Car buyers may assume that a full-size luxury car like the Chrysler 300 won’t have any problems. Unfortunately, there’s one model year in particular where that isn’t the case. Read on for the engine problems with the potential to plague the 2006 Chrysler 300.

Which Chrysler 300 model year should you avoid?

CarComplaints.com is one good site to see what problems owners are having with their cars. The website offers graphs that visually show which model years have the most submitted complaints and which problems are submitted most often. The site found that the 2006 Chrysler 300 has the most overall complaints and rated it the worst model year.

While the most problematic category for the 2006 Chrysler 300 is engine problems, the most-reported issue is that the gear shifter gets stuck in park. The model’s many problems earned it Car Complaints’ “Avoid Like the Plague” badge. Owners have submitted 156 issues about the 2006 Chrysler 300 so far, with 77 of those connected to engine problems.

Which engine issues does the 2006 Chrysler 300 have?

Furthermore, there are two engine issues that owners submitted most often. First, an engine that makes a loud, irritating ‘clicking’ noise. Also, some engines stall or shut off while driving. Each owner complaint was submitted 18 times.

In addition to the clicking noise, the website also called out two additional problems as frequent problems. Engine failure due to oil sludge was submitted by 10 owners, and a blown engine was submitted by seven people. Several of these serious engine issues required owners to replace their engines, though a few people were able to fix the clicking sound by having the side rocker arms replaced.

The engine noise appeared on average at around 81,750 miles and cost owners about $2,570 to get fixed. Several owners described their cars as lemons, expressing their frustration that the engine repairs weren’t covered by a recall. The issue where the engine stalled or shut off while driving showed up later at around 109,850 miles on average, and owners shared that it cost them $950 to repair.

Engine failure due to oil sludge occurred at around 85,500 miles on average and had an average repair cost of about $6,000. The blown engine happened at 92,200 miles on average and cost $7,080 to repair – by far the most expensive of these four problems. The single most-reported problem was that the gear shifter gets stuck in park. This frustrating issue was reported by 19 owners, appearing at around 61,600 miles, costing them around $390 to repair.

Other model years to be mindful of

The 2006 model year sticks out since it has an unusually high number of complaints when compared to other model years. No other model year has more than 82 complaints, and most have fewer than 50. And, that high 82-complaint year came in the Chrysler 300’s very first year in 2005. Furthermore, the 2005 model year dealt with the stuck gear shifter as well as engine problems. Moreover, the 2007 model year had issues with transmission problems plus engine issues.

2006 Chrysler 300 recalls

The 2006 model year does have four recalls. Two of the recalls relate to the driver-side airbag and the passenger-side airbag. The other two are for the rear brake tubes and the automatic transmission cup plug. None of the recalls address the engine or gear shift problems.

While most model years of the Chrysler 300 have very few complaints, the 2006 model year suffers from several engine problems plus a gear shift issue. Buyers looking for a used luxury car might want to skip it in favor of another model year.