9.7

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
554 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.

2020 Chrysler Pacifica fuel system problems

fuel system problem

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2020 Chrysler Pacifica Owner Comments

problem #13

Jul 082024

Pacifica

  • miles

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

While driving, the vehicle spontaneously goes into limp mode and warns the driver to pull over immediately because it is about to shut down. This has happened at least 10 times in my ownership of this vehicle since 10/04/2023 and the first time on 10/09/2024 and most recently occurred 07/06/2024. The first time it occurred on a narrow mountain road at night but I was safely able to drive slowly for about a mile before finding a parking lot to pull over. Several times were significantly more dangerous and occurred while traveling 70mph on a busy interstate and forcing us to navigate across several lanes of traffic into the emergency lane in a vehicle that is no longer able to keep up with traffic due to significant power loss when limp mode. Once pulled over, the vehicle must be turned off for several seconds before restarting and driven again. Occupants are at significant risk of being involved in a collision during the entire process from unexpected power loss, navigating traffic with said power loss, parking and restarting the vehicle on the side of a busy road, and attempting to safely merge back into traffic which is often traveling 70+mph. This entire issue is due to a faulty wiring harness in the transmission of 2017-2023 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid that can short circuit and requires immediate shutdown of the vehicle when it occurs. Thus far the only remedy from Chrysler is a software update which installs a driver warning to pull over and restart the vehicle before it shuts down instead of immediately shutting off. This is marginally better than complete power loss but still poses significant increased safety risk for passengers and surrounding vehicles and a remedy that stops the failure from occurring in the first place needs to be implemented immediately. This has been known to effect 70,000 vehicles from 2017-2023 year models and the fact that a remedy to the actual problem has not yet been made is appalling and dangerous.

- Murfreesboro, TN, USA

problem #12

Mar 042024

Pacifica

  • miles
Invertor coolant pump failure, giving a Check Engine Light P0E7C (coolant bypass valve B control circuit having low voltage). Part from Chrysler seems to be on national back order. replacement part offered by dealership keeps failing.

- Cary, NC, USA

problem #11

Jul 072023

Pacifica

  • miles
The issue is the Pentastar V6 engine defect. It has caused engine misfires resulting in bucking and surging, decreased engine performance, hesitation, loss of power, premature wear on internal components.?The potentially dangerous issues on the -??defective design-?? of the engine-??s needle bearings within the rocker arms, the use of sub-standard materials and procedures during manufacture, -??defective or miscalibrated-?? ECM software, and poor quality controls.? The Defect causes unsafe driving conditions because the Class Vehicles, that includes 2020 chrysler pacifica, have a significant chance of failing while being driven. Further, even the lesser symptoms of the Defect affect vehicle performance and safety, making it harder for a driver to control the vehicle as it loses power, hesitates, or misfires. the vehicle has only been inspected by the mechanic at the dealership we leased the vehicle from.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #10

Aug 032023

Pacifica

  • miles

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

Twice now the A/C has quit, and a short time later the Hybrid battery severely overheats and the van shuts down. This happens at highway speeds, and the vehicle loses power and shuts down. This is dangerous to have a sudden shutdown at 75 MPH. When driving in hot weather for a couple hours, the electric A/C compressor quits. On this van, the Hybrid battery is cooled by the passenger HVAC system. When the A/C quits first you feel the air from the ducts getting warm. Then you get a message on the dash for "Battery Conditioning" and a Check Engine light. If you keep driving, it stalls and will not restart until the battery cools off. It takes about 3-4 hours to get the van to move again at reduced power. If you let it cool overnight, the van drives normally until the next incident. There are trouble codes set for battery overheating, P0A7E, P1AA6, P1A9A, P1A21, P1AA2, P1A9E. There have been multiple unsuccessful attempts to diagnose the van by Chrysler dealers. Dealers can't/won't replicate this due to having to drive for approximately 2 hours in high ambient temps. The vehicle is fine in moderate or cold temps due to not needing the A/C to cool the battery, it is cooled and heated by secondary systems in those conditions. This issue is very dangerous because lithium batteries do not like extreme high temperatures, this issue could cause a thermal runaway event of the battery. Many of the codes that were set are for the battery temperature exceeding 131F (55C), which is severely hot for Li-Ion. This is much hotter than safe high temp recommendation for Li-Ion. Recall 03A for not giving warning before stalling was performed, however this issue is not the same symptom, nor the same cause as that recall. That recall involves a transmission short, not battery overheating. My van has had multiple reflashes and is up to date on all software. My vehicle was a "lemon law" buyback for the same stall issue, and was purported to have been fixed before I purchased the van.

- Dimondale, MI, USA

problem #9

May 292023

Pacifica

  • miles
While driving at highway speeds a warning flashed on the dashboard "Stop Safely Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon". I was able to coast to safe stop off the highway and drive slowly on battery powered acceleration for a few miles until the vehicle completely died. The gas engine did not engage during this period. I shut the engine off with emergency lights on while on a two lane road. After restarting the engine, I drove for about 30 seconds before it completely failed again, and pulled off in a residential area. I waited about 5 minutes before restarting the engine and attempted to drive the vehicle again. The gas engine did not engage and the same warnings were displayed as we attempted to reach a charging station to get to safe place to stop. The vehicle lost all power again after about 20 seconds and we pulled over. I waiting about 10 minutes until restarting the vehicle and the gas engine engaged. We were able to drive the vehicle to a safe location to park and unload 2 kids and an infant. My family was absolutely at risk during this incident. I'm bringing the vehicle to a dealership immediately and considering a complete replacement. This is unacceptable. A family should not have to fear for their lives while driving a American made vehicle on American roads.

- Herndon, VA, USA

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problem #8

Dec 042022

Pacifica

  • miles
Driving on the road and vehicle lost all propulsion. Warning comes up on the dash saying Service Charging System and Shift to P. At that point, one has to coast to a stop on the side of the road. Vehicle would not restart. After waiting and completely shutting down the vehicle, it did restart. This is the second time this has happened over the past two months. The dealer updated software as a "fix" the first time, which has not fixed the issue. It also happened a third time when pulling into the dealer for service today. Dealer was able to see the issue. It is extremely dangerous, as there is no warning before losing all propulsion and it can happen at any speed and at any time. Please note that this appears to be the exact same issue addressed with NHTSA recall 22V-865, and both vehicles are manufactured by FCA and likely use the same hybrid electric powertrain. By addressing this loss of propulsion issue in the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid now, there is a chance to save lives (there was a death caused by the Jeep 4xE recall issue) by mandating this same recall for the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid.

- Moraga, CA, USA

problem #7

Nov 072022

Pacifica

  • miles

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

All of a sudden while driving 40 miles per hour, -??service charging system-?? warning showed up on dash, asked to put car in park and unable to accelerate. Car stopped working in the middle of a busy road, unable to be restarted for 10 min.

- Moraga, CA, USA

problem #6

Jul 052022

Pacifica

  • miles
While driving down the highway at about 65MPH on battery, the car suddenly lost power when the battery reached <1% instead of immediately switching to gasoline powered mode. The car continued to slow down until it was stopped and gave an error saying to service the charging system. I was then able to turn the car off and restart it, from that point it continues in gasoline mode. This was a dangerous situation to loose power unexpectedly on a busy highway. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by the manufacturer.

- Lake Wylie, SC, USA

problem #5

Jun 222022

Pacifica

  • miles
My car has been going thru the refresh for gas and oil for the last few days. the motor has been running to empty out the "old" gas. so today, i took it thru a car wash on a conveyor belt system, with cars behind me. at the end of this i went to put it in gear so i hit the brake from the neutral position and put it in drive. i hit the gas and it went nowhere! there was a note on the dash that said i had to put the car in park, hit the brake and then put it in gear. i did this and it finally started to move. the car and five others behind could have been in serious trouble if i didnt get this figured out quickly, damn close to causing a wreck inside the car wash. now you tell me why a safety feature almost killed me"???"

- Omaha, NE, USA

problem #4

Mar 062022

Pacifica

  • miles
On two instances when traveling on the expressway, the car lost acceleration entirely and the dashboard provided an error message "service charging system". The car slowly decelerated and had to be pulled over to the side of the road, across several lanes of traffic, creating an extremely dangerous situation. Once the car was turned off and turned back on, it appeared to work normally. This happened once on March 1 and once on March 6.

- Maplewood , NJ, USA

problem #3

Jul 152021

Pacifica

  • miles

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

Vehicle shut off engine and directed driver to shift to park while driving at full speed on interstate highway. After coasting to emergency lane and shifting to park the vehicle restarted. The vehicle is currently at the dealership.

- Bowling Green, KY, USA

problem #2

Jun 262021

Pacifica

  • miles
On my Pacifica Hybrid the vehicle drivetrain loses all power and requires the driver put the vehicle in PARK and TURN OFF the ignition and START the vehicle again. Typically this happens when BOTH of the following conditions are met: 1) battery for the hybrid drivetrain, not the 12v accessory battery, runs to 0% or less than 1% state of charge 2) hard braking or sudden braking or braking when going down a hill. The hard braking seems to overwhelm the recharging system when the battery is at 0% causing a powertrain shutdown and all kinds of error lights flashing. It eventually ends with a "SERVICE CHARGING SYSTEM" message. Once the vehicle is in this condition it is very easy to replicate as I was able to do in this video that I recorded: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6NF-kKPx5w This is quite dangerous and has left me barely able to get to the shoulder of major highways several times.

- Livingston, NJ, USA

problem #1

Jan 222021

Pacifica

  • 7,200 miles
Went for 1st ever oil change, technicians noticed coolant reservoir was empty (should never be) and there was leaked coolant all over the engine and bottom of cars protection pads (bad issue). Told me (get it to the dealer immediately), which I did, taking it to phillips Chrysler of ocala. In order for my engine not to blow up. I have been driving this for 7000 miles since I purchased it with zero miles. The dealership technicians said (they have never seen this condition) it came from the Chrysler oem plant this way, said that all the bolts to the coolant temperature housing that fits onto the engine block with bolts were completely loose and the only way for this to happen is that the operator at the manufacturing plant that attaches these units to the engine did not or forgot to bolt down completely the cooling unit to the engine. This is gross neglect on the part of T he oem and could have easily caused the engine to freeze or blow. Call phillips Chrysler in ocala fl at 352-732-7577 and ask to speak to abriel archer about Mr. Knauer's Chrysler Pacifica V6.

- Ocala, FL, USA

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