10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 2 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 3 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 98 miles
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« Read the previous 20 complaints
Vehicle suddenly looses all power and a message pops up on the dash to pull over. This happens intermittently and is terrifying when you are on the road and suddenly only have brakes and steering. Chrysler knows of the issue but doesn't have a fix for it. Someone is going to end up getting killed and they should be forced to stop selling all pacifica hybrid's (new and used) until there is a real solution for this problem.
- Sunnyvale, CA, USA
The contact owns a 2021 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle shifted into neutral unintendedly and lost motive power. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact was unable to shift into gear as the gear shifter had seized. The contact veered to the side of the road. The contact stated that the vehicle restarted and responded as needed after several attempts. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while driving. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred while on vacation in Tennessee, and the vehicle was driven to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The vehicle remained in Tennessee while the contact returned to the residence driving a rental. The contact became aware that the vehicle was previously repurchased by the manufacturer due to the failure; however, the dealer sold him the vehicle as they believed they had fixed the issue. The manufacturer was notified of the failure through a survey. The failure mileage was approximately 8,500.
- Pound, WI, USA
I have tried to get a remedy for the major recall and Chrysler is being unresponsive. I can-??t let my young family use the car until this is fixed and Chrysler won-??t help so what do I do?
- Vancouver, WA, USA
I have a 2021 Pacifica Hybrid in (Vin: 2C4RC1S70MR51943) that has encountered the dreaded "Service Charging System" message 5 times now in the past year, with the past 3 occurrences all happening in the last 3 weeks. Each time the car will not start, and the gear shifter will flash, the red charging light will illuminate on the dash, and the check engine light is on. On one occurrence, I turned the car off, then on again and was able to drive, however the check engine light was illuminated. I ran an OBD scan and the code was P1A21. On another instance, I was driving and lost all propulsion, the screen indicated "Service Charging System" message. Luckily I was on a local road and not a freeway and I was able to pull into the bike lane, still obstructing 1/2 of the right lane. After 5 minutes of trying to restart the car, I was able to move the car and I drove it to Earnhardt CJDR in Gilbert Arizona. When I got there, the check engine light had disappeared. I dropped off the car and to my disbelief the dealership told me there is nothing they can do if they can not replicate the issue. I am not stuck with a van my wife is afraid to drive due to the imminent threat of the car turning off while driving. I have 2 young children and I do not feel the van is safe in its current condition. Yet, the dealer is unable to resolve/replicate the issue. I have videos displaying the issue along with a screenshot of the OBD error code. It appears the dealership does not care about the safety of my wife and children by not being able to fix this issue. I have done a significant amount of research online and have found this to be a relatively common issue. In my opinion this vehicle is not safe to drive due to the risk of a complete shutdown and I commute on the freeway to and from work and the last thing I need is to have the van disabled on a busy interstate.
- Mesa, AZ, USA
Traveling on the highway, the vehicle engine turned off. The vehicle would not accelerate and only coast. Driver display says "Shift into P to start" and "Service charging system". After coasting to the side of the highway, I was able to restart the vehicle after shifting into Park but a check engine light came on after the restart(No check engine light was present before this incident). Our safety and others were at risk due to vehicle unable to move. Had there been no emergency lane, our vehicle would have been stopped on the highway. This engine stalling incident had occurred another 6 times within 2 days. Vehicle was brought into the dealership with check engine code P0A43. Dealer said they were unable to reproduce the engine stall and have released the vehicle back. Vehicle is available for inspection upon request. No warning lamps, messages, or any other symptoms prior to the 1st failure.
- Torrance, CA, USA
My 2021 Pacifica Hybrid with 19.2K miles threw a "Service Charging System" and Check Engine Light error while I was driving at 65mph on the highway on Christmas Eve in 8 degree weather. The minivan stopped accelerating and the transmission began flashing between P and D. We were forced to stop the vehicle on the highway shoulder, leaving us (2 parents, 2 kids 7 & 11) stranded on the highway. The vehicle then shut off and we were unable to turn on heating or accessories other than headlights and hazards. We were rescued by state troopers given that no tow trucks were available on Christmas Eve. The local dealer claims that the issue was related to the battery, but that doesn't make sense given the car was driving at highway speeds at the time and the alternator should keep the battery charged. I have seen a lot of owners with Service Charging System errors on this forum and believe Chrysler should have some knowledge as to a permanent solution. Without better understanding the root cause of the issue, it's hard for us to feel safe with a battery replacement, since that seems to be address symptom given that a car running highway speeds would keep the batteries charged through the belt and alternator system. My wife is fairly terrified of driving this car at highway speeds without some assurances it won't shut down and I get the sense that the dealer wants to wash its hands of this situation. I have a Chrysler warranty number for this repair, but have not received assistance yet. Would really appreciate some help!
- Millburn, NJ, USA
The engine of our 2021 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid suddenly lost power while driving on the freeway. The display indicated "Put car in park" or something similar--but we were driving 65 miles/hour in heavy traffic! I had to pull over, turn the car off completely for one minute, and restart. After restarting the "check engine" light was on. Later in the drive after we stopped again, the "Check engine" light turned off, so all evidence of the error is gone from the car. However, we received en email from Chrysler's automatic system saying the car had reported an error for "powertrain" and we should schedule our service. It was dangerous to lose power while driving at freeway speeds. I am also confused about why the car's error codes went away. The car is available for inspection. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? My family of four was driving in heavy holiday traffic at 65 miles per hour when we lost power. It is dangerous to lose power at such speeds in the middle lanes of the interstate. I turned on the hazard lights and crossed three lanes to an exit. Thankfully we were going downhill and the heavy trucks in the slow lanes let us through. My life and the lives of my family were clearly endangered by this incident. This is the second time the car lost power on the freeway and the fourth time we have had the check engine light turn on. The car has about 26,500 miles. I have taken the car to dealer shops for the last three times the car indicated errors. Last time the car lost power the dealer said they could not replicate the issue. The car has been inspected by the dealer service department 4 times. I will take the car back to the dealer to get inspected again. There were no indications prior to the failure. The car lost power with no warning when we were driving at freeway speeds and we were about 300 miles into a 500 mile drive.
- La Mesa, CA, USA
On Tue, 12/20/2022, I was driving on I-94 westbound between Moorland Road and WI Hwy 164 at about 60-70 mph. The car suddenly stalled and I lost all ability to accelerate the vehicle. The brakes and steering wheel still worked fine. The dash was displaying a message: "Service charging system. Shift to P to start." This has happened to my vehicle multiple times before. I was in the right lane and the shoulder was clear. I was able to pull onto the shoulder and come to a controlled stop. I put the vehicle in PARK and shut off the vehicle. After waiting a bit I restarted the car successfully. This happened 1 more time on the same trip (but on Hwy 16 as I was headed out to Waukesha County Technical College.) This is definitely safety issue as there was no way to restart the car in motion. Plus, pulling over to the shoulder on a busy highway, particularly with many trucks going by around 50 - 60 mph made me feel quite scared. I do NOT trust driving the vehicle at speeds above 60 mph anymore. This has happened to me last month. I took it to a dealer after that incident but they could not find anything wrong with the vehicle. This is now the 6th time this has happened to me.
- New Berlin, WI, USA
Driving on the freeway, all propulsion suddenly and without warning ceased and the dash declared "service charging system" and the check engine light came on.. My only choice was to coast off to the side of the freeway. My safety was definitely at risk, as I was stuck on the side of the freeway. After several minutes, I was able to turn the car all the way off and turn it back on again. The check engine light was still on. I drove it straight to the dealership, who has it in for service for this error. Prior to this, the van gave no indication that anything was wrong.
- Columbus, OH, USA
Second occurrence of 2021 Pacifica Hybrid stalling while driving. Same error messages with check engine light, Service Charging System, battery light. The recommended software update was done a month ago at a dealership after the first incident. The van worked fine until today when I had to unexpectedly maneuver to the roadside again as it stalled out at 35 mph. I waited several minutes and the van started again but the yellow engine light stayed on. I took it to the dealer where I bought it and it's there now. Yes, my safety was at risk again.
- Trout Valley, IL, USA
On Sunday, 12/4/2022, I went on a few errands not intending to drive very far on the highway since most of my stops were local. I entered the I-94 west bound from Moorland Rd in Brookfield WI and drove about 1 mile reaching about 65 mph during the busy traffic hours. The car suddenly stalled and I lost all ability to accelerate the vehicle. The brakes and steering wheel still worked fine. The dash was displaying a message: "Service charging system. Shift to P to start." Thankfully, I was in the right lane and the shoulder was clear. I was able to pull onto the shoulder and come to a controlled stop. I put the vehicle in Stop but when I pressed the off button, it would not switch to off and remained in the "run" mode. I tried several times for a few minutes without any success. I waited a minute and then tried again. This time, the vehicle was able to switch to "OFF" mode. I was able to start the car normally without any "System charging system" error coming on. I decided to return home immediately using local roads only. I no longer trust my vehicle on the highway - even if it is only for a short distance on the highway.
- New Berlin, WI, USA
On Wed, 11/23/2022, I was driving on I-94 Eastbound headed from Wisconsin to Illinois at about 70 mph. The car suddenly stalled and I lost all ability to accelerate the vehicle. The brakes and steering wheel still worked fine. The dash was displaying a message: "Service charging system. Shift to P to start." Thankfully, I was in the right lane and the shoulder was clear. I was able to pull onto the shoulder and come to a controlled stop. I put the vehicle in PARK and shut off the vehicle. I tried to restart it but was unable to. I then unbuckled my seat belt and opened & closed the driver side door (without getting out). After about a minute I was able to restart the car and continue on my way to Chicago. This happened 2 more times that trip. It also happened 1 time on the way back to Wisconsin for a total of 4 incidents in 1 day trip. This has significant safety implications, esp. when one cannot get to the shoulder (or there is no shoulder) to restart the vehicle. I felt very scared and no longer trust my vehicle on the highway. This has happened to me once before earlier this year. I took it to a dealer after that incident. They said the updated all the software but are not certain if this fixed the root cause. Apparently, it did not. There was no warning light to indicate a problem may be happening. However, now that this has happened, the "check engine" indicator is on and, apparently, needs to be reset. I have not yet taken the vehicle to a dealer for this recent set of 4 incidents.
- New Berlin, WI, USA
Van stalled while driving at 45 mph, had to pull over to side of road and get a tow to dealer. No indication of a problem before the stall. Warning lamp showed engine light, charging system warning, shift to park to start but unable to restart van on side of road. High safety risk as this occurred while driving at night. Police eventually parked behind me for safety on the roadside. Van is currently at dealership after being towed there.
- Trout Valley, IL, USA
I was driving the van on interstate 85 in NC on my way to Charlotte from Raleigh. I was traveling at 70 mph when the van suddenly lost power. I could not accelerate and had to immediately pull over to the shoulder coasting on momentum only. I barely missed being hit by a semi truck as I attempted to get out of the way of traffic. The van remained stalled on the shoulder as I attempted to restart the van. It took 5 tries to get the van off the shoulder and onto an exit where I was able to park the van at a Waffle House parking lot to await a tow truck. Each attempt to restart the van would give me about 30 seconds of power before the van would stall out again. I was traveling with my wife and 4 small children and this was a very harrowing experience and could-??ve have ended in disaster with that semi barreling down on us. The error code on the dash was -??service charging system-?? Chrysler needs to fix the is issue before someone dies in a horrible accident.
- Raleigh, NC, USA
Same issue as the existing complaint PE22008 on 10/24/2022, South-bound I-95 in Maryland, driving around 65-70 MPH. The van completely stopped excelling. Luckily I had enough speed/inertia to cross the 2-3 lanes to pull-off onto the shoulder. I put the car in PARK and then turned the car in off and then on again, was able to continue driving afterwards. Dashboard screen read "Service charging system" which seems odd because if it is an issue with Hybrid system, the gas engine should kick-in. This happened again 3 hours later. In both situations, I had my wife and children in the van.
- Laurel, MD, USA
While traveling in the #1 lane at 65mph on the freeway, the engine suddenly lost power and I had to coast to the far right lane amid traffic to enter the emergency stopping area. This has happened 4 times in the last few weeks. The dashboard display says there is a charging system problem. I am able to restart the car after stopping completely and opening the driver's door. This creates a very unsafe situation. I took it to the dealership today and they performed the Z76 recall campaign software update, however, upon driving 10 miles on the freeway, it happened again.
- Rancho Santa Fe, CA, USA
Our 2021 Pacifica Hybrid with less than 21k miles on it lost all propulsion/motive power; this happened while I was driving on a freeway just seconds before going onto an overpass at freeway speeds to change freeways. Driving uphill on an overpass at freeway speeds with our kids in the car was very dangerous (especially during weekday traffic in Orange County) but, fortunately, we coasted to a stop safely. The vehicle's other systems seemed to still be working. For example, the vehicle's dashboard was working. As soon as the vehicle's power ceased, an error light on the dash appeared reading "Service Charging System Error, " and instructed the driver to pull over and put the car in park. The check engine light has been on since the incident. The car was dropped off at the dealership on October 14th. They said that the electrical guy will be available on October 17th to look at the vehicle.
- Placentia, CA, USA
Driving on US-23 and "Service Charging System" warning displayed on dashboard. Car lost power and I had to coast to the side of the freeway. Turned car off but could not turn back on. Transmission would not go out of Park. Tried about 10 times and after about 15 minutes the car turned on and could drive. Check engine light remained on for remainder of the drive home. Planned on visiting dealer in the morning but car turned on and no check engine light. This is the 3rd time the "service charging system" warning has happened, but the first time the car died on the road. Every time the check engine light disappeared the next day. Had codes scanned and permanant code P1A21.
- Tecumseh, MI, USA
On Saturday 9.3.22, while driving at approximately 40mph, my Chrysler Pacifica lost all power and slowed to a stop (I turned on my hazards immediately and pulled over to the shoulder). Based on the light traffic around me I was able to safety move accross two lanes even without the aid of power steering. Within 60 seconds of me coming to a stop, the Check engine light came on the cluster and an error message saying -??charging system fault-??. After calling for Chrysler roadside assistance, I attempted to restart the vehicle dozens of times unsuccessfully. At approx 60min after the vehicle lost power, it restarted. On Tuesday, 9.5.22 I took the vehicle to the dealer to diagnose & repair. As of today (9.12.22) they have been unable to recreate the event. Even though the error threw a CIL code, the dealer stated the error is now gone and no codes were stored. They have filed a -??STAR-?? case with the manufacturer to determine next steps. I have refused to accept the vehicle back until the problem itself has been diagnosed and a repair is made.
- Naperville , IL, USA
- Columbia, MO, USA