2019 Chrysler Pacifica transmission problems

POWER TRAIN

My 2019 Chrysler Pacifica Touring L Plus is experiencing coolant leaking into a cylinder, diagnosed by. This has rendered the vehicle undrivable. The Pentastar 3.6L V6 engine used in this vehicle has a well-documented pattern of coolant intrusion into cylinders due to head gasket failure across the 2017–2019 Chrysler Pacifica model years, based on extensive owner complaints already on file with NHTSA and reported by consumer advocacy organizations. Despite this known pattern, no recall currently exists covering this specific defect for 2019 model year vehicles. This is a safety concern because coolant intrusion into a cylinder can cause sudden misfires, rough running, loss of power, and potential stalling while driving — creating a hazard in traffic, particularly at highway speeds or during turns/merges. I contacted Chrysler Case Management regarding this issue. The manufacturer has attempted to attribute responsibility to the dealership rather than acknowledging this as a manufacturer defect in the engine design/manufacturing, despite the well-documented pattern across multiple model years of the same engine. I have also not been provided a rental vehicle despite my vehicle being undrivable.

NHTSA complaint #11758412 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

The car rapidly came to a stop as I was starting to press the brake lightly. The check engine light came on, the car made a grinding noise, and the screen said it was turning off cruise control when it had not been engaged.

NHTSA complaint #11758322 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

As I pulled up to stop, in electric mode, at a stop light, the display screen pulled up a message to pull over safely because the engine would stop soon, within about 10 seconds the screen showed the engine stopped. I was still at the light. I tried restarting the vehicle, moving the shifter from drive to park and back, pressing the park button several times with no success. With cars honking behind me, I got out of the car, told them my car had died and asked them to drive around me. I got back in the car, repeated the actions a few times and the car started in electric mode. I drove home (about 5 miles) without incident. Check engine light was on. I pulled 2 codes U0412 and U029a. I have had the U0412 code a few times before with only the check engine light coming on. It would go away in a day or two (no check engine light and no code). U029a is new.

NHTSA complaint #11756324 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

Powertrain: harsh, jerky shifting, violent, lurching gear changes, pause before engaging and high revving and lack of acceleration, mostly noticed at 50-60mph Steering PE25009 - catching or sticking when making minor or gradual turns in either direction when the steering wheel is positioned near the 11 o'clock or 1 o'clock positions. It requires extra force to break free and jerks the steering

NHTSA complaint #11745504 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

The contact owns a 2019 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while the vehicle was stopped at a red light, the vehicle made an abnormal sound and the transmission unexpectedly shifted from drive(D) to park(P) and the vehicle shut off. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The contact stated that the failure occurred once a week. The contact also stated that the battery had previously been replaced. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that no cause of failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The failure mileage was approximately 41,000.

NHTSA complaint #11727901 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

The vehicle has no power going up hills or accelerating and just stops and doesn't move. To get the car to move again you have to turn the car off and back on. Even if you put the car in L it can still just go back in regular drive on its own an cut out with no acceleration.

NHTSA complaint #11724582 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

While driving the car is unable to switch gears from D to L gear and has no power to accerlerate up hill.

NHTSA complaint #11724661 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

Bad engine at 67,000 miles for a blown head gasket. Service records up to date,

NHTSA complaint #11723248 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

When driving the car with not shift for a long time and then shifts hard into gear.I can also smell an odor some times. I have kids I don’t want to be driving and it cause me to wreck or catch fire. Other people I know had the same problem. This needs to be addressed.

NHTSA complaint #11701115 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

The transmission is starting to jerk and make hard abrupt transitions from gears

NHTSA complaint #11685907 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

Internal failure of the electronic shifter assembly. Essentially the shifter would lock into place in undesired gear-for example-attempt to move into D, would move to R and lock up so the only way we could get it to stop moving/into desired gear was to immediately power off (even though not in P) and try again on restart (which is very scary thinking your car may reverse or move foward w/no ability to stop it). This occurred on multiple occasions prior to bring to dealer, when children present in the car, and did not consistently occur every ignition. Currently vehicle is at Cornerstone Ford/Chrysler/GMC in Elk River and they have ordered the part (Nationwide backorder), estimated stock date w/in 7d but suspect seeing nationwide shortage-is this shortage due to many vehicles needing replacement-that alone would make me suspect need for safety recall! The vehicle hasn't been inspected by anyone but the dealer, no warning lights/messages/other symptoms that we noted.

NHTSA complaint #11685312 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

The contact owns a 2019 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that upon reversing out of the driveway, the contact attempted to shift out of reverse(R), but the gear shifter remained stuck in reverse(R). The contact noticed that the gear shifter indicator light was inoperable. The contact stated that the vehicle felt like it was in neutral(N) and was rolling backwards. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to respond upon depressing the brake pedal and continued to roll. The contact engaged the parking brake, and the vehicle stopped. The contact stated that upon turning off and restarting the vehicle, the vehicle operated as intended; however, the failure became a recurring failure. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the failure recurred. The vehicle became inoperable, and the contact pulled to the side of the road. The message "Service Gear Shifter" and other unknown messages were displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times. The dealer replaced the gear shifter assembly, and the ground wires were tightened; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and the contact was advised to call back after taking the vehicle back to the dealer, and the engineers would assist the dealer in diagnosing and repairing the vehicle. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure NHTSA Action Number: RQ24004 (Electrical System). The failure mileage was approximately 59,000.

NHTSA complaint #11684738 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

The transmission is very unresponsive and dealerships don’t find anything wrong other than resetting the computer every 2 days. The transmission clunks and jerks the car going into 2nd and or 3rd gear. Many times I press the pedal in highway/city driving and the transmission takes 2.5 to 3 seconds to respond. This is not the electric model. Online tons of people talk about this it’s a safety hazard to have an unresponsive clunky transmission. Reputable companies are naming this the worst car. Cars.com wrote an article over this very problem. [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint #11680767 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

Engine shut down warning while on the highway stating to pull over as the engine was going to shut down. No power to accelerate during this time. This is the second time this has happened and the first time the transmission needed to be replaced under warranty. The problem persists despite Chrysler’s attempts to fix.

NHTSA complaint #11666541 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

The contact owns a 2019 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the RPM's increased rapidly, but the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway, where the failure persisted. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 204,000.

NHTSA complaint #11653247 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

Our pacifica has repeatedly stalled on freeways. The engine will just stop running and will not start for 15 minutes to several hours. If it does start, it often will sputter and stall again if you try to put it in ear or press the accelerator. After some time, the problem will resolve itself and the vehicle will drive normally. This problem is infrequent which is what makes it so vexing. Each incident was more than 6 months apart so you never know when it will just stall out. Because our van was converted to a rear entry wheelchair van by Braunability we've had the conversion components/connections thoroughly inspected by the conversion company dealer. I can see online that this is a known issue with multiple vehicles equipped with the Pentastar V6 engine with stop-start and that there have been recalls but many people on the forum, the recall work didn't resolve the issue. We've had the vehicle to Chrysler dealers several times (four or five) to address the issue without permanent resolution. We've replaced the primary and secondary batteries several times. We've recently installed an aftermarket stop-start eliminator recently in the hope that it will resolve the problem. Additionally, because our Pacifica was converted for our disabled child, we will probably need to sell the vehicle at a significant loss because we can't risk having the vehicle stall on the interstate highway or freeway as we have no way to remove him from it safely. This issue seems so widespread that Chrysler/Stellantis should have continued responsibility to resolve it permanently.

NHTSA complaint #11652930 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

As I'm driving down the road my MIL comes on and tells me to pull over the engine will shut off. My vehicle has had the recall completed. This happened to me on the interstate with my family in the van. This is our only vehicle for the family and need it everyday. Now my dealership is telling me that it isn't a recall issue and I might have to pay for the repairs. This light started coming on about a week ago, and doesn't always come on. But it started to happen more frequently.

NHTSA complaint #11650271 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

The contact owns a 2019 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the transmission skipped gears. Additionally, the vehicle was experiencing erratic transmission shifts and unintended deceleration. The check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that upon attempting to shift to drive(D), the gear shifter failed to respond and remained stuck in park(P). The contact researched the failure online and found information on how to override the gear shifter failure. The contact pressed the Push to Start button twice, without depressing the brake pedal, depressed the accelerator for ten seconds, and pressed the Push to Start button to turn off the vehicle. The contact stated that upon restarting the vehicle minutes later, the vehicle responded as needed and the gear shifter became operable. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring intermittently. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Action Number: RQ24004 (Electrical System). The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.

NHTSA complaint #11645498 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

Lost of coolant with no warning lamps. Engine went into hydrolock and now will not start. Miss fire code appearing before locking up. Dash light power come on and off when the car is off and park. The car has 77k miles and would choke when the car was running and changing gears. Has not been inspect by anyone yet because the car is dead on the drive way.

NHTSA complaint #11641543 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

Over six months later, NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V538000 still has no remedy for an apparent fire risk! I can't charge my vehicle and I can't park it in my own garage. I drive at risk of being in the midst of a spontaneous fire! THE MANUFACTURER has failed or is unable to remedy this safety recall for my vehicle in a timely manner. I bought a plug in hybrid that I can't plug in. I bought it also for gas mileage complimented by the electrical propulsion system, which I cannot use. All the while, a spontaneous fire risk, without a fully known cause, continues to lurk in the car that I drive my kids to school in.

NHTSA complaint #11638844 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

Head gasket failure at 68500 miles. It causes a misfire in the engine and could cause an accident from the car bucking once it consumes the engine coolant and also causes overheating and a lot of smoke to come out of the tailpipe making it less visible for others on the road to see, if behind a car like mine

NHTSA complaint #11622515 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

The coolant keeps disappearing from the resevoir tank and there is a gurgling noise coming from the front driver side. The engine starts rough with the check engine light on.

NHTSA complaint #11611261 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

Car seems to slip out of drive. In the Dashboard the D will start blinking and I can no longer accelerate. The message says to shift to park and back to drive. If this happens on time, I can start going again. If I can't get it to register that I've shifted, I will not be able to accelerate and I need to pull off the road. Once I come to about 1 or 2 MPH, the shifter knob will turn itself to park and the car will slam the parking break on. I get the message to press then engine button, turn the parking break back off and turn the knob to drive.

NHTSA complaint #11609174 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

The contact owns a 2019 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that the START/STOP sensor light was continually illuminated. While at a red traffic light, the vehicle independently shifted to park(P) and shut off. The vehicle was restarted and placed in drive(D). The vehicle was taken to an unknown local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the START/STOP battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was determined that the hood latch and the START/STOP battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA complaint #11607243 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

My 2019 Pacifica Hybrid started showing a message around 07/19 “Service Charing Station” followed by Service Park brakes, Service Parking system and was not able to start or control anything in the car. After 15 to 30 minutes it started working and no errors. On Friday, 07/26, car stopped all of a sudden (luckily my family was in the parking lot) and showed a different message “Stop Safely. Vehicle will stop soon” message and after that it went completely dead. This is a concern that the vehicle would stop when driving and making the vehicle not responding to anything. You cannot control (brakes, driving modes, light) anything and when AAA jump started the car was in “Running” mode and asking to power on the vehicle.

NHTSA complaint #11605002 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

Vehicle was found to be overheating, with low coolant. Initial concern for possible hose leak, but nothing visualized on inspection...testing demonstrated a blown head gasket and possible warped cylinder. This is a recurring problem for Chrysler Pacifica's that Chrysler refuses to address. There were no warning signs before hand.

NHTSA complaint #11602469 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

The contact owns a 2019 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle there were several unknown warning lights illuminated and the contact was unable to shift the vehicle into drive(D) or reverse(R). The contact stated that the "Service Selector Switch" message was displayed. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle and normal electrical functions returned. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle was unintendedly slowing to nearly a stop while driving approximately 65 MPH. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission control module needed to be re-flashed. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred. The contact returned the vehicle to the same dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the selector switch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, however the contact stated that the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was driven back to the same dealer. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 26,000.

NHTSA complaint #11600075 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

6/20/24: Driving on highway. Message comes up "Stop Safely Vehicle Will Shut off Soon" and a turtle lights up on the dashboard. I pull over and turn van off. I turn it back on and message is still there. I turn it off again and this time quickly open and close the door to completely shut down the electric. Turn it back on and message is gone but check engine light is on. Drive home and then drive more during the evening with check engine light on the entire time. 6/21/24: Start the car in the morning and check engine light is off. Able to travel for about an hour and then, driving on highway, same message comes up and I do the same thing. Check engine light stays on again but message goes away. Drive for about 20 minutes and the message comes up again. Again I pull over and do the same series of things as described. Car allows me to drive but check engine light is on. Do not drive the car for the rest of the weekend. 6/24/24: Start car in the morning. Check engine light is on as I drive it about 5 minutes to my local mechanic. He runs the codes and does the research and tell me that I need a new transmission and it is under warranty. I pick up the van later to take it to dealer and the check engine light is off. Drive to dealer and now the dealer says there is nothing they can do if the light doesn't go back on. They are saying that I have to experience this same problem on a highway with my family in the car for them to fix it even though there is a recall on this transmission.

NHTSA complaint #11596504 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

Clunking from the transmission and this is a common issue with many pacificas. There is a “reset” online but this temporary solves the issue. At times it’s very dangerous when driving when the transmission clunks when finding another gear.

NHTSA complaint #11588914 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

The van started with very jerky shifting around 70,000 miles. The car would, at times, lurch hard forward when shifting. Eventually, a Chrysler dealer looked at the transmission and determined it needed replaced. The replacement transmission started with the same problems after about 20,000 miles. Van currently has only 115,000 miles.

NHTSA complaint #11583698 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.