2018 CHRYSLER PACIFICA Complaints

Pacifica Hybrid Limited found completely dead in our driveway and unresponsive to the remote. I manually unlocked the driver door, no usual dash indications, opened the hood and found the 12v battery system at 2.9v. It would not start & no responses or indications. There had been no warnings or indications of any problems prior to this. The car prevented my 6 A charger from charging the battery while it was connected to the car. I jump started the car with a known good battery, removed the jump, and allowed the engine to charge the car battery some. I decided to take no chances and replace the 12v battery. I turned the car to the OFF state via the dash push button. The car was never moved out of P park. I left it to go purchase a new 12v battery. I returned 2 hours later with a new battery to find the car in the street and having knocked over my neighbors 700-800 lb brick mail box. A police report was filed, pictures taken, and I jump started the car with the new battery. It started normally and I backed it up under its own power into my driveway where I replaced the 12v battery without incident. The car has operated normally with no warnings or indications of a problem before and since the incident. The car on its own and while OFF, unlocked the transmission park pawl allowing the car to roll 80 feet down a very mild slope and across the street to crash into my neighbor’s mail box when the 12v battery failed. There was no occupant, and no key fob was present. My quick search has found at least 3 other incidents with this same model, where the 12v battery failed and the car, on its own, unlocked the transmission allowing it to roll away. Of the 4 incidents I am aware of, 3 resulted in collisions and property damage. NHTSA 11173732 Pacifica Forum post: 597914, member: 76986 Pacifica Forum post: 543399, member: 66469 It’s only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured or killed by this defect. Chrysler is aware. The car and battery are available for inspect

Steering control loss due to the lower right control arm knuckle pinch bolt failure causing the lower control arm to separate from the steering knuckle. This problem had been identified by Chrysler and repaired in May of 2018 under Recall V15, but has occurred again. Due to the inability to having any directional control of the vehicle could have resulted in a serious accident had I been operating the vehicle at a higher rate of speed or in a more populated traffic area. The vehicle was towed to a Chrysler dealership and has been repaired. I also contacted Chrysler directly to report the problem but I don't feel they take the matter as serious. There were no vehicle warning lamps or message except at the time of failure. As I lost control of the vehicle a brief message appeared saying "Electronic Steering Component Failure"

At Approx 92,000 miles, the head gaskets failed and allowed coolant into the cylinder heads causing the engine to overheat and the cylinder to be damaged and need replacing. The repairs would have cost me $3386, but thankfully extended warranty covered $1900.

Several separate times when I have been braking then let up off the brakes, my car accelerated on its own, without me pushing the accelerator. It’s like the car hops or jumps. Very scary as I’m trying to slow down.

Began with a misfire in cylinder 1 that would chug on startup, the smooth out. Had a check engine light come one, which showed the misfire in cylinder one. Brought it to the dealer, they noted low coolant levels and possible blown head gasket. Had only 108,000 miles. They could not get to further review of the motor for two more weeks, so we were told we could pick it up and bring it back. One hour after leaving the dealer, the motor overheated. There was no coolant whatsoever in the vehicle. After calling the dealer, we were told they forgot to put coolant back into the vehicle before were could pick it up. The next day, the van is no longer usable. It began stuttering continually.

Rear seat anchor broke out of floor board when a child sat in the seat. This is a major anchor point for the seat system. If there had been any sort of accident, the seat and occupant could have easily broken free from the vehicle. I took the vehicle to my local dealer, who took pictures and sent information to their area manager. The recommended repair was to take it to body shop and that they wouldn’t be responsible for the repairs. This is clearly a manufacturing defect that the weld on the anchor did not penetrate into the floor board. I can be contacted for more information and inspection.

Three times since this past summer, while driving approx. 30-40 mph the van's power shut down. We were able to steer and brake which allowed us to coast to a spot to stop. All three incidents occurred with children in the van during rush hour. We were forced to pull over on a dangerous section of road. The first incident the car did not restart for about 45 minutes. The second time it restarted in about 5 minutes and the third attempt it took about 1 minute to restart. In each incident it appeared as if something in the electronics of the van shut down and eventually reset on its own. The "check engine" light came on after each of these incidents, but no indication prior that there was an issue. After multiple times in the dealership service center and with support from FCA Customer Care it was eventually decided that the transmission needed to be replaced which occurred in November. Since then there have been a few incidents where the van simply would not start. After some time and opening/closing doors, plugging/unplugging it, and pressing the start button, it eventually restarted. The check engine light came on again but would then turn off a few days later. We were told by the dealership that if the light was not on there was little they could. Then a few weeks ago (December) a similar incident occurred again where the car shut off, this time while driving about 10 mph. We brought the van to the dealership and again they investigated with support from FCA. We were told they investigated "connections" within the van but they were unable to find a definitive problem. Additionally they took the car for an extended test drive during which the van did not do the shut down problem. We have now been informed by the dealership that FCA is closing our case and we need to pick up the van. Because no problem was identified and fixed, we do not feel safe driving the van for fear that this problem will occur again which puts the people in the van at significant risk.

The 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivan has electronic sliding doors. The doors do not always shut when the button is pressed or handle is pulled. Sometimes it takes 4 to 10 tries to get the sliding door to shut and latch. The Chrysler owner's forum says this problem can be fixed by having the dealer reprogram the door software to make the door close with a little more force. This problem started at 36000 miles, I now have 46700 miles on the van. One owner van that I bough brand new in 2018.

The left ball joint (front lower control arm) became squeakier and squeakier until the mechanic said it should be replaced or risk it failing while I drive which could leave me unable to steer/control the car. The mechanic said the dealer ought to cover it since they recalled some of this model year for this same issue on the right side but not all of them. The dealer would not cover replacement.

The contact owns a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. The contact stated while driving approximately 75 MPH in hot weather, the vehicle went into a "Turtle Mode" and decelerated to 38 MPH. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred while driving. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where the failure could not be duplicated. The contact later received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V077000 (Hybrid Propulsion System) and the vehicle was taken to a second dealer, Town Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram (1001 N Miller St, Wenatchee, WA 98801) for the recall repair. However, the dealer was unable to fully drain the battery for the recall repair after several attempts. The dealer informed the contact that the battery could not be drained as needed and because the engine was continually activating. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. 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 failure. The failure mileage was approximately 25,000. Parts distribution disconnect.