2023 Chrysler Pacifica Engine Problems

This is what I wrote to Stellantis. Dear Stellantis Customer Care, My vehicle has now stalled five separate times while I was making a left turn through an intersection. When this happens, the engine shuts off unexpectedly, the vehicle shifts into park and I must attempt to restart it while sitting in the roadway. During the most recent incident, the vehicle would not restart on the first attempt and required a second attempt before it would run again. This creates an extremely dangerous situation. Losing power in the middle of a left turn places me, my passengers and other motorist at risk of a serious accident. The vehicle has approximately 43,000 miles and has been taken to my Chrysler dealership for diagnosis. Unfortunately, I have repeatedly been told that they cannot duplicate the problem and therefore cannot repair it. Despite those visits, the dangerous condition continues to occur. I am requesting that Stellantis immediately: • Open a formal case regarding the safety issue. • Assign a regional field engineer, or star technical specialist to inspect and diagnose my vehicle. • Work directly with my dealership to determine the cause of this intermittent stalling condition. • Advise me whether the vehicle is safe to drive while this issue remains unresolved. I have been a responsible owner and have sought assistance through the dealership, but I cannot continue driving a vehicle that unexpectedly shuts off in the middle of an intersection. I am asking Stellantis to take this matter seriously, and provide a timely resolution before someone is seriously injured. Please contact me as soon as possible regarding the next steps. I would appreciate receiving a case number and the name of the representative assigned to assist with this matter. I intend to file a safety complaint with NHTSA regarding this matter. Thank you for your prompt attention to this urgent safety concern.

NHTSA ID

11754028

Incident

Jul 31, 2026

I have been experiencing random engine shutdowns since April 6, 2026. I’ve taken it to be serviced for this on four occasions since this time and it has not been appropriately fixed. There is a warning light that flashed before it happens that says “your car is about to shutdown, please pull over” but it does not allow ample time to pull over safely before randomly shutting down. The dealership replaced the PCM in may 2026 but I had the car back less than 24 hours and it happened again. The car has shutdown a total of 5 times since April 6, 2026.

NHTSA ID

11751566

Incident

Apr 6, 2026

On June 14, 2026, one day after purchase, while driving through the Mojave Desert on I-15 in temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the check engine light illuminated and remained on through Southern California. The vehicle required a jump start after being parked in a covered multi-level parking structure for 5 days in Long Beach California after which the check engine light cleared. On June 19, 2026, six days after purchase, during the return trip the high voltage hybrid traction battery failed completely without warning in active Las Vegas highway traffic. The vehicle lost all motive power and coasted to the roadside. Three minor passengers were aboard, the youngest age 13. The occupants were stranded in temperatures exceeding 100 degrees for approximately two hours awaiting a tow truck. The vehicle was towed to an authorized Chrysler dealership where the high voltage traction battery was confirmed failed and replaced under warranty. A valley pan oil leak was also discovered and hybrid software update were also performed. An outstanding curtain airbag safety recall had never been remedied prior to the breakdown. The towing company reported they had been towing multiple Pacifica hybrids with similar failures during the same Las Vegas heat wave, suggesting a systemic issue with the high voltage battery thermal management system in extreme heat. The vehicle had been purchased six days prior with fewer than 1,000 miles of ownership at time of failure.

NHTSA ID

11745819

Incident

Jun 19, 2026

Purchased vehicle through Carvana with approx. 21,504 miles on 4/1/2026. On 5/5/2026, with only 22,269 miles, the dashboard lights came on and informed us that vehicle will shut off soon and to stop safely. We were traveling 75 mph down the highway. We had it towed to a Chrysler dealer. They couldn’t find a problem after a week. The second time we experienced the same issue was on 5/19/2026 at 21,493 miles. Again, we had it towed to the Chrysler dealer. They told us the same thing and even implied it was the way we were driving that was the issue. The third time we experienced this problem was on 5/30/2026 with 22,636 miles on the odometer. We will be towing it back to a Chrysler dealer.

NHTSA ID

11741015

Incident

May 5, 2026

High voltage battery pack, Power Inverter Module (PIM), and HV charging system. PIM replaced twice (p/n 68381781AD, 8/4/25 and 8/18/25) after being found melted with arcing damage at HV connections. Battery pack has active BPCM fault codes and a recorded cell voltage excursion. Vehicle available for inspection. Vehicle lost all motive power without warning at highway speed on multiple occasions, requiring the driver to pull over. This occurred on a platform subject to recall 24V-536 (HV battery fire risk). A melted inverter and arcing at HV connections were found on a vehicle still being driven daily. BPCM data shows Cell 79 recorded a voltage excursion to 1,526 mV — less than half minimum safe operating voltage — stored in permanent memory. Yes. Lawless Inc. (Woburn, MA), authorized Chrysler dealer, confirmed fault codes PA121-00 and P0A43-00 on 8/4/25 and replaced the PIM. Vehicle returned 8/18/25 with same failure — dealer confirmed arcing damage and melted inverter. Three visits total; defect unresolved after two repair attempts on the same component. All three visits performed by authorized Chrysler dealer under 10-year/100,000-mile HV battery warranty. Stellantis warranty claim opened each visit. No police or insurance involvement. Red warning "Will Lose All Power" appeared on instrument cluster before each shutdown. Battery range has displayed erratically since 2/28/25 (~17,788 miles), when nonlinear discharge was first reported and dismissed. Active BPCM Level 2 safety fault (L2/L1 CELL MAX V CMP_FLT) remains present today.

NHTSA ID

11740603

Incident

Aug 25, 2025

Vehicle randomly shuts off in EV or ICE mode usually when driving on highway at 60-70 mph; warning comes of “vehicle will shut off soon” check engine light and limp mode; eventually power goes off and steering also stiffens ; this happed multiple times, but the check engine like didn’t stay on long enough for the dealership to be able to read it! So I was give the vehicle back then the same thing happed over again! Very unsafe to drive, not feeling comfortable to drive!

NHTSA ID

11734451

Incident

Apr 26, 2026

Lost power. System said to pull over immediately. Error code P0A43.

NHTSA ID

11732213

Incident

Apr 18, 2026

Red Turtle symbol, vehicle going to shut down, indicates issue sensing power from the hybrid drivetrain

NHTSA ID

11712199

Incident

Jan 13, 2026

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 ID

11708861

Incident

Dec 23, 2025

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 ID

11708858

Incident

Dec 21, 2025

As I began driving errors popped up engine failure, electrical system and hybrid system errors, the gas pedal would not move beyond 10 miles per hour, the brakes made a weird noise as if were trying to start the car. This happened with no warning.

NHTSA ID

11704957

Incident

Dec 14, 2025

The vehicle experienced multiple incidents of sudden power loss while driving.

NHTSA ID

11690952

Incident

Apr 20, 2025

On August 2, while traveling about 75 MPH, the check engine light came on along with the warning "Stop Safely – Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon". The vehicle started immediately losing power. We were driving in the fast lane in traffic so pulling over was difficult and dangerous. After we were to the side of the road, we turned the van off. After 10 minutes or so, we continued on and pulled over at a rest stop. We have an OBD2 and checked the codes. At first, there were no codes even though the check engine light was on. After checking a few times, there were 2 codes. They were P1C65 PD and P0A43. I took the van into the dealership on August 4. They saw one of the codes saved. On August 7 the dealership preformed a software update. They were not able to reproduce the issue. Today, September 19, while driving, the check engine light came on with the warning "Stop Safely – Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon". The vehicle again started immediately losing power. This time it happened when traveling about 45 MPH.

NHTSA ID

11688433

Incident

Aug 2, 2025

While driving in the carpool lane on the freeway, the vehicle displayed “Stop Safely. Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon” and lost all power. I am pregnant and had four children (ages [XXX] , [XXX] , [XXX] , and [XXX] ) in the vehicle. The outside temperature was over 100°F, and we were two hours from home. The car was completely disabled in heavy traffic, creating an extreme safety risk for my family. After waiting about 15–20 minutes, the vehicle restarted and we were able to continue. A code scan showed P0A78 – Drive Motor “A” Inverter Performance. This is a serious safety concern, and I am requesting immediate inspection and repair under warranty. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11684189

Incident

Aug 30, 2025

On 8/12/2025, he vehicle displayed a warning that said "Stop Safely, Vehicle will shut off soon" shortly after it was parked. It also displayed a red turtle and the check engine light. There was no warning or check engine light prior to the message that the vehicle was going to shut off. Fortunately, we had already parked safely, but were on the freeway traveling and about an hour away from home. It was 100 degrees outside, and we were stranded with no help from Chrysler customer care other than to tow the vehicle, leaving our kids and dog in a parking lot with no car. We declined this option and had it checked by a diagnostic computer at Jiffy Lube, which returned no diagnostic code. Eventually, all of the warnings and check engine lights went off, and we were able to take it home. We took it to the dealership at the earliest opportunity on 08/14, and they confirmed that this is a known issue and would require a transmission replacement. There is no timeline on the repair or replacement, only that it will take "a while". They do not advise that we take the van back because the issue could come nback at any moment and the vehicle could shut off without warning.

NHTSA ID

11680732

Incident

Aug 12, 2025

While traveling on an interstate highway at highway speed (65-70 mph), a red turtle warning light came on with the message "Pull over Safely; vehicle will shut off soon." Almost immediately, we lost all power and glided into the right-hand shoulder. We narrowly missed being rear-ended. We got it to a local dealer, where the service department informed us we need a new transmission. The car has less than 13,000 miles on it.

NHTSA ID

11677441

Incident

Jul 26, 2025

Driving on the highway, all of a sudden, my car dashboard shows a message that " Vehicle will shut off soon" and the accelerator does not work. It was horrifying; there is no median to pull the vehicle out.

NHTSA ID

11676545

Incident

Jul 27, 2025

My vehicle suddenly experienced a loss of power while driving, starting at 62000 miles per hour. Sometimes the same problem occurs again after driving for several hundred miles per hour, and sometimes even after driving for tens of miles per hour. When this problem occurs, the vehicle cannot continue to drive and can only rely on inertia to slide. It must be parked on the side of the road, the engine must be turned off for one minute, and the vehicle can start again to drive normally. My car has now driven at 89000 miles per hour, and this problem has occurred countless times. At first, it occurred about once every 2-3 days, but now it occurs twice a day.

NHTSA ID

11676024

Incident

Feb 20, 2025

[XXX] First “Red Turtle” Breakdown on Freeway After about an hour of freeway driving, car went into “red turtle mode” (“limp mode”) on the freeway, alerting us that the engine would shut down shortly and that we needed to get to a safe place to stop. The car wouldn’t accelerate fully, putting us in danger on the freeway, where cars were speeding all around us. June 2025: Dealership’s First Attempt to Fix The dealership showed stored error codes P0A43 Drive Mode Code A Position Sensor Intermittent. But, the tech said they were unable to replicate the error. They kept it in the shop for a couple days, then sent the car home with us with no fix. They told us to restart the car a few times and it should go away. [XXX]: Second Breakdown on Freeway On [XXX], with all three kids in the car, we drove the car from Sacramento to San Rafael. On the way there–the first long car trip with the van since the [XXX] incident, the Red Turtle Alert appeared again. We were going uphill and unable to fully accelerate on the freeway, again putting our entire family in danger. We were luckily able to pull off of the freeway, restart the car several times, and continue driving–wondering the entire time whether the vehicle would again lose power, and sure enough it did. [XXX]: Third breakdown on freeway Later that same day, on our way home, the Red Turtle alert appeared again, the vehicle was unable to fully accelerate, and the message warned us that the car was about to shut itself down. This time, we were on the freeway with no exit available to us. We had to pull over onto an unprotected shoulder, with cars speeding by us on both sides. It would have been unsafe for any of us–but especially my toddlers–to exit the vehicle. We sat on the side of the freeway, restarting the car repeatedly, waiting to see if the Alert would clear and the vehicle would become drivable again. Eventually, it did. We brought the car to the dealership again. Spent over a week there INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA)

NHTSA ID

11674387

Incident

May 31, 2025

On [XXX] while traveling on the interstate the car issued a warning engine light and turtle image to pull off the road as the car would shut off, immediately it had no power, maybe could only go 30 mph. Took the car in on 5/10 which was the earliest appt. Said they did a software update, gave the car back. Took the car again on [XXX] when the same warning appeared again on the interstate, same situation disabled vehicle at high speeds on the interstate and no power. Said they changed a module related to the error and gave me the car back. Yesterday as I was driving on [XXX] 70 mph the car gave the same warning and shut off again, immediately I had no power, 30 mph. The dealer acknowledged my car is not the only one in his shop with this issue. They had my vehicle for nearly a month the time before. This vehicle is not safe to drive on the highways as it can shut off at any time. It's a known problem by Chrysler and their idea of fixing it, is issuing a warning which gives you almost no time to get off the highway before your speed is greatly reduced and even then you're stuck on the side of the highway with cars speeding by in an area with no shoulder or construction zone you'd be stuck in the middle of the road. Someone will wind up dead on the highway, I am lucky that in the 3 times this has happened I have not been hit and have been able to safely get to the shoulder, but I don't see Chrysler being able to fix this issue, the dealership did reach out to the manufacturer each time. I know my car is not the only one that has this issue and I'm concerned for the safety of anyone who owns one of these. A simple google search of this vehicle will show the problem is wide spread. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11672709

Incident

Jul 10, 2025

The van did not transition from electric to gas engine when driving and battery for the electrical engine was depleted. The dash board displayed a red turtle and said slow on dashboard. But it would not drive forward. I was on a hill and the van backed down the hill in reverse. I did this multiple times - turn off van, restart van and try to go up hill, reverse it down hill again. At some point, there was enough electricity for the electrical engine to kick in and I was able to drive home. After the van set for a while, it restarted and I was able to drive it to my ultimate destination 147 miles away. I researched online and found there is a recall for this very thing, but it does not include my car. Why is my life so hard? Its a new van to me.

NHTSA ID

11669213

Incident

Jun 22, 2025

I have pulled out to go across road and it was like the car wouldn't go. It would be like it was coasting. And then it would kick in hardand fast. Very very dangerous. Have you had any other people say that.? It's done it about 5 times.. where I almost got hit and or ran off road when it did go.

NHTSA ID

11669051

Incident

Jan 2, 2025

Vehicle displayed "stop safely, vehicle will shut off soon" followed by a complete lack of power. We managed to get to the side of the highway safely. Vehicle would not turn back on until about 45 minutes later. Before we turned off the vehicle it said service charge port. Check engine light is on, even after we managed to get it started. Currently at the shop, waiting for information on why.

NHTSA ID

11668258

Incident

Jun 20, 2025

Driving at highway speed (70 mph) the vehicle repeatedly has flashed a warning : Stop Safely Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon The engine cuts power and the vehicle must be pulled over and turned off and cannot keep driving. It leads to very unsafe conditions at highway speed. The vehicle was repaired once for the defect by Chrysler but it still continues to occur and is now being repaired again.

NHTSA ID

11667612

Incident

May 10, 2025

While exiting an interstate, the van felt like it had popped out of gear and lost power, and the instrument cluster had the message "Stop safely, vehicle will shut off soon." I was in the middle of three lanes on the ramp, and due to traffic and no shoulder I was unable to stop off the side of the road. The van died at the top of the ramp at the traffic light, causing a risk of being rear-ended by approaching traffic. I had my two children in the van at the time. After attempting to cycle the ignition several times and stepping out to wave traffic around as the traffic light cycled several times (causing a traffic backup), the van started and drove normally albeit with the Check Engine Light on. I have not had the time to take the van to a dealership for diagnoses, but looking online this is not an unknown problem and is related to the Pacifica Hybrid's transmission. Just wanting to make NHTSA aware of another event of this fault occurring.

NHTSA ID

11667312

Incident

Jun 16, 2025