2021 Chrysler Pacifica Powertrain (other) Problems

This 2021 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid has a severe and recurring history of catastrophic high-voltage hybrid powertrain and transmission failures that cause a sudden loss of motive power while driving, presenting an immediate safety hazard. The vehicle has already required two full automatic transmission (eFlite EVT) replacements under factory warranty due to internal failures. It has experienced multiple high-voltage component repairs, including software modules for the power inverter. The vehicle is currently experiencing a recurring failure and is displaying active diagnostic trouble code P0A78 (Drive Motor "A" Inverter Performance), indicating a critical fault in the high-voltage hybrid propulsion system. Prior to the current failure, the check engine light illuminated, and the vehicle experienced propulsion system degradation. This failure mode risks a sudden shutdown of the hybrid drive system at highway speeds, creating a severe risk of rear-end collisions or being stranded in active traffic. The recurring nature of these transmission and inverter failures indicates a systemic safety defect in the hybrid propulsion system. The issue and the active P0A78 code have been pulled, reproduced, and confirmed by an authorized dealership (Diehl Automotive of Robinson), where the vehicle is currently held and available for inspection. The manufacturer has been notified via an open corporate case (#97399722).

NHTSA ID

11753330

Incident

Jul 22, 2026

While driving on interstate 15 and going 65-70mph the vehicle dashboard flashed “Charging Error, vehicle will shut down”. Before my wife could make it through traffic to the shoulder the vehicle lost all motive power including power steering. She was able to just coast the vehicle and get into the shoulder. Vehicle would not restart. The transmission had been previously replaced during recall to correct this issue. Chrysler had the vehicle for 5 weeks.

NHTSA ID

11743985

Incident

May 17, 2026

The contact owns a 2021 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that the message "Service Gear Shifter" was displayed, and the gear shifter lights were not illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the ESS system malfunctioned, and the 12-volt battery had failed, which the contact related to the gear shifter failure. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

NHTSA ID

11743527

Incident

Jun 9, 2026

Mileage

100,000 mi

This vehicle quit driving and you can move it. Confirmed bad transmission. I bought it this way from the insurance company because it bounced off a concrete barrier. I suspect this happened when the transmission failed. Unsure of a police report due to it happening to the previous owner.

NHTSA ID

11732419

Incident

Nov 23, 2025

I encountered two incidents of the same type. One was on Friday, March 27, 2026, the same day I picked up the vehicle from a local Chrysler dealership, where software updates and issues related to recalls were supposedly completed. The vehicle was at 38% battery level at the time of pick up from the dealership parking lot. After driving it for about 14 miles, the battery level depleted to <1% and that's when the "Stop Safety. Vehicle will shut off soon" displayed on the dashboard. I slowly drove for less than a minute and parked the vehicle and turned it off. Then restarted and drove for less than two minutes, but again the same warning ("Stop Safety. Vehicle will shut off soon") displayed; I turned it off again. After taking a few minutes break, I restarted it and it was showing 1% battery; it gave me a little distance to travel until unfortunately the same warning displays. Fortunately, this time I was close to a place where I can charge the battery. The battery got charged to 100%, partly on the night of March 27th and the remaining in the morning on March 28th. The second incident was on March 29, 2026, on Sunday afternoon. As soon as the battery level reached <1%, the exact the same warning ("Stop Safety. Vehicle will shut off soon") was displayed. I slowly drove the vehicle to the side of the road and called my insurance company; I reported the issue and requested them to tow the vehicle to a nearby Chrysler dealership. As of now, the vehicle is at the dealership parking waiting for diagnosis. Based on my initial conversation with the customer service person, they don't know if this is considered part of any recall or not. Not only was I stranded on the road because of the above incidents, not having the vehicle at the moment is straining me a lot - trying to handle personal and work schedules.

NHTSA ID

11728146

Incident

Mar 29, 2026

Incident: While driving at highway speeds (65–75 mph), the vehicle issues imminent-shutdown warnings, the reduced-power (‘turtle’) light and check engine light illuminate, and the vehicle loses motive power. The driver must pull over to the freeway shoulder immediately and restart the vehicle. The condition is intermittent, occurs after cold starts, and sometimes with cruise control engaged. Safety Risk: Sudden loss of motive power at 65–75 mph without warning creates extreme crash risk. This is the exact risk stated in the recall notice. The software-only remedy appears insufficient. FCA’s own Warranty Extension Campaign XE1 — covering transmission replacement at unlimited years/unlimited mileage — suggests FCA is aware the software fix may not be adequate. Requested Action: Please investigate whether the recall remedy is adequate or whether physical transmission replacement is required. This vehicle has been documented experiencing the recalled defect seven times after the recall repair was completed.

NHTSA ID

11727464

Incident

Mar 23, 2026

I was driving my Pacifica, got the warning light telling me to pull over. The van lost power 3/4 way up a hill blocking traffic and had to get towed to the dealer, where it now awaiting a transmission rebuild. This is the 4th time this same van has died like this, including twice on the highway. Previous times when I brought to the dealer, they only updated software or told me there was nothing they could do

NHTSA ID

11716357

Incident

Feb 1, 2026

Reversing onto roadway and shifted from reverse to drive via rotary dial and vehicle went into park and would not move causing me to block the roadway. In addition and even more concerning was that the vehicle could not be turned off and any and all actions to do so just left the car "on" and the hybrid system running. Eventually we pulled the battery cable on the main 12v in the trunk and the reset allowed us to move the vehicle again. I sat across a busy section for twenty minutes with no way to move, turn off, or overide the system with three kids with me in a busy traffic area. The vehicle has not reproduced the issue as of yet. The dash had multiple warnings for park system and service various items needed. this occurred 12/17/2025 with 70,000 miles.

NHTSA ID

11705779

Incident

Dec 17, 2025

While driving down the highway at 70 miles per hour ater driving 2.5 hours our 2021 Pacifica hybrid minivan flashed a warning on the vehicles display saying approximately "Warning Engine Shutting Down". The engine immediately shut down in the middle of the highway and we were forced to coast off the highway to the shoulder. The engine warning light came on. We turned the car off for a few minutes and proceeded to start the engine. The engine warning light was still on, but the other message was gone. We attempted to drive towards our destination and approximately 30 minutes later the same thing happened again. We tried one more time since we were several hours from home and within 30 minutes the vehicle had the same issue. At that point we decided to try to get home. We drove the vehicle 15-20 mins at a time and then exited the highway over and over giving the vehicle time turned off. After returning home with no additional events the engine warning light went off the next warning. This was on a Sunday so we were unable to get it to a dealer. The next day we dropped off the vehicle at Nappletom Chrysler dealership. The called us the next day and told us they could not cause the event to happen again. They could see a set of error codes showing the problem occurred, but told us there was nothing they could do and it was up to us to cause the problem and then return the vehicle. Now I have a minivan with 70k miles on it that my wife primarily uses my with to get my daughter from place to place and I have no idea when this vehicle will shut the engine down at any time potentially causing a dangerous accident. I believe Chrysler has the responsibility to determine what the issue is. Researching on the internet show this is a common problem for my vehicle and typically requires a new transmission or and engine wiring short.

NHTSA ID

11700402

Incident

Nov 16, 2025

The transmission stutters and searches from 15 mph - 30 mph. Dealer ship told us it was a known issue and they just reset the "learning" feature of the transmission. The fix gives you another 6 months and then the issue slowly returns. This causes undue wear on the transmission and leaves it open for catastrophic failure. Dealership refuses to repair after warranty expires even though it is a known issue. There are no warning lamps or messages just an slowly growing clunking at slow speeds over time.

NHTSA ID

11688762

Incident

Jan 1, 2024

Since week 1 of owning my brand new 2021 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, I have had issues of loss of motive power. I have done all of the recall remedies yet my car with a 35day old 12v battery not only died on me, but drained every battery in my vehicle so that I couldnt open my doors. The vehicle was unable to be jumped so that it could be driven, so I ended up paying o or $1000 in towing to get the vehicle to my dealership to be diagnosed,AGAIN. That happened on July 12th, I finally had it towed on July 14th to my dealership & it has been there since. Although the PIM & BATTERY are under WARRANTY, Chrysler is refusing to reimburse me any of the tow fees & only 20 days of a rental I have now had for a month. The dealership installed the PIM which cleared a couple of codes, but not all. They installed ANOTHER new 12v battery, which was immediately drained. They have ordered another coolant something or other for the battery & here we are. I attempted in 2022 to retain a lemon law lawyer but he gave up very easily once Chrysler just stopped answering him.he said because I had my car updated under the class action lawsuit Moran is Chrysler FCA et Al, I was not able to continue under Lemon Law. I have not been able to find a lawyer, even one from the Class Action Lawsuit, to assist me in fighting Chrysler to do something to make me whole. My vehicle needs to be inspected in less than 40 days but at this point my 5 yr old vehicle can NOT pass the Pa inspection, so what am I supposed to do? I live in the mountains, have an 8 yrold grandchild that im raising & certainly cant afford to rent cars forever. I still haven't gotten my pension from the Coty of Philadelphia after 3 years of retiring after getting hurt on the job. I just read an article about the Office of Drfective products investigating Chrysler in 2022 for EXACTLY the problems I continue to have!!

NHTSA ID

11679622

Incident

Jul 12, 2025

On [XXX], I was driving uphill on the interstate at around 70 mph on gas power (hybrid battery was discharged) and warning came up "Stop Safely Vehicle Will Shut Down Soon" and lost power (Limp mode). I was able to move safely to the shoulder, but with 5 passengers (3 young kids) and a dog and a full load of camping gear it was a bit nervewracking. Could not get the car started again (stayed in limp mode) and used an OBDII scanner I had which popped up error code (P0A43 - "intermittent issue with the drive motor "A" position sensor"). The vehicle was towed to the dealer ( 4 hours from home) and after a few days they said the vehicle was fixed and I pushed for them to test drive it on the interstate. Was returned with this comment: " FOUND CODES FOR DRIVE MOTOR "A" POSITION SENSOR CIRCUIT INTERMITTENT AND HYBRID BATTERY PACK STATE OF CHARGE LOW. CHECKED TRANS PLUG AND WIRING VERIFIED OPERATING CORRECTLY. FOUND THAT RESOLVER NEEDS TO HAVE RELEARN PREFORMED. PREFORMED RELEARN ON RESOLVER AND CHARGED HYBRID BATTERY. TEST DROVE VEHICLE ON INTERSTATE AND VERIFIED THAT ISSUE DID NOT RETURN. VEHICLE OPERATING AS DESIGNED." I received a notice of an unlimited mile/year warranty on the transmission for this car, and from what I read on the internet, this is a recurrent issue with a known cause. We were able to get off the road safely in this case, but it is nerve-wracking to drive, especially with my family, in the current state. This is related to an open NHTSA investigation: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11672470

Incident

Jul 3, 2025

Symptoms exactly as described in Safety Recall 03A / NHTSA 23V-010. Warning came onto dash with very little time to get to side of road from highway driving before engine fully shut down. Picture of dash after warning attached. Extremely dangerous situation, particularly for a known issue as described in the recall and NHTSA notices above. Currently vehicle is at dealer pending confirmation / diagnostics.

NHTSA ID

11660695

Incident

May 12, 2025

On three separate days, 2021 Pacifica lost power at 70 mph. After second incident transmission was replaced. The third loss of power occurred after the new transmission was installed. All of these incidents occurred on freeways with heavy semi-truck traffic.

NHTSA ID

11659894

Incident

May 7, 2025

Driving on freeway at 70 mph clear conditions 65degree weather. Warning light said to stop safely engine would shut down soon. Pulled over safely, waited, restarted. Drove another 10 miles, same error message, car lost power.

NHTSA ID

11655461

Incident

Apr 18, 2025

5-6 times, our car has gone into "turtle mode", where a warning comes on telling you to pull over ASAP, and that your maximum speed will be limited. We've been in and out of Gwinnett Chrysler in Stone Mountain, GA, and they've never solved the problem. Since then, it has happened twice more and we made it to an Auto Zone type store each time, and they read the error code. Both times, the code was POA43. One said "Power Train System Drive Motor 'A' Position Sensor Circuit Intermittent" and the other said "Primary DTC - MotorReSolver Open/ Short". On forums many people report this issue, and most have gotten new transmissions to resolve it. This started on [XXX] AFTER I had Gwinnett Chrysler fix 4 recalls and do routine maintenance. It has been going on for 7 months at this point. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11639870

Incident

Jun 23, 2024

Hard shifting during de-deceleration and at lower speeds. Most likely between 25 to 45 miles per hour.

NHTSA ID

11637624

Incident

Jan 1, 2025

My wife was driving driving the vehicle on October 21st, 2024. She was shifting from Park to Drive just after our children got out of the vehicle in the school parking lot when the whole vehicle froze up and the dashboard lite up with all error lights including the engine light. It was flashing "Service Hybrid Battery System", "Service Transmission", "Turn off parking brake" and the Vehicle began to power cycle on and off, then on with gas motor, then on with electric motor. The vehicle could not be powered off and it could not be shifted out of gear and the parking brake could not be disengaged. The tow truck had to drag our Pacifica onto the flatbed while it continued to turn on and off and cycle through the engine and hybrid system. This vehicle has 36,000 miles and just had the transmission replaced under the "Recall for hybrid transmission systems" This is the second time this has happened, it originally occurred at 7000 miles and after the dealer had it for a week we were told there was no problem. The dealer had to pull a bunch of fuses and the 12v battery to get the vehicle to stop turning off and on, the same thing happened this time when it was dragged off the flatbed at the dealer.

NHTSA ID

11621631

Incident

Oct 21, 2024

WHEN DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE AT SPEEDS OF 75 MPH. WE RECEIVED A MESSAGE TELLING US TO "SAFELY STOP VEHICLE WILL SHUT OFF SOON". AT THAT POINT OUR VEHICLE BEGAN TO SLOW DRAMATICALLY AS WE ATTEMPTED TO SHIFT LANES TO GET TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. WE THEN HAD TO SIT ON THE SIDE OF THE INTERSTATE, UNABLE TO MOVE, WITH THREE CHILDREN IN THE CAR FOR ALMOST AN HOUR BEFORE THE VEHICLE ALLOWED US TO MOVE IT AT A SNAILS PACE THROUGH THE DITCH AND TO A ROAD TRAVELLING PARALLEL TO THE INTERSTATE. ONCE, PARKED ON THE SIDE OF THIS LESS DANGEROUS ROAD WE SAT FOR ANOTHER 3 HOURS FOR A TOW TRUCK, MANAGED TO HAVE THE VEHICLE TOWED TO THE DEALER WHICH IS INDICATING THAT THEY DO NOT KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THE PROBLEM IS AND ARE REPLACING THE HYBRID BATTERY IN AN ATTEMPT TO FIX IT. WE'VE SEEN MANY GROUP MESSAGES ABOUT THIS ISSUE AND THE COMMON THREAD IS THAT CHRYSLER DOES NOT HAVE A FIX OR KNOW WHAT TO FIX AND THAT THIS ISSUE WILL GENERALLY OCCUR AGAIN. I HAVE NOT RECEIVED A REPAIR INVOICE JUST YET AS OUR VAN IS STILL IN THE SHOP BUT WILL DO WHAT I CAN TO UPDATE THIS REPORT IF POSSIBLE.

NHTSA ID

11613923

Incident

Sep 6, 2024

This is a follow up to an earlier submission (NHTSA Tracking Number 11591550). After the initial incident, the dealership replaced the hybrid battery on the vehicle. A month later, yesterday, while driving the vehicle on the interstate, I again received the dreaded, "Stop Safely, Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon" warning indicator and the car lost all power about 30 seconds later. Thankfully, I was on an offramp and was able to stop safely. Had I been traveling at full speed in the carpool lane, it could have been very dangerous. The van is now at the dealership for repair, and I hope they fix it for real this time. This is an extremely dangerous situation, with vehicles dying while going full speed.

NHTSA ID

11606717

Incident

Aug 5, 2024

On [XXX], I was driving the vehicle on a busy highway with a posted speed limit of 70mph. While operating the vehicle at ~70mph, the front display showed a message that the vehicle was going to stop and to pull off safely. Unknown at what point the vehicle will stop, in a panic, I pulled off on the highway and immediately called road assistance for a tow. After calling the dealership, they told me to start the vehicle again, which I did and it showed the check engine light illuminated on the dash. He advised that the vehicle should be able to be driven to the dealership rather than needing a tow, so I cancelled the roadside assistance. On May 12, 2023, the dealership informed me that they did not find anything wrong and said I could pick the vehicle back up since they couldn't replicate the issue. On my drive home, the exact same issue happened and in a panic I pulled off on the same highway with posted speeds of 70mph. The car was at the dealership from May 12 2023 - June 26 2023. The dealership replaced the valve body and transmission. On [XXX], while driving with two young children [XXX] and [XXX] ) on the same highway with posted speeds of 70mph, I received the same dash message. The highway was very busy that day and the concern was escalated with my young children in the vehicle. I was able to pull off. I turned off my vehicle, turned it back on, which put it in limp mode so I could putter to a safer spot than the middle of an off-ramp. I turned it off once more and restarted it, and it allowed me to drive with the check engine light. The next day (XXX), I took it to the dealership and they just confirmed today (7/23/24) it once again needs a new transmission. So I have been put in an extremely unsafe condition 3 times in just over a year with no new resolution beyond just trying to replace the transmission once again. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11604016

Incident

Jul 21, 2024

I purchased my vehicle from AutoNation Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM Spring - 21027 I-45, Spring, TX 77388 on or about April 15, 2021. I began having trouble with the electric/gas drivetrain around January 30 of 2023. The vehicle lost all power, as well as throttle and proper braking response. I brought my vehicle back to Helfman Dodge Chrysler Jeep RAM FIAT at 7720 Katy Fwy A, Houston, TX 77024 for repairs on February 6, 2023. The repairs performed seemed to have worked until [XXX]. The most recent event on [XXX] my Pacifica Hybrid lost all power on the highway. While attempting to pull the vehicle off of the highway it abruptly entered its parking gear at 5mph, almost causing a rear end collision from the semi tractor trailer following behind us. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11602703

Incident

Jul 5, 2024

I am having a problem with my under-warranty (32,000 miles) 2021 Chrysler Pacifica which the service department at my dealership appears unable to help. I was driving on an interstate in stop-and-go traffic for a couple of hours. It was a very hot day, temperatures well above 90 degrees. Six times over 15 minutes the following occurred: While coasting/braking, so at low RPM the engine turned itself off I braked to stop the vehicle The vehicle put itself into Park A message on the dash said to place my foot on the brake pedal and press the button to start the engine I did so, and the engine cranked for an unusually long time, becoming longer each of the 6 times, before eventually starting By the last time we were doubtful it would start at all After the 6th time I cut my long-distance trip short, turned around, and came home in normal (not stop-and-go) highway traffic conditions, with no more engine failure. The check engine light did not turn on, and no service codes were generated which could have been related to these power failures My local dealer's service department (Pohanka in Salisbury, MD) tested the alternator, starter, and battery and found nothing wrong. They did charge the battery up a bit, saying it took only 20 minutes. They have been unable to re-create the problem, which is not surprising, due to the unique conditions under which it happened. They say there is nothing they can do about my problem under warranty because there is no code and they can't reproduce the problem, so they want to give me back a vehicle that we know behaved unsafely six times under dangerous conditions. Engines failing without warning on interstates are likely to result in being rear-ended. I see online that the hybrid model of the same model year has a recall for exactly this same issue, so it is not a new issue for Chrysler, although maybe new-ish for my non-hybrid model of the same vehicle.

NHTSA ID

11601225

Incident

Jul 7, 2024

After having the car serviced to fix the recall, my car stopped running while on the freeway at 60mph. This is now the 3rd time in less than 10 days that this has happened. I had the transmission replaced previously to fix this issue but it has returned.

NHTSA ID

11600656

Incident

Jul 9, 2024

Driving the vehicle on the interstate, and the vehicle suddenly lost power and had a warning that said "Stop Safely, Vehicle will shut off soon". However, we were in a construction zone and unable to stop on the interstate causing many vehicles to nearly crash into us. I understand we had previously had a recall worked that simply added this warning, but did not fix the issue. This warning is not a safe solution. It is still very dangerous for your vehicle to suddenly drop to 15mph at highway speeds. We are in the process of having the dealer confirm the issue.

NHTSA ID

11598592

Incident

Jul 3, 2024