2011 Chrysler 200 under investigation for engine stalling risks

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into the 2011 Chrysler 200 sedan over a concern that the 3.6L V6 engine could randomly stall – even when traveling at speeds and with no warning.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 15 complaints from consumers around the USA that their 2011 Chrysler 200 sedan stalled while being driven and in all of those cases, the car in question was powered by the popular 3.6L Pentastar V6. There were 87,033 2011 Chrysler 200 sedans sold for the 2011 model year but with a portion of those sedans coming with the entry level 4-cylinder engine, it is unclear as to exactly how many 200 sedans will be covered by this new investigation.

In the majority of these 15 incidences of the 2011 Chrysler 200 stalling, the car was moving at low speed as the driver was gradually decelerating – as in the event of approaching a stop sign or a red traffic light. One owner stated that their V6 powered Chrysler 200 sedan has stalled five separate times with one of those times coming when the driver was in front of a tractor trailer and an accident was narrowly avoided. Luckily, there have been no reports of accidents or injuries stemming from the Pentastar stalling problem but with the increased chances of an accident in the event that the Chrysler 200 loses motive power while driving around other vehicles – this investigation makes good sense.

If automakers and the NHTSA have learned anything in the past few years, it is that a problem is better addressed right away when it comes up rather than waiting until something like the 2011 Chrysler 200 stalling problems have caused an accident or injury.

The 2011 Chrysler 200 is powered by the same 3.6L Pentastar V6 engine that is found in nearly every vehicle available today in the Chrysler Group lineup (both in the US and overseas) and while there haven’t been public complaints about stalling issues in other vehicles using this engine – a problem with the Pentastar engine could be a big one for Chrysler. This investigation currently only relates to the 2011 model year Chrysler 200 sedan so it is limited to “only” 87,000 vehicles but should a problem be found with the Pentastar V6 itself or some other component shared among the other Pentastar-powered vehicles, this could balloon to a much bigger issue.

The 2011 Dodge Avenger shares the 3.6L Pentastar V6 with the 2011 Chrysler 200 and considering that the two vehicles are identical in almost every way shy of physical appearance, any further actions by the NHTSA would likely impact the Dodge midsized sedan as well. In addition to the 2011 Avenger, the 2012 Chrysler 200 sedan (and Avenger) both feature the 3.6L Pentastar as the premium engine so if there is found to be a flaw with the engine or one of the systems that supports the engine (electrical or fuel), a recall could be a big one even if only affecting these midsized models. Also, even though the initial investigation only relates to the 4-door 200 sedan, the 2011 and newer Chrysler 200 Convertible also uses the same Pentastar engine…so the topless 200 could be eventually included in the investigation or any required actions as a result of the investigation.

I have a 2011 Chrysler 200 that keeps stalling while driving, shops, garages can't figure it out, is it the engine , transmission, something that's covered under recall and who do you contact for this issue.

I have a 2011 Chrysler 200 that keeps stalling while driving, shops, garages can't figure it out, is it the engine , transmission, something that's covered under recall and who do you contact for this issue.

My 2011 4 door 200 Chrysler stalled while driving it at 4:30 in the evening. Started up one time and then the battery when dead. Car has been kerning like it was out of gas.Have tried serial time to get checked but no one knows what's going on .

Submitted by Dean Bresler (not verified) on March 4, 2020 - 9:33AM

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I have a 2011 4 door sedan with the Psystar 3.6 that is having a sudden hesitation in engine rpm at slow speed ,either accelerating or decelerating.I have no clue to where to start.

Submitted by Teresa Morgan (not verified) on December 13, 2020 - 4:32AM

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Just picked up my brother who drives a 2011 Chrysler 200. It was night and his car shut off completely going down hill. He didn’t know what to do. His steering and brakes were locked. He called while it was happening. Very scary to listen to the recording. Was there a recall? He could easily have been killed or seriously injured.

Submitted by Reymundo Reyna (not verified) on January 3, 2021 - 2:09AM

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Stalls on me everyday have to wait for 20 30 minutes before it will start again it's ridiculous. Something needs to happen before I end up in an accident getting killed

Submitted by Norma (not verified) on March 3, 2021 - 7:58PM

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My 2011 Chrysler 200 convertible totally quit while I was driving down the road on a busy street. Scared me nearly to death! The steering and breaks both locked down. Luckily I was able to coast down a side road to a stop.This has happened to me before several years ago. ( 3 times) I had the throttle body changed and injectors also. It has ran fine since until yesterday. I tried to crank it and it acted like it wanted to but just wouldn’t completely turn over. Had it towed to mechanic and he could not find a thing wrong with it. Says it started right up today and he let it idle for awhile and it never acted up. Chrysler needs to step up and figure this out before some of us die because of this. I will be happy to fix whatever is wrong if they would just figure it out. Not everyone can just go buy a new vehicle every few years esp during these unsettling days. If anyone knows anything please contact me. I would be so grateful!

My 2011 200 just shut down while I was driving on the hwy back in March. The dealer had it for 3 days and couldn’t find anything wrong but charged me $165 diagnostic fee. It seems to shut down every 25-30 days or so. Sometimes it restarts after 5min, sometimes it takes hours. I’ve had the TIPM replaced and numerous other repairs but the mechanics alway say it’s starting and driving fine for us. I don’t want to sell or trade it until I can fix the problem. More recently it shuts down multiple times after starting and then it won’t happen again for a few weeks

I had similar issues with my 2011 Chrysler 200 it would stall in the middle of traffic And not start it happened twice about two months apart and then it happened again three times about two weeks apart then after that it was happening like every other day numerous times back to the dealer never could figure it out long story short I took it to a Backyard mom and pop mechanic shop and your old man figure it out it was the cam shaft sensors The whole job ran me right around $900