2018 CHRYSLER PACIFICA Complaints

At low speed 12-18 mph the transmission hard shifts. It slams so hard that you feel like someone rearended you.

I was driving with my family on the interstate and was exiting when the car shuddered and I lost propulsion. Interior electrical power was still functional. This occurred as the car was switching to gas mode as I had been been driving about 30-35 miles on electric at that point. The gas motor never came on. I was able to roll into a gas station since we were on a bit of a downhill. Shut off car and waited a beat then started car again, battery showed 1% and was able to pull 2 more feet into gas station and off to side before it completely died again (battery at 0%). I feel extremely fortunate that this didn't happen a moment earlier when I was on the expressway and that were able to get off of a busy road. I had the vehicle towed to nearest Chrysler dealer and had a friend drive me and my family to a nearby car rental place. After two weeks at the dealer, we were informed that the issue was likely the Power Inverter Module. We are still without car and waiting for updates from service department.

I am experiencing premature transmission failure. It is available for inspection upon request. The safety of myself and my 3 small children have been put at risk because of the likely potential of transmission failure during our frequent trips on the interstate, that could lead to a deadly accident. This problem as been confirmed by an independent licensed automotive mechanic. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by any other entity, but is available for inspection. The symptoms of the problem started around March of this year, as a sweet burning smell, that lead to a smell of burning rubber. The Chrysler dealership I brought it to would not check the transmission fluid itself due to the "forever system" design of the 2018 Chrysler Pacifica, that does not allow for easy access to the transmission fluid, rather is designed to tell you if it is full or not. So the issue was missed during inspection, and was labeled as being in good condition. After I noticed the vehicle beginning to skip between 1st and 2nd gear recently (end of June), I brought it for inspection to an independent mechanic who was able to inspect the fluid which was extremely burned, as well has hook the vehicle up to their reader machine and access that it was in fact in the process of transmission failure. The transmission has not yet completely failed, because I have stopped driving the vehicle for fear of the safety of my children.

head gasket was blown.and there were no warning signs or indicator lights my van only has 62,000 miles on it

2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, 49,250 miles. Vehicle has had transmission replaced once under warranty a couple of years ago. Last week, dashboard lights lit up and message read "“Stop Safely - Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon." I pulled off the road, shut it off, waited a few minutes, started it up and drove home. We were in-town going in-town speeds, so safety risk was minimal. Earlier that same day the day the HVAC fan was intermittently going higher and lower, like it couldn't decide if it should be at 5 or 2 (out of the 7 fan speeds). I don't know if that is related in any way. I made an appointment at the dealership several days later (driving it the whole time but only in town). They say it needs another transmission and have ordered one. Repair will be free.

Transmission slipping while changing gears. Engine shutting down while driving. Was put in the shop 5/28, they said they fixed it. did it again on the way home on 6/21/24.

In March of this year (2024), while driving down the road at 45 mph, my Pacifica's dashboard suddenly lit up and flashed all kinds of warnings including ABS off, the check engine light, the parking brake, the service electronic throttle control, electronic stability control off, collision off, warning parking brake, and other lights that I'm not sure what they mean. It seemed like every warning light in the panel lit up. The van slowed down and wouldn't let me accelerate and it felt like the power steering wasn't active. I pulled into a parking lot and shut the engine off. After restarting, the check engine light was lit, but the van let me proceed. I took it to my auto shop that said the codes were all electronic/ software related and I had to take it to a dealership. The dealership said they couldn't find anything wrong and that the codes didn't save. On June 9, the lights started flashing again while I was parked in a parking lot while I was on a road trip. I was able to capture the end of it on my camera. I again turned the engine off and on again, and the van "reset" with only the check engine light on. I was able to proceed through the rest of the weekend and the check engine light actually turned off after a day. Then on June 22, the warning lights started flashing again. My son was driving this time (along with my husband and 2 other sons). He pulled into a parking lot to return the van home, but it wouldn't go into a gear. Slowly, they toggled through the gears until it would allow them to drive the van home. He also said that it felt like he lost power steering. Losing steering, the ability to accelerate, the ability to put the vehicle in gear while driving, and losing the ABS system and the electronic stability system definitely puts my family and others at risk of an accident. I am prepared to take it to my dealer if asked. It has not been inspected by anyone else accept a local car shop and the dealership.

I was driving on the freeway and my engine suddenly stopped out of nowhere. A console message informed me to shift from Drive to Park. The accelerator did not work. This happened 4 times before I could get off the freeway. The first time I pulled into the shoulder, but I still had to get off the freeway. I had to wait about 10 minutes each time for the engine to start again until I could pull off the freeway and wait for AAA. I did not feel safe waiting on the freeway. I'm aware that there is a recall and that Chrysler has extended my engine warranty to 10 years. This is unacceptable because: 1. Replacing a part or wire does not ensure my transmission will not give out again. I was fortunate this last time, but I may not be so the next time this happens. I could die or cause harm to others, especially if I am travelling fast in the carpool or fast lane. 2. My car is paid off and has only 40,100 miles on it. But I have lost money and value in my car. 3. Chrysler knows there is a grave problem and should recall all affected vehicles to replace the entire transmission. The company is putting tens of thousands of people's lives at risk by not doing so.

Back in January While driving and stopping at a red light the warning light appeared that the stop/start function was unavailable. The warning "electronic service" appeared and went away. While stopped at a red light the vehicle turned off with no other warning. This put me at serious risk with my children in the car for an accident. After a minute I was able to turn my car back on get hhome. I had my vehicle serviced and had a new main battery put in. Now in June the same warning came on again. I have to pay hundreds of dollars just to get a diagnostic report. This is the second time in less than 6 months. This is putting my safety and the safety of my family at risk.

The check engine light came on in early May, and I immediately took it to our local mechanic. On [XXX], he told me we had a cracked cylinder head (attached quote). You can imagine my surprise! It’s a fairly new car. I just went on Google, and I found immediately a thread on the Pacifica forum where hundreds of families have had this problem. I just commented without expecting to get help, and I got a DM from Chrysler Cares (correspondence attached). They asked me to take it to a Chrysler dealer to confirm the diagnosis. The dealer reached out to me on May 28th with the bad news below. I said I would pick the car that afternoon. He informed me that if I drove the vehicle it would “catch on fire.” Quote below: Technician has completed diagnosis of vehicle. Found engine is burning coolant, coolant leaking into engine from headgaskets. Need to replace both left and right side headgaskets, cost for repair is $4334 plus tax. With this service also recommended to replace spark plugs additional $437, service throttle body $299, Service fuel injectors/rails $299, flush coolant in radiator and reservoir $299. Sincerely, Tony Pantagis Service Advisor Office 973-744-2000 ext 137 Fax 973-744-248 Email: [email protected] I immediately reached out to Chrysler Cares online. I also called the 800#again. It took MANY days to get anyone to get back to me, but finally I got a Case number. I explained my whole story on the telephone, and Chante said she would reach out to the dealer. After many days of back and forth phone tag, she called me on Friday, June 7 to say this would be referred to a Chrysler supervisor for one final review. I picked up my broken car from the dealer today and it is still not fixed. I still have no answer why a car with 60K miles would have a failed engine with no warning. Chrysler needs to recall these vehicles! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)