CarComplaints.com Notes: Engine cradle rot is a serious problem in the 2004-05 Chrysler Pacifica. Chrysler admits they didn't apply enough coating to the vehicle's sub-frame during assembly, but only offered to cover a very small portion of the vehicles they messed up.
So what happens when your engine cradle rots? Well, the engine could fall out for starters. It could also cause problems with the suspension and other components but did I mention THE ENGINE CAN FALL OUT? The worst part is you might not know because there's no way to see the problem without getting under the car.
If you have a 2004-05 Pacifica, make sure to have your mechanic inspect your sub-frame for rust and corrosion.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
44,429 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
I decided to report this complaint when I read of a similar incident in a automotive newspaper column. I was traveling on a highway about 50 miles per hour when the passenger airbag in my 2004 Chrysler Pacifica spontaneously deployed. Fortunately my son was sitting in the backseat (or I shudder to think what might have happened to him), and thankfully I was able to keep the vehicle on the road until I could safely pull over. There was no collision that made the bag deploy, nor did I run over anything in the road. The entire dashboard was "fried" in addition to the bag deploying. The car dealer and the representative from Chrysler would not take responsibility--they blamed the auto repair shop that had done some collision work on the car a month earlier. The collision shop said that the work they did was nowhere near anything related to the airbag system. No one could give an explanation for why the airbag had deployed even after they examined the vehicle over a week's time. So, despite their being no rational reason why the airbag would spontaneously deploy, Chrysler still refused to take any responsibility or offer any compensation--in fact they were extremely rude on the phone. My insurance company wouldn't cover the damage and frankly I didn't feel comfortable driving the car even if it had been repaired since there was no guarantee it wouldn't happen again. We were forced to "junk" the car and buy a new/used one. Chrysler is lucky that the deploying airbag didn't cause me to have an accident and that no one was sitting in that seat. Someone could have been seriously injured or even died, but they didn't want to look into or acknowledge the problem. I don't want this to happen to anyone else!
The clockspring inside my steering wheel is broken - it controls my airbags - when the airbag warning light came on, I took it to the dealer. They told me that they can't repair it because the part is on national backorder - this means that when I drive my vehicle, I have no airbags. They had no estimate of when the parts would be available. I do not want to drive my vehicle without airbags.
I was driving through slush down a hill when the ABS brakes failed to slow me down and I hit trees head on at about 40 mph. The airbags never deployed. Two systems failed on the 2004 Chrysler Pacifica AWD car. I was not injured, other than a few seat belt bruises, but the car was totaled.
While driving 55 mph vehicle pulled over too far and sank into a ditch. Then, vehicle crashed into a couple of trees and caught on fire. Upon impact, air bags failed to deploy. Driver sustained a dislocated ancle. Vehicle was totaled.
- Boscobel, WI, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
Frontal air bags failed to deploy when consumer's vehicle was struck by another vehicle on the driver's side upper fender area. Driver sustained head and back injuries, and was transported to the local hospital.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Amherst, NY, USA