348 of the
10,659 complaints filed about the Chrysler Pacifica
are about the throttle and cruise control —
3% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2017.
348
Complaints
3%
Share of all complaints
36
Crashes
0
Fires
Acceleration & Cruise Control complaints by model year
I have had this happen twice in the last few months, most recently in the last three weeks. I was driving on a 45 mph highway with the cruise control set at 49 or 50 miles per hour. On the most recent time, I was coming to a red traffic light and applied the break to slow down. However, the van kept going forward even though I was pressing the break pedal totally down. The van slowed somewhat, but the van kept going. I put the van in neutral and was able to stop, but the engine kept going, presumably at the speed set on the cruise control. I stopped the engine By putting the vehicle in Lo, which I believe shut off the engine. By that time I was partly in the intersection. Luckily I had no cars in front of me or behind me, and no one was crossing in front of me. Otherwise I would have had a collision. I called and made an appointment at my dealership, [XXX] on XXX. They test drove the van but couldn't duplicate the concern. According to the Invoice, they "Captured VSR No DTCS related to concern. Checked for sofware updates, None related to concern. Checked for SBS or star cases related to concern. None found." The summary concluded:" System is operating as designed at this time. Updated TCM, BCM and PLGM." I don't know what all of that means, but I think that they did a thorough inspection of my van and couldn't find out what was causing the Cruise Control to not shut off. I did some research online and I found that there were 2 recalls in 2018 for the 2017 and 2018 Chrysler Pacifica that appear to have attempted to correct this exact issue, but it showed that my vehicle, with my VIN, was covered by FCA Safety Recall U64, NHTSA 18V-332 and the recall status showed that my vehicle was "Repaired." Has anyone else had this problem, because this creates a very scary, dangerous event. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11756799 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While I was driving to drop my kids to school My Chrysler Pacifica PHEV dashboard chimed, the check engine light made an appearance, and the screen in my gauge cluster showed a large warning message. “Stop Safely, Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon.” I kept my foot in it and guided the Pacifica Hybrid through the off-ramp and into the rest stop’s parking lot And turned off the ignition and engine for 5 minutes and I started the engine and car allowed me to drive back home . The power tram warning got away that evening when I started my engine . The same problem came back again many times since then. I googled it and found that this is very serious problem which may lead fire .i would like to report this issue now.
NHTSA complaint #11755549 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
On Saturday July 25th, while driving at 70 mph on the highway, my van lost the ability to accelerate or maintain velocity. There was no warning or indication that this was going to happen. There was a beep and the screen flashed to a screen that said to pull over immediately and safely. Surprised and scared, I had to cut across 3 lanes of traffic while losing velocity cutting off a tractor trailer because my velocity dropped quickly. After restarting, the vehicle ran normally. I drove in the slow lane for a mile an it happened again. I was able to get the vehicle off the highway and drive slowly and safely on backroads to get the van to a Ourisman Chrysler in Clarksville, MD. The check engine light was on when I arrived at the dealer. Immediately upon arrival I was told by a service representative that it will most likely need a new transmission. On Tuesday he told me a tech verified it needs a new transmission. He told me the vehicle was classified as VOR (Vehicle Off Road) meaning it was unsafe or unable to be driven on the road and that parts were ordered and expedited. I did not hear back from the dealership until Friday at which point they surprisingly told me my vehicle was ready to pick up. In an email I was told: "what was found was a stored fault code P0A43-00 Drive motor "A" position sensor circuit intermittent. There is a TSB 21-037-26 for that fault code and vehicle going into limp mode and the repair is a rebuild kit for the transmission. " Despite this they also said in an email: "cleared codes and perform test drive. Code never came back and it states in the procedure you must verify the problem meaning it happened or is happening via active fault code which it is not." They refuse to fix the problem, despite acknowledging it happened. I was told to take the vehicle back and drive it as normal until it happens again, which I refused due to safety concerns. The vehicle currently has a bumper-to-bumper warranty.
NHTSA complaint #11754164 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
We were at a complete stop waiting for traffic to go, I had my foot on the brake pedal and the car lunge/revved up and hit the car in front of me. This is the 3rd time this has happened. The first time we were advised it was probably the front-end sensor that were probably covered with ice. We were advised they are very sensitive. The 2nd time it was winter still, so we took the car through the car wash to make sure no ice was built up. We did not get in an accident because traffic started to move. We took the vehicle to the dealership, and they could not find anything wrong with it. Chrysler Corp got involved and they sent a 3rd party to check the van and black box. They advised nothing was found on the black box (not even an accident) and their investigators found nothing wrong with the vehicle. No warning messages were reported after the crash. Police were called to the scene and insurance was notified. Our insurance company advised that we should file this on here. There were 3 people in the van besides myself. We had a loaner vehicle for almost 3 months and we cannot get any information or paper work from Chrysler Corp regarding the investigation. We were advised the investigation was confidential and proprietary.
NHTSA complaint #11748855 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Driving down a highway at 70 mph and a notification popped up saying to pull over and turn off the vehicle because the engine would shut down soon. I lost the ability to accelerate and impeded traffic. Had to pull over on the side of the road with minimal shoulder. This has happened dozens of times; all at high rates of speed and often in heavy traffic.
NHTSA complaint #11738961 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My 2022 Pacifica Hybrid has experienced a total loss of motor propulsion THREE times in the last 8 days at highway (or near-highway) speeds. The car issued a warning to "Stop Safely Vehicle will Shut Off Soon" and had a turtle light appear along with a check engine light and I experienced no power going to the wheels on the highway. This included TWO incidents after a recall repair that was completed to supposedly fix this issue.
NHTSA complaint #11738771 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owned a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while attempting to park the vehicle in a parking lot, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the accelerator was inadvertently depressed, causing the vehicle to unintendedly accelerate. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle accelerated and crashed into the wall. After the vehicle crashed into the wall, there was an abnormal sound of air coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the sound was not coming from the radiator. Additionally, none of the air bags inside the vehicle had deployed during the crash. The contact and a passenger inside the vehicle sustained bruises in the crash from the seat belts. Medical attention was sought following the crash. A Police report was filed. The vehicle was towed from the scene and deemed a total loss by the Insurance Provider. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 54,000.
NHTSA complaint #11735074 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I purchased this car new on December 31, 2024. I have owned it for less than 16 months, and in that time, we have had an issue occur at least 5 times where we get an alert on the screen that says, "Stop Safely Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon". Less than 20 seconds later, the car completely dies. On each of the 5 instances, we were lucky to be going relatively slow and were in a safe place with a shoulder to pull over on. The vehicle was able to be turned back on within a few minutes. The check engine light came on momentarily, but would shut off before we were able to get the codes read. We brought this to the attention of Herb Chambers Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM FIAT of Danvers (not where we bought the car, but the closest Chrysler dealership for maintenance) and they were unable to provide any help. They said they have never seen this, and since they couldn't get any codes, they didn't know what was going on. My research informs me that this is a known issue, so I'm disappointed that they didn't know about this. I am also terrified to drive my young children in this car, in fear that this will happen again when we aren't able to safety stop. I will provide details for the most recent time that this occurred, but I haven't previously reported the other occurrences.
NHTSA complaint #11733073 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
When driving on highway, electrical system started beeping and showing various signals, could no longer keep speed or accelerate. Had to put on warning lights and coast to side of road with four small kids in car. Was able to pull off to side and slowly get to safe location by resting vehicle in between events. When fully charged, didn’t seem to have issue so was able to drive to dealer. Thought was related to engine switching from electric to gas power. Dealer checked and performed two software updates. On way home from dealer, same problem occurred on highway. Super dangerous to loose all acceleration or same speed on highway! I got a video of second event as I was a passenger and my husband was driving. But as can see in video the car has a charge so the incident is not related to the switch from electric to gas power. Now we are very concerned whether Chrysler has the means to fix this at all and or whether the dealership will be actually able to identify the issue given the car was literally being driven home from the dealer. Attaching photos but have a full video. First time happened on April 4, 2026. Second on April 16, 2026
NHTSA complaint #11731725 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The van has just approx 55000 miles. While driving on highway, it suddenly lost power and from 60mph it came down to 20 miles in a matter of few seconds after few violent jerks. I was lucky that no vehicle was behind me. After that I pulled a side and then again started. It kept jerking and loosing power. Very carefully I got it to a mechanic. They are checking but they say looks like transmission issues. Engine light also came on. This happened few months ago however it was not this bad and my mechanic looked and he could not find anything. That problem went away after that incident. Kindly advise what to do in this situation. Chrysler Pacifica 2018 This van has lots of problems in other crucial area also like air fender switch, oil hose and cover that went bad as they are made of plastic. Then the trans mounts broke. It costed me dearly. Please Advice what to do? Best regards [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11728776 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving at normal road speed, the vehicle suddenly lost propulsion and entered limp mode. A turtle warning icon appeared along with multiple system fault messages. The vehicle began slowing down on it's own and was unable to accelerate. I pulled to the side of the road. The vehicle displayed an error "Stop Safely Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon". After sitting for a period of time, the vehicle restarted and was able to be driven again, but the failure occurred without warning and created a dangerous situation in traffic. Diagnostic trouble codes were present related to the hybrid system and high-voltage battery, including P1D43, P1A21, U029A, and U0412. These codes indicate faults in the hybrid control system and battery communication. A Chrysler service department inspected the vehicle, confirmed the trouble codes, and returned it to me without repair because the issue was not immediately reproducible at the dealership. The vehicle has a history of similar intermittent issues, including prior loss-of-power events and repeated service visits for hybrid system faults. The condition is not consistently reproducible, but when it occurs it results in a sudden loss of motive power while driving. This creates a significant safety risk due to unexpected loss of propulsion in active traffic.
NHTSA complaint #11725453 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
A message appeared on the dashboard stating the engine would shut off soon. I could not accelerate. This has happened multiple times (at least a dozen since I bought the vehicle in April 2025) and I cannot drive above 70 mph or it will cause the issue to occur. Several times I have been in multi-lane traffic and because you cannot accelerate, I have to try to park on the should across multiple lanes of traffic at high rates of speed while slowing down.
NHTSA complaint #11714924 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
This has been ever since I got my van. Sometime when I drive my lights come on and it goes into limp mode. Most of the time. When I start my van my lights will turn on. I have to turn my car off . Then start again to get my van riding correctly. The other day I was making a U-turn and my engine stalled and I was almost hit by a truck.
NHTSA complaint #11713341 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving at approximately 65 mph on I-35 in moderate traffic, the vehicle experienced a sudden and complete loss of motive power. I was positioned in the far-left passing lane at the time of the incident. A notification message appeared on the dashboard screen (likely the "Stop Safely" or "Service Hybrid System" warning); however, there was no accompanying audible warning tone to alert me to the severity of the issue before power was lost. The failure rendered the vehicle unable to accelerate, creating a severe safety hazard. I was forced to navigate from the far-left lane across multiple lanes of traffic to reach the exit while the vehicle was effectively crippled, moving at speeds under 10 mph amidst highway-speed traffic. I was eventually able to exit the freeway at this reduced speed. This was the second time this issue had occurred. The previous check engine light had cleared on its own and I assumed the vehicle was safe to drive.
NHTSA complaint #11708858 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving at approximately 65 mph on I-35 in moderate traffic, the vehicle experienced a sudden and complete loss of motive power. I was positioned in the far-right lane at the time of the incident. A notification message appeared on the dashboard screen (likely the "Stop Safely" or "Service Hybrid System" warning); however, there was no accompanying audible warning tone to alert me to the severity of the issue before power was lost. The failure rendered the vehicle unable to accelerate, creating a severe safety hazard. I was forced to navigate to the shoulder and stop for the vehicle to reset and allow me to reach the exit while the vehicle was effectively crippled, moving at speeds under 10 mph amidst highway-speed traffic. I was eventually able to exit the freeway at this reduced speed. This was the third and fourth time issue had occurred. This happened IMMEDIATELY after leaving the dealership to resolve this exact issue and was told that the vehicle was safe to drive again.
NHTSA complaint #11708861 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving off from an intersection, the van abruptly stalled forcing other cars to honk at me as I rolled from 45 mph to a stop at a curb. 5 minutes of panic, the van restarted and I was on my way home with no further issues.
NHTSA complaint #11706198 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2022 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle independently accelerated. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact was able to stop the vehicle by depressing the brake pedal; however, when the brake pedal was released, the vehicle independently accelerated without the accelerator pedal being depressed. The contact stated that the accelerator pedal failed to respond while being depressed. The contact stated that the failure had occurred three times and occurred while driving at various speeds. The contact stated the failure also occurred while driving at 70 MPH. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who was unable to retrieve any fault codes but informed the contact that the 12-Volt battery was not at full charge. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the accelerator pedal assembly and the main computer had produced fault codes, but the dealer later stated that there were no codes. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and a case was opened but was later closed. The failure mileage was 41,607.
NHTSA complaint #11702783 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The vehicle jerked, stopped and would not start again. After a while it started, people were honking to move. This happened about 3 years ago. The vehicle jerks often and afraid it will leave us on the street. About 2 years ago, the auxiliary battery ran down the main battery. The car would not start. Had to buy both batteries. The lights come on, engine, traction and auxiliary battery light. This happens often on a weekly basis.
NHTSA complaint #11699301 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
This van is a 2018 modified with a handicap accessible rear ramp. We purchased this van in 2021 and since it has spent 6 months the first time at the shop then it was at our facility totally not running for another 6 months we paid 400 dollars to tow it to a dealership they replaced the transmission it ran for 2 months and now doesn’t start it’s in limp mode and when it does start and run when your driving it loses all power suddenly. We have only put 3800 miles on this van in the time we’ve had it and we owe over 25,000 still on it. Nobody can figure out what’s wrong with it but we are very small residential care facility and we are unable to transport residents because we have a broken van that we still pay for do we can’t purchase another one.
NHTSA complaint #11698382 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.