2018 Chrysler Pacifica complaints

Head gasket was blown.and there were no warning signs or indicator lights my van only has 62,000 miles on it

2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, 49,250 miles. Vehicle has had transmission replaced once under warranty a couple of years ago. Last week, dashboard lights lit up and message read "“Stop Safely - Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon." I pulled off the road, shut it off, waited a few minutes, started it up and drove home. We were in-town going in-town speeds, so safety risk was minimal. Earlier that same day the day the HVAC fan was intermittently going higher and lower, like it couldn't decide if it should be at 5 or 2 (out of the 7 fan speeds). I don't know if that is related in any way. I made an appointment at the dealership several days later (driving it the whole time but only in town). They say it needs another transmission and have ordered one. Repair will be free.

Transmission slipping while changing gears. Engine shutting down while driving. Was put in the shop 5/28, they said they fixed it. did it again on the way home on 6/21/24.

In March of this year (2024), while driving down the road at 45 mph, my Pacifica's dashboard suddenly lit up and flashed all kinds of warnings including ABS off, the check engine light, the parking brake, the service electronic throttle control, electronic stability control off, collision off, warning parking brake, and other lights that I'm not sure what they mean. It seemed like every warning light in the panel lit up. The van slowed down and wouldn't let me accelerate and it felt like the power steering wasn't active. I pulled into a parking lot and shut the engine off. After restarting, the check engine light was lit, but the van let me proceed. I took it to my auto shop that said the codes were all electronic/ software related and I had to take it to a dealership. The dealership said they couldn't find anything wrong and that the codes didn't save. On June 9, the lights started flashing again while I was parked in a parking lot while I was on a road trip. I was able to capture the end of it on my camera. I again turned the engine off and on again, and the van "reset" with only the check engine light on. I was able to proceed through the rest of the weekend and the check engine light actually turned off after a day. Then on June 22, the warning lights started flashing again. My son was driving this time (along with my husband and 2 other sons). He pulled into a parking lot to return the van home, but it wouldn't go into a gear. Slowly, they toggled through the gears until

Back in January While driving and stopping at a red light the warning light appeared that the stop/start function was unavailable. The warning "electronic service" appeared and went away. While stopped at a red light the vehicle turned off with no other warning. This put me at serious risk with my children in the car for an accident. After a minute I was able to turn my car back on get hhome. I had my vehicle serviced and had a new main battery put in. Now in June the same warning came on again. I have to pay hundreds of dollars just to get a diagnostic report. This is the second time in less than 6 months. This is putting my safety and the safety of my family at risk.

The check engine light came on in early May, and I immediately took it to our local mechanic. On [XXX], he told me we had a cracked cylinder head (attached quote). You can imagine my surprise! It’s a fairly new car. I just went on Google, and I found immediately a thread on the Pacifica forum where hundreds of families have had this problem. I just commented without expecting to get help, and I got a DM from Chrysler Cares (correspondence attached). They asked me to take it to a Chrysler dealer to confirm the diagnosis. The dealer reached out to me on May 28th with the bad news below. I said I would pick the car that afternoon. He informed me that if I drove the vehicle it would “catch on fire.” Quote below: Technician has completed diagnosis of vehicle. Found engine is burning coolant, coolant leaking into engine from headgaskets. Need to replace both left and right side headgaskets, cost for repair is $4334 plus tax. With this service also recommended to replace spark plugs additional $437, service throttle body $299, Service fuel injectors/rails $299, flush coolant in radiator and reservoir $299. Sincerely, Tony Pantagis Service Advisor Office 973-744-2000 ext 137 Fax 973-744-248 Email: [email protected] I immediately reached out to Chrysler Cares online. I also called the 800#again. It took MANY days to get anyone to get back to me, but finally I got a Case number. I explained my whole story on the telephone, and Chante said she would reach out to the dealer. After many

I own a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica with just 53k miles. Recently, after starting the vehicle, the dash board displayed a check engine light. When I took it to the dealership, they informed me the code was a P0305, which indicated a misfire in cylinder 5, caused by a blown head gasket and a coolant leak into the cylinder. AT 53,000 MILES! Their quote to repair the engine (which just sets the ticking time-bomb back to zero) is $5,000.

Had engine misfire and low coolant light come on. Towed to dealer. Engine did not overheat. Dealer found cracked head. Head was not made well. Disabled start stop feature and put van into “limp” mode where it would not start on the freeway. Safety concern.

Head gasket is leaking coolant into cylinder #5. According to the Chrysler forums, this seems to be a common problem. We are seeking to share this information so that the appropriate steps may be taken to commence a recall in order to service these vehicles. The safety of all drivers/passengers should be the pinnacle of this concern. We have 105, 000 miles on this vehicle and have experienced no other mechanical issues to this point.

The contact owns a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed a failure with the START/STOP system. The contact stated that on several occasions the vehicle lost motive power and stalled with the START/STOP engine warning light illuminated. The dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHSTA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

Head gasket is blown with not that many miles, it's blowing fuses on a daily bases, start stop function won't work. Coolant leaks. Coils damaged, and lastly ac unit won't close properly and keeps making noise.

Licensed independent service center diagnosed that I have coolant leaking into cylinder 5 and that the head gasket is compromised and needs to be replaced. My vehicle only has 84k miles. No warning lights illuminated until I started to experience a shudder when starting the vehicle, shaky start and then the check engine light came on with a cylinder 5 misfire code. I noticed coolant was low and topped off. The vehicle has never indicated it was too hot, but I need to refill reservoir each time the vehicle is driven. I no longer feel safe driving my vehicle as a hot engine could cause failure while driving, leave us stranded in a vehicle with small children, or worse cause engine fire, accident, injury or death. I would never expect to have head gasket failure at such low mileage. I should be able to trust that an auto manufacturer can build a car that will last more than 84,000 miles without engine failure. Many people online are experiencing this same issue with large repair bills or engine replacements needed. I sincerely hope that a recall will be issued for this repair as it presents a safety issue.

My car jerks really hard when driving mostly at around 14 to 16 mph when it shifts into 2nd gear. It feels like I have been rear ended. Also occasionally it happens shifting into 3rd gear, but mostly into 2nd. Once in a while it loses power altogether and other times it accelerates on its own. I have had this to the dealer 3 times and they did a diagnostics on it but can't find anything wrong. This is not normal for the transmission to do this. When it loses power I'm afraid of somebody hitting me and when it speeds up on its own, I afraid I will hit somebody.

The contact owns a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. Additionally, the check engine and the STOP and START warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on several occasions; however, the failure could not be duplicated. The contact stated that on the last occasion, the vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the battery was replaced; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was scheduled for a service appointment. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 67,000.

Value cover gasket failed and stated cracked heads. Car didn’t overheat, but engine light came on. Had car towed to dealer. Bought warranty from dealer(powertrain) but dealer says coverage have not been approved yet. Car been in shop about 2 wks

While driving 45+ MPH, a warning message shown stating "stop safely, vehicle will shut off soon", which is followed by loss of power and inability to control the vehicle. No error codes generated. There is an open investigation according to the NHTS website, NHTSA Action Number: RQ24004.

-service engine light went on 2 weeks ago, intermittently. - escalated when engine began locking/ shuddering while driving and engine light began flashing. - had vehicle towed to the nearby dealership - dealer diagnosed it as a blown head gasket due to manufacturing defects. Dealer offered up that ‘they see this issue all the time’ with the 3.6L Pentastar engine. - dealer quoted $6000 for the repair but forewarned that the other head gaskets would likely fail as well because of the manufacturer defect. Quoted $9500 to replace both - dealer suggested replacing both head gaskets but also refused to confirm integrity of the engine block and all additional cylinders with micrometer measurements and pressure readings. - there is a known and frighteningly frequent breakdown of this engine in the Chrysler Pacifica. - complete engine failure should not be common place for a vehicle with less than 100,000 miles.

The contact owns a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed on an incline, the vehicle briefly lost motive before jerking forward and then returning to normal functionality. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 42,000.

Car ran fine during morning drop offs with kids to school, approximately 10 miles away. Stopped in parking lot to help with school events, car cooled down for 2 hours and would not start. Tried to jump start the car, it did not work. Car was towed to the dealership where we found out that the engine had seized. Car has 107K miles on it . All maintenance performed at dealership on time.

While driving a message came across the dash to "service charging system" and then a second message appeared that said "speeds limited" and the vehicle slowed to 44mph entirely out of my control.

The steering wheel seems to "lock" or become stiff when traveling over 50 miles an hour. It does not happen all the time, but causes over correction which is scary at higher speeds

There is a loud creaking noise coming from the front end, most likely suspension. It seems worse when the car is turning and even more so when backing up and turning steering wheel. I am aware of the V15 recall for the Pacific and from what I have read the symptoms are nearly identical. Along with this there are at times more of a clicking sound.

Piston Number 3 is misfiring which is the from an error code. Replaced the piston 3 twice and now coolant is leaking into the engine which cause the coolant to leak into the engine. This is a safety risk since the car does not give a warning until there is no more coolant in the car which can cause a fire while driving. The issue was shown twice and confirmed by 2 independent mechanics and the dealership. The vehicle has been inspected and checked out by 2 independent mechanics and the dealership. It first appeared Feb 16 2024 when the check engine light came on and the next Monday the car lost coolant. The car also shook violently when it was started.

The contact owns a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle hesitated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, and it was diagnosed and determined that the head gasket needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 71,000.

There is a loud clicking and popping noise from the front drivers side suspension when turning or going over bumpy ground. The car also pulls to one side unexpectedly when going around corners Sometimes while driving the car will shut down and restart as if rebooting a computer.

The engine overheated and the vehicle became with three children inside on a major New Jersey highway. This vehicle was advertised for families with kids, and appears to have a safety defect. The first sign something was wrong was when the check engine light came on; shortly after the vehicle became inoperable on the highway. We took the vehicle to several different mechanic shops, including the dealership, and we were told the vehicle has a major engine defect, either a blown head gasket or a total engine failure. The vehicle is currently at a Chrysler dealership being examined.

When driving at 60-70 mph steering wheel feels like it is sticking. It won't return back to center. It is a very uncomfortable feeling, like the steering wheel is going to get stuck turning. I see that there has been another complaint filed. - NHTSA ID # 11578790

Purchased the car used in 2018. Worked fine. Always kept up with my oil changes. Car now over 72000 miles. Suddenly, noticed car would jerk while im driving. Was told engi e misfire. Had it fixed so i thought. After a while, happening again. Also, without any warning, suddenly coolant disappears somewhere in the car. Not coming out at all. And without warning, car overheats. Constantly filling with coolant. Engine light suddenly comes on. Blinking on and off. Now im in engine failure. Not in warranty. Checked several forums, tons of people with the SAME issue. Bad engine from Chrysler. My Supreme warranty is expired, i am single mother of three and cannot fix. Still financing this vehicle. Can anybody help me? I dont have thousands of dollars to fix this.

When traveling 65 - 75 mph, steering wheel sticks/gets stuck when making right turn. Steering does not auto-correct itself like it should. After researching issue, it’s related to an issue with the power steering rack and pinion. It needs to be replaced. The part itself is over $2,000.

The middle row passenger seat belt will no longer latch. There were no warnings. The seatbelt became unlatched on it's own while I was driving my children to school on 3/15/2024. I had to immediately pull over and call for help. None of my children are old enough to ride in the front seat, so this was quite scary. The seat belt has not been able to latch since.

My Vehicle suddenly stops while the car is in motion, it shuts completely off. I had an instance where my car shut off coming off the freeway off-ramp. This has happened on numerous occasions and we have been trying to call the dealership to see if there is any recall. We are never given a straight answer and we feel unsafe to drive our vehicle

The contact owns a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the vehicle was shuddering and there was a lot of exhaust and a burning odor. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that there was coolant in the compartment where the spark plug was located, and that the head gasket was fractured. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 47,000.

I keep getting a check engine light that reads as cylinder 5 misfire. I have replaced the spark plug and coil pack and it still will read as a cylinder 5 misfire. Often times when we start the van, it acts as if it has engine problems. I know this is very common in 2017-2018 Pacifica's and seems very unsafe. Something is wrong with the engines in those years of Pacifica's. I have had this check engine light read 4 times and 2 mechanics looked at it and replaced some parts to success.

The van auto shutoff during a stop in an intersection. The van did not turn back on when the pressure was released from the pedal. The engine was off and I was in the middle of the intersection. The gear shifter knob was unable to move to a different gear. After multiple attempts to restart the car were unsuccessful, the car finally restarted after cycling through the att, run, start menus without the brake being depressed and then pressing the break and pushing the start button. This vehicle has had the recall work performed related to this issue and the repair is insufficient. The stall is intermittent and difficult to repeat.

On [XXX] I brought my 2018 Chrysler Pacifica to Matt Bowers for some warranty work and to check a front end creaking noise that was most prominent and unstable feeling while in reverse with the wheel turned. They performed the warranty work and notified me that the noise I was hearing was from the cv axles and that they didn't need to be replaced immediately but would need replacement if they got worse and noted that it was very low mileage for this issue. (Around 40,000 miles) The noise continued but has gotten worse lately and has felt much more unsettling in reverse so I brought it to a local mechanic to confirm it was in fact the cv axles. He confirmed the axles need to be replaced and also told me he thought there was a recall relating to cv axles on the Pacifica. I looked it up and found Safety Recall U80 / NHTSA 18V-493 front halfshaft which covers Chrysler Pacificas manufactured between 2/22/2018 to 6/11/2018 with MDH of [XXX] My Pacifica's manufacture date is June of 2018 and has a MDH of [XXX] which falls within the scope of the recall. I called the FCA recall center on [XXX] at 1-800-853-1403 and was told I wasn't covered under the recall. I have no service lights on but have cv axles that are severely prematurely worn on my vehicle which only has about 60,000 miles affecting the overall safety and performance. My vehicle falls under the listed recall and Chrysler has failed to make this issue right. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (

The vehicle display reads "Service Charging System" and switches into limp mode where the vehicle is prevented from driving faster than 15 mph. After leaving the van sit for a time, it drives ok. I took the van to a Chrysler dealership twice after this happened, and the dealership could not resolve the issue. After the second time this happened, the dealership contacted an engineer at Chrysler to try and resolve the problem, but they could not. Chrysler says the problem stems from the charger that is being used, but the error/limp mode occurs not after using a charger. I am concerned that the vehicle will switch over to limp mode at any time presenting a safety risk.

The transmission gives out and loses power to the wheels. This is very unsafe!! Was taking a left turn and lost all power and was almost hit. This happens all the time but the other day was almost my last……

When driving slow or even coasting, between 5 to 20 MPH, the transmission SLAMS, KICKS, CLUNKS with speed up little bet . You don't even have to have your foot on the gas, it just does it. It's also happened when accelerating from a low speed, like from 10 Mph to 30 mph. And happen at the freeway when leaving the gas to lower the speed will kicks and Speed ​​up a little and one time in Crossroads my foot over the break the engine was off then i released my foot the engine start I couldn't take left because the light came red so i put it on reverse didn't move then forward same the transmission doesn't respond then i put it on parking and wait then put it reverse and moved that's i was blocking one line of my left to right side.(( Its look like with all Incident the transmission shut off and on or shift it self to N then return back D ))

The #5 cylinder keeps having a misfire sometimes causing failure of the vehicle to get up and move when needed in an emergency Situation this being a family van make even putting children in danger at times. After inspection by myself a Mechanic that even taught College Automotive repair, I have also taught Jet engine repair I find this concerning. Is what is happening is the head gasket is leaking coolant into the #5 Cylinder and we all know water will not admit a spark. Rust can be seen on the Valves and top of Piston cylinder upon inspection. This is a well know issue across the United States and Chrysler Dealers and manufacturers, their mechanics, parts and service departments also know this. This is poor workmanship inferior parts. But the most concerning is not being able to get a response out of the vehicle to get out of the way in an emergency situation and that the owners of Chrysler Corporation do not care. With the cost the consumers paid for these Vehicles it should not have to fall on them due to the inferior parts and workmanship of the manufacturing Company. The Average Consumer cannot afford to fix this issue, and some are still paying for their Pacifica's Immediate action should be taken with this problem as many Babies, Children and adult lives are being put at risk. I would recommend to stop driving these vehicles immediately until the problem is resolved. Accident waiting to happen possibly causing bodily harm.

Received message that Start/Stop component was not working. A few weeks later, check engine light came on. Brought to mechanic, was told to replace main and auxiliary battery. Paid to replace those and two days later, got both the start/stop message and the check engine light again. Brought back to mechanic who, upon finding countless other consumers who have had the same issue, found a blown head gasket with coolant leaking into the engine. Our vehicle has only 44k miles on it and is at risk of overheating while driving and the engine may be damaged.

Bought my 2018 Chrysler Pacifica used on December 8, 2022, with 70,649 miles on it. I have had issues with a hard shift in my power train. It doesn't do it when transmission is cold and it doesn't do it all the time. My engine light comes on, but it doesn't show any codes for the hard knock. It has been to 2 different dealers including Chrysler on several occasions without the issue being resolved.

The seatbelt looks as though it has been cut partially through by the fixed seatbelt guide on the middle row of seats. Those seatbelts hold in place two car seats for a young child and an infant. The seatbelts rarely get moved because we keep the car seats secured to the two middle row seats. The seat belts were briefly inspected by a service advisor at the Chrysler dealership, Taris, who stated that it looks like it could have been done by the seatbelt guide. The first time I noticed it was just on the driver side back in 2022. When I noticed an identical cut on the passenger side about a week to two weeks ago, I knew that there was a problem, and I also noticed that there is a secondary cut starting on driver's side because in March we had another baby and placed a new car seat base on the driver side seat. The driver side seat belt is now locked into place and cannot be viewed unless the side interior panel is removed. That has not been done at this time.

The check engine light came on and the vehicle experienced a slight loss of power. Later the Start/Stop indicator light cam on with a message saying it has malfunctioned. Upon driving the van continues to have issues going up hills and accelerating from a stopped position. The check engine light remains steady without blinking.

At 34k miles I’m being told the head gasket needs to be replaced and the car is out of warranty. This is unacceptable and refuse to pay the amount to fix for a vehicle that has that low of mileage. Coolant leaking with no visible leakage. Engine overheated on freeway with no explanation.

In Oct 2023 we purchased this van from a used dealership. Well now it sits at a Dodge dealership torn apart waiting on a new engine. It all started when my wife and kids were driving down the road in the middle of winter with no heat (safety issue especially in Wisconsin this time of year) so I took a look at coolant and noticed the coolant reservoir was empty. (Usually a leak somewhere obviously) nothing was on the ground, so time to assume internal leak. Well same day I get a cylinder 5 miss fire code. So I take vehicle into Dodge and they originally diagnosed as head gasket but when they took it apart they found the crack in the block. Now the vehicle had never overheated while we owned it we made sure of it. The story gets deep at this point there is evidence that someone before Dodge had this engine apart as they used RTV and reused the old gaskets ( probably cause they found the crack in the block) but now my wife and I sit with out the vehicle we bought 3 months earlier for 20k being told it's going to cost us 12k to replace engine. Now my complaint is why did this engine fail at 100,000? This is ridiculous. This is supposably a family vehicle and you are putting my family in danger. Dodge should let ok at this complaint seriously as I was reading hundreds of similar statements from other customers with 2018 Chrysler Pacifica 3.6L engine. There are most likely thousands of vehicles with this same issue as I'm on a waiting list to get an engine. So not only do I have to

Initial Symptoms: Auto-start/stop failed/tripped, plus excessive white exhaust smoke continuously exits (will not stop). Stopped driving vehicle ~26Nov2023. Problem 1: P0303 Solution 1: Ignition coil and spark plug replacements @ $905.17 (15Dec2023) Not Fixed: Error code is gone but white smoke persists. Problem 2: Chrysler tech found low coolant, traced to EGR cooler. Solution 2: Replaced EGR cooler @ $1,319.00 (05Jan2024) Not Fixed: Excessive white smoke still exits tailpipe and does not stop. Neither solution fixed the root cause. There is also an engine smoke smell in the cabin (we don't smoke). Potential Root Cause: Failed head gasket forcing coolant into the engine then burning out as white exhaust.

Driving along and the power steering stops and you can’t turn then it releases and then a little bit later it’ll do it again so the power steering comes back-and-forth but I feel it’s a hazard

My vehicle lost the ability to accelerate when driving on a busy two-lane street. I was able to coast to the side of the road, but the vehicle would not move forward or backward even though the engine was running. This was the fifth time this condition has occurred, and I had the 03A Loss of Motive Power recall service performed during Summer 2023. The vehicle had to be towed - luckily nobody was directly behind us so an accident did not occur. The vehicle is currently being evaluated by the dealership for further repair. The check engine light is illuminated, but no other warning lights are illuminated at this time.

Misfire on engine that was cause stall and later on could caused over heating. This is a known issue for this manufacture and needs be resolved before someone is hurt or killed Code was p303 and now I need 1000's in repairs out of my pocket Right now believe to be head gasket but damage could be worse. Yall need to google this issue for yourselves and help protect lives

Last year, a head gasket failed causing coolant to leak into the cylinder head that resulted in misfires and overheating. This resulted in engine block failure and a required a total engine replacement.