Chrysler Pacifica Complaints (2021)

362 consumer complaints on file.

#11502833January 20, 2023
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
While driving down a 4 lane major highway where the posted speed limit is 70 mph, the vehicle suddenly flashed "Service Charging System" with the check engine icon came on and the propulsion on the vehicle ceased funtioning. The D for drive was flashing as well. As a hybrid vehicle, the car should transition to gas without incident, but it doesn't. Instead it cut power to the engine leaving me, the driver, scrambling to find a safe location to get off the road, which is not always feasible or safe, endangering everyone in the vehicle and on the road if others are not paying attention to the sudden loss of power and propulsion of the vehicle in front of them. Thankfully, I was able to safely get off the road as a result of some helpful semi's, but not everyone may be in such a situation. Should this happen to someone else who regularly drives across a bridge, for instance, could possibly cause an accident by being unable to pull off at a designated area. I was able to engage the gas engine by turning it off and back on after stopping, but it did not store the "service charging system" error. This was determined when dropping it off at the Chrysler dealership. There are a few stored error codes including a "low voltage differential signal" which also occurred last year when they said they replaced a part in relation to the heating/cooling battery fault on the high-voltage batteries (less than 6 months old at the time) and similar to the recall on the older models. Making this the second time in the shop for a battery issue. Should a connection between the battery faults and the Body Control Module or PCM (not sure what that one stands for), they were parts also replaced within the first month of the vehicle. The vehicle is currently at the dealership for review. There were no other warnings or messages prior to the failure. Pictures of the error as I saw them after safely stopping are provided. Never have I had a car just stop functioning and this is entremely unsafe.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11502220January 17, 2023
ENGINE
I was traveling at about 60 MPH on a four lane highway in Jan of 2023 when I suddenly lost all engine power. The dashboard reported a charging system error and the "D" indicator was flashing along with check engine light. I was able to get to the side of the road. I was able to restart after shutting all the way down and opening my door. I was able to get home after. The next day trying to get to the dealership it happen two more time. Each time going around 60 MPH. The check engine light was on and the dealership was able to get some errors codes. This vehicle was an buy back for this same reason. I was told the problem was fixed by Chrysler.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11502063January 16, 2023
POWER TRAIN, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I have a 2021 Pacifica Hybrid in (Vin: 2C4RC1S70MR51943) that has encountered the dreaded "Service Charging System" message 5 times now in the past year, with the past 3 occurrences all happening in the last 3 weeks. Each time the car will not start, and the gear shifter will flash, the red charging light will illuminate on the dash, and the check engine light is on. On one occurrence, I turned the car off, then on again and was able to drive, however the check engine light was illuminated. I ran an OBD scan and the code was P1A21. On another instance, I was driving and lost all propulsion, the screen indicated "Service Charging System" message. Luckily I was on a local road and not a freeway and I was able to pull into the bike lane, still obstructing 1/2 of the right lane. After 5 minutes of trying to restart the car, I was able to move the car and I drove it to Earnhardt CJDR in Gilbert Arizona. When I got there, the check engine light had disappeared. I dropped off the car and to my disbelief the dealership told me there is nothing they can do if they can not replicate the issue. I am not stuck with a van my wife is afraid to drive due to the imminent threat of the car turning off while driving. I have 2 young children and I do not feel the van is safe in its current condition. Yet, the dealer is unable to resolve/replicate the issue. I have videos displaying the issue along with a screenshot of the OBD error code. It appears the dealership does not care about the safety of my wife and children by not being able to fix this issue. I have done a significant amount of research online and have found this to be a relatively common issue. In my opinion this vehicle is not safe to drive due to the risk of a complete shutdown and I commute on the freeway to and from work and the last thing I need is to have the van disabled on a busy interstate.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11501952January 16, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Multiple occurrences have happened where I am driving the car on the freeway when the SERVICE CHARGING SYSTEM code comes on and the vehicle stalls. I am unable to accelerate and have to pull off onto the shoulder. This is very dangerous as the vehicles on the freeway are going at high speeds. This failure could easily cause an accident or worse. The car then flashes SHIFT TO P TO START and the check engine light comes on. The vehicle is currently at the Chrysler dealership to be diagnosed.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11500016January 3, 2023
ENGINE, POWER TRAIN
Traveling on the highway, the vehicle engine turned off. The vehicle would not accelerate and only coast. Driver display says "Shift into P to start" and "Service charging system". After coasting to the side of the highway, I was able to restart the vehicle after shifting into Park but a check engine light came on after the restart(No check engine light was present before this incident). Our safety and others were at risk due to vehicle unable to move. Had there been no emergency lane, our vehicle would have been stopped on the highway. This engine stalling incident had occurred another 6 times within 2 days. Vehicle was brought into the dealership with check engine code P0A43. Dealer said they were unable to reproduce the engine stall and have released the vehicle back. Vehicle is available for inspection upon request. No warning lamps, messages, or any other symptoms prior to the 1st failure.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11499394December 29, 2022
POWER TRAIN, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
My 2021 Pacifica Hybrid with 19.2K miles threw a "Service Charging System" and Check Engine Light error while I was driving at 65mph on the highway on Christmas Eve in 8 degree weather. The minivan stopped accelerating and the transmission began flashing between P and D. We were forced to stop the vehicle on the highway shoulder, leaving us (2 parents, 2 kids 7 & 11) stranded on the highway. The vehicle then shut off and we were unable to turn on heating or accessories other than headlights and hazards. We were rescued by state troopers given that no tow trucks were available on Christmas Eve. The local dealer claims that the issue was related to the battery, but that doesn't make sense given the car was driving at highway speeds at the time and the alternator should keep the battery charged. I have seen a lot of owners with Service Charging System errors on this forum and believe Chrysler should have some knowledge as to a permanent solution. Without better understanding the root cause of the issue, it's hard for us to feel safe with a battery replacement, since that seems to be address symptom given that a car running highway speeds would keep the batteries charged through the belt and alternator system. My wife is fairly terrified of driving this car at highway speeds without some assurances it won't shut down and I get the sense that the dealer wants to wash its hands of this situation. I have a Chrysler warranty number for this repair, but have not received assistance yet. Would really appreciate some help!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11499356December 29, 2022
POWER TRAIN, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, ENGINE
The engine of our 2021 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid suddenly lost power while driving on the freeway. The display indicated "Put car in park" or something similar--but we were driving 65 miles/hour in heavy traffic! I had to pull over, turn the car off completely for one minute, and restart. After restarting the "check engine" light was on. Later in the drive after we stopped again, the "Check engine" light turned off, so all evidence of the error is gone from the car. However, we received en email from Chrysler's automatic system saying the car had reported an error for "powertrain" and we should schedule our service. It was dangerous to lose power while driving at freeway speeds. I am also confused about why the car's error codes went away. The car is available for inspection. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? My family of four was driving in heavy holiday traffic at 65 miles per hour when we lost power. It is dangerous to lose power at such speeds in the middle lanes of the interstate. I turned on the hazard lights and crossed three lanes to an exit. Thankfully we were going downhill and the heavy trucks in the slow lanes let us through. My life and the lives of my family were clearly endangered by this incident. This is the second time the car lost power on the freeway and the fourth time we have had the check engine light turn on. The car has about 26,500 miles. I have taken the car to dealer shops for the last three times the car indicated errors. Last time the car lost power the dealer said they could not replicate the issue. The car has been inspected by the dealer service department 4 times. I will take the car back to the dealer to get inspected again. There were no indications prior to the failure. The car lost power with no warning when we were driving at freeway speeds and we were about 300 miles into a 500 mile drive.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11499155December 28, 2022
ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
There are series of incidents that happened with the vehicle on freeway and mostly all the time it was the same issue of engine failure . Me and my spouse - The engine failed in the middle of road [ freeway ] making me to pull on to the right lane showcasing the indicator "Engine failure " and Charger system malfunction. - Recovery : Stop the car , turn off all the engine and open the door and close, then turn on the engine - it works. but this is on freeway and i am worried of my family driving the car. - Once i took the vehicle to service center and they analyzed and said - nothing they could see which was wrong as the indicator goes away after some time surprisingly - Happened 4 times so far on free way , first time cop had to push the car out and later i realized the steps for recovery - There are warning lamps on the panel - " engine failure "
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11498738December 24, 2022
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
I was driving in stop and go traffic about 4 hours into a road trip on I95. At around 60mph, an error popped up on the dash saying “Service Charging System” then it quickly went away and said “Shift to P to Start” at which point I lost all propulsion. I was in the left lane and had to make my way to the side of the road with my family of 6 in the car. This was extremely stressful and dangerous as I had no way to accelerate and was stuck to coast. I flipped on my hazard lights and was able to navigate to a safe place under an overpass. At this point, I completely cut off the car and restarted it. It worked fine again upon restart, but the check engine light remained there after. The incident happened again on a side road at around 40mph on the same day. I coasted to a stoplight and had to power cycle the car 3 times to get driving again. The following day, I went to a local Chrysler dealership and they are still in the progress of diagnosing, however they won’t have a response until after Christmas. So, I’m being directed to rent a vehicle until the van is deemed safe to drive again.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11498552December 22, 2022
ENGINE, POWER TRAIN, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
On Tue, 12/20/2022, I was driving on I-94 westbound between Moorland Road and WI Hwy 164 at about 60-70 mph. The car suddenly stalled and I lost all ability to accelerate the vehicle. The brakes and steering wheel still worked fine. The dash was displaying a message: "Service charging system. Shift to P to start." This has happened to my vehicle multiple times before. I was in the right lane and the shoulder was clear. I was able to pull onto the shoulder and come to a controlled stop. I put the vehicle in PARK and shut off the vehicle. After waiting a bit I restarted the car successfully. This happened 1 more time on the same trip (but on Hwy 16 as I was headed out to Waukesha County Technical College.) This is definitely safety issue as there was no way to restart the car in motion. Plus, pulling over to the shoulder on a busy highway, particularly with many trucks going by around 50 - 60 mph made me feel quite scared. I do NOT trust driving the vehicle at speeds above 60 mph anymore. This has happened to me last month. I took it to a dealer after that incident but they could not find anything wrong with the vehicle. This is now the 6th time this has happened to me.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11497908December 18, 2022
ENGINE
Engine will turn off while driving without any notice And show check engine light and shift to park
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11497452December 14, 2022
VISIBILITY/WIPER
While driving down the interstate, the moonroof glass spontaneously shattered. There are three pieces of glass on the roof, and it was the center one that failed. The car was about 16 months old with just under 10,000 miles, almost all of which was low-speed, city driving. At the time of failure, we were about 650 miles into a cross-country road trip and traveling on roads with an 80 MPH speed limit. If we had not closed the sunshade the day prior, sharp glass would have fallen on our children seated in the middle row. A Chrysler dealer sold us the replacement part and verified that there were no signs of any external cause that led to the failure. Chrysler denied a warranty claim, stating that "sunroof is most probably an outside influence as it cannot break easily as per IRF (Independent repair facility)."
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11496823December 9, 2022
POWER TRAIN, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Driving on the freeway, all propulsion suddenly and without warning ceased and the dash declared "service charging system" and the check engine light came on.. My only choice was to coast off to the side of the freeway. My safety was definitely at risk, as I was stuck on the side of the freeway. After several minutes, I was able to turn the car all the way off and turn it back on again. The check engine light was still on. I drove it straight to the dealership, who has it in for service for this error. Prior to this, the van gave no indication that anything was wrong.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11496710December 9, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
While traveling on the highway (>70mph), my Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid (~44k miles) suddenly lost power and the "service charging system" error appeared along with the instructions to "shift to park". The check engine light began to flash as well. Fortunately, I was able to cross three lanes of traffic in a van with an unresponsive accelerator to get to the shoulder. Once safely on the shoulder, I still could not shift to park and I could not turn the car off either. After sitting for 25 minutes or so, I was able to shift to park and turn the car off and then on again. I immediately took the car to the dealership (using surface roads). They kept the van for 10 days and diagnosed a software issue. I got the van back and for about 3 days it was fine. Then we were driving the same freeway (at speeds of 70mph or more) and the exact breakdown happened again. Chrysler has had the van for 4 weeks now and just informed me that the issues is metal shavings in the transmission; they will be replacing the transmission. This is related to the ODI investigation # PE 22-008
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11496476December 7, 2022
POWER TRAIN, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Second occurrence of 2021 Pacifica Hybrid stalling while driving. Same error messages with check engine light, Service Charging System, battery light. The recommended software update was done a month ago at a dealership after the first incident. The van worked fine until today when I had to unexpectedly maneuver to the roadside again as it stalled out at 35 mph. I waited several minutes and the van started again but the yellow engine light stayed on. I took it to the dealer where I bought it and it's there now. Yes, my safety was at risk again.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11495981December 4, 2022
ENGINE, POWER TRAIN, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
On Sunday, 12/4/2022, I went on a few errands not intending to drive very far on the highway since most of my stops were local. I entered the I-94 west bound from Moorland Rd in Brookfield WI and drove about 1 mile reaching about 65 mph during the busy traffic hours. The car suddenly stalled and I lost all ability to accelerate the vehicle. The brakes and steering wheel still worked fine. The dash was displaying a message: "Service charging system. Shift to P to start." Thankfully, I was in the right lane and the shoulder was clear. I was able to pull onto the shoulder and come to a controlled stop. I put the vehicle in Stop but when I pressed the off button, it would not switch to off and remained in the "run" mode. I tried several times for a few minutes without any success. I waited a minute and then tried again. This time, the vehicle was able to switch to "OFF" mode. I was able to start the car normally without any "System charging system" error coming on. I decided to return home immediately using local roads only. I no longer trust my vehicle on the highway - even if it is only for a short distance on the highway.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11495889December 3, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
11/28/2022 - Infotainment system glitches with random disconnects from Apple iPhone connected via CarPlay followed by vehicle "shutting down" at highway speeds. Red battery light, Red charge cord light and Image "Service Charging System" After repeated attempt was able to reboot vehicle and drive to nearest dealer. Dealer pulled codes and advised to return to selling/servicing dealer. 12/2/2022 - Drove to selling/servicing dealer. They read codes and attempted to recreate the power system failure. Indicated they could not. Exited dealer's lot only to have same incident occur as on 11/28/22. Unable to reboot/restart vehicle. Had it towed back to selling/servicing dealer. Photos of repair ticket and technician notes available for subsequent submission but not readily available to include with this initial complaint.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11494849November 25, 2022
POWER TRAIN, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
On Wed, 11/23/2022, I was driving on I-94 Eastbound headed from Wisconsin to Illinois at about 70 mph. The car suddenly stalled and I lost all ability to accelerate the vehicle. The brakes and steering wheel still worked fine. The dash was displaying a message: "Service charging system. Shift to P to start." Thankfully, I was in the right lane and the shoulder was clear. I was able to pull onto the shoulder and come to a controlled stop. I put the vehicle in PARK and shut off the vehicle. I tried to restart it but was unable to. I then unbuckled my seat belt and opened & closed the driver side door (without getting out). After about a minute I was able to restart the car and continue on my way to Chicago. This happened 2 more times that trip. It also happened 1 time on the way back to Wisconsin for a total of 4 incidents in 1 day trip. This has significant safety implications, esp. when one cannot get to the shoulder (or there is no shoulder) to restart the vehicle. I felt very scared and no longer trust my vehicle on the highway. This has happened to me once before earlier this year. I took it to a dealer after that incident. They said the updated all the software but are not certain if this fixed the root cause. Apparently, it did not. There was no warning light to indicate a problem may be happening. However, now that this has happened, the "check engine" indicator is on and, apparently, needs to be reset. I have not yet taken the vehicle to a dealer for this recent set of 4 incidents.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11494141November 18, 2022
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
I was driving my kids to school this morning on the interstate, traveling at roughly 70 MPH when my Pacifica just died on me. I wasn't able to get the vehicle moving again and I coasted to a stop on the shoulder. The vehicle reported a "Service Charging System" fault and would not restart afterwards. I am waiting (2 weeks) for an opening at the dealership and will have the vehicle towed. I was lucky the interstate had a wide shoulder and traffic was light otherwise it could have been incredibly dangerous.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11493535November 14, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2021 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. The contact stated that the center console and the dashboard made a loud buzzing sound before the functions became inoperable. The contact stated that the display screen displayed service warnings and software updates erroneously before disappearing. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure persisted with the center console flickering before becoming inoperable. The failure recurred intermittently but more persistently. The contact returned the vehicle to the dealer who flashed the software and replaced the hybrid water pump; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and opened a case. The approximate failure mileage was 12,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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