27 of the
1,077 complaints filed about the Chrysler Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid
are about the braking system —
3% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2018.
Hello. Writing to you about a serious safety concern on my 2023 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. Overnight, I had it parked in my driveway, and this morning, I found it had rolled down the driveway. In addition, because it was plugged in charging overnight, the movement of my van rolling, caused it to pull on the cord and ultimately snapping my charging port. Fortunately,no one was walking at that time as you could understand the concern this would be if this had been the case and my van would’ve harmed someone. I checked my cameras, and it shows the van beginning to slowly roll on its own around 9:40pm until it reaches the end of my driveway. I believe the only reason it did not go any further is because our sidewalk is a bit raised where it meets the end of the driveway, which stopped it from sliding even further than it did. I would like to see if this is a known issue and if not make it aware as this is a serious concern to the public. Also what steps can I take to Chrysler to fix this issue, I don’t feel comfortable now with the car sitting idle in the driveway with kids playing. Also corrected steps to repair the damage to my car. I contacted the dealer and have an appointment scheduled for Friday 12/27/2024. Please see images of damage and start and finish of where the car was and lastly ended up. Please feel free to contact me about this.
NHTSA complaint #11632172 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2022 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, several unknown warning lights were displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the brake pedal seized and could not be depressed. Due to the failure, the contact was forced to coast the vehicle to a complete stop. The contact had the vehicle towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed with an ABS module failure. The contact stated that the ABS module was replaced under warranty. The contact stated that the failure recently returned while approaching a stop sign. The same symptoms occurred during the failure and the contact was able to make a right turn and coast the vehicle to a complete stop. The vehicle was towed back to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a brake booster failure. The contact was informed that the parts were on backorder and that the repair would be covered under warranty. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.
NHTSA complaint #11622664 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
dash reads Stop safely engine will shut off soon. Just before that the driver will loose power steering and brakes for a second. no acceleration or ability to stop safely have to just role and pray.
NHTSA complaint #11620093 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2023 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that the vehicle would begin to roll away, when attempting to park on an incline. The contact also stated the gear shifter was placed in reverse, the vehicle continued to drive forward. In addition, when applying the brake pedal, the vehicle would take an extensive amount of time before coming to a stop. The contact stated it felt as if the hydraulic fluid was low despite there being no leak. The backover prevention camera failed to display the image from the rear of the vehicle due to there being an unexplained fracture. No warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to diagnose the cause of the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired for the brakes and gear shifter. The back-over prevention camera had been replaced but the failure persisted. The vehicle was returned to the dealer however had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 30,600.
NHTSA complaint #11619794 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The car has a red triangle come up and the car just turns off It has happen 3 times and has been in the shop 2 times and and at this time it going on the 3 month
NHTSA complaint #11609557 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owned a 2023 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at 35 MPH, the vehicle accelerated without the application of the accelerator pedal. The accelerator pedal depressed against the floorboard. The brake pedal was applied, but it failed to respond, and the vehicle continued to increase in speed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact crashed into a concrete barrier and crashed into a Ford, and another unknown van. The driver sustained an unknown injury and was taken to the hospital by ambulance to receive medical attention at the hospital. There was no reported fire. The air bags were deployed. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The black box data showed the vehicle was traveling at 100 MPH. The passenger's side door had detached, and the windshield was shattered. The front and rear of the vehicle were shoved inward. The vehicle was deemed a total loss by the insurance company. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000. The VIN was not available.
NHTSA complaint #11603753 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
On Aug 26th, 2023, I was driving on NJ turnpike. under the speed limit of 65 mph. I was raining a bit and rain intensity picked up. I had both my hand on steering wheel. As I tap on the brakes a little bit to further slow down my vehicle, the brakes got locked and the vehicle started spinning and the went into the ditch divider between lanes. Fortunately nobody was hurt in the vehicle. It was a rental vehicle and I was driving it from 12th of August. I had driven that vehicle for about 12 days and I recollect that braking of that vehicle was always a bit odd. I've been driving for over 20 years and never had I ever had such braking experience. I thought it was atypical because I was not used to hybrid vehicle braking, but in hindsight their may have been more to it.
NHTSA complaint #11552346 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
When driving car gives the warning that FCW is not working and other error messages on the screen. When you apply the break, it automatically started breaking having sudden stops which is dangerous to drive on roads. For some reason those check engine lights will go away after some time and everything seems to be normal. Towed to dealer and reported to Chrysler multiple times and they are not taking car of this ones as they cant replicate the issue.
NHTSA complaint #11524806 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2020 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V010000 (Electrical System, Hybrid Propulsion System); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
NHTSA complaint #11511881 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Several separate times when I have been braking then let up off the brakes, my car accelerated on its own, without me pushing the accelerator. It’s like the car hops or jumps. Very scary as I’m trying to slow down.
NHTSA complaint #11501888 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving approximately 35mph and without any warning, the vehicle suddenly slammed on the brakes and came to a stop in the middle of the road. If another vehicle had been following behind there could have been a collision. The forward collision alert might have gone off; afterwards most of the warning lights were on. We were able to slowly power through the brakes to a nearby parking lot. We could not turn off the car or put the transmission in Park or Neutral, it was completely immobilized. All of the transmission lights were on and could not be changed by turning the dial. The vehicle was towed to a dealership and has been waiting for diagnosis for over 3 weeks.
NHTSA complaint #11481489 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Coming to a stop in traffic at an intersection, at around 10 mph, decelerating at around 0.1g, I did not get additional decel from the vehicle even with pushing the brake pedal to the floor. While coming to a stop I glanced in my rearview mirror and the vehicle in front of me abruptly came to a stop. During the reaction time delay from looking forward, recognizing the vehicle slowed and stepping on the brake harder, I received a FCW alert. I was already on brake pedal and after my reaction time elapsed I pushed hard on the brake pedal which sunk to the floor and gave no additional deceleration from the vehicle. This continued until the CIB/AEB built pressure and stopped the vehicle, which was about 0.25-0.5s later. I didn't hit the vehicle in front of me but the very disturbing part was that the vehicle was not responding or decelerating with driver request.
NHTSA complaint #11469722 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The braking system does not respond in time - there is a delay which almost caused an accident once and did end up causing an accident in Dec of 2021. My daughter was in the car, and my husband was driving. His back was injured, and thank goodness my daughter was not hurt. I tried to contact Chrysler three times (2 times via filling their customer service form and once over the phone), and they said there is nothing they could do and finally gave this form to complete if I was concerned hence writing today. The delay in the brake system is a significant issue, and our local dealership and repair stated there is nothing they could do. Contact Customer Service of Chrysler and Chrysler service representative said there is no recall, so he cannot do anything about this critical safety matter. After a lengthy conversation, he referred me to you. We bought this van for our family, including young children (purchased days before the birth of my son) and elderly parents, and it cost us over $57,000. I am very disappointed in Chrysler for not taking this braking delay issue seriously. We even tried to sell our vehicle, but the price is $13000 less than what we paid in just about a year, which we cannot afford anymore. Besides this vital safety issue, we are very much satisfied with our vehicle and are concerned that others might be in a similar situation to us while Chrysler is not even listening to this vital safety concern; hence I am writing.
NHTSA complaint #11451590 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I was travelling on I-95. My 2020 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid completely shut down while driving at 65-70 mph. A Service Charging System message flashed on the dash. The van decelerated and another message "put in park to start" flashed. All of this was while I was driving on the interstate. I was able to brake to a stop on the shoulder and turn on the hazards. I was NOT able to turn off the car. The gears would not move. I could not put it in Park. After 20 minutes I was able to put it into park and turn it off. I restarted the van, but the same message flashed and I could not move. The van was towed to a Chrysler dealership. They had the car Monday and part of Tuesday. They could not duplicate the issue and could not find any error messages. They said they checked the battery several times and it was fine. There was nothing else they could do and sent me home with the van. Fortunately, I was in the right hand lane when this happened. I don't know what would happen if this occurs while in the middle lane and would need to maneuver to the shoulder. I have found that this is not a unique situation and the exact thing has happened to many other Pacifica owners. Unfortunately, I do not believe this is the last time this will happen. I am TERRIFIED to drive this van. I would guess a battery, electrical or computer issue, only because of the many messages on the dash and the inability to turn off the vehicle. I will gladly offer my van for inspection if requested.
NHTSA complaint #11443836 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 CHRYSLER PACIFICA HYBRID. WHILE DRIVING 73 MPH, THE "STOP SAFELY, THE VEHICLE WILL SHUT OFF SOON" WARNING MESSAGE APPEARED. THE CONTACT PARKED THE VEHICLE ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD BEFORE THE IGNITION TURNED OFF. THE VEHICLE WAS UNABLE TO BE DRIVEN AND WAS TOWED TO JIMMY BRITT CHEVROLET BUICK GMC (LOCATED AT 1011 TOWN CREEK BLVD, GREENSBORO, GA 30642, (706) 453-2500) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE ABS CONTROL MODULE AND TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THERE WERE ALSO 113 ERROR CODES. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 730.
NHTSA complaint #11255840 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
TWO WEEKS AFTER PURCHASING THIS VEHICLE, IT STARTED HAVING NUMEROUS ELECTRICAL ISSUES. FINALLY ON A FRIDAY, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. CALLED TH DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID TO BRING IT IN THE NEXT WEEK. WENT TO WORK. (BATTERY HAS BEEN FULLY CHARGED) CAME OUT OF WORK AND VEHICLE WOULD NOT START. THEN IT STARTED GOING CRAZY. WIPERS GOING. LIGHTS FLASHING. DOES WOULDN'T OPEN. ALL WITHOUT CAR BEING TURNED ON. CALLED THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY GAVE ME A LOANER AND TOWED THE CAR TO THEIR LOT. THE NEXT MORNING I RECEIVED A CALL THAT THE VEHICLE HAD ROLLED INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE OVERNIGHT AND CRASHED. ON ITS OWN. WITH NO KEYS IN IT DEALERAHIP IS LEWIS CHRYSLER IN FAYETTEVILLE AR AND THEY SAID THEY HAVE VIDEO FOOTAGE FROM THEIR SECURITY CAMERAS. LUCKILY I WAS ABLE TO RETRACT MY CONTRACT FOR PURCHASING THIS VEHICLE AND BUY ANOTHER ONE. AND LUCKILY NO ONE WAS HURT. THESE VEHICLES ARE NOT SAFE AND NEED TO BE INVESTIGATED. A WEEK BEFORE THIS HAPPENED, I WAS DRIVING DOWN A BUSY STREET GOING 45MPH AND THE CAR SHUT OFF. LUCKILY I WAS ABLE TO COAST INTO A PARKING LOT AND RESTART IT BUT IT COULD'VE BEEN MUCH WORSE. IF YOU GO ON PACIFICAFORUMS.COM THERE ARE SO MANY STORIES OF SIMILAR ISSUES. SOME MUCH SCARIER.
NHTSA complaint #11173732 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY GOING 70 GOING HOME AFTER WORK THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY LOST ALL ABILITY TO ACCELERATE. I STILL HAD POWER, BUT THE DASH TOLD ME TO PRESS THE BREAK TO START THE CAR. I MANAGED TO COAST OFF THE BRIDGE I WAS ON THANKFULLY AND PULLED OFF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THE CAR WAS STUCK IN PARK. I TRIED TURNING IT OFF BUT IT WOULD ONLY SHUT OFF FOR 2 SECONDS AND IMMEDIATELY TURN BACK ON WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. THE VEHICLE WAS IMMOBILIZED IN PARK AND WOULD NOT SHUT OFF. THE ENGINE LIGHT STAYED ON THE WHOLE TIME. I HAD TO CALL A TOW TO GET HOME. THE TOW TRUCK DRIVER WAS ABLE TURN THE CAR OFF AND THE CAR WAS DRIVABLE AGAIN BUT THE ENGINE LIGHT REMAINED ON. THE VEHICLE IS A 2018 WITH 5609 MILES ON IT AND HAVE ONLY OWNED IT FOR 3 MONTHS.
NHTSA complaint #11173350 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
THIS MORNING MY 2018 HYBRID LIMITED WAS DEAD. I PURCHASED IT NEW THREE WEEKS AGO. IT HAD BEEN PLUGGED IN OVERNIGHT USING THE 110 CHARGER THAT CAME WITH THE VAN. IT WOULD NOT START, AND BRIEFLY FLASHED SOME KIND OF SERVICE NEEDED WARNING ON THE SCREEN. THEN THE SCREEN TURNED OFF AND THE VEHICLE REPEATEDLY MADE A CLICKING SOUND. THE VAN WAS COMPLETELY UNRESPONSIVE. I NOTICED THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS WERE EVER SO SLOWLY IN MOTION BACK AND FORTH. I CHECKED THE SWITCH BUT THE WIPER WAS SET TO THE 'OFF' POSITION. NONE OF THE WIPER CONTROLS WOULD CHANGE THE SETTING. THE DEALERSHIP SET ME UP WITH A NUMBER FOR CHRYSLER TOW. I WAS ON THE PHONE ABOUT 20FT AWAY WHEN SUDDENLY THE VAN STARTED ROLLING BACKWARD DOWN THE DRIVEWAY AND INTO THE STREET! I RAN OVER AND CHECKED IT AND STILL EVERYTHING WAS UNRESPONSIVE, THE WIPERS NO LONGER MOVING HOWEVER THE PARKING BRAKE BUTTON, AND SHIFTER BUTTONS, AND OVERHEAD LIGHTS WERE FLASHING. WE HAD THE VAN TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP. THEY SAID THE BATTERY WAS BAD AND REPLACED IT. BELOW IS A POST ABOUT MY EXPERIENCE WITH MORE INFORMATION AND VIDEOS: HTTPS://WWW.PACIFICAFORUMS.COM/FORUM/433-2017-CHRYSLER-PACIFICA-PHEV-HYBRID-GENERAL-DISCUSSION/41697-BATTERY-DIES-PACIFICA-HYBRID-ROLLS-OUT-DRIVEWAY-INTO-STREET.HTML ALSO HERE IS VIDEO TAKEN IMMEDIATELY AFTER IT ROLLED. NOTE THE INTERIOR LIGHTS ACTIVELY FLASHING INCLUDING THE PARKING BRAKE INDICATOR AS WELL AS THE DIGITAL SHIFTER KNOB LIGHTS. HTTPS://YOUTU.BE/6_LY7BLNJNS HTTPS://YOUTU.BE/JFCP0IDBFQI ALSO, AFTER RESEARCHING ONLINE I FOUND SOMEONE ELSE WHO ALSO HAD THE BRAKES DISENGAGE WITH 12V BATTERY ISSUE.. HER EXPERIENCE CAN BE FOUND HERE (SEE POST #3): HTTPS://WWW.PACIFICAFORUMS.COM/FORUM/433-2017-CHRYSLER-PACIFICA-PHEV-HYBRID-GENERAL-DISCUSSION/40261-BRAND-NEW-HYBRID-COMPLETELY-DIED.HTML CHRYSLER NEEDS TO ADDRESS THIS SERIOUS AND DANGEROUS ISSUE!
NHTSA complaint #11169945 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
THE BRAKES ON MY VEHICLE RANDOMLY GO OUT. SOMETIMES THE BRAKES GO OUT LONG ENOUGH THE ENTIRE CAR STARTS SCREAMING AT YOU TO BREAK BECAUSE YOU GET TOO CLOSE TO THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF YOU. IT'S UNPREDICTABLE. THE CAR HAS ALWAYS BEEN IN MOTION WHEN THIS HAPPENS.
NHTSA complaint #11161869 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.