10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
16,453 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.

2017 Chrysler Pacifica steering problems

steering problem

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2017 Chrysler Pacifica Owner Comments (Page 6 of 8)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #44

Aug 302019

Pacifica

  • 45,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Our Pacifica has a problem when starting from a complete stop, accelerating, usually around a turn. Exactly at 15-18 mph (first to second or second to third gears), the van will have a very large jerk, the gas pedal must be released, losing acceleration. Once this has passed, you can proceed with accelerating as normal. The jolt from the shift feels like you have been rear ended, causing slight whiplash if you are not ready for it. This problem usually come in spurts, not happening for several weeks, then 1 or 2 a day for a few days. The dealer reviewed the problem and "was not able to replicate the issue" so nothing is wrong with the vehicle according to them. This issue has occurred since about 10,000 miles on the odometer.

- Fredericksburg, VA, USA

problem #43

Aug 192019

Pacifica

  • 72,000 miles
Driving multiple occurrences of brief loss of power steering at speed in motion. Hesitation, difficult, hard to turn. Googled this issue an observed a fca recall. I called fca customer services and they stated my vehicle is not in the recall by VIN. However it is an early 2017 model.. I am filing this as my wife reported this to me for the first time that it had occurred to her recently when driving. After she told me 3 miles later while I was driving at speed oft 45mph in a wide sweeping turn the steering resisted input on me to return to center and caught me by surprise for a brief second then resumed back to normal. At that moment I myself had just what she told me happened to her multiple times recently when driving. We no longer want to drive the vehicle and deem it a safety risk due to this steering issue.

- Corinth, TX, USA

problem #42

Jul 062019

Pacifica

  • 10 miles
I took my car 2 times already to the Chrysler service center to investigate steering wheel problem, and they told me that they couldnt find out any problem. It feels like locking when you turn the steering wheel and turn to other way. My 3 babies are riding in this car and I worry so much. It happens low speed and high speed also (30 - 70 mph)

- Suwanee, GA, USA

problem #41

Mar 132019

Pacifica

  • 39,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I continue to have problems with "jerking" while driving my 2017 Pacifica. The best way I can describe it as the car "jerks" forward very forcefully. I have had it in 6 times for the same "jerking" motion. I am concerned that it may cause an accident if it jerks and completely stops. The "jerking" happens at very random times, acceleration, coasting, cruise control use, and slowing down. Some days it happens multiple times a day, and others it can go a week or two without happening. Chrysler has replaced valves and the entire transmission unit, however, the problem is still happening. For the past month, when the jerking happens, the steering wheel now attempts to lock and this didn't start happening until Chrysler started "messing" with parts. The vehicle was purchased with 18K miles on it as a "Chrysler certified vehicle." I have filed a case with Chrysler and was told I would be contacted within 24-48 hours and it has been 8 days with no contact from them. I have reached out to them day after day and still haven't recv'd a call back. I don't feel comfortable driving this on busy roads with my children in the car for fear of an accident.

- Spring, TX, USA

problem #40

Jan 102019

Pacifica

  • 25,000 miles
Initially, while driving, a brief warning message would flash on the driver's info cluster that the "power steering was unavailable" and then the warning would go away very quickly. However, the warning began coming on more frequently, always while driving, and it would stay on, resulting in a total loss of power steering. This was very frightening since in the large van it became difficult to control while driving at both highway and side-street speeds. When the engine would be turned off and then restarted, the malfunction would resolve, however, it began happening more and more frequently, sometimes multiple times during a short drive. It was very unsafe to drive as the power steering could have potentially gone out at any time, such as a highway corner, resulting in loss of control. The car is now in the shop while they are trying to find a repair for the problem but as of now they are saying it is electronic and not mechanical.

- Calimesa, CA, USA

problem #39

Dec 232018

Pacifica

  • 29,000 miles
My issues started when my auto start/stop stopped working. I took it in to the dealership and they said the accessory battery was dead and they didn't have a replacement in. That it was in backorder. Then my main battery went dead. I had to have my vehicle towed to the dealership. They replaced my main battery and again they made mentioned that the auto start/stop didn't work. I said I know the accessory battery is dead and that it was on backorder. I was told to bring the van back in the following week and they would test the accessory battery again and replace it if was bad. Took the van back. They said it wasn't the battery that something was wrong electrical because too many volts was being outputted. At this time I made mention of the power steering issue. I got a warning light saying it wasn't working. Was told nothing showed up on the computer about the power steering. Took van back in for the electrical system to be evaluated. My husband drove the van and on the way to the dealership tje power steering system cut off and then in mid turn cut back on almost causing him to hit another vehicle head on. Told dealership of the problem and also the jerking issues when shifting into lower gears. Dealership actually figured out it was the accessory battery that was dead so they replaced it. Then while they had it they had issues with the power steering cutting on/off. So they said it was the rack & pinion. They couldn't duplicate the issues with the van jerking into lower gears. Well here we are a month later and my power steering is still cutting off/on while driving causing near car accidents. The van still jerks sometime when trying to get into lower gears. Called Chrysler consumer number and they said they would get back with me. The power steering issues is a major safety hazard, can't get van into the dealership till next week because they are behind.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

problem #38

Nov 262018

Pacifica

  • 11,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Power steering failing completely. Started intermittently and was first advised that a 'low battery' caused a power spike in the power steering unit and they charged the battery. Then it happened more frequent and they diagnosed it to the power steering unit itself which took a week to replace. Then two days later the power steering went out while entering a 90 degree curve at 35 mph. Afterwards I could sit idling, watching the voltage wander between 11 volts and 15 volts, and have power steering, but as soon as I turned on the headlights or foglights or put it in gear, the voltage would stabilize at 14.6-14.8 volts and the power steering would turn off. It's been a week and they just contacted Chrysler. I'm at 15 days in the shop between failed secondary battery, and a major safety issue with the power steering and no end in site. When the power steering fails, there is practically no way to turn the vehicle unless you have significant strength in the arms. A normal sized woman would only have one recourse and that is to stop abruptly. This will lead to an accident. When the power steering went out on me at 35 mph, I had no ability to abruptly stop as I had a car immediately behind me. That would have resulted in being rear ended. If I hadn't been able to steer it by sheer brute force, we would have crashed into the trees along the road. When the vehicle was towed to the dealership the power steering would fail while sitting still, much less driving like it did when it first started. I have video of the power steering going in and out while sitting in the drive way.

- Hendersonville, TN, USA

problem #37

Nov 132018

Pacifica

  • miles
Code PCM P258B electric vacuum pump = press on brakes and van does not stop must keep trying to press on brakes to stop this is not safe. Code ABS C1252-92 vacuum pump control circuit code sccm B2225-00 (scm) steering column module internal

- Willingboro, NJ, USA

problem #36

May 102017

Pacifica

  • 1,500 miles
Transmission not shifting from first gear or second gear, stalling in intersection or when acceleration on freeway.

- Visalia, CA, USA

problem #35

Oct 102018

Pacifica

  • 42,000 miles
The vehicle was in motion on a city street just driving straight. The engine shut off while driving. The display indicated to put the car in park to start the vehicle. The power steering shuts off. I was not going fast at the time and was able to stop, put it in park, press the brake, start the vehicle, and put it into drive. However, I was in traffic and almost was rear ended by another vehicle who was fortunately able to stop in time. This issue affects the brakes, engine, steering, power train and all around safety. I was lucky that I was driving and that my kids were not in the car. I was going to pick them up.

- Ocoee, FL, USA

problem #34

Aug 282018

Pacifica

  • 13,654 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Rear door and side doors open up while driving. Van stalls and sputters when taking off. When driving and turning the wheel to the right or left the steering wheel vibrates. It does not feel like the wheel is rubbing in the wheel well.

- Sacramento, CA, USA

problem #33

Aug 142018

Pacifica

  • 6,100 miles
I was driving down the interstate at 70mph and all of a sudden the van told me to put it in park and restart the vehicle. As I'm sitting in the middle of the interstate in rush hour traffic and cars flying past me I discover I'm locked out of my own engine. The brakes were locked, I couldn't restart the vehicle, I tried opening my door, after the van came to a stop, to get the van to reset but nothing worked. Finally the van allowed me to start the vehicle back up after several minutes of being stranded in the middle of the interstate. I had lost power steering and wasn't able to pull over alongside the shoulder nor could I brake or accelerate! I had to wait for the car to come to a stop and then had to troubleshoot why my engine locked me out in the middle of a 4 lane highway.

- Mesa, AZ, USA

problem #32

Jun 222018

Pacifica

  • 28,000 miles
While operating the vehicle at a low speed (10-15 mph) and making a left hand turn the vehicle lost power, including steering, and acceleration. The radio and accessories were still working. All the gear shift lights were flashing and a beeping noise occurred. On the dash a display said "change gears to start". I tried neutral and other gears, before going back to drive and it didn't do anything. I placed the car in park and it got stuck in park. I couldn't change the gear after that. I then pressed the on/off start button and it restarted and powered up the engine and I was able to drive the car home. I immediately called the dealership and left a voicemail. The first appointment available was June 27th, 2018 at 0830. The customer service rep said there was no log/warning or notification related to this issue. I contacted Chrysler Corp customer care at 1101 on June 27th, 2018 to notify them of the issue and that the dealership couldn't find anything wrong. Chrysler Corp customer care representative advised me to file a complaint with NHTSA and to ensure dealership files a star case. I then re-contacted the dealership at 1112 on June 27th, 2018 and advised them we wanted to open a star case. The car goes back to the dealership on Tuesday July 3rd, and they will keep it and try and re-simulate the issue while we have a loner car.

- Rogers, AR, USA

problem #31

Jun 022017

Pacifica 6-cyl

  • miles
2017 Chrysler Pacifica. Consumer writes in regards to loss of power steering. The consumer requested to be refunded the full price of the vehicle and other expenses incurred due to the defect.

- Aurora, OH, USA

problem #30

Jun 172018

Pacifica 6-cyl

  • 11,186 miles
My girlfriend was driving my Pacifica. She experienced the car jump and she described it as being hit from behind. Then all of the sudden the vehicle forced itself to turn hard left and cause her to hit a box truck. She then bounced off that car and hit another vehicle. She said the brakes weren't working to good either. This car only had 11,186 miles on it. I have reported a similar issue of my vehicle jumping like it was pushed from behind or a jolt of power like the trans was slipping, only months into owning the vehicle. It was taken in and looked at more than once by my dealership, but they could not reproduce the problem, there were no codes, and therefore they couldn't find or fix the problem. Now the problem caused a car accident and luckily my kids were not in the vehicle. The car air bags also failed to deploy even though it experienced impact on both sides at 30-35 mph. The front end was destroyed pretty good, so I am in shock the air bags were not deployed. Now the dash indicates the air bags need service" after the accident the car would not shut down and 3 officers felt the car was malfunctioning. Upon looking into my service records I noticed something odd. My "Chrysler app" shows nhsta recall # 18V-049 as being completed according to the VIN. But my last visit to my dealer in Feb of 2018 indicated there was no fix available at this time. How can it show completed then" I realized that the issues she experienced, and my self, are similar to the symptoms in this recall. There may be another similar...serious issue, that has to be looked into. Some type of malfunction caused this car to jump and drive right into another vehicle. This can be very dangerous if you put this same situation on an expressway going 55 mph+, especially if the air bags fail to deploy

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #29

May 182018

Pacifica

  • 14,000 miles
At a stop light in the turn lane I lifted my foot off the brake to drive as the light turned green. I hit the gas and nothing happened. I looked and the screen said to put the car in park. I put the car in park and then the screen said that I needed to stop/start restart the car. I turned the car off and tried turning it back on. There was a clicking noise, the engine would not start but everything else powered back on. I did this a couple of times and every time I tried starting the car there was just clicking and it would not start. I turned the car off again, opened the car door so that everything would power off. I then closed the door and it started back up.

- Minooka, IL, USA

problem #28

May 062018

Pacifica 6-cyl

  • miles
The vehicle stalls while in motion and while shifting from first to the second gear or from second to third gear. After it stalls for a couple of seconds the vehicle jumps. It is not something constant that will occur, only sometimes and the dealer cannot reproduce the occurrence and they cannot take any action to fix it (at least this is their response). The computer is not recording any malfunction. When this occurs but you cannot accelerate or decelerate, or do anything to avoid any potential accident. I submitted the vehicle to two Chrysler dealers for a check and because they couldn't reproduce the incident they told me to wait until such issue occurs more constant. This is a very disturbing approach because it happens while the vehicle is in motion and can provoke an accident. I have 4 children and I use the van to drive my family and this is a significant safety issue that should be considered more seriously. Updated 8/30/18

- Davie, FL, USA

problem #27

May 032018

Pacifica

  • 16,000 miles
The lane keep assistant (lanesense) system went offline and stated it needed service. Took to the dealer and they stated the lower front camera needed to be replaced. When the dealer was asked if the problem is common, they could not answer. This is the same part on every Fiat Chrysler of America vehicle with this feature. This system has the ability to take the control of the vehicle from the driver and direct the vehicle in the appropriate direction. If this item is functioning incorrectly, it has the potential to steer the vehicle into other vehicles and on coming traffic. This feature failed while the vehicle was in motion at near highway speeds (55 mph) in heavy traffic.

- Harvest, AL, USA

problem #26

Feb 052018

Pacifica

  • 3,400 miles
This van has staled on me 4 separate times now, twice putting me in a very bad area for a head on crash and 1 severe read end crash. I have had the van in the shop multiple times, this last time since 4th of March to current. 1st time I was driving about 30 mph on a main city street, pulled out of side street and the van just stalled. I have no power steering, brakes, nothing, by the time it stopped rolling I was in the oncoming lane of a very busy street. 2nd time I was dead stop at a light, the light changed and they van didnt move, had the pedal to the floor and nothing. 3rd time I was leaving my home, pulled out onto the country road on which we live, started up the hill, lost power again, took me in the oncoming lane, which if a car or truck came around the bend they wouldnt have tiome to stop[, logging truck was roaring up behind me, dont know how he missed me, all the time on his horn. I have talked with Chrysler escalation dept. And they offered to do a buy back.. went to dealership today and what Chrysler offered was 50% now on the buy back and the other 50% when they resale the van? the dealership wont except this offer. Its unethical and unsafe and they want no part of this. Chrysler is aware of the problem with no fix at this time. I am no getting back into that van nor do T I don't want to be their 1st fatality nor do I want to be one of their statics.

- Granite Falls, WA, USA

problem #25

Feb 022018

Pacifica

  • 18,000 miles
I brought my car into the shop on Friday February 2, because I had experienced on 2 separate occasions a stall. Once when I was turning out of my subdivision, so thankfully at a slow speed, however, the car stalled in the middle of a busy road that I was turning onto. The second time, I was pulling into the gas station, decellerating at about 30mph. I had no idea about this recall, I just knew that I needed to get it fixed, as I have 3 children that ride in my car every day. Once I arrived to the dealer, I was notified that there were 2 recalls for my vehicle, and that they wouldn't be able to fix either of them until April. I have owned the car for less than a year, and am terrified to put my children in this vehicle. Chrysler has informed me there is nothing they can do for me. That they will fix it in 2nd quarter of 2018. This is not ok. 2 saftey recalls and Chrysler is not doing anything about it. I know there must be others out there that are thinking this way as well, and that we can come together to get this taken care of. I will not wait around for my car to crash while I'm driving due to a stall and a recall that is not being fixed for 3-4 months.I am not impressed at all with Chrysler and will make sure they are held accountable.

- Fort Wayne, IN, USA

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