2018 CHRYSLER PACIFICA Complaints

The contact owns a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V536000 (Hybrid Propulsion System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

The check engine light recently came on, and there was an issue with starting and idling, so we replaced the battery and the light went off, but would randomly come back on. One day notice the vehicle as overheating, and found the coolant tank to be completely empty. Refilled the tank, and several days later the problem arose again. Checked under the van immediately after refilling, no leaks detected. Took van to the dealership and was told the head gasket was bad, and the coolant was leaking into cylinder 3. Recommended repairs noted are as follows: “HEAD GASKET IS BAD. LEAKING ON CYLINDER 3. NEEDS A NEW HEAD AND GASKET TO FIX ISSUE. WILL ALSO NEED CAMS, LIFTERS, AND ROCKERS DUE TO THE TICKING COMING FROM THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE MOTOR” I’ve seen that apparently, this is a more than common issue specifically with the 2018 Chrysler Pacifica. Others have recommended a total engine replacement, as the damage caused thus far is significant enough that replacing only the head and gasket would be, as quoted, “a very expensive bandaid.” This is the only vehicle we have available for my wife and four small kids, and to see that it’s such a common and, thus far ignored problem is infuriating to say the least. Vehicle was purchased 2 years ago, and has depreciated $21,000 in that short amount of time. Repairs are estimated around $6000. Vehicle value is estimated around negative $12,000, so we’re stuck with a faulty vehicle regardless. With the overwhelming number of complaints regarding this issue, almost verbatim, there is absolutely no reason Chrysler should continue to be allowed to let this go unresolved. The fact that the vehicle depreciated so rapidly in such a short time span should be a testament in and of itself to the known and perceived quality of these vehicles, and if ever I can be rid of it, it’ll be that last Chrysler product I ever own.

76,115 and my head gasket is blown. After researching, I found that there are more than over 1000 people with the same issue. Dealership says they can do nothing. Chrysler of America says they have no resolution either. This is ridiculous that so many people are having the issues with low miles on their vans. Something has to be done. I'm not sure why there is not a recall already (because Chrysler won't accept the fact that they messed up). People don't have money to replace the head gaskets and/or replace heads or even engines. Please help.

The vehicle has stalled several times while driving and while at a stop light leaving the van completely disabled and it will not turn on or start again. My wife and 2 year old were put at risk when the vehicle stalled on them at a major intersection and my wife was unable to put the vehicle into parking or drive since there was no power after it stalled and dashboard lights flicked on and off multiple times.. Stall has also happened at drive thru almost causing collision with vehicle in front. The stall produces dashboard error messages reporting an internal transmission malfunction, auto start/stop error, and or a problem charging the battery. Certified ASE mechanics can’t reproduce the issue or find anything to pin point the issue after multiple diagnostic tests ran and physical thorough inspection. Every time a stall happens loads of error codes (85+) pull up but none point to the root cause of stalling happening. Vehicle has most up to date software update done over a year ago.

My vehicle was performing great - no Issues what so ever until FCA performed Recall 03A. After I had FCA US LLC Recall 03A for Loss of Motive Power installed; my vehicle had several issues the same day I picked it up from the Dealer. They stated it was ready for pickup even with all my issues and they new I had ½ of them and still turned it over to me. . 50 % of the issues are still waiting to be repaired. The Major issue remaining is the High Voltage Battery. After 1 year of them trying to get the vehicle back to the condition I turned it in before for the Recall - Chrysler refuses to replace the HV battery under the 10 year 100,000 mile warranty. They will not let anyone order the part even the dealer can not. To order the bad part Chrysler STAR (FCAs part replacement approval authority) has to Approve it. They say they won't replace it due to normal degradation. I was getting 30 miles per full charge and after the Recall I was only getting18-20 Miles per full charge. That is Not normal degradation. Now I only get 17-18 miles per charge. They Degraded my battery with their Recall. The battery degraded by 33% in 2 weeks – that is Not normal their Recall caused it. I feel someone needs to enforce them to put my vehicle back the the same as I turned it over to them September 26, 2023 at their Expense no matter what it takes. The following is the list of issues in the past year because of Recall 03A. Basically my vehicle was in the shop for repairs Almost the Entire year! 1. Engine Lite is on all the time since Recall. 2. Charging System Errors. 3. Gear Selector does not work intermittently making undrivable. 4. Side doors and lift gate do not open or close automatically. 5. Radio Display keeps flashing intermittently 6. Back Up Camera flash on and off. 7. Every lite on the dash lights up - Giving my vehicle Multiple CANBUS Errors shorting out every computer system in the vehicle 20+ computers.

The contact owns a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the steering wheel seized and was unable to be turned. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle; however, the steering failure message was displayed, and the power steering function was not available. The vehicle was not taken to an independent mechanic or the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not under recall. The approximate failure mileage was 74,780.

At just over 100K miles, vehicle had check engine light come on (P303) indicating cylinder #3 mis-fire. After replacing spark plugs did not resolve the issue, further diagnosis from mechanic revealed leaking of coolant into cylinder #3 as the cause of the miss-fire. This is further borne out by the rough starts when cold followed by more smooth operation once the coolant is burned off. Research on-line shows that this failure is common in Chrysler Pacifica rather than a one-off incident. Leaking of coolant into the engine not only puts the engine (and therefore vehicle occupants) at risk but also damages the catalytic converter which can have an impact on the environment.

Cylinder head gasket failure: known to be a common failure in the Pentastar 3.6L engine. Repair in thousands, and may not be a solution as the engine block may warp due to failure preventing a proper seal with the cylinder head. The number of cases of this failure is alarming and should really be considered a proper consumer risk.

Purchased vehicle used and have put on miles. But since day 1 issues have been arising. First the Auto stop/start function stopped, 2 years later still unable to find the fix. More recent the gear shift just doesn’t work/turn on randomly or turns off while driving which is a safety concern. Now for the past 2 months the gear shift will not work or while driving the vehicle just loses acceleration and braking and slows to a stall and I can’t do anything until the gear shift turns back. I had 3 children on [XXX] when this started putting all our lives in danger. We were stuck for 2 hours the vehicle ran but was not drivable. Every mechanic says something different and it is a luck of the draw if the vehicle will work when you try it. Batteries all tested good. No obvious other issues other than loss of power steering for a short time. All warning lights flashing on and off randomly but it coincides with the loss of driving capabilities. I just want to be done with this vehicle it’s dangerous and now I’m stuck with it. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The back of the second row bucket bucket will no longer latch in place, and free floats forwards and backwards, the bottom latch of the seat is also not longer catching and holding the seat in one place and moves all the way forwards in backwards. This is the second time this has happen, with a car seat installed. This caused the car seat to be the at the incorrect angle for the age, height and weight of my child. The latch mechanism that holds the seat back in a fixed position, and the seat in a fixed location both failed. In the event of a crash the seat back would swing forward causing the passenger in that seat to be hunched forward, along with the passenger to be pushed into the front passenger seat. The dealership repaired this same issue several years ago and it has since happened again. We took the car to the dealership today but they were not able to take in for a repair. There were no warning for this defect, just looking back and seeing that the car seat was no longer at the correct angle, and when removing my child from the car feeling the seat back, and seat base free moving in my hand.