2004 Sebring opinions

2004 Sebring Coupe with the 3.0 Mitsubishi engine. (6G72 engine) Any typical problem areas or components on these cars? Is the 3.0 a durable engine?

The reason for the question:

One of my relatives has this car. The transmission has died. The primary question is whether or not it is worth spending around $2500 to have a transmission installed. The car has just under 60,000 miles. (Book value on the car varies from $2700 to $4200, depending on which website is referenced.)

What,you didn't like the answers you got on your first post? https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/ubbt...tml#Post2592052

2500$ to have a trans SUPPOSEDLY rebuilt ! ..... and I’ll bet in MANY CASES some of those shops JSTA FIX what is wrong !

Way back when - I’ve seen shops quote 1200$ “because it needed a COMPLETE REBUILD “ when all it needed was single SIMPLE rubber seal.

lol, Doc.

If you bring your car to me to fix a "simple seal" and nothing else I will show you the door. Not worth my time, you won't like the bill because it'll be 90% of the rebuild and you will never get a warranty. But you will sure bad mouth the fick out of me even if I sit you down and explains so that even you can understand there is no warranty on a "simple seal replacement".

As I tell everyone that says it's a "simple job", do it yourself.

Two different questions, Stumpy.

First question was about the transmission ONLY. Apparently, it is trouble prone. Therefore I'm only going to recommend a rebuilt / re-manufactured transmission. (Not a salvage yard transmission) After talking with more people, I've learned that Advance auto parts has a rebuilt transmission that's over $600 less than the other parts store. This discovery changes the math on fixing the transmission.

The lady who owns the car is in her mid 80's and has Very little money. It would be a big financial problem if she has the transmission replaced and then has some other major problem with this car. She can't frankly afford to have another major repair anytime soon.


This question is about whether or not there are any OTHER DURABILITY ISSUES with THE REST OF THE CAR. In other words, if the transmission is replaced, is the car likely to run for a while?

Doc Fiberglass, the $2500 price is the installed price for the $1800 transmission from Advance Auto Parts. I can't swap the transmission at the current time. Health problems......


SuperCuda, I want the car fixed right..... If the car is even worth fixing. Which was the primary question of this thread.

The pump in the transmission has failed. I'm not a transmission guy, but I'm fairly certain that means a complete rebuild. If I'm wrong, please let me know.

There are two transmission rebuilders in this area. One of them was closed this past week for the holidays. The other guy said he would ONLY swap in a re-manufactured transmission. He does NOT rebuild Mitsubishi transmissions!

If I'm not mistaken, not only is the engine Mitsu, but the whole car is basically Mitsu. The Sebring sedan is Mopar.

The Sebring coupes were not tops in durability. Harder to find parts for than the sedan and more expensive to work on. Trannies are a weak point and I have seen more than one replaced, only to have to do it again.

Personally, I feel it would be a gamble on whether a different tranny will be the last of big expenditures on the car. You may consider selling it for what it will bring and move on.

At only 60k miles, I should hope the rest of the car should last a number of years yet. However due to the low miles I would worry about regular maintenance repairs being far behind schedule. I have seen some low mile cars in poor shape because things like belts, seals, filters, etc just don't get replaced because the car isn't driven much.

Now those era of Sebrings, be it the coupes that were basically rebadged mitsubishis or the sedans that were all mopar, neither of those were very long lived cars at best IMO. If it was my car, I would look for a trans from a wrecker or guy parting a car and change it myself. I don't think I would spend more than 300 on a used transmission for one of these cars. There is no chance I would spend 2500 bucks on that car. But if it was a family member's car, I think I would keep out of it and mind my own business because I don't want to get roped into doing someone else's transmission swap!

i've owned minivans with this exact drivetrain, and i bought them with over 100k on the clock. ran them another 100k without anything other than regular maintenance. granted, the buss's did not just sit around.
all of my minivans had trans-go shift kits installed, and when they died, it was because the bodies fell off the floor pans, not drivetrain issues.
what is the rest of the car like ? just because it has only 60k on the clock, doesn't mean squat if the undercarriage is all rusty, or it needs brakes and other general maintenance done.
in reality, how much longer will this lady drive ? it might just be better for her to update to something a little newer perhaps ?
pretty tough decisions to make. good luck with whatever you decide.