mechanicals are the same 3.6L or 5.7L and ZF eight-speed as the 2018–2020 cars, so read those pages for what tends to carry over. Buy with both recalls closed on the VIN, a scan for stored codes, and a hard look at each seat belt's stitching.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 20 owner complaints for the 2021 Chrysler 300, and 2 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. 40% of them are about one thing — airbags. 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.

2 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 2021 Chrysler 300

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

Side-curtain airbag inflators can rupture — recall with a long parts wait, so assume it is open until proven closedHigh — wallet impact

Recall 24V198 covers 2018–2021 300s: the left and right side-curtain airbag inflators may rupture from a manufacturing defect and throw sharp metal fragments at the occupants. Dealers replace both curtain airbags free. Owner letters went out from February 2025, and every one of the eight airbag complaints on this year is an owner who could not get the work done — parts unavailable, one after a minimum of four dealer visits. So on a 2021 the recall being open is the normal state, not a sign of a careless seller. Run the VIN on NHTSA's lookup; if it shows open, phone a dealer with the VIN and ask whether curtain airbags are in stock today, and make the booked appointment a condition of the sale.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under airbags (8); 2 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Random engine shut-off at lights or on the freeway, and a rough idle with oil consumption on the 3.6LMedium

Four engine complaints, two stories. Two owners describe the car turning itself off at random — stopped at a light, or moving in traffic — with the dealer repeatedly finding nothing wrong; neither filing names a cause, and on this platform the usual suspects for an intermittent stall are a weak battery or ground, a failing crank sensor, or a module dropping off the network. The other is one owner (filed twice) whose 3.6L developed a rough, misfire-like idle at 24,000 miles with mild oil consumption between changes and no check-engine light; the dealer ran factory-directed testing. Neither pattern is proven recurring on this year, which is why this is medium and not high. Ask for a scan of stored and pending codes, start it cold and listen to the idle for a full minute, and check the dipstick against the last oil-change mileage.

Repair cost (estimate): $150–$400 for diagnosis; $300–$1,500 for a coil, injector, sensor or wiring repair

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (4).

Seat belt webbing splits or unravels at the seam — replacement was argued over warrantyMedium

Three of twenty complaints, all the same thing: a front seat belt's webbing tearing or unravelling along its stitched edge, one described as splitting in half. Owners were sent to Chrysler's customer line for authorization before a dealer would replace it, and at least one was told the warranty would not cover it. A belt with frayed edges will not hold what it was rated for. Pull each belt all the way out and run it through your fingers looking for pulled threads, nicks or a stiff, twisted section; a replacement retractor assembly is a few hundred dollars from a dealer and cheaper from a specialist.

Repair cost (estimate): $250–$700 per belt assembly

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under seat belts (3).

Windshield may not have been bonded properly and could separate in a crash (recall)Medium

Recall 21V516 covers 2020–2021 300s: during manufacturing the windshield urethane may not have bonded to the body, so the glass could detach in a crash and the car fails the federal windshield-retention standard. Dealers remove the glass, replace the sealant and refit it free. Letters were mailed August 31, 2021, so most cars have had it, but it is a ten-second VIN check. If the windshield has been replaced since, ask who did it and whether a full-cure urethane was used — a mobile job with the wrong adhesive recreates the defect the recall removed.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: 2 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Uconnect 8.4 screen delamination and ghost touches — the 2018 pattern is worth checking for hereMedium

Nobody has filed this against the 2021, but the 2018 record is 45% this one fault and the 2019 carries it too: the touchscreen's top layer separates from the glass and the head unit begins pressing its own buttons — climate changing, radio hopping, calls hanging up, the backup camera blanking. The 2021 uses the same family of head unit, so it belongs on your checklist even though the public record on this year is silent. In daylight, look at the screen for bubbles or a rainbow edge; then let the car idle with your hands off for a minute and watch whether anything changes by itself.

Repair cost (estimate): $400–$1,800 for a replacement head unit

Source: not yet checked against public records.

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Recall 24V198 open on the VIN and the seller has not booked the work
✗Engine that stumbles or dies at a light during the test drive
✗Rough or uneven idle on a cold start that lasts past the first minute
✗Frayed, nicked or unravelling edge on either front seat belt
✗Aftermarket windshield with no installer receipt
✗Touchscreen with a bubbled or rainbow-edged surface, or settings that change by themselves

Good Signs

✓Both recalls shown complete on the NHTSA VIN lookup, with the curtain-airbag replacement dated
✓Dealer appointment for 24V198 booked with a confirmation in hand if it is still open
✓Clean scan with every module answering and a printed code report
✓Steady, quiet idle through a full minute after a cold start, and oil at the full mark
✓Original factory windshield, or a replacement with the installer's invoice and adhesive named
✓Seat belts that pull out smoothly with intact stitching along both edges