This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
oticed that the CEL had come on, and after reading the codes, I found out that there was a cylinder 5 misfire. To fix the issue, I decided to replace all the spark plugs and ignition coils, and after putting everything back together, I erased the codes. However, the following day, the same code appeared again, and I realized that the coolant level in the reservoir was low. I performed a pressure test on the system and ran it to temperature, but there were no coolant leaks. While the car was running, I observed bubbles in the reservoir, and these signs pointed towards a blown head gasket. After checking online for Pacifica common issues, I found out that head gasket failure is one of the main complaints. As a mechanic with 13 years of experience, I know that these symptoms indicate a blown head gasket. Unfortunately, due to this issue, I had to leave work twice as my wife and four kids were stranded 30 minutes away from the house. This is not acceptable, and I've never had a vehicle blow a head gasket before.
After radiator was replaced by the dealership, our car has been experiencing coolant leaks that we have -??repaired-?? twice, however the issue keeps coming back within the week. We are also experiencing stalled engine will driving, where the car just slows down instantly or stops.
On Sunday, November 5, 2023, our 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid caught fire in our garage. Please refer to the attached PDF which details the incident. I have pictures and videos of the incident as well as a report from the fire department is being prepared. We have placed home and auto claims with our insurance provider, and we are also working with a disaster recovery company who is compiling a report on the damages and losses. - What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request" My educated guess from what I witnessed and discussions with the firefighters is it was the car-??s electric battery. - How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Refer to PDF; further would this have happened at night and as discussed with the fire department, the toxic smoke, heat, and fire/explosion would very likely have caused the situation to have a much more catastrophic outcome. - Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? I do not know specifically; however, please note PDF related to NHTSA Recall # 20V-334 we had completed in September 2023. - Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Refer to PDF; after the fire was extinguished and at the directive of the fire department, the car was taken to a local salvage yard for safety/risk of reigniting. - Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear" Refer to PDF; no, there were no warning signs other than the smell that morning and the service charging system notification after I unplugged the vehicle. We had driven the van the previous day with no issues, and when my wife left the house around 930 that morning through the garage, she did not notice a smell or anything unusual.
The contact owns a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that the main battery and the auxiliary battery had been replaced on multiple occasions. The dealer had not yet determined the cause of the failure. The contact stated that the frequent battery failures caused the vehicle to stall while driving at various speeds with the battery and check engine warning lights illuminated. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle was diagnosed with a cylinder #3 misfire. Also, the contact mentioned that the vehicle would jerk forward upon depression of the accelerator pedal without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for a diagnostic test; however, the dealer was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 46,000.
Suddenly our Pacifica would not start and started cycling through over a dozen error messages. We were finally able to get the vehicle to start and took it to the dealership. They confirmed that the star connector needs to be replaced. After looking at many forums, this appears to be a fairly common issue among the early hybrid pacificas, to the point that I felt I should report here, especially given the recalls that have already happened due to the electrical system in the car. We just got the last recall done in August and already we now have a ~$1000 bill to repair the electrical system again. Please have someone look into how many of the pacificas need this particular connector replaced given the prevelance of people with the same issue online.
- Livermore, Ca, CA, USA
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What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request" The shifter module fails or malfunctions and it put the vehicle in park. All the electronic controls in the vehicle malfunctions even when the vehicle is driving like the ABS, displays, throttle, ADAS and all other controls How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? The vehicle suddenly starts throwing the warnings while you are driving - sometimes in the freeways, it also jerks, throttle and other controls and displays goes blank, you are not sure even if the emergency flasher is activated Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Yes Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear" It started almost 2 years ago in Dec 2021 when the check engine light first came, dealer tried to fix by replacing the 12 volt battery but the problems started slowly and in August 2022 disabled the vehicle completely. The vehicle had been with the dealer most of the time since then and its still not fixed as of today
Pull into garage with <1% hybrid battery. Pressed the power button and the Pacifica threw an error about servicing the transmission and it would not disconnect the power to shut off the vehicle. Opened the hood and disconnected the 12v battery to complete remove electric from the system. The van completed a shutdown. Reconnected the 12v battery and closed the hood. Car returned to working conditions.
We began having major issues with our van in October 2022. There were numerous incidents of loss of power and sudden increase in temperature gage. We kept fluids checked. Kept oil changed on time. We reported this to the dealership multiple times before they agreed to fix under warranty. Even after fixing factory recall (which we were charged for by the dealership) and then replacing batteries, we continued having issues with loss of power and surge in temperature gage. July 8th of 2023 engine light came on and temperature gage shot up, van stalled at the intersection. I had My self and FIVE kids in the car. This was accompanied by a sudden loss of fluids. We had the van taken to another repair shop who then told us the head gasket was blown. This happened just 4 miles after our warranty lapsed. We had to have the entire motor replaced out of pocket. More than $8,000 in repair costs so far and the van I still making noises and not driving correctly.
In March my van stalled as I was turning through a busy intersection with my child in the front seat. We narrowly avoided being t-boned. For a second the dash lit up with lights and then it said to shift to park to start vehicle but I couldn't shift. After finally getting it in neutral some good samaritans helped me push it out of the intersection and while I sat off to the side, after about 15 minutes of getting out and checking under the hood, the car started. We used our own code reader and it threw the PoA79 code. We brought it to Lewisville with an appointment, told them about the stall and they did the Z11 recall work for the fire risk with the battery but say there are no issues with the battery and no codes, but they have us ready for the recall work on Loss of Motive Power as soon as the recall work is available because loss of power is a known issue. They think my stall is related to the recall and needs a software update so hold off. Pick the van up after Easter. 3 months later it stalls again, this time with my child and husband on the freeway! After about 10 minutes of everything flashing, it starts again just as it did before, and the CEL clears. We call and are told that the Loss of Motive Power recall O3A process is now out for the 2018. We have never noticed an unexpected loss of charge. We were charging outside and far from our house, per the recall. No lobster popping up. Make an appointment for the O3A recall work and the van stalls on the way. This time it doesn't restart As I understand it, the transmission issue is that transmission case castings causes the high voltage wires to chafe and short out. We are told that we do not have a transmission or a battery issue, it is the On Board Charging Module has internal damage. They are unable to explain how a van that was at 95% charge and with a 12V that showed it wasn't depleted now has an internally damaged OBCM. And they don't know if that is the fundamental underlying problem with stalls.
Driving through a parking lot when the van said shift to park and completely shut off while moving. Lost power steering and acceleration. Car then would not restart. Husband came and we hooked to his battery and somehow it cranked and we got it home.
Our engine has stalled while driving the vehicle at least four times since July 1. The engine begins to shudder, and the car will not accelerate, and then the engine completely dies. After it happened today, it was not possible to restart the engine or put it in gear. My and my family's safety was put at risk because the vehicle was inoperable. Three times this happened on major interstates with traffic moving at high speeds. I had to move my children and their car seats into another vehicle while traffic passed. We have had the vehicle in for service at least three times, at least twice at Chrysler dealers. The problem has not been reproduced (yet) but this latest time it completely disabled the vehicle so expect they will see more of the problem now. After the engine cuts out, we get an electrical warning light that flashes briefly, plus a check engine light, and a message that instructs to move the gear shift to P to start the vehicle and another that warns that the Start/Stop system needs service. We have had these all serviced, the fuel pump and battery replaced, and have been told the problem is resolved and yet it keeps happening.
Van just unexpected shutdown no warming light nothing ! This is a handicap van rear entrance !!! On Tuesday August 8 2023, Daughter and handicapped granddaughter riding in van it just stopped she had to coast in the middle turn lanes until help arrived Did get daughter out in wheelchair push across 3 lanes traffic to safe very hot that day... On the NHTSA says as of January 17,2023 compaints on 2018 Chrysler Pacifica With inspected engine shutdown..
The contact owns a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated there were no warning lights illuminated. The contact related to the failure NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V010000 (Electrical System, Hybrid Propulsion System) however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was towed to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request" - The dealer / manufacturer is unable to determine the root cause. The car shut down while I was driving on the highway. It does not start, meaning no engine turnover to operate / drive the vehicle. The only known issue was the recall for the electrical component failure. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? - Yes, both myself and others on the highway were at great risk. As my car shut down, I lost control of the vehicle - no power steering or ability to use the accelerator. My vehicle slowed to 40mph in the right lane, while other vehicles including trucks were still traveling at high speeds and quickly approached my vehicle. They did not see the hazard lights until they were only 20 feet away. This was very close to a fatal accident. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? - No. There is no solve to the issue. They claim, however, that they are replacing the *entire* transmission and think that this will fix the car. Yet, this seems to be an entirely separate, unrelated issue. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? - No Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear" - Yes, I received an error message 1 day prior. See attachment photo of dashboard. I was instructed by the dealer to drive it into the dealership the very next day - the day the car shut down on the highway.
The contact owns a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. The contact stated that the dealer had completed the recall repair of NHTSA Campaign Number 23V010000 (Electrical System, Hybrid Propulsion System) on the vehicle; however, after the repair, the message "Service Hybrid Battery, " was displayed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.
The service electronic stability control warning is populated after the vehicle stalled while driving on the freeway. The vehicle often jerks and stalls when taking off or driving at slow speeds but this is the first time at freeway speeds. This early caused an accident for me and my family.
My car won't start it says that the engine or accessory is on when it isn't. I had this same problem last year during covid so I replaced both the batteries last year. Now it's doing it again. This time how ever the light is flickering on the drivers side. The doors when I first got it and sometimes says still that there not enough power to operate sliding doors.
- The car still has open recall Z11 ( RU PHEV hybrid traction battery fire). - The car had open recall XE1 RU PHEV transmission open. - The car became stranded refusing to put the transmission into gear. - Had to tow the car to the dealership. The dealer stated the traction battery fuse was blown. The dealer could not pinpoint the root cause of the issue, nor did chrysler have parts readily available to fix. The car still shows there's an open short. - The dealer could not complete diagnosis because of the Z11 recall. They stated that the traction battery can not complete self check procedure. - Chrysler is unresponsive in following up on the issue.
My Pacifica Hybrid van has been at a Chrysler dealership (Castle Rock in Colorado) for over six weeks now to have the Z11 recall addressed. It is clear that neither Chrysler nor their dealers know how to properly fix this (potentially lethal) issue with their vehicle batteries. Chrysler have failed to provide a loaner vehicle, even though it is stated in their recall letter that they would, and their "Customer Care" hotline have been unable to assist in any way. No one will call me back or otherwise inform me of next steps.
The contact owns a 2018 Chrysler Limited. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V010000 (Electrical System, Hybrid Propulsion System) however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect. [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Rialto, CA, USA