2018 Chrysler Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid Driver assistance Problems

I was traveling at south bound on TOLL 130 going 80MPH (which is the speed limit on that road) when my Pacifica immediately slowed down and my accelerator gave out. In addition to my dash flashing that the cruise control was no longer available, but the van also said "Service Charging System" and "Shift to P to Start", the engine light and batter light both came on. I am sure that I almost died as I was in the middle lane and cars were whipping around me since I had slowed down so much, there was an 18 wheeler behind me and one of my righthand side, which is the shoulder I was trying to get to. I was finally able to coast to the shoulder and came to a stop, put the car in park and turned it off. I immediately started researching what the problem could be and I was alarmed to find out that this is an issue that others have had and that Chrysler has failed to issue a recall...I was able to start the car once more and get on to a little back road, after pushing through a barricade off the toll just for safety's sake, and my van broke down again, this time on a little 2 lane road, which thankfully had a little bit of a gravel shoulder. This time, my van took quite a bit longer to get started, but I was not safe where I was. I started it once more and was able to get to a Wal-Mart parking lot where my brother-in-law picked me up so that I could have a chance of making it to see my grandmother who was on her deathbed, I missed my window of opportunity to make it to see her, she died that afternoon. I had to pay an additional tow fee to get the vehicle moved from the parking lot to a Chrysler dealership since it was so far from where I usually go.

NHTSA ID

11648682

Incident

Mar 13, 2025

My vehicle was performing great - no Issues what so ever until FCA performed Recall 03A. After I had FCA US LLC Recall 03A for Loss of Motive Power installed; my vehicle had several issues the same day I picked it up from the Dealer. They stated it was ready for pickup even with all my issues and they new I had ½ of them and still turned it over to me. . 50 % of the issues are still waiting to be repaired. The Major issue remaining is the High Voltage Battery. After 1 year of them trying to get the vehicle back to the condition I turned it in before for the Recall - Chrysler refuses to replace the HV battery under the 10 year 100,000 mile warranty. They will not let anyone order the part even the dealer can not. To order the bad part Chrysler STAR (FCAs part replacement approval authority) has to Approve it. They say they won't replace it due to normal degradation. I was getting 30 miles per full charge and after the Recall I was only getting18-20 Miles per full charge. That is Not normal degradation. Now I only get 17-18 miles per charge. They Degraded my battery with their Recall. The battery degraded by 33% in 2 weeks – that is Not normal their Recall caused it. I feel someone needs to enforce them to put my vehicle back the the same as I turned it over to them September 26, 2023 at their Expense no matter what it takes. The following is the list of issues in the past year because of Recall 03A. Basically my vehicle was in the shop for repairs Almost the Entire year! 1. Engine Lite is on all the time since Recall. 2. Charging System Errors. 3. Gear Selector does not work intermittently making undrivable. 4. Side doors and lift gate do not open or close automatically. 5. Radio Display keeps flashing intermittently 6. Back Up Camera flash on and off. 7. Every lite on the dash lights up - Giving my vehicle Multiple CANBUS Errors shorting out every computer system in the vehicle 20+ computers.

NHTSA ID

11614609

Incident

Sep 26, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. The contact took the vehicle to a dealer for NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V077000 (Hybrid Propulsion System) however, the contact stated the advanced collision warning light had illuminated after the recall repair. The local dealer was contacted; however, denied further assistance because the recall repair was completed. The contact was referred to the manufacturer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 5,000. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ID

11607282

Incident

Nov 28, 2022

Mileage

5,000 mi

On 06/10/2022, the Uconnect system began to randomly reboot including within 30 to 60 seconds of starting the vehicle. If in reverse during a reboot of the system , the rear cross traffic sensors no longer provide alerts and the rear camera is disabled while the system reboots. The system then reboots every 2 to 4 minutes after. Additionally, the GPS no longer accepts coordinates for navigation, clock or date.

NHTSA ID

11469270

Incident

Jun 10, 2022

Picked up Vehicle from Bayside Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Annapolis after we were told the problems were addressed. After driving about 50 miles home parking than driving the Van again about 5 miles, In the center lane of the road driving about 45 mph the van said "Shift to P to start". The van wouldn't accelerate forcing my wife to drift to the shoulder of the road. The van was turned off and attempted to turn back on, but the Van would not turn completely on to drive. After about five minutes the van was able to be restarted and turned on. The check engine light came on, the van was driven to Auto zone to have the check engine light read. "Power Train System - P0BFD" & " Secondary DTC".

NHTSA ID

11427310

Incident

Jul 31, 2021

This is the third and fourth time we have had this issue with our van. The previous two times were on May 25, 2019 and June 4, 2021. In this incident, my wife was driving our van with our two kids and I down Northwest Highway in Arlington Heights, IL. We were going about 35 miles per hour when several alarms and warnings appeared on the driver’s dashboard including 'SERVICE HYBRID SYSTEM', a red wrench with a red lightning bolt through it, the orange engine warning light, and red battery warning icon, and a message appeared saying 'SHIFT VEHICLE TO PARK'. (See attached photos.) When my wife pressed the accelerator pedal nothing happened. We were able to coast and turn down a side street. We put the vehicle in park, turned it off and we’re able to restart it. We immediately notified the dealership and drove it there. On the way to the dealership, we made a stop. When in a parking lot, my wife pressed the accelerator to drive and the same issue happened with the same warning lights and alarms. Once again, we shifted to park, turned the vehicle off and we’re able to restart it. We drove straight to the dealership, informed them of the repeated issue and left the van with them. The dealership indicated there were over twenty software updates. We were told the exact same thing on June 4th the last time this happened. They have not yet been able to tell us why this has happened or continues to happen. The problem has not been reproduced by the dealership but this is the third time this has happened. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer.

NHTSA ID

11423721

Incident

Jul 6, 2021

This is the second time we have had this issue with our van. The first time was May 25, 2019. On June 4, 2021, my wife was driving down the highway with our two kids and as she began to exit toward the off ramp, several alarms and warning appeared on the driver’s dashboard including 'SERVICE HYBRID SYSTEM', a red wrench with a lightning bolt through it, the orange engine warning light, and a message appeared saying 'SHIFT VEHICLE TO PARK'. The van stalled and when my wife pressed the accelerator, nothing happened. She was able to coast down the exit ramp and pull over to the shoulder. The van was out in park, shut off and we were able to restart it. The orange engine warning light remained on. We immediately drove to the dealership. They ran a diagnostic test and said no issues came up but there were twenty some software updates. The issue has not been reproduced by the dealer but we have had it happen two times. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer.

NHTSA ID

11423716

Incident

Jun 4, 2021

I have small grandchildren who play in the driveway area occasionally and I purchased a vehicle with parking collision warning features as an essential safety feature. The front center collision warning stopped working and when taken to the dealer twice they cannot confirm the defect because they test by walking in front of the car from the side. This activates sensors on the side but cannot identify a problem with the front sensor. They also drive the vehicle into a service bay which also activates the side sensors and does not detect the problem with the front sensor. We will try a third time with the dealer to have the problem addressed, but my concern is that current service guidelines for assessing function of the system are inadequate and should be addressed by appropriate training. I have no safe way of evaluating whether this problem effects the collision warning system.

NHTSA ID

11423292

Incident

Jun 1, 2021

WHILE BACKING OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY I APPLIED POWER AND THE VEHICLE SEEMED TO ACCELERATE RAPIDLY REARWARD ...I STOMPED ON THE BRAKE PEDAL WITH MY LEFT FOOT BUT THE BRAKE WAS UNABLE TO SLOW OR STOP THE CAR. THE CAR SPED ACROSS 4 LANES OF TRAFFIC BACKWARDS BARELY MISSING ON COMING CARS AND WENT ABOUT 150 TO 200 FEET DOWN OPPOSITE TRAFFIC LANES BACKWARDS VERY FAST. IT FINALLY STOPPED FACING ON COMING TRAFFIC AND THEY ALLOWED ME TO SLOWLY TO COME AGAINST THEM AND TURN INTO A DRIVEWAY OFF THE STREET. I NARROWLY MISSED OTHER CARS ON THE STREET AS IT WAS A HIGH TRAFFIC PERIOD TIME OF THE DAY. ..ABOUT 5 PM. I'VE DRIVEN IT ABOUT 3 TO 5 MILES A DAY SINCE WITH NO PROBLEMS SINCE THEN WITH MUCH MORE CARE THAN USUAL. I DON'T KNOW HOW FAST IT WAS GOING AS I WAS TRYING TO STEER.

NHTSA ID

11307889

Incident

Feb 4, 2020

Mileage

3,200 mi

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.

NHTSA ID

11209982

Incident

May 25, 2019

Mileage

7,000 mi

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 ID

11173350

Incident

Jan 30, 2019

Mileage

5,606 mi

WE TOOK OUR CAR IN FOR RECALL U73 ON SATURDAY MORNING. IT TOOK ABOUT AN HOUR AND HAD NO ISSUES THAT DAY OR THE NEXT DAY. ON MONDAY MORNING, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, AND THE TURTLE ICON APPEARED. WE WERE ON A CITY STREET IN MOTION. WE NEEDED TO "LIMP" HOME - NO MORE THAN 15MPH. WE BROUGHT IT TO THE DEALER (SAFFORD, SPRINGFIELD, VA) AND THEY SUPPOSEDLY FIXED IT. THEY SAID IT WAS AN ISSUE WITH THE U73 UPDATE, AND THEY CLEARED SOME CODES AND IT SHOULDN'T HAPPEN AGAIN. TUESDAY MORNING, MORE LIGHTS COME ON IN THE CAR, TALKING ABOUT AIR BAGS, AND THIS TIME THE CAR WOULDN'T MOVE WHILE WE WERE ON THE ROAD.

NHTSA ID

11171316

Incident

Jan 21, 2019

Mileage

8,500 mi

VAN INITIALLY PARKED AND OFF. I PRESSED THE BRAKE AND THE START BUTTON TO TURN IT ON AND IT ENTERED INTO A CONFUSED UNKNOWN-GEAR-STATE (ALL TRANSMISSIONS LIGHTS P, D, R, ETC. ILLUMINATED). IN THIS STATE, THE VAN IS STUCK. NOTHING WORKS BECAUSE IT DOESN'T THINK IT IS IN PARK. SPECIFIC EXAMPLES: VAN CANNOT BE PUT INTO NEUTRAL OR PARK (TRANSMISSION KNOB/DIAL IS STUCK WHEN VAN IS IN THIS STATE), LIFT GATE CANNOT BE OPENED, POWER SLIDING DOORS MUST BE OPENED MANUALLY, VAN CANNOT BE TURNED OFF, VAN CANNOT BE DRIVEN OR MOVED. THE VAN IS EFFECTIVELY IMMOBILIZED AND CAN ONLY BE MOVED BY A A FLATBED TOW OR A TOW TRUCK WITH A SPECIAL DOLLY. BECAUSE THE VAN CANNOT BE TURNED OFF, ITS BATTERIES WILL EVENTUALLY DIE. I'M UNSURE IF THIS HAS ANY DELETERIOUS EFFECTS ON THE HYBRID BATTERY. THE PROBLEM IS HARD TO REPRODUCE AND INTERMITTENT. BECAUSE OF THAT, MY GUESS IS THAT IT IS A TIMING RELATED SOFTWARE/SYSTEMS BUG, BUT THAT IS ONLY MY GUESS. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IN ABOUT 7MONTHS OR SO OF OWNING THE VAN THAT THIS ISSUE HAS OCCURRED. THE FIRST TIME, WE WERE STRANDED HOURS AWAY FROM HOME ON A FAMILY ROAD TRIP. THE DEALER WE TOOK IT TO COULDN'T (OR DIDN'T TRY HARD?) TO FIGURE OUT THE ISSUE AND CLAIMED THE PROBLEM WAS THAT THE BATTERY DIED (THE BATTERY DYING IS A RESULT OF NOT BEING ABLE TO SHUT OFF THE VEHICLE, NOT THE UNDERLYING PROBLEM!). THEY PUT IN A NEW BATTERY AND SENT US ON OUR WAY. NOW, HERE WE ARE A FEW MONTHS LATER WITH THE ISSUE OCCURRING AGAIN. IT TAKES ONLY A LITTLE IMAGINATION TO THINK ABOUT ALL THE HORRIBLE THINGS THAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN A CAR LEAVES YOU STRANDED IN THE WRONG PLACE OR IN ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS. THIS ISN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN WITH A BRAND NEW CAR.

NHTSA ID

11163416

Incident

Dec 25, 2018

Mileage

5,000 mi

WAS DRIVING THE VEHICLE AT 70MPH ON THE FREEWAY. A "THUNK" SOUND OCCURRED AND THE CAR BEGAN DECELERATING RAPIDLY DESPITE PRESSING DOWN ON THE GAS PEDAL. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TURNED ON AND THE CAR CONTINUED TO DECELERATE. CABIN FILLED WITH A SMALL AMOUNT OF SMOKE. CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP AND THE CAR WOULD NO LONGER ACCELERATE AT ALL. TURNED THE CAR OFF AND THEN ON TO GET IT THE FINAL 100 FEET TO A GAS STATION. PARKED AND THE CAR SMELLED LIKE SMOKE/BURNING IN THE CABIN AND THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. TURNED OFF THE VEHICLE UNTIL A TOW TRUCK ARRIVED. WHEN TOW TRUCK ARRIVED, TURNED VEHICLE ON TO TURN OFF ELECTRIC PARKING BRAKE; ALL ELECTRONICS IN THE VEHICLE WERE ACTING UP AND COULD NOT TURN OFF PARKING BRAKE FOR A GOOD 15 MINUTES. FINALLY GOT IT OFF AND TOWED TO THE CLOSEST DEALER. *DT *TR

NHTSA ID

11132797

Incident

Sep 26, 2018

Mileage

12,350 mi

THE CAR ENGINE WAS NOT RESPONDING WHEN THE CAR WAS STATIONARY (IN A PARKING LOT) AND ALL THE ELECTRONICS SYSTEMS WERE CONTINUOUSLY ON FOR 3-4 HOURS AND SECOND ROW DOORS AND TRUNK WERE NOT OPENING. THE CAR CAN NOT BE TOWED AS THE CAR WONT GO INTO NEUTRAL MODE, THE MANUAL WAY TO PUT THE CA IN NEUTRAL MODE WAS USING A YELLOW CABLE AND THE CABLE ITSELF WAS MISSING. THIS IS THE MANUFACTURERS DEFECT AS THE CAR IS NOT FULLY LOADED SO ITS NOT FUNCTIONAL. THIS HAPPENED TWICE WITHIN A WEEK AND CAUSED LOT OF TROUBLE TO GET HELP. BOTH THE TIME I HAD TO SPEND 4-5 HOURS TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. THE CAR WILL JUMP START AFTER ALL THE ELECTRONICS SYSTEM IS OFF (AFTER 3-4 HOURS) AND THEN IT WOULD BE DRIVABLE. I DO NOT FEEL SAFE TO DRIVE THIS CAR ANYMORE SPECIALLY BECAUSE I DRIVE THIS CAR AROUND THE TOWN WITH MY KIDS. THE CAR CAN SHUT OFF EVEN WHILE DRIVING SO ITS A DANGEROUS CAR TO DRIVE AROUND ANYWHERE.

NHTSA ID

11129998

Incident

Sep 13, 2018

Mileage

1,123 mi

MY BRAND NEW 2018 CHRYSLER PACIFICA HYBRID WHICH I GOT ON JULY 4TH 2018 SHUTS OFF LAST WEEK ON A HIGHWAY WHILE I WAS DRIVING FROM RALEIGH TO CHARLOTTE ABOUT 70 MILES/HR. WITH LOT OF DIFFICULTY WE WERE ABLE TO PULL OVER. I STOPPED THE CAR AND RESTARTED THE CAR, THE CAR BEHAVED NORMAL BUT WITH MALFUNCTION INDICATOR IN MY DASH. DEALER IS SAYING THERE WAS BUGGY SOFTWARE INSTALLED ON JULY 3RD 2018 AS A PART OF SOME U73 RECALL. OUR FAMILY IS VERY SCARED TO SIT IN THE CAR AGAIN. THEY ARE SAYING 2 PARTS DAMAGED IN CAR DUE TO THE BUGGY SOFTWARE PATCH APPLIED, PCM CODES P0420, P0430 - CATALYTIC CONVERTER EFFICIENCY FAILURE (BOTH). CHRYSLER CUSTOMER CARE SAYS NO ISSUE WITH SOFTWARE, DEALER IS SAYING IT'S SOFTWARE BUG CAUSED THE ISSUE. I AM CONFUSED NOW WHOM TO BELIEVE. THEY SAID I WILL GET MY CAR IN A MONTH (MAY BE). VERY UNSATISFYING AND FEEL VERY UNSAFE IN THIS CAR NOW. KINDLY DO THE NEEDFUL. *TT *TR

NHTSA ID

11123289

Incident

Aug 18, 2018

Mileage

3,500 mi

I WAS DRIVING THE CHRYSLER PACIFICA HYBRID 2018 COMPLETELY SHUT OFF. NO POWER STEERING, NO ELECTRONICS NO NOTHING. I THOUGHT IT WAS A FLUKE UNTIL I TALKED TO SOMEONE ELSE WITH THE SAME CAR AND IT HAPPENED TO THEM 3 TIMES. MY WIFE IS SCARED TO DRIVE THE CAR NOW AND WE HAVE 3 SMALL CHILDREN AND DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).' *PM

NHTSA ID

11121694

Incident

Aug 3, 2018

Mileage

300 mi

FRONT COLLISION WARNING AND BRAKES DID NOT ENGAGE WHEN THIS SAFETY MECHANISM HAS BEEN FUNCTIONING IN THE PAST. WE WERE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY IN TRAFFIC WHEN THE TRUCK AHEAD OF US BRAKED SUDDENLY. OUR PACIFICA REAR-ENDED THIS VEHICLE AT ABOUT 25-30MPH. NO AUDIBLE OR VISUAL FRONT COLLISION WARNING OCCURRED AND THE AUTOMATED EMERGENCY BRAKING SYSTEM DID NOT ENGAGE.

NHTSA ID

11118038

Incident

Aug 3, 2018

Mileage

12,000 mi

AFTER U73/NHTSA 18V-332 I TESTED THE SPEED CONTROL AFTER TURNING ON THE RADAR, I WAS ABLE TO SET THE SPEED AND THE VEHICLE PERFORMED AS EXPECTED. WHEN I PRESSED THE SET BUTTON AGAIN TO INCREASE THE SPEED IF I HELD THE SET BUTTON FOR MORE THAN A COUPLE OF SECONDS AND RELEASED IT THE VEHICLE RAPIDLY ACCELERATED UNTIL THE BRAKE WAS APPLIED. THIS WAS THE SAME FAULT THAT OCCURRED BEFORE THE RECALL FIX WAS APPLIED. SO THE RECALL FIX DID NOT REPAIR THE CONDITION.

NHTSA ID

11115775

Incident

Jul 11, 2018

Mileage

3,000 mi

WHILE DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY WITH A SPEED LIMIT OF 70 MPH, A WARNING LIGHT CAME ON THAT THE BATTERY WAS CONDITIONING. I WAS THEN LIMITED TO 45 MPH WITH VERY LITTLE ACCELERATION, AND THE A/C STOPPED WORKING. THIS WAS REPAIRED, BUT HAPPENED AGAIN THREE WEEKS LATER WHEN ABOUT TO MERGE ONTO ANOTHER HIGHWAY WITH A 55 MPH SPEED LIMIT.

NHTSA ID

11113223

Incident

Jul 5, 2018

Mileage

3,700 mi

WHILE CRUISE CONTROL IS ENGAGED IF A VEHICLE IS ALREADY STOPPED WHEN YOU COME UPON IT, LIKE AT TRAFFIC LIGHT, WHILE YOU ARE APPROACHING THE VEHICLE WILL NOT ENGAGE THE BRAKES AS APPOSED TO WHEN YOU ARE BOTH MOVING AND THE VEHICLE IN FRONT SLOWS TO A STOP. ALSO, THE SCREEN THAT SHOWS THE 360 CAMERA AND OTHER APPS FREEZES UP RANDOMLY, MOSTLY WHILE USING THE CAMERA WHILE NOT IN REVERSE, BOTH WHEN THE VEHICLE IS MOVING AND STOPPED. *TT

NHTSA ID

11101467

Incident

Jun 12, 2018

Mileage

1,283 mi

ACTIVE CRUISE CONTROL FAILS TO DETECT THE VEHICLE IN FRONT. IT HAPPENS AT LEAST ONCE A DAY. ITS DOES NOT CONVEY CONFIDENCE ON THE SYSTEM.

NHTSA ID

11045986

Incident

Nov 13, 2017

Mileage

500 mi