Chrysler 300: which years to buy, and what breaks on them
Best and worst years of the Chrysler 300
Of the 16 model years of the Chrysler 300 that carry enough owner reports to score, 2021 comes out best at 55 out of 100 and 2005 worst at 74. The scores rank each year against other cars of the same model year, so an older one is not penalised for having had longer to break.
6,478 owner reports across 20 model years, 4,119 of them carrying an odometer reading. 16 years carry enough reports to score.
The year to buy, and the year to avoid
Both figures are ranks against other vehicles of the same model year, so the two are comparable even when the years are a decade apart. Each links to that year's full report.
2021 Chrysler 300
Best of 20 years on 27 owner reports, its own worst problem being airbag inflator rupture. Evidence behind the score: moderate confidence.
2005 Chrysler 300
Risk 74 of 100 from 1,062 reports, worst problem airbag inflator rupture.
High High confidence confidence
How much the year actually matters
The gap between the best and worst year is 19 points on a 100-point scale, which is wide enough to be worth acting on when two cars are otherwise comparable.
Across every year of the Chrysler 300, owners have filed 6,478 reports with NHTSA. The 2006 accounts for the largest share at 1,267, which can mean a genuinely troublesome year or simply the year that sold best and has been on the road longest.
What tends to break across the Chrysler 300
Taking the most-reported failure from each model year, the recurring problems on the Chrysler 300 are airbag inflator rupture (worst mode in 6 years), alternator or charging system failure (worst mode in 3 years) and airbag failed to deploy in a crash (worst mode in 3 years). A fault that heads the list in most years is characteristic of the design; one that heads a single year is usually a batch or a supplier.
Every model year, scored
Shorter is better, and the outlined row is the best year of the line. A year with too few reports to score is shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not the same as no problems.
| Year | Reports | Per 1,000 | Median report | Most reported problem | Recalls | Risk | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 Chrysler 300 | 4 | 0.1 | — | Loss of braking | 0 | not rated | Unrated |
| 2005 Chrysler 300 | 1,062 | 16.5 | 72k | Airbag inflator rupture | 7 | 74 | High confidence |
| 2006 Chrysler 300 | 1,267 | 19.6 | 80k | Airbag inflator rupture | 4 | 72 | High confidence |
| 2007 Chrysler 300 | 620 | 9.6 | 80k | Airbag inflator rupture | 4 | 69 | High confidence |
| 2008 Chrysler 300 | 956 | 14.8 | 79k | Other electrical problem | 4 | 67 | High confidence |
| 2009 Chrysler 300 | 114 | 1.8 | 69k | Airbag inflator rupture | 5 | 68 | High confidence |
| 2010 Chrysler 300 | 150 | 2.3 | 71k | Airbag inflator rupture | 7 | 69 | High confidence |
| 2011 Chrysler 300 | 266 | 4.1 | 50k | Alternator or charging system failure | 7 | 69 | High confidence |
| 2012 Chrysler 300 | 621 | 6.1 | 64k | Alternator or charging system failure | 9 | 71 | High confidence |
| 2013 Chrysler 300 | 403 | 4.0 | 41k | Alternator or charging system failure | 6 | 72 | High confidence |
| 2014 Chrysler 300 | 321 | 3.2 | 34k | Other powertrain problem | 8 | 73 | High confidence |
| 2015 Chrysler 300 | 142 | 1.9 | 47k | Other powertrain problem | 5 | 69 | High confidence |
| 2016 Chrysler 300 | 102 | 1.4 | 35k | Airbag failed to deploy in a crash | 3 | 67 | High confidence |
| 2017 Chrysler 300 | 102 | 1.4 | 38k | Other body or interior problem | 2 | 62 | High confidence |
| 2018 Chrysler 300 | 210 | 2.9 | 21k | Air conditioning failure | 4 | 69 | High confidence |
| 2019 Chrysler 300 | 86 | 2.4 | 12k | Airbag failed to deploy in a crash | 2 | 66 | High confidence |
| 2020 Chrysler 300 | 10 | 0.3 | 46k | Wiring harness or short circuit | 2 | not rated | Unrated |
| 2021 Chrysler 300 | 27 | 0.8 | — | Airbag inflator rupture | 2 | 55 | Moderate confidence |
| 2022 Chrysler 300 | 6 | 0.3 | 5k | Airbag failed to deploy in a crash | 2 | not rated | Unrated |
| 2023 Chrysler 300 | 9 | 15.0 | 500 | Overheating | 1 | not rated | Unrated |
What each column means
Reports counts owner complaints filed with NHTSA against that model year. Filing is voluntary and unverified, so the count is a floor on how often something went wrong, never a census. It also rises with how many cars were sold, which is why the next column exists.
Per 1,000 divides those reports by an estimate of how many of that model year are on the road, so a common car and a rare one can be compared. The estimate comes from the vehicle counts in recall campaigns covering the same model year, which is the only per-model fleet figure published free of charge; where no recall covers a year, this column is blank rather than guessed.
Median report is the odometer reading at the midpoint of that year's reports: half of the readings owners gave were below it. It is a description of when problems get reported, not a prediction of when this car will break, and it needs at least eight readings before it is shown at all.
Risk is a 0–100 score combining how often reports arrive relative to fleet size, how serious they are, and how early they land, ranked against other vehicles of the same model year only. Confidence says how much evidence sits behind it: a low score on thin evidence is a shrug, not a clean bill of health. Both are defined in full on the methodology page.
Generations, and why the boundary matters
The Chrysler 300 splits into generations: 2004–2008 (best 2008, worst 2005), 2009–2014 (best 2009, worst 2014), 2015–2019 (best 2017, worst 2015) and 2020–2023. Comparing years inside one generation is the fair comparison — same body, same engines, usually the same suppliers.
Generation boundaries here are inferred from the pattern of model years in the data rather than taken from manufacturer documentation, so they are occasionally a year out. Where a boundary matters to a purchase, check it against the build date on the car.
| Generation | Years | Best year | Worst year | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-2008 | 2004–2008 | 2008 Chrysler 300 67 | 2005 Chrysler 300 74 | 7 |
| 2009-2014 | 2009–2014 | 2009 Chrysler 300 68 | 2014 Chrysler 300 73 | 5 |
| 2015-2019 | 2015–2019 | 2017 Chrysler 300 62 | 2015 Chrysler 300 69 | 8 |
| 2020-2023 | 2020–2023 | — | — | — |
How to use this page
The honest way to read a table like this is worst-first: rule out the years with high scores and heavy complaint volume, then choose among the rest on condition, history and price. A low score is not a promise, and a high one is not a verdict on the specific car in front of you.
Every figure comes from owner complaints filed with NHTSA and from recall records, both voluntary in the sense that nobody audits them for completeness. Counts are floors. The AtWhatMileage methodology page sets out each formula.
Questions this page answers
What is the best year for the Chrysler 300?
Of the model years we can rate, 2021 Chrysler 300 scores best at 55 out of 100, based on 27 owner reports. 2005 scores worst at 74.
Which years of the Chrysler 300 should you avoid?
2005 has the highest risk score in this model line at 74 out of 100. The scores compare each year against other vehicles of the same model year, so they are not affected by age alone.
How the generations are drawn. NHTSA does not publish generation boundaries, so ours are inferred from breaks in the recall and complaint record and from the model's own year range. They are close to the enthusiast consensus but not authoritative — if a boundary looks wrong for a car you know well, tell us and we will fix the table rather than argue with you.
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed