10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
7,606 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.

2018 Chrysler Pacifica drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2018 Chrysler Pacifica Owner Comments (Page 4 of 6)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #60

Jul 072020

Pacifica

  • miles

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

Vehicle shifts really hard. It did on date listed but has ever since. The dealership identified problem and ordered parts but never called back when parts were ordered and is now past warranty to get it fixed.

- Caledonia, OH, USA

problem #59

Mar 312022

Pacifica

  • miles
While driving the vehicle in rush hour traffic the engine slowed and would not accelerate when the gas pedal was applied. The light for the parking break went on along with the battery light. The vehicle appeared to be breaking on it-??s own. A message was displayed though I do not recall what it was. Maybe a message to park? I attempted to switch to an outer lane and coast toward the side of the road until the vehicle stopped. I was partially blocking one of the two lanes in a no parking area. I turned the vehicle off and several times attempted to restart it. It would not initially shift into park. When it finally did I repeatedly attempted to start it. The display worked though the vehicle would not shift into drive, reverse, or neutral. The light for each gear flashed. I attempted for some time and at one point it did go into neutral. I attempted to restart and put it in drive then it would not go into neutral. I contacted the local Chrysler dealer who gave me the number for roadside assistance. I contacted the police to notify them as the vehicle was disabled in the road partially in a driving lane. I contacted Chrysler as this has happened previously. I have repeatedly had it serviced for similar problems with it unexpectedly turning off or not starting.

- Kenosha , WI, USA

problem #58

Feb 242022

Pacifica

  • miles
I was driving with the gas engine running when I lost power and then the engine shut off. I was able to get the engine restarted but it wouldn-??t move forward or backwards under power.

- Kansas City, MO, USA

problem #57

Jan 102022

Pacifica

  • miles

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

The transmission shifts very hard. Extremely hard. On two occasions, vehicle has lost power and had to merge through Atlanta traffic to the shoulder. Extremely dangerous. We-??ve taken it to the dealership service department both times and no one can find anything wrong. No recalls. We love this vehicle but are being forced to buy another brand. This is the 2nd Chrysler product that has let us down.

- Tifton, GA, USA

problem #56

Jan 102022

Pacifica

  • miles
We were on the return portion of a road trip, this was day 4 of driving. There had been no indications of any issues at all on days 1-3. While going 80 mph on i-80 in nebraska, in the left lane, the vehicle suddenly lost drive power (electric systems stayed on). My husband, who was driving, pressed the gas pedal to try and regain power. At that point the check engine light came on, followed by a red turtle image accompanied by the words "vehicle speed may be limited". My husband was able to coast us to the shoulder of the highway before the vehicle stopped moving completely. We had no warning at all that anything was wrong. I had just had the vehicle in for an oil change a few days prior to the trip and they did a basic inspection- all was fine. I am so thankful the road was not crowded and that no 18 wheelers were too close. This could have ended very differently and we were very scared. After waiting by the side of the highway for nearly an hour, we were towed to a nearby dealer. They diagnosed transmission failure.

- Denver, CO, USA

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problem #55

Sep 222021

Pacifica

  • miles
Vehicle stops in the middle off traffic. Engine will start but car will not move. Numerous warning lights appear such as:vehicle not in park (it is in park), rear brake assist unavailable, shift to P then desired gear, service electronic stability control, park brake temporarily unavailable. The vehicle accelerator pedal can be floured and the RPM is only 1500. After tow trick delivers me home, the vehicle will miraculously drive unimpeded for days and weeks until the very same thing happens. Repair facilities have said they can find nothing wrong/cannot duplicate.

- Chula Vista, CA, USA

problem #54

Jun 302021

Pacifica

  • miles

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

The car 12v battery drains completely, rendering the vehicle immobile and completely non functional. There has been an electrical burning smell once the car is jump started and driving. I fear there is some kind of short or electrical discharge somewhere that could render the vehicle inoperable or start a fire at my home or while the car is being used. This vehicle has been at the dealer for 7 weeks and they have not found the problem. I have been told that the car has been connected to a computer system that is being "looked into" remotely by Chrysler. They have replaced the battery and the charging management system at my expense. The problems started when the car had 38000 miles and began with the "radio" which controls many other functions of the car constantly rebooting and having corrupted firmware which I was told cannot be fixed, only replaced. I have since been told this unit cannot be ordered at this time.

- Mystic, CT, USA

problem #53

Aug 022021

Pacifica

  • miles
Transmission doesn-??t shift properly. Highway going normal speeds, switch lanes and when pushing gas peddle, it instead slipped and decreased speeds almost causing an accident. Dealership says nothing is wrong. Eco start stop illuminated and front collision warning light also on.

- Oceanside, CA, USA

problem #52

Jul 312021

Pacifica

  • miles
Picked up Vehicle from Bayside Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Annapolis after we were told the problems were addressed. After driving about 50 miles home parking than driving the Van again about 5 miles, In the center lane of the road driving about 45 mph the van said "Shift to P to start". The van wouldn't accelerate forcing my wife to drift to the shoulder of the road. The van was turned off and attempted to turn back on, but the Van would not turn completely on to drive. After about five minutes the van was able to be restarted and turned on. The check engine light came on, the van was driven to Auto zone to have the check engine light read. "Power Train System - P0BFD" & " Secondary DTC".

- Derwood, MD, USA

problem #51

May 302021

Pacifica

  • miles
After stopping at a stop sign, I turned right to go with traffic, It seemed as though the transmission quit responding at all for several seconds. Fortunately, I was turning to the right. Scary.

- South Roxana , IL, USA

problem #50

Jun 182021

Pacifica

  • miles

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

I was driving about 45MPH, slowed up to a green traffic light, turned right and accelerated. The car lost power for about 5 seconds, then came back on after I had pulled to the side. We brought it in for service, but Chrysler could not duplicate or diagnose the issue. Then, twice, my wife was stopped at a stop sign or traffic light. She got a green left arrow, accelerated into her turn, and the car lost power, then resumed after about 3-5 seconds each time. After her second occurrence, my wife drove it straight to the dealership, got the service advisor to drive the vehicle with her, he turned right into another dealership, and the car lost power for 3 seconds. Again, Chrysler was unable to diagnose and repair the problem.

- Mesa, AZ, USA

problem #49

Jun 192021

Pacifica

  • miles
Car started and the shifting knob got stuck in nuetral this isn't the the first time this has happened. No mater what I tried it wouldn't budge had to the dealer twice about it they said they needed to order a part. They are in northeast Ohio Right now I am 200 miles from home on a Sunday. And hope a local dealer has the part This van has been a disappointment to say the least.

- Chardon, OH, USA

problem #48

Aug 012019

Pacifica

  • 10,000 miles
We bought the Chrysler van new in 2018. One year (~10,000 miles) later, the van developed rough upshifting. It does not happen every time but it occasionally bangs into gear very violently under slow acceleration at 30 - 35 mph. We took the van to Chrysler mechanics but they could not reproduce the rough shift so they would not do anything about it. Every time it happens, it scares me to death. It feels like a sledgehammer hit the van!

- Irvine, CA, USA

problem #47

May 042021

Pacifica

  • 27,000 miles
We have a 2018 Pacifica limited hybrid. While driving, it beeped, then message appeared to say "shift to P". the van then lost motive power shortly after. Once stopped, shut down engine then restarted, it would drive again. This also occurred a few times while driving on a freeway, I had to quickly get to emergency lane/shoulder. Very dangerous situation with cars whipping by us while we stopped with van full of kids. But it always restarted back and we were able to keep going. Engine light would stay on but then would disappear later. We took it to our dealer (fresno Chrysler Jeep) and they said "software issue" and that they will update it. I didn't get to talk to the advisor but looking at the service bill - unclear if anything was done. They drove it around for 30 min and engine light did not come back on. The vehicle already has done all the recalls previously. We took it home - shortly after this happened again. Not sure what condition triggers it. My wife will take it back to the dealer today and will ask them at least change the 12V battery (not sure if that is the reason but per forum discussion, this can be a culprit). The problem it seems is that dealers are in the dark about the problem and most probably dont have clue how to address it.

- Fresno, CA, USA

problem #46

Mar 042018

Pacifica

  • 1,600 miles
This vehicle with unsafe deadly driving conditions began as a new vehicle at around 1300 miles. Acceleration of Chrysler Pacifica while driving at 55 to 75 miles per hour with the engine of vehicle does not slow down but stays stuck and does not slow down and remains at a high rate of speed. Documented over 350 incidents of this subject Pacifica for 3 years. Often, I could not stop the engine from racing at its highest rate of speed while on freeways and other roads. This vehicles engine does not slow down and begin forced pumping of brakes making the vehicle rise in height and.. II could not stop this Pacifica engine from shutdown racing engine until I place the shift mechanism in neutral to slow it down and keep in from crashing into a forward vehcile object. The engine gets stuck in its former highest rate of speed for 30 to 45 seconds.on a good number of occasions I have taken this subject vehicle to ray lathem dealership in detroit, Michigan. The dealership put thousands of miles on my leased vehicle and stated they did not know what the safety stuck acceleration problem was. Chrysler would not acknowledge any safety acceleration problems and I had my vehicle tested by software engineers and they advised me that the aforementioned Chrysler Pacifica has defective ut modules, powertrain control PCM reprogram module powertrain control. This Pacifica engine continued to stick causing the engine to race a its former highest rate of spped of 55 or 70 miles per hour. During winter weather like rain, snow or ice this vehicle would turn sideways while getting off the freeway service drive. While this is my 4th Chrysler mini van I have placed my family children at high risk of being injured in a car accident. I have written the president of Chrysler and all this stress this cost me over 9,500 additional mileage penalties of.28 cents per mile...

- Detroit, MI, USA

problem #45

Feb 192021

Pacifica

  • 26,500 miles
When trying to accelerate sometime vehicle loses all power for a bout 30 seconds before power kicks in. If pulling out on to the roadway, it can be a very serious safety matter. Sometimes when problem is happening, vehicle will shift hard when power kicks in(feels like you have been rear-ended). Have had three different Chrysler mechanics drive vehicle all saying they could not duplicate problem and is performing as it was designed to preform. I am at the point of being afraid of driving the vehicle, afraid I could be in a serious accident.

- Florissant, MO, USA

problem #44

Jan 302021

Pacifica

  • 49,248 miles
The van was running and I was stopped in the middle of an intersection, waiting to turn left. A warning message popped up on the dash--something about the start/stop system. I released my foot from the brake so as to continue through the intersection. Interior and exterior lights remained on however the vehicle would not move. I could not turn the shift knob out of drive, even after several attempts. Depressing the gas pedal has no effect. At some point I may have pressed the brake and then turned the shift knob back to park. I was then able to restart the vehicle and get out of the intersection. I was able to drive home after but the experience was dangerous and frightening.

- Wilsonville, OR, USA

problem #43

Jan 282021

Pacifica

  • 29 miles
While I am at a quick stop - stop sign, rotary, light, intersection - my vehicle will shut off without warning, causing me to have to put the car into park, restart, and put the car back into drive before I am able to continue in motion. This causes me to stall for 30 seconds - 1 minute with traffic piling up behind me.

- Londonderry, NH, USA

problem #42

Jul 142020

Pacifica

  • miles
Since I leased the vehicle, the screen of the radio don't work properly, the automatic doors sometimes don't work, the automatic doors lock don't work properly either and the transmission do a harsh kick. I have been reporting to Chrysler the conditions and malfunctions of the vehicle and they have never fixed, always says that everything is ok. I have to drive and pay a lemon car with no remedy. Every time that I drive my car on the highway, the transmission have issues, and also when I drive my car and I need to use the camera to see the back of the street, the screen doesn't work.

- Port St Lucie, FL, USA

problem #41

Jul 302020

Pacifica

  • 112,000 miles
I was driving near my home at 20mph when car came to a dead stop. It felt like the bottom of car had fallen. I turned off car and restarted it to see if it would move. It wouldn't. I calledaaa and it was towed to an auto service. It was transferred to pompey auto group in scranton, pa. Had my husband been driving this vehicle on major highways for his job at a higher rate of speed, it could've been catastrophic. Luckily it happened to me as I was not transporting my grandchildren and I was close to home. Thinking back months earlier, I recalled that on many occasions, as we were backing out of our driveway, we would hear a grinding noise. It was mentioned to several repairmen, including authorized Chrysler servicemen, and no one supposedly found any issues. By the way, back in September of 2019, we also had a problem with the battery that controls the engagement in the park position. We have documentation for both issues, should you need further information. Indeed, both issues are safety issues and both could cause deaths if they are not immediately solved. The issue w/ the battery park position engagement occurred while the car was stopped on a major highway in NJ. The last problem occurred on a city street on July 30, 2020.

- Kingston, PA, USA

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