Is your defective Chrysler Pacifica actually a LEMON?

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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
104 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.

2021 Chrysler Pacifica drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2021 Chrysler Pacifica Owner Comments (Page 1 of 5)

problem #95

Jul 092024

Pacifica

  • miles

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

After having the car serviced to fix the recall, my car stopped running while on the freeway at 60mph. This is now the 3rd time in less than 10 days that this has happened. I had the transmission replaced previously to fix this issue but it has returned.

- Fort Worth, TX, USA

problem #94

Jul 032024

Pacifica

  • miles
Driving the vehicle on the interstate, and the vehicle suddenly lost power and had a warning that said "Stop Safely, Vehicle will shut off soon". However, we were in a construction zone and unable to stop on the interstate causing many vehicles to nearly crash into us. I understand we had previously had a recall worked that simply added this warning, but did not fix the issue. This warning is not a safe solution. It is still very dangerous for your vehicle to suddenly drop to 15mph at highway speeds. We are in the process of having the dealer confirm the issue.

- Caddo Mills, TX, USA

problem #93

Jun 302024

Pacifica

  • miles
While driving from Texas to Wisconsin our van powered down twice while at freeway speeds in traffic. We had 6 people in the van and were lucky to safely reach the should each time it happened. Transmission was replaced 2 years ago to correct this issue and it returned. Van was recently at dealership in Texas for inspection and work and found no reason to fix recall issues that are now being stated to have needed to be fixed.

- Fort Worth, TX, USA

problem #92

Jun 162024

Pacifica

  • miles

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

Traveling down [XXX] in Escondido at approximately 73mph. In the fast lane and moving left into the car pool lane the vehicle lost all motive power and the error "Service Charging System" came up on the dash then flashing back to "SHIFT TO P TO START". We were able to make it to a very small emergency lane on the left side of the interstate. Had to power vehicle off and restart twice before be regained motive power. There was a very good chance that we would have been stranded in the middle of the interstate with wife and 2 kids in the care on an 85 degree day. We were able to make it off freeway with "Check engine light showing" but no other errors on the dash. We were able to drive home 7 miles and will tow the Pacifica to the dealer tomorrow. This is the second time this has happened and could have had a horrible outcome. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Vista, CA, USA

problem #91

May 222024

Pacifica

  • miles
While driving at full speed on an interstate, I received the message, "Stop Safely, Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon." The van then lost power, and I was able to pull over safely (thankfully!). After about 15 minutes, the van restarted, and I made it about 10 miles until it happened again. After two more shut-downs, I was able to get the van to a dealership, where it has been sitting undiagnosed for over a week now.

- Chapel Hill, NC, USA

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problem #90

May 172024

Pacifica

  • miles
Vehicle has suddenly went into low power mode while driving three times. Was towed to shop each time to find no issues besides codes. Codes were cleared and vehicle was returned. Now vehicle is in the shop at chrysler due to a service charging system code for the hybrid system, causing the vehicle to not start or shift out of park gear. Vehicle has 58,000 miles and is not covered under the battery warranty with only 2 thousand miles remaining on the factory power train warranty.

- Jber, AK, USA

problem #89

Jun 202023

Pacifica

  • miles

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

I had purchased the vehicle three days beforehand. It was a lemon law buyback car. I had driven around 120 miles or so that day. The high that day was at least 90 degrees or so. It was past the halfway mark of driving that day, when I tested the Level 2 EVSE I had bought. It didn't work because the plug wasn't energized, but I did notice that the time to charge was reading 3 hours instead of the expected 2 hours. Once I got back to town, I plugged in to a Chargepoint charger, which was only charging at a Level 1 rate. I contacted the dealer to report the problem, and then went to my storage locker. On the way, the AC stopped working. When I tried to leave, the vehicle would not start. Suspecting an overheating problem, I left the hood open for a half hour or so, and after that, the vehicle started up. On my way home, the vehicle suffered a complete loss of motive power, displaying a message saying "Stop Safely Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon", leaving me stranded in a parking lot. This was followed by a message saying "Service Charging System". After another hour or so of sitting with the hood up, the vehicle worked again. This has happened multiple times since then. I have traced the problem to the battery pack reaching a temperature of 55 C, at which point the vehicle invariably shuts down. One time it did this, I was on stuck on the side of a road with no shoulder, after dark. The dealers I have taken it to could not reproduce the problem, as it takes hours of driving to trigger, and they are not willing to drive it enough to reproduce the problem. A case was raised with the manufacturer, but their protocols were insufficient to reproduce the problem. I have recently learned that the problem is apparently the same problem that the original owner had, and that the vehicle was bought back for originally. I have collected extensive CSV logs documenting the defect. The vehicle is obviously still unfixed, as they will not fix it until they duplicate the problem.

- Novi, MI, USA

problem #88

Mar 302024

Pacifica

  • miles
Second incident of loss of motive power at 37352 miles on the odometer. Vehicle was traveling on freeway and suddenly displayed message, "Stop Safely Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon." Accelerator pedal had no effect and vehicle began coasting. It was dangerous to coast across multiple lanes of freeway to reach an off-ramp with shoulder wide enough to stop the vehicle. We also had to make it over an incline while coasting and it may not have been possible to reach the shoulder or off-ramp. Prior to this incidence, the vehicle had been brought to a Chrysler dealership due to a previous occurrence at 36997 miles on the odometer. It was inspected by the Chrysler dealership and deemed to be operating normally.

- Mckinney, TX, USA

problem #87

Mar 062024

Pacifica

  • miles
When at a red light or while driving car throws its self into park and then powers off immediately and this isn-??t safe with my children in the car while drive it-??s also happened while driving during traffic car just throws its self into park and powers off

- Ocala, FL, USA

problem #86

Feb 022024

Pacifica

  • miles
Driving at 65-70mph on the Interstate and vehicle gave message "Stop Safely - Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon". As indicated, shortly after, vehicle lost motive power and we had to coast to the shoulder. As we were going downhill, we managed to make the next exit and pull off. On flat ground, vehicle would only crawl at walking pace. Vehicle did restart after a full off/on cycle and subsequent dealer diagnosis is the hybrid transmission replacement.

- Morris Plains, NJ, USA

problem #85

Dec 102023

Pacifica

  • miles

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

January 2023 the car was at the dealer for two months for the battery heater. The car was losing coolant as the battery heater was malfunctioning. The car was at the dealers for 2 months for the repairs to be completed. December of 2023 the car had -??Stop Safely -?" Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon-??. We pulled off the freeway in a confused state and the car shut off. We called Chrysler who said to have the vehicle towed or driven at our own risk to a dealer. But had no input if the vehicle was actually having a problem or just a sensor. The vehicle was towed and now has been at the dealer for 3 months with no remedy. They say a new transmission is on backorder but not approved by Chrysler.

- Elephant Butte, NM, USA

problem #84

Oct 072023

Pacifica

  • miles
While traveling down the interstate on a family road trip, our Pacifica PHEV alerted us to stop safely because our vehicle would lose power. We almost didn't make it to the shoulder before we completely lost power on the van. The vehicle was not drivable while on the side of the road. The transmission had to be replaced.

- Damascus, OR, USA

problem #83

Feb 032024

Pacifica

  • miles
The vehicle stalled on the freeway while traveling 75 mph in the HOV lane. After the engine shut off, I recalled an error message on the dash that stated, "Motive power will stop and pull over quickly.-?? I needed to take evasive action to bring the vehicle to the side of the 5 freeway. I could not restart the engine in Neutral while the car was in motion. The car showed a charging error on the first and second attempted restart on the side of the road with the transmission in Park. After letting the vehicle sit for a few minutes, I successfully restarted the engine, but the dash continued showing an illuminated malfunction indicator lamp (MIL). We were traveling at 75 mph in the HOV lane (lane #1) when the vehicle engine cut off without warning. Once the engine was off, I saw a warning on the instrument cluster that the vehicle would lose all motive power (it's a hybrid) and that I should immediately stop it. I needed to take emergency action, cross over 5 lanes of freeway traffic, and then stop on the side of the road. The vehicle did not allow an engine to restart while in Neutral, with the car moving. The vehicle was brought in for the recall of 03A/NHTSA 23V-010. From what I understand, this recall did not fix the problem (reported to be a faulty wiring harness in the transmission). I installed a software update to display the error message that instructed me that all motive power would be lost and that I should stop the vehicle.

- Carlsbad, CA, USA

problem #82

Jan 302024

Pacifica

  • miles
Vehicle shut down unexpectedly multiple times even AFTER recall update was applied. Allows for minimal time to pull to safe location. Potential for serious incident if safe shoulder is not immediately available such as on a bridge.

- Edwardsville, IL, USA

problem #81

Jan 142024

Pacifica

  • miles
Without any prior warning or predisposing symptoms, my vehicle lost all power when I was driving in the carpool lane at 70 miles per hour. I had to "coast" across 5 lanes of freeway and come to stop in the emergency lane. When I applied the brakes I had no power to brakes which made the car skid violently. I could have lost control because I was not expecting that secondary issue. The traction conrtol may have been triggered causing the car to overreact. The dashboard lights and "d" on my gear shifter were all flashing. I turned the car off and allowed it to sit for a few moments. I turned the car on again and nothing happened. I turned it off a second time and it turned on, went into drive and I was able to drive the remaining 5 miles home without incicent. I have already completed the recall notice for this very issue back in Jan 2023. However, even though the dealer states they completed my recall work the upbove described incident happened on 1/14/24 nearly a year after their recall completion.

- Canyon Country, CA, USA

problem #80

Jan 142024

Pacifica

  • miles
While driving on the highway at 70mph, the dashboard flashed a message saying "Please stop vehicle. Car will automatically stop."

- Ellicott City, MD, USA

problem #79

Dec 012021

Pacifica

  • miles
This car is the PHEV Pacifica. Apparantly when you push on both pedals the brakes do not take precedence. I was in a median turning and car unexpectedly moved forward 6 to 9 or so inches. 2nd time, I was suspicious at what was happening. 3rd time was sure. None for last year. I'm at 2 yrs and 33,000 miles now. Yes, I drive with two feet, for last 56 years. After getting use to the amount of free play in the pedals, it isn't happening anymore. Right foot for forward, left foot for stopping. Makes sense to me. And I actually drive straight shift also but only a little bit now.

- Oak Ridge, TN, USA

problem #78

Oct 162023

Pacifica

  • miles
Chrysler recall 03A is installed on my pacifica hybrid. Since then, the past two times the van has been driven at highway speed, it has suddenly notified me that vehicle shutdown is imminenent and put the vehicle into limp mode. In both cases, turning the car off and on again allowed normal operation, with the check engine light locked in. The first time the code was P0A43, to be determined what the code is for this most recent event.

- Quarryville, PA, USA

problem #77

Sep 212021

Pacifica

  • miles
While driving my 2021 Chrysler Pacifica the vehicle stalled while going through an intersection. There was no warning lights on the dashboard or any indication that the vehicle was about to stall. The van had to come to a complete stop put in park and then restarted before I can get out of the intersection. This was highly unsafe as I have small children in the car. I took the vehicle back to the dealership I bought it from and they cannot find anything wrong with the car. This is very frustrating and highly unsafe.

- Peekskill, NY, USA

problem #76

Aug 202023

Pacifica

  • miles
The most concerning and potentially dangerous issue I-??m continuing to have with this vehicle is a random, complete shutdown of all engine/battery power. So far this has only happened while driving at a consistent high-speed on a freeway. A warning comes on the center display that says -??Stop Safely. Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon.-?? There is still power steering and hazard lights, but ZERO motor power, neither gas nor electric. I am forced to glide to a stop. If I turn off the ignition, open the door to reset everything, close the door, let the vehicle sit for a minute, when I restart it (so far anyway) everything is back to normal - with the exception of a -??Check Engine-?? light on the display. This first occurred in April of 2023. I subsequently learned there was a recall on the vehicle for this exact problem. The vehicle was taken to LAX Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram where the recall was done, which required a software update. For the next two months there were no issues with this problem. It happened again on June 21st while driving from California to Minnesota. It shut down 5 times. After sitting overnight, it did not do it again and I was able to make it to MN. It was taken to Ryan Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram in Buffalo, MN where the service technician said they were unable to duplicate the problem. Nothing they could do. Sent it home with me. The vehicle shut down again on August 12th. Then 10 more times while driving across Kansas on August 20th. You can imagine how harrowing it trying to safely pull to side of the road with dozens of other cars and trucks speeding past, and in one case serving to avoid colliding with me at the last moment. No longer willing to risk an accident, I was forced to ditch the vehicle at a dealership in Denver where it currently resides and awaiting a fix. So far no one at any Chrysler dealership has acknowledged the seriousness of this problem. I have documented most shutdowns on video, but am unable to send.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

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