Seats Problems of Chrysler Pacifica - part 1

Description of incident: on February 15, 2026, my 2017 Chrysler Pacifica hybrid experienced three distinct and severe safety system failures involving the electrical system, power seats, and the power sliding door. Power sliding door sensor failure: while my minor son was entering the vehicle, the power sliding door closed on his leg. The pinch sensor failed to detect the obstruction and did not reverse. This resulted in physical bruising and marks on the limb (photographic evidence maintained). Unintended passenger seat motion: while the vehicle was stationary, the front passenger power seat moved forward to its maximum limit without user input. I was seated in the chair at the time and was pinned against the dashboard before I could intervene. Electrical shock: my minor daughter received a perceptible electric shock upon touching the exterior door-handle button to open the sliding door. Components involved: electrical system seats (power) sliding door (power) injuries: yes (soft tissue bruising/marks to minor’s leg). Risk to safety: had the driver's seat moved forward without input while the vehicle was in motion, this absolutely could result in loss of control of the vehicle and an accident. Had the sliding side door continued to close on my son's leg, it could have caused severe injury. Had the electrical shock been worse, it could have resulted in burn or injury. The vehicle is available for inspection. It has not yet been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance. The issues have not repeated at this point, although the vehicle was not used the last 12 days. I do not have confidence in its electrical components. There were no warning lamps, messages, or other indications of any problem with the vehicle.

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The mid-row driver's side seat release cable suddenly permenantly lost all tension, preventing the seat from latching into place both during operation and while stationary, leading to it sliding forwards/backwards with the vehicle in motion. The seat that experienced the failure is at present still avaliable for inspection - and the issue occurs frequently enough that a diy fix can be found online. However, given that the faliure occured without any human interaction with the failed component, it seems prudent to report it here. No warning lights or prior symptoms appeared prior to the issue surfacing. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

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The headrest failed. The headrest pivots on the steel supports, and there's a ratchet inside, that is actuated by a plastic piece, which is then connected to cabling. The plastic piece internally broke it's actually unbelievably small for the application, the engineers should be ashamed of themselves. I'm going to guess 1/8" diameter, maximum, snapped right at the ratchet mechanism. If the weak plastic does happen to let loose in an accident, that headrest is going to flop forward and will not provide the head support that it's supposedly designed to provide. The way the headrest angles forward I worry about decapitation or severe neck injury causing quadriplegia in the event of an accident. This piece should work and be dependable not a tiny piece of plastic that often breaks with minimal use. We should know we have dependable headrest function in the event of an automobile crash.

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The head rest of the second row broke and will not return to its upright position after we used the stow feature. Very dangerous now and basically lost a seat in our vehicle.

The 2nd row seat headrest remains in the forward facing position (parallel to the ground) and not upright. The headrest won’t lock into the upright position anymore which is causing a major safety concern. The head rest will move up and down, but not lock into position. The passenger has to hold the headrest into the upright position or not use the seat at all based on safety concerns of head/neck protection in the event of an accident. No accident or incident has happened. The other headrest on the other side works fine for now, but one is broken. I am requesting this headrest to be replaced free of charge by the manufacturer based on safety concerns and safety protection necessary. In addition, this mode of seat and headrest does not work properly with car seats. We have had to uninstall the headrest in order for a car seat to sit flush with the middle seat so the car seat doesn’t rock back and forth.

On 10-23-25 my son pushed the button at the bottom rear of the drivers seat that moves the seat forward when using the stow-n-go feature. I was in the seat at the time and had just seconds to react. I pushed the driver 1 setting on the door and it reversed the action. If I hadn't, would I have been crushed into the steering wheel or would the air bag have gone off? what if I hadn't set up that feature? what if I had panicked? I took it to the dealership today. After inspecting it, they said there was no protocol for this problem. The only thing they could do was to disable the button, which they did upon my request. "5447 b piller on left side has button for rear passengers to press to move seat forward. There is no setting to disengage function, only way to disengage would be to unplug button. Per customer request unplugged switch to disengage button from working. " there were no warnings and just seconds to react. There is a button at the roof front center that disengages the side doors from opening. Perhaps this button should also include disengaging that feature, or eliminate it altogether. My 2015 Dodge caravan also had stow-n-go. It was simple to move the seat forward to utilize this feature. Now, with the driver presets, it is very convenient to move it back. This is an unnecessary and unsafe "convenience. " only someone in the driver seat should be able to move the seat forward.

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2nd row seat fails to latch and lock in position. The seat reclines back and forth without being able to be latched in place. My [xxx] and [xxx] 's safety is greatly impacted by this, as the seat is unable to be properly secured in the event of a crash. I have had the other 2nd row seat repaired nearly 2 months ago at a Chrysler dealership, but am dealing with the same problem on the other 2nd row seat. When I took the vehicle to the dealership 2 months ago, the 2nd row seat that has now failed to latch was not experiencing those problems. There were no warning lamps or symptoms of this failure to occur other than knowing that the other 2nd row seat had experienced the same failure 2 months prior to this. A poor design in the seat reclining mechanism in the 2nd row seats of the Chrysler Pacifica by Chrysler appears to be the problem. Numerous other posts about this same issue exist on the [xxx] webpage, as well as by doing a google search on the failure information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

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We had the seat fail on one of our middle row seats. It lines up with a dealer service, and we believe the dealer probably broke it while performing other work, but we don't have before/after videos or anything like that to prove it. The issue is that there is a plastic piece that breaks, which means that the seatback no longer locks. . Read more...

The second-row seat back will not stay in a fixed position. How would that do in a car crash with no fixed back position? just flop backwards all the way from a rear crash? this part was broken. Spring busted open the cheap, plastic housing to the ez slide latch. Latch release cable - mopar (68324912ac), 2017-2025 Chrysler - 68324912ac.

For the third time the cable in the 2nd row seat has failed. I have had them repaired before. When the cable fails the seat snaps foward & cannot be locked into position.

The passenger headrest on the seat has stopped functioning and is it a downward position where the seat cannot be used safely. The headrest will not position for a safe position. Repair center has verified. Manufacturer says this will be an $1100 plus repair. Have found others with this problem on youtube. As I understand, this is not repairable and must be replaced. I’m asking for a safety recall to be issued with the manufacturer will repair the safely for all customers who are involved as I understand there are many. Thank you.

Cable system inside 2nd row seat broke so that it can no longer anchor in place. The back of the seat folds back/forth and unable to secure in place, the seat slides forward/backward freely on the track. Seems to be a known issue (multiple forums online).

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Vehicle information: make/model: 2021 Chrysler Pacifica hybrid incident dates: Thursday June 12, 2025 & Saturday June 14, 2025 description of the incident: on two separate occasions, the second-row passenger seat of my 2021 Chrysler Pacifica hybrid collapsed and slid forward without any manual intervention. The first incident occurred when my wife was buckling in our son. The seat unexpectedly folded over him, and it would not latch back into place. To ensure safety, she moved him to the third-row seat. When she stopped at a stop sign, the unlatched seat slid forward and collided with the front passenger seat. If my son had remained in that seat, he could have been seriously injured. A similar incident happened a couple of days later with the second-row seat on the driver’s side. This seat also folded over and slid freely on the floor. Both incidents present a major safety concern, especially since the vehicle is relatively new and was purchased as a certified pre-owned vehicle in excellent condition. The dealership diagnosed the issue as broken seat cables, which prevented the seats from latching properly. While there is no open recall for this specific issue, it closely resembles the conditions in recall campaign code z22, which also addressed seat latch problems in the same make/model and model year. Despite the safety risk, Chrysler has declined to cover the diagnostic costs or the repair under because the basic warranty had expired (although two of their phone reps assured me that there was still some warranty available to help with the expense). I am filing this complaint so that NHTSA can investigate this issue further to prevent potential injuries to other passengers.

The head rest will not lock into the upright position after using the stow n go feature.

Part 68324912ac latch release cable failed on both middle seats within one week of one another and approximately three weeks after the manufacturers warranty expired on the vehicle. The result is that both seat backs do not latch into place vertically and the entire seat freely slides forward and backward, slamming backward on acceleration and forward on braking. We have read on internet forums that this is a very common problem. The left side seat failed while my daughter was riding in it and the seat back released. If this had happened during a collision, it could’ve been catastrophic. Upon stopping the vehicle and exiting, we found that it slid freely forward and back as well. The other side failed while the vehicle is parked, and we released the seat back lever. The seats are unusable as a result. If the failure had happened while driving or impact, it could have been devastating as the seat would have slid independent of the seatbelt and the back slammed forward driving the passenger’s head into the back of the front seat. A Chrysler dealer diagnosed the problem charging us $250 for the diagnostic fee and quoted another $750 for the repair. Parts cost about $30 each. There were no warning indicators prior to the failure.

The 2nd row passenger side headrest failed to latch in the upright position and prevents anyone from sitting in the seat since the headrest is almost horizontal. I reported it to the dealer and they will replace the headrest due to a plastic piece in the latch broke. While waiting for the part to come in the driver’s side 2nd row headrest also failed to latch. Upon inspection the same plastic piece had broken. Since the van is 38 months old and less than 36,000 miles it is out of the manufacture’s warranty period.

Second row passenger seat headrest does not lock into place. After folding the seat down to put in car seats in the third row, the headrest will not lock. This would cause severe trauma if one of our many children were to be seated in the seat during a crash. The issue has not yet been evaluated at a service center, but I intend to contact them and see if the headrest can be replaced through warranty.

See all problems of the 2023 Chrysler Pacifica 🔎.

Stowing the 2nd row seat breaks the headrest. There are plastic washers in the headrest that break when the 2nd row seat is stowed more than once.

Headrest does not stay in the upright position in the 2nd row due to manufacturer defect. My child is supposed to sit there and now there is no headrest, thus putting his safety/life at risk. This defect has been frequently reported across multiple forms on the internet of other vehicles with the same make and model experiencing the same defect.

Both middle bench seat head rests will not stay upright, making it unsafe for any passenger to ride in thise seats. Happened after folding the seat forward for passengers to get into the back seat. Infotainment system does not work and touch screen will not work. Unable to connect amazon fire and unable to even play dvds on the screens.

Both middle seats have failed. The cable that allows the seat to slide tilt forward has a very strong spring and a very weak plastic housing. The replacement cable is unavailable because they’ve had so many issues with this happening. There are years of complaints on reddit regarding this problem. The seat won’t lock upright or lock in place. I built a workaround to make the seat usable again.

Headrest on center row seats (both sides) stays folded down making seat difficult to use. Interfered with use of child car seat. Attempts to correct the problem all failed.

We have a broken 2nd row captain's chair on the passenger side. The seat broke with my child's car seat in it so we didn't notice until we took the carseat out and noticed the seat back was swinging freely forward and back and would not latch. In doing some research we found dozens of other people with similar age Pacificas with identical problems. You can see some details here; [xxx] some in this forum have mentioned this specific seat part is needed for the repair: mopar part number 68324912ac - latch release cable it is extremely scary to me this seat latch could just break as the seatback would put the passenger in extreme danger in an accident. I hope you can investigate! information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The headrest on the third-row seat is loose and does not stay in the upright position. In the event of an accident, this could pose a serious risk to passengers, as their head could move forward, and the headrest may fall down, potentially causing neck injury or further harm.

We were rear ended on the highway, the driver seat broke a part came off and the back of the seat went back instead of staying upright. I’m not sure where the vehicle is after we released it to the insurance company on 09-11-24 the driver has back pain and the back of the seat didn’t stay where it should have. I’m not sure we haven’t talked to the dealership just a mechanic. The insurance company had an adjuster look at it and deemed it a total loss. No there was no warnings or any.

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The back of the second row bucket bucket will no longer latch in place, and free floats forwards and backwards, the bottom latch of the seat is also not longer catching and holding the seat in one place and moves all the way forwards in backwards. This is the second time this has happen, with a car seat installed. This caused the car seat to be the at the incorrect angle for the age, height and weight of my child. The latch mechanism that holds the seat back in a fixed position, and the seat in a fixed location both failed. In the event of a crash the seat back would swing forward causing the passenger in that seat to be hunched forward, along with the passenger to be pushed into the front passenger seat. The dealership repaired this same issue several years ago and it has since happened again. We took the car to the dealership today but they were not able to take in for a repair. There were no warning for this defect, just looking back and seeing that the car seat was no longer at the correct angle, and when removing my child from the car feeling the seat back, and seat base free moving in my hand.

Middle passenger side captain seat becomes unlocked. The back rest does not stay locked and when falling forward the seat lifts up and unlocks and slides forward. You just bounce around in the seat.

Both 2nd row quad seats have failed. The lever for leaning the seat forward pulls a cable that has a large spring in a plastic housing that fails. It failed on both seats within the same day in a hot weather environment. After failure, the seats both slide and tilt without the ability to lock into position. This is a huge safety concern as it provides no restraint to the occupant. There are hundreds of accounts of this same issue on forums and reddit posts and highly documented the part that is failed. I have taken to a dealer for repair but fear it will happen again if the part has not been redesigned by stellantis. There is no warning to this failure so it can happen at any time. Thankfully we were at home when it failed and not stranded somewhere else. With the hundreds of instances I have read accounted online, it is shocking that this is not a recall yet.

Part number 68324912ac on both 2nd row seats has failed. The plastic housing encasing the spring broke on top for one seat, and on bottom for the other seat. Now the seat back does not lock in position. When the seat back tilts far enough forward, the seat slides freely forwards and backwards. I have called a few dealerships and no one has the part in stock. It is on back order due to the number of vehicles that have had this problem. Luckily the the parts broke before we were driving and we noticed the issue before someone sat in those seats. Otherwise, they could have been injured just from normal braking, and would not have been safe in an accident.

2nd and 3rd row seats of the van do not allow for proper installation of children’s car seats due to the non adjustable and non removable headrest. 3rd row headrest folds forward making the issue even worse. Tried multiple car seat manufacturers and per the manufacturer’s installation guide the Pacifica seats will not allow for correct and safe installation. Installation instructions show the car seat back must be flush with the vehicle seat. No known problems with other vehicle manufacturers when researching this issue.

I am writing to formally report ongoing and unresolved electrical issues with my 2018 Chrysler Pacifica. Despite replacing both the main and auxiliary batteries, several components continue to fail, including: •the third-row power seats, which do not function at all or operate intermittently, rendering them impossible to stow or adjust. There is no manual override, which is a serious design flaw for families. •the rear liftgate, which starts to open and then immediately closes without completing its cycle. •the passenger-side rear entertainment screen, which is completely non-functional while the driver’s side screen works normally. These issues have severely impacted the usability and reliability of the vehicle. The third-row seat and tailgate problems, in particular, compromise safety and convenience—especially for families with children. The third-row power seat design lacks a manual fallback, which could leave passengers stuck in emergency situations. The liftgate’s failure to open fully and the battery system’s unreliability and constant need for replacement (around every 1. 5/2 years) has left my stranded countless times. These electrical issues need recalls and solutions.

The spring in the cable that operates the recline and fold function of the passenger captain’s chair failed. The seat is perpetually stuck in “loose” causing the seat back to recline and fold forward freely. Because this function is also part of the fold and move forward function, the seat also becomes unsecured and glides forward and backward on the track freely. This spring failure happened while my child’s car seat was installed and we drove around for an unknown period of time with the unsafe seat. The car seat kept the seat back stable so it remained locked but as soon as the car seat was removed it was able to unlock on its own and move on the track, etc. This has happened to other Pacifica vans according to the internet.

The headrest worked when I got the car and the headrest stopped working it won’t stay open it went down to fold into the floor and it won’t lock in position so the seat is unusable because the headrest is locked/ broken in the down position that has it hit right at the middle of neck for some that 5’2 and it would mostly break someone’s neck if an accident occurred.

The second row seats recline locking mechanism failed. It does not lock leaving the seat to collapse and extend. It is unsafe because it does not lock making it unsable for anyone that sits in it and could cause injury. The component has not been inspected by the manufacturer or anyone. I am taking to dealership. Last time I did they did not inspect but told me they have seen problem before and requires seat replacement at $3600 per seat. I left without inspection when one seat failed. Now my other second row seat is also failing. My car is no longer able to transport my children as I do not have enough available safe seats with the second seat failing. There were no warning lamps. I noticed this when my daughter said her seat was moving while I was driving.

My 9 year old child was sitting in the driver side middle captain chair. The child was not touching any of the seat levers. The seat back dropped back and then pushed him foward. The child used their body to push it back some until I could safely pull over. I could not get the seat to lock. The lower lever had no tension. I took it to the dealer and paid a deductible to get it repaired under warranty. Their invoice states that the seatback headrest release cable came apart.