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.
Engine has a blown head gasket at 80k miles. Number 3 cylinder keeps misfiring due to the engine coolant being injected into the cylinder due to the blown head gasket. Poor engineering with this engine and I-??ve read several others have experienced this same issue. Please do a recall for this issue due to the warranty not wanting to cover this!
The check engine light came on. Upon using a code reader, a code for a misfire in cylinder 3 populated. The ignition coil was replaced for cylinder 3. About a month later, the check engine light came back on and all 6 spark plugs were replaced. My vehicle had some rough starts periodically. As time went on, the rough starts turned into serious shaking. The check engine would come on and be gone in a day or so. Every time the code reader read cylinder 3. After months of trying to trouble shoot and do what we could, we took it to a mechanic where they informed us that my vehicle had a blown head gasket. They revealed to us that this is a very common problem with the particular engine, 3.6L Pentastar. This is a problem that they have seen for years in this particular engine. The mechanic had to send part of my engine out to a machine shop to be re-drilled properly in order to fix the issue which was very costly. The safety of my family was put at risk as the gasket blew while we were driving down the freeway unsure if we were going to make it home. My vehicle has not been inspected by anyone other than ourselves, the mechanic and the machine shop.
2017 Chrysler Pacific diagnosed with leaking head gasket at ~65000 miles. Initially diagnosed from a check engine light code for a cylinder misfire. My private mechanic said that he has done 4 of these in the past month (Jan 2025). He said this is a costly repair that should not happen with this low of mileage. In exploring the problem, it appears that it is a known issue.
The oil filter housing and oil cooler unit is made of plastic, mounted to the central engine (metal). It warped with heat and caused oil to leak into the valley of the engine and cause failure of bay 3 and 5 fuel injectors which caused multiple cylinder misfire. My engine experienced this problem for the first time in a busy intersection. With the engine heaving I had to pull over and tow the van to a shop. The faulty oil cooler unit was confirmed by dealership diagnostics and was not covered under warranty. I have the original part. This a recurring problem with many other drivers online and an aluminum aftermarket part has been made to solve this problem. The original part should be recalled and replaced by Chrysler. The EGR hosing is made of brittle plastic and split/cracked of its own accord. I have pictures and most of the original hose.
[XXX] my check engine light came on and started blinking as I was driving. I then noticed that my car was sputtering. I stopped my car immediately and had it towed to a dealership at that exact point I had just over 64,136 miles on my 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The following is the work that they performed on my vehicle. CONCERN VERIFIED. VEHICLE HAS AN ACTIVE MISFIRE, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS FLASHING. SCANNED VEHICLE FOR CODES AND FOUND MISFIRE ON CYLINDER 3. REMOVED COIL AND SWAPPED TO CYLINDER 1. SPARK PLUG REMOVED AND SWAPPED TO CYLINDER 5. RETESTED. MISFIRE MOVED TO CYLINDER 1. REPLACED IGNITION COIL AND ROAD TESTED VEHICLE. AFTER VEHICLE WAS WARM THE MISFIRE ON CYLINDER 3 RETURNED. SWAPPED FUEL INJECTOR TO CYLINDER 2. MISFIRE STAYED ON CYLINDER 3. REMOVED COIL AND SPARK PLUG FROM CYLINDER 3 AND BORESCOPED CYLINDER. FOUND COOLANT LEAKING INTO THE CYLINDER. RECOMMEND REPLACING CYLINDER HEAD GASKET AND CHECKING THE CYLINDER HEAD FOR WARPAGE. REMOVED CYLINDER HEAD AND FOUND CYLINDER HEAD TO BE WARPED AND NEEDING TO BE REPLACED ALONG WITH THE GASKETS. REPLACED LEFT AND RIGHT VALVE COVER GASKETS, CYLINDER HEAD, CYLINDER HEAD GASKETS, TIMING COVER GASKETS, EXHAUST MANIFOLD GASKET, SPARK PLUGS, UPPER AND LOWER INTAKE GASKETS. COMPLETED OIL CHANGE. Fast forward to [XXX] vehicle mileage 74,955 my wife was leaving to go to the farmers market. She called me to inform me that the check engine light came on blinking and the car started sputtering again. The exact same issue happened again. I told her to stop the car immediately and we had it towed to the same car dealership today [XXX] was the first call that I received from the dealership they informed me that cylinder six has failed the compression test and they recommend having the engine replaced. Currently waiting to speak to more people to see what can be done. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
My car shut down on highway and the dealership said it was the terminals on the battery being dirty it happened agin so I had the battery changed then it did it again and the dealership changed one spark plug, one coil pack then it happened again changed all spark plugs and coil packs my car did it again and now I-??m being told I-??m probably going to need a new engine I notified Chrysler telling them this has happened several times and they said there was nothing they could
My car will start, i will start to drive and when i am driving a -??electrical stability-?? label will pop up on the dash and then the battery icon and check engine icon will show up on dash. My radio screen will go blank and then the car will shut off completely. It will then pop up on the dash and say stop safely vehicle with shut pff soon
Check engine light. Cylinoid misfire reported, #3. Replaced. Check engine light reappeared. Coolant leak. Coolant checked with die solution to check combustion mixture. Tested positive. Head gasket leaks diagnosed. Possible head gasket crack. Vehicle was unsafe to family driving as failure could occur on highway. Family member had to pull over on side of road to prevent overheating.
This vehicle has been totaled about a week ago. I meant to report this earlier but since we're moving (military) I never had the chance. Around april 2023, I noticed my pacifica had a misfire. I assumed it was plugs and wires so I replaced them - check engine for misfire went away. A few weeks later same thing happened. This time, I was loosing coolant. Took it to a chrysler dealer top have it properly diagnosed fearing the worst - they told me without even looking at it that this particular year of pentastar on the pacifica has blown head gaskets and that they change them all the time. I decided to repair the head gasket myself and I did so and drove the vehicle up until last week when it was totaled. There are many others experiencing this same issue with the pacifica and Chrysler needs to do something about it as it typically happens around 75-85K miles. Mine was no different.
2017 through 2024 Pacificas with the 3.6 Pentastar engines have problems that in case of coolant leaks in the system, it leads to a engine coolant reservoir low level which allows air to enter the system and causes unrepairable damage to the engine that needs it to be replaced. ROOT CAUSE is FAC / Stellantis / Chrysler FAILED to install a simple and cheap engine coolant reservoir low level warning sensor which would save the majority of the people with blown head gaskets all this grief and expense. The 3.6 Pentastar engine uses aluminum heads with an open skirt design which means that the cylinder heads are weak and prone to warping under ANY overheat condition.
The contact owns a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed a burning odor inside the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. In addition, the contact was informed that the engine was operating on five cylinders instead of six. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that previously the check engine warning light was illuminated, and the vehicle had been taken to an independent mechanic several times. The contact was informed that the failure was due to a plastic piece that was missing from the engine. The contact stated that the independent mechanic reset the vehicle and the check engine warning light was off. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
The incident first occurred in our 2017 Chrysler Pacifica while my wife was driving our Kindergartener to school. The vehicle stalled in high flow traffic almost causing her to get rear ended. Dash said to shift to park and turn van off. Was unable to get it restarted and had traffic blocked in the left lane for almost an hour waiting on a tow truck. Took it to the dealership and they told her it was a bad battery. Paid almost $400 to replace the battery, and today (11/16/2024) it just did it again while pulling into a gas station, still halfway in the road. Van said -??shift to park to start engine.-?? Shifted and engine shut off but was able to restart it this time. Was unable to move shifter dial and sudden loss of power almost caused 2 wrecks so far within 2 months of each incident. Each time we were told there-??s nothing wrong and that the recall that was causing this issue was already fixed. This needs to get dealt with before someone gets seriously injured.
The Check Engine light indicated a misfire is cylinder 1 and the car was running roughly. After changing the injector, spark plug and coil wire, the problem continued. The mechanic finally determined there was radiator coolant in the exhaust indicating a failure of the head gasket. A leak in the engine block, and improper combustion can lead to a myriad of safety issues. A check online revealed this to be a common problem in this Chrysler engine in 2017 in the 1-3-5 cylinders with some contributors suggesting an improper casting of the engine block during manufacture. It commonly appears around 60,000-75,000 miles, generally after the power train warranty has expired. My van was at 75,729 miles. The cost to repair the vehicle was $3488.48. The repair was done by my trusted mechanic as I am sure that the Chrysler dealer would be far more expensive. This is due to a manufacturers defect, not normal wear and tear. This expense should not be borne by the consumer.
Our vehicle started to shudder when we started. We took it to the dealership, who initially was unable to identify an issue. They then, a day later, identified that the head gaskets needed replaced. This required a significant repair. Reviewing online, there appear to be hundreds, if not thousands, of similar issues when this type of vehicle reaches approximately 70,000 miles. Our vehicle is a little beyond 70,000 miles. We have also had some other issues, including about 1.5 years ago where the vehicle would randomly turn off while driving. We did take this in for a repair.
Engine Coolant leaks inside the engine Cylinder #5 without warning and cracked the engine block cylinder head #5. This has happened 2 times on this vehicle replacing the engine once. Vehicle has been maintained in accordance with manufacture recommendations.
The vehicle is available for inspection. At an intersection the vehicle abruptly turned off, while the engine was running and in drive. Children were in the vehicle and I was very scared and in shock when it happened. My car just randomly turned off, while I was sitting in the middle of an intersection and the vehicle was in drive (obviously). I was able to turn it back on, but it was very dangerous and could have killed us if a car had come through the [XXX] intersection while we were stuck there. Safety of other drivers on the road at risk, my life and children-??s lives were at risk. Could have caused death had our van been stuck in the middle of this busy intersection a few feet more forward. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Athens, TN, USA