10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
4,799 miles

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problem #8

Jun 152019

Pacifica Hybrid 6-cyl

  • 9,000 miles
Phev van was charging overnight while plugged into house outlet (110V) using manufacturer supplied charging cable. At around 7 am we heard an explosion and found the van burning in our driveway. Vehicle was quickly engulfed in flames. Fire truck put it out after arriving (~5-6 minutes, I think). No one was injured, in or near the car when it happened. A nest camera across the street showed that the vehicle was smoking prior to the explosion. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Fort Worth, TX, USA

problem #7

May 252019

Pacifica Hybrid

  • 7,000 miles
I was driving the vehicle with my family. We had already used up the charge for the electric engine and the vehicle was operating in the hybrid engine. I had the adaptive cruise control set at 72 mph and I accelerated to 75 mph to change lanes to the right. As I accelerated, several alarms and warnings appeared on the driver's dashboard. They included 'service hybrid system', a red wrench with a red lighting bolt through it and the orange engine and battery icons. After the alarms sounded, a message appeared saying 'shift vehicle to park'. when I tried to press the accelerator, nothing happened and it seemed that the engine had stalled. I was able to coast to the shoulder of the highway, break the vehicle and turn on my flashers. After we stopped, I put the vehicle in park, shut the vehicle off, and restarted it. After restarting the vehicle, the orange engine warning light remained on. My family and I were able to travel back home but took back roads rather than the highway.

- Palatine, IL, USA

problem #6

Mar 122019

Pacifica Hybrid

  • 2,000 miles
Similar frustrating experience here for the 2019 Pacifica hybrid limited. Bought brand new in Dec. 2018. Now only 2,000 miles on it, the minivan rattled on startup (with 60% charged) and could barely accelerate when I tried merging into a main road. The vehicle put itself into a low-speed mode (aka the famous 'red turtle mode'), and then would no longer accelerate at all! fortunately, I was able to pull over into a parking lot. Unable to fix the issue by putting into 'P' gear, had to completely turn off, lock the vehicle, then came back to start the vehicle to recover the power. However, the engine light still left on. After visiting the dealership, they decided to replace the high voltage battery. It took more than 40 days for the whole process. It's far from the ending of this terrible experience since multiple faults came after picking up the vehicle. Within one week after picking up the vehicle, we experienced another engine light on and one new warning light 'service hybrid electric vehicle system' (a red electrical wrench symbol). Both lights ended up with disappearing themselves after driving some distance. Lastly, we experienced more than three times entertainment systems automatically turned off then back on without any clue. These happened twice while I was cruising on the highway, and once happened in the parking lot while I was backing into the parking lot.

- Knoxville, TN, USA

problem #5

Dec 102018

Pacifica Hybrid

  • 2,000 miles
Gas door opens via a pushbutton. Push the botton, and it checks for pressure in the system, then releases door. When closed, and the starter activated, door re-opens. Must exit vehicle to re-close. It stays shut until next opened with button. Close door, hit starter, door re-opens. Does not reopen until next opened with button. Dealer, fca field tech unable to fix, 45 days in shop. Vehicle stationary at each occurrence.PCM, BCM, other components replaced, wiring harness inspected; see attached. Issue noted on December road trip, taken to dealer once home. Placed in shop 8 or 9 January 2019. Gas door release described and problem is described in attached document.

- Johnson City, TN, USA

problem #4

Jan 032019

Pacifica Hybrid 6-cyl

  • 5,492 miles
While driving at 60mph on freeway, vehicle lost engine power without warning and was no longer responsive to gas pedal. Not enough time to maneuver out of traffic. First occurred 2 weeks after new vehicle purchase. Out of service for 15 days then returned to owner after software update. Same problem occurred again 3 months later, driving on freeway at 60mph. Has currently been out of service for 19 days. Dealership service department has ordered new power inverter module (hybrid motor)...

- Van Nuys, CA, USA

problem #3

Oct 062018

Pacifica Hybrid

  • 1,400 miles
My family and I were riding along at 70 mph and suddenly, the left side energy consumption meter started bouncing up and down. Some burnt rubber smell came through the vents and then the car just start slowing down. I was lucky there were no cars around me and was able to make it across 4 lanes to the right hand side shoulder. All of the lights on my dash were lit but the engine department obviously dead. I powered the car down and tried to crank it again but the computer was confused about which gear I was in. Now, the dash only showed the engine light and battery light. After trying this several more times, I gave up and called the fca tow truck which was a horror story all on its own. Took me longer to get and fca rep online and conversation finalized (30 min) than it took the tow truck to get to my location (15 min). Before the tow truck got to my location, I was able to start the car in gas mode after it died 45 minutes ago and hobbled over to a gas station a 200 feet away. The smell was still prevalent at this point. The tow truck towed the van to the service department where I bought the van (covert in austin) which just happened to coincide within the 10 miles towing limit for my case. This happened 10/6/2018. It's been 9 days and my van hasn't been looked at yet. Apparently there aren't enough hybrid techs to go around. Covert which is a larger fca dealership in the austin area only has 2 techs. In the mean time, covert lent me a loaner since the day I dropped the van off. Not sure what the problem is or when it will be fix. But this doesn't look promising.

- Bastrop, TX, USA

problem #2

Aug 202018

Pacifica Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 11,000 miles
Incident #1 (7/17/2018) - while breaking towards a traffic light that turned from red to green, I attempted to accelerate but heard a loud popping noise, felt the van lurch, and immediately lost all power to the vehicle. Numerous warning lights appeared on the dashboard including engine light & power/hybrid plug-in failure. I was able to steer to the side of the road and break to a stop, and restart 1-2 minutes later. Brought to Chrysler dealer on 7/20 and was told on 7/21 upon pickup that the issue had been rectified via software update. Incident #2 (7/23/2018) - while moving slowly in traffic, I attempted to accelerate as the vehicles ahead of me moved and again lost all power with the same set of errors/warnings mentioned in incident #1. once again, after 1-2 minutes I was able to restart the vehicle. I brought to a different local Chrysler dealer that same day. Picked up the vehicle on 7/24 and was told that after thorough multi-point mechanical inspection with the fca engineers, the company believed the previous dealer had incorrectly applied the software update. Dealer test drove the vehicle for 20 miles and could not recreate the issue. Incident #3 (8/21/2018) - while again moving in traffic, my wife (with our 1 year old in the back) again suddenly lost all power as mentioned in incident #1 and #2 above, except she also had the steering completely lock up on her. She was able to break to a stop mid-traffic and restarted the vehicle 1-2 minutes later. Soon thereafter I called fca corporate directly and have requested a full repurchase of the vehicle and plan to pursue lemon law remediation if that doesn't lead to resolution. All three incidents are life threatening in nature and have not been diagnosable by multiple Chrysler dealerships working in conjunction with fca engineers. (image provided from incident #2)

- Alameda, CA, USA

problem #1

Jul 272018

Pacifica Hybrid

  • 500 miles
We were driving car at 25 mph on busy city road in gas mode (not electric mode) when the power steering and accelerator stopped working. The check engine and battery indicator lights lit up, and a message saying "car must be in park to continue driving" showed up on the dashboard. The brakes worked, and we coasted to a stop and were stuck in the middle of an intersection on a busy artery. When we put the car in park, it would not then go back into drive or reverse; the "D" and "R" gear lights were flashing. The car would not turn off, it would stay in run mode when we tried to turn it off. Battery operated functions, like power sliding doors, stopped working. Earlier in the day, the car had a rough idle while in gas mode.

- Cambridge, MA, USA