Chrysler Pacifica Complaints (2021)

362 consumer complaints on file.

#11441768November 26, 2021
STRUCTURE:BODY:HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE
The contact owns a 2021 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. The contact stated that the hatchback door would not close and lock securely. The contact stated that he attempted to close the hatchback door by using the key fob, by depressing the hatchback control panel inside the vehicle and the button on the hatchback door but it failed to close and latch securely. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that he manually pushed the hatchback with the assistance of his wife, but the door would not lock. The contact stated that they were able to close the hatchback door using duct tape. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing however, the dealer advised the contact that they could not duplicate the failure. The contact notified Goeckner Bros Inc (600 E Fayette Ave, Effingham, IL 62401) who sold him the vehicle and the dealer advised the contact to take the vehicle in for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 2,970.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11441603November 24, 2021
POWER TRAIN
Component: The Low gear does not function properly. When the car is in Low on a steep grade it allows the engine to rev up to 6,000 RPM before shifting into second gear. On a hill, the RPMs rev up quickly and the car’s momentum is not properly arrested. In practice, this car does not have a true Low gear. L1 acts more like an L4. Safety risk: We use this car in the mountains of Virginia. We have an AWD model, which performs great in the snow. However, with no hill descent feature and a malfunctioning Low gear it is dangerous to drive the car in the mountains. Driving down a snowy mountain with no low gear is a major risk. Service center: Yes, the problem has been confirmed by my local dealer, both in my car and in a brand new 2021 Pacifica. Inspected by others: No. It was confirmed by the service manager of my local dealer only. I emailed Chrysler but have not received a response. Warning lights: No. The vehicle is performing as it was designed, there are no malfunction lights. According to the dealer service manager it is a transmission problem. He thinks it is a problem with the computer system as well as the ratios for the transmission system. After confirming the problem in my car we tested a brand new 2021 Pacifica (9 miles driven). Our first time down a hill it worked perfectly, the RPMs held below 3,000 and the low gear slowed our descent. By our third attempt, the RPMs were revving to 6,000, and the low gear “grip” was gone. The service manager conjectured that there is something in the computer system telling the Low gear to act like that. Which doesn’t make any sense because revving the RPMs up to 6,000 is not healthy for the engine. I have a video of the problem but it doesn’t allow me to upload it below. Thank you!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11441482November 23, 2021
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The car stopped 2 times on it's own, told me to shift to park immediately but was in essence shutting itself off. Once approaching a stop light going ~10 mph and the second time I was going 50 mph down the road. The first time 3 warnings flashed across my screen, Service Charging System Service Required, Front Parksense Unavailable Service Required, Active Parksense Unavailable Service Required, I shut the car completely off waited a couple minutes and turned it back on. The check engine light stayed on. During the 2nd event it was only Service Charging System, after i shut the car off and restarted the Uconnect started updating and I couldn't drive and the check engine light came on.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11441157November 20, 2021
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE, POWER TRAIN
We have now had two incidences where the vehicle is being driven both on the highway and in the city. The vehicle malfunctions without any indication or warning. While driving the vehicle beeps and the check engine light comes on, you lose all control or ability to accelerate. You still have steering. The screen on the dash in front of the driver flashes and continues to flash and says there is an issue, while saying to move the drive to park. The drive options (park, drive, reverse, etc) flashes on and off but will not move anyways. You are essentially forced to cruise to a stop hopefully in a safe place or emergently braking. The only way to get the vehicle to reset is once completely stopped. To push the ignition off button. Which does not fully turn it off. You then have to open the driver door hopefully safely. And allow the vehicle to completely shut off. Then get back in and it will usually start at this point with the check engine light still on. We have video and pictures of this happening to us both times and am have seen others experience this extremely dangerous situation. I am going to report to the dealer and the customer service for Chrysler as well. Then the news.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11440660November 16, 2021
POWER TRAIN
This Chrysler Pacifica is only a few weeks old with around 1700 miles on it- I had only made our first car payment a few days prior. I tried to put my car in park in a long line of vehicles, and heard a clicking noise, followed by an immediate dinging with an error message. The vehicle told me "service trans." It would not allow me to park my vehicle. Shortly after this happened, the service engine light came on. There was absolutely no indication of anything being wrong with my BRAND NEW vehicle prior to this incident. I was able to drive the car home without error in the drive function, but shortly after arriving home, the car also starting dropping out of drive. Through all of this, I was not able to place my vehicle in park. I had no option but to drive my children in a vehicle that was consistently dropping out of drive and completely not able to park outside of using the parking brake. To me, this is the worst possible safety concern. This vehicle is BRAND NEW by all standards. We drove the vehicle straight to our dealership for servicing. The vehicle died on the lot before they were able to pull it into the service bay, as the car would not turn off until it was placed in park; which could not be achieved. The dealership claimed it was an alternator issue and has ordered a replacement part, which we are waiting on as I write this report. We were told that our dealership has seen similar issues in Chrysler Pacificas recently. It is absolutely a massive safety concern to me that this could affect the transmission in such a profound way, especially so soon after driving my vehicle off the lot.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11440404November 14, 2021
ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I purchased a pre-owned 2021 Pacifica Hybrid on November 4th 2021. After driving it off the lot, the vehicle stalled (essentially loses power and gas pedal does not work) while driving at a high rate of speed on the highway. Symptom: While driving at a high rate of speed (65MPH, 60MPH, 50MPH, 70MPH), van loses power and gas pedal will not work. Van is on <1% battery and running off gasoline power. After coasting to a stop on the side of the road, a message pops up that says "Service Charging System" and the check engine light comes on. Then it says "Shift to P to Start". Check engine light is on. Frequency: Occurrences happened immediately after taking ownership of vehicle and were 11/4/21, 11/6/21, 11/7/21, 11/9/21. After that we stopped driving the vehicle and took it back to the dealer because of safety concerns. Workaround: Shifting to P to start (starting like you would normally start the car) does not start the vehicle. We have been able to figure out a workaround to get it to start however. If you push the start button without your foot on the brake so it is in the "accessory" power mode, then put your foot on the brake, then push the start button again, it starts. The check engine light stays on for a period of time (less than 24hrs) after each event, but then goes off. I see this has been reported by several people with at least 4 NHTSA IDs filed with the exact same issue. This is a serious safety concern and is not only reported with these IDs, but also is prevalent on other online forums such as pacificaforums.com and Facebook group "Chrysler Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid 2017 and beyond." Symptoms match these NHTSA IDs. NHTSA ID Number: 11439920 NHTSA ID Number: 11432866 NHTSA ID Number: 11430933 NHTSA ID Number: 11418815
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11440309November 13, 2021
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN
While driving on the interstate at ~60MPH the vehicle suddenly shut off and flashed a "Service Charging System" Error. The gas pedal was unresponsive and we were forced to swerve through traffic as the vehicle was rapidly decelerating to make our way to the side of the interstate. This is a minivan, and as a minivan, we were using it for it's intended purpose of transporting our 4 small children to school and daycare. Because this event happened on the interstate, not only did we risk a high speed crash, but we had to move the kids from one vehicle to another as cars whizzed by at 60-70mph. We tried multiple attempts at restarting the vehicle and it would not restart. The vehicle is currently at the dealership and is being looked at under warranty.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11439920November 9, 2021
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I wanted to write to you and let you know about our recent and scary experience with our new 2021 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Limited. We purchased our van on Labor Day, September 6, 2021. Since then, we have had 2 out of town family funerals and a family vacation so we have right at 5k miles on the vehicle. On 11/5/2021, at approximately 1:15pm, I was driving our van on a 6-lane major thoroughfare with my two small children with me. We had 43% of our EV battery remaining and so we were driving on EV power (and had a half tank of fuel also). Suddenly, the engine power stopped, I had no acceleration, and a “Service Charging System” message popped up on the instrument info panel along with a check engine light, a red battery light near the compass, and a red plug symbol just below the fuel gauge. I was not able to get the van to do anything but roll with whatever forward momentum we had toward the side of the highway. In nothing short of a miracle, we avoided multiple collisions and safely made it to the shoulder. We had electric power to run the radio and climate fan only but the car engine was completely inoperable and could not start or shift into gear after multiple attempts to restart it. I contacted roadside assistance and waited for a tow while trying to keep my small children calm and safe sitting in a dangerous location on the side of a highway. After about 30 minutes, the car engine fan shut off and so I attempted to restart the car and it finally worked. I immediately headed toward the closest dealership by taking the side roads and hoping that we wouldn’t have another incident and be a sitting duck on the highway again. This vehicle malfunction could have, and realistically still could, cause a traumatic and horrific fatal motor vehicle collision. This is not just a routine and minor malfunction like a door sensor issue, or check engine light, etc. This issue can lead to a severe safety issue that will, and did, render the vehicle a target with no escape.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11436943October 15, 2021
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I was in the garage near the car when it started spontaneously. I had the key fob in my pants pocket. It turned off when I sat inside and pushed the ignition off button. Did not notice any warnings/lights at the time. There were no safety consequences. My Concerns: What else could happen spontaneously? Could it shift into gear? Carbon monoxide in the closed garage? Has not recurred. The only recent auto malfunction was the Information display (UConnect) had locked up a couple of weeks prior after a routine software download to the car. No problem with vehicle operation with that episode. Checked by the dealer and felt to be OK. No recurrence. I attempted to notify MOPAR. Their web page email didn’t work for a several tries. I was unable to get past their customer service robot who got stuck on “other” when I couldn’t pick one of their menu options. I wanted NHTSA to be aware in case of other similar reports.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11432866September 14, 2021
POWER TRAIN, ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
While driving our 2021 Chrysler Pacifica PHEV in EV on the highway, at speed of 65 mph, the vehicle lost power and the accelerator pedal became unresponsive. This has occurred on three occassions, each on different days. The dashboard signaled these issues: Shift to P to Start, Service Charging System, and the check engine light indicator. This is a very serious safety issue. The Engine and Power failed while driving at highway speed, this has occurred 3 times in the past few weeks. After losing power, the vehicle can only coast using it's own momentum. The steering and braking functions remained operable, so the driver was able to steer the car to change lanes (while losing speed) to get to the shoulder. This UNSAFE for my family because vehicle is at risk of being rear ended while on the highway. This is unsafe for anyone in the vehicle directly behind my vehicle. After the 2nd incident of losing power while on highway, I made an appointment with local Chrysler Dealer's service department. They inspected the vehicle and, as I understand it, they found a message or fault indicator that was somewhat concerning in relation to the electrical system. The service provided a solution by adjusting or tuning something. They did not replace any parts. Three days after the service was done, the problem occurred again; again, my vehicle lost power while going ~65mph on the highway. I called local chrysler service and left message with them today, requesting another service appointment. When they call me back I will request Chrysler to report this as a safety issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11432712September 13, 2021
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
After unplugging from the charging station, the vehicle would not start. I pressed the start button several times, to no avail. Had to turn off the vehicle, wait 5 minutes, then try again to get it to start. This is the second time this has happened - with two separate charging stations.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11431063August 30, 2021
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST
We purchased our brand new 2021 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Limited on April 19th, 2021, from Hoblit Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Woodland CA. At the dealership, my wife and I were able to add user profiles to the UConnect system, thereby customizing our driving experience to fit our individual needs. However, I started to notice a number of issues with the vehicle over the following weeks. UConnect Related: 1) The ability to add and remove user profiles disappeared. 2) The UConnect system randomly resets about once every couple weeks. 3) The UConnect system will randomly blast the AM/FM radio or will randomly start playing Sirius XM at loud volumes. 4) The Navigation System will sometimes navigate to the wrong location, despite the address being inputted correctly (I used google maps on my phone to confirm the wrong address). General Vehicle Issues: 1) The vehicle will sometimes keep itself turned on (despite turning the vehicle off) as long as a phone is connected to the vehicle via bluetooth (the car doesn't drop the bluetooth connection after turning the vehicle off!). 2) Sometimes, the vehicle will power on, allow you to shift into other gears, but won't steer or drive (I have video of this). Lane Keeping Assistance: 1) The driver-side lane departure correction is noticeably less accurate than the passenger-side. I'm hoping you all can help get some attention on these issues. It's crazy that Chrysler released the 2021 Pacifica Hybrids with such a faulty UConnect system. The internet seems to suggest that Chrysler is and has been aware of all of these issues but has not yet done anything to correct them. Mechanically, this car is great, but technologically, it's so bad my wife has on more than one occasion voiced her regret regarding this purchase. Our experiences are not one-offs, these issues are systemic across the 2021 Pacifica Hybrids. I have videos for items 1 and 2 under the "General Vehicle Issues" section above.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11430933August 29, 2021
ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
I was driving at just over 70MPH in hybrid mode (battery fully depleted for full electric operation) and suddenly the van lost all power and a warning came up on the screen that said "Service Charging System". The van was totally stalled and had no power, but still had electrical functions. I had to pull over on the side of the road in busy traffic, put the van in Park and then restart. After this event, my engine light has remained on and I am attempting to schedule an appointment with the Chrysler dealer. This high speed stall in busy traffic was extremely dangerous and I hope that we can resolve this matter effectively. The dash photo I uploaded is not my actual dash, but that is the exact same error screen and engine light that I saw. Exactly the same.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11425971July 22, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
We have had intermittent issues with the rear hatch not closing when any buttons or key fob pushed since purchase. On 7/2/21 aprox 6:30 pm I was walking around rear of the vehicle the rear liftgate was fully open. A passenger pressed rear hatch button to close not realizing at that moment I was walking under I am 61.7" tall the liftgate came down full force on my head it did not beep and retract. It continued pressing down something sharp pierced my scalp and I was knocked to the ground, bleeding from the wound with severe neck and head pain and pain in 3rd right finger I had landed with hand underneath. I was driven to the local ER diagnosed with a closed head injury and laceration, CT scans were done of head and neck, and x-ray of right hand, 2 staples were inserted to close the wound. We were able to reproduce and videotape the liftgate failing to stop. A report was filed with Chrysler Customer Care ID no 7992588. On July 14 at 1 pm an engineer met us at dealership from Bosch and witnessed the lift gate force sensor not engaging twice. He refused to video tape this or to allow us to take a videotape, or to submit the video we had previously taken. He took photographs only. We asked him twice and he stated that he had witnessed the problem and it would be in his report. He downloaded into his laptop from the car computer and told us there was a software update needed for the rear liftgate. On 7/20/21 we received an email from Stellantis Special Investigations fcagroup.com stating that "After review of the inspection report and photos no apparent defect was found with the liftgate operation at the inspection. Therefore we respectfully decline any assistance associated with this matter". We had dealership do the software update on 7/21/21. On 7/22 I contacted customer care to receive a written version of the email as it will not print legibly and this was refused. I requested a copy of the engineering inspection report and this was also refused.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11419321June 2, 2021
POWER TRAIN, ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Here is our list they are "working on"... 1. had the no start issue 3 times...the first 2 times I could ONLY get it to start using the U-Connect app that we got free for the first year or whatever. The 3rd time I eventually got it to start after 3 tries. I did actually record the 2nd attempt so I have video proof of the exact issue. 2. we also have the issue of the entire system not shutting down after turning the car off AND completely exiting the vehicle...and even locking it. I can sit outside the van and listen to the music continue playing until it eventually shuts itself off after about a minute. Yes I know there are settings for it to remain playing after turning off the car but it is supposed to turn off when you open the door. 3. we have unreliable mirror folding issues...sometimes they fold when you park and unfold as they should...and sometimes they just don't at all...which really sucks in the garage and 3 kids running around the van. 4. a couple times while driving it, the main 10" screen just went black and all music stopped and then it rebooted itself and showed the Chrysler symbol and then all came back online. Side note, my workplace has a 2021 regular gas Pacifica and this happened at about our 1 hour mark into a 3 hour trip also...probably a software issue. 5. we don't get even close to 30 miles range on the battery...more like 20 if we are lucky...not sure on this one. 6. the rear lift gate button only works some of the time. basically if we don't close it within about a minute of opening it, then we have to manually pull it down (we never did get to try using the button up front or the remote, but the actual button at the rear liftgate area just doesn't work reliably). 7. this one is a little strange...but the XM stations don't update the actual song name when sitting in that multi-page view. It will just show the first song that played. The only way to update the song name is to actually hit the media icon to make it go full screen.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11418847May 28, 2021
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
My issue matches the issue reported in NHTSA ID Number: 11414581. My own words describing the incident: We have a new 2021 PHEV Limited (purchased May 3, 2021), which has with 977 miles (554.5 electric, 423.1 Hybrid). On May 24, 2021 my wife had driven about 2 miles to a store parking lot, turned off the car and parked, then came back home, all on electric, all working fine. The car had a full charge when she left so it had 31 miles remaining when she got home. She pulled off on the side of the road in front of our house and put it in park and shut it off. About 30 seconds later (not exactly sure on the timing ) she tried turning it on to drive up our driveway and it wouldn’t turn on. The dash just kept saying “push break and push button to start”. She would do that, and nothing would happen - the message would stay up, then we’d here a ding and the message would disappear for a fraction of a second and reappear. This happened many times over a period of about 7 or 8 minutes (I actually recorded it on my phone). At one point we tried putting it in drive and it rolled backwards down the road like it was in neutral, while the the D indicator light flashed (rather than be on solid). She finally got it to turn off, then it started normally. This is unsafe as it sort of appears like the engine is running first (you can’t hear anything because it’s in electric mode) so you put it into gear and then you roll backward if you’re on a slight incline. We have not taken it to the dealership yet because our car was actually delivered with a scratch on the door and is being painted right now. Once it is done we will call Chrysler care for help and take the car in for service.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11418844May 28, 2021
SERVICE BRAKES
I was stopped at a traffic light for several minutes. I started to feel like we were moving and checked the brakes to make sure they were still fully engaged. When I realized that they were and that I was still rolling, I put the car into park. I did bump the semi in front of me. I’m not sure if the impact or putting the car in park that stopped me. I have had the car for 3 months and never had anything like that happen. We had the car towed to the dealer and called Chrysler to report the problem. An inspector spoke to me and then went to the dealer to inspect the car. A few days later , we received an email saying that there was no manufacturing defect found with few other details about the inspection . We have since called several times to ask questions about the inspection and are told a “supervisor” needs to call us back. Despite being given several dates/times when this would happen, they have failed to call us back to discuss.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11418815May 27, 2021
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
While in EV mode, driving 75 mph on the freeway for at least five minutes, the vehicle suddenly loses power and the accelerator pedal becomes completely unresponsive. My vehicle was slowing down in the carpool lane and I had to carefully find my way to the shoulder to be able to turn the vehicle EV motor back on. There are no warning signs. It is very sudden. This has happened 8 times so far. Dealership service center has inspected and tested the vehicle twice for a few weeks and has not been able to reproduce. My vehicle is available for more inspection but I just initiated a buy back process with Chrysler Customer Care.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11418084May 21, 2021
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Vehicle broke down twice related to the hybrid electrical system. First Incident: vehicle would not start after being parked and turned off; upon attempt to start, vehicle displayed a "Service Electronic Throttle Control" error message in dash. Second Incident: vehicle was in motion on highway at ~65 mph, and suddenly displayed "Service Hybrid Electric System" error message in dash. Vehicle proceeded to enter into turtle mode and began deceleration which is dangerous while on highway. Took vehicle in both times to different dealers. Both dealers reported seeing error codes related to the hybrid system. Repair related to the First Incident: First Dealer flashed the BPCM module. Car ran fine until Second Incident Repair related to the Second Incident: still ongoing. 2nd Dealer reported that the 62-way wiring harness needed to be replaced. Dealer ordered MOPART replacement part number 68396626AA (the replacement part) to make the repair. At first, 2nd Dealer identified DTC codes related to the Second Incident but could not identify the issue. So 2nd Dealer reset the DTC codes without making repairs or further investigation, and attempted to get consumer to pick up vehicle. Chrysler pushed for further investigation, and resulted in identification of the wiring harness issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11416164May 11, 2021
ENGINE
AFTER 2 WEEKS AND LESS THAN 150 MILES, THE ENGINE MISFIRED DURING A SHORT DRIVE TO THE GROCERY STORE. THE DEALER STATES THAT A BEARING IN A LIFTER SEIZED.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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