— Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid problems have caused a federal investigation following a recall in July 2022 which was announced due to a previous defect investigation.
The 2017-2023 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid problems involve minivans that lose drive power because the engines suddenly shut down.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation in July 2022 into stalled 2019-2021 Chrysler Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).
In January 2023, Fiat Chrysler announced a recall which included 2017-2023 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrids because internal transmission wiring connectors could short-circuit. According to Chrysler, this caused the minivan engines to shut down.
FCA dealers were told to update the power inverter module (PIM) and/or instrument panel cluster (IPC) software to provide a driver with a warning message which says, “Stop Safely - Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon.”
A driver will also hear a warning chime, see a warning light, and there will be the "PRNDL blinking (on cluster and shifter knob), low SOC (State of Charge) warning and reduced power mode."
However, the recall repair does not replace the defective components which cause the Pacifica Hybrid problems. Meaning, the transmission wiring connector short-circuit still exists on the minivans.
The Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid problems have continued because NHTSA has received more than 130 reports/complaints about the minivans shutting down.
"These reports allege a loss of motive power condition that reduces the vehicles speed, followed by dashboard warning lamps displaying messages associated with recall 23V-010. The presence of these warning lamps and messages indicates the vehicle likely had the recall remedy applied." — NHTSA
Safety regulators confirmed with Chrysler that the recall repair does not prevent a minivan from losing drive power, "but instead limits torque to the engine and after an unspecified number of miles or period of time, the engine will shut down."
Once the problem occurs, the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid owner must take the minivan to a dealer to finally have the defective hardware replaced.
NHTSA is also concerned how the dashboard warnings caused by the recall repair may cause a driver to pull over in unsafe locations.
According to NHTSA, safety regulators will determine if more than 67,000 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrids were properly repaired during the transmission wiring recall.
CarComplaints.com will update our website with results of the minivan investigation.