general problems of the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica - part 1

Vehicle lost power, steering, and breaks on the george washington bridge in nyc causing it to roll into the back of another vehicle.

We've had to replace the engine. Twice and the electric power steering quit, working completely. And now they want five thousand dollars to replace it. When it's a known problem.

The check engine light is on my Chrysler Pacifica 2017 limited with error codes p0302 and p0306, indicating misfires in the second and sixth cylinders. The vehicle was purchased brand new in 2017 from a Chrysler dealership in olathe, kansas and currently has approximately 97,000 miles. So far, the spark plugs and valve cover gasket have been replaced, but the same error codes persist. The mechanic is now recommending head gasket replacement, with an estimated repair cost of up to $5,000, which is extremely high. After researching this issue online, I found that thousands of Chrysler owners have experienced the same problem, yet no recall or corrective action has been issued by Chrysler. I contacted Chrysler customer support directly, but was informed that no assistance could be provided because the vehicle is out of warranty. We chose to purchase this vehicle based on the trust, reliability, and customer service reputation of Chrysler, but unfortunately, this experience has not reflected those values. An engine failure of this magnitude at this mileage is unacceptable, especially when it appears to be a known and widespread issue. I strongly believe Chrysler should take responsibility and provide assistance for this engine defect.

This car has had so many issues in the 2 years that I have had it. Blown head gaskets, hard shifting, cruise control getting stuck in a high gear and not shifting. When fixing the head gasket it was apparent that it wasnt the first time being fixed. For such a nice vehicle it has way too many problems for the amount I purchased it for. There needs to be some sort of compensation for this. Upon looking into these issues there are thousands among thousands of people with the same head gasket issues and transmission issues as well.

I keep getting the same codes every few weeks. P0732.

It loses power alot especially uphill. It smells like burnt oil all the time. Smokes out exhaust. Hesitates anytime you put the gas down. And then clunks around sometimes too.

2017 Chrysler Pacifica at 70k miles, check engine light came on. After engine warm up, engine starts to rough idle. Diagnosis is misfire on cylinder 2 (code p0302). In addition, vehicle voltage fluctuates in gage cluster between 12-14 volts. No issue until engine is warm and no issue above idle or with load. Injectors were checked and fine, coils and leads were replaced. Fix did not work. Took to Chrysler dealership for addition diagnosis. Dealership diagnosis is cylinder head warpage due to overheating. Single owner of vehicle, regularly maintained and with no “low coolant” engine light.

Oil leak from oil filter housing.

Around October/November 2025, the vehicle began having intermittent steering issues that have progressively worsened. The steering wheel becomes stiff or feels stuck, and at times it jerks on its own before correcting. Other times I must pull harder to get it to respond, causing over?correction and difficulty maintaining my lane. This has happened at various speeds, including 65–70 mph on the interstate, and I nearly collided with another vehicle due to sudden loss of steering control. The vehicle also has ongoing electrical malfunctions. The center screen glitches, causing the heat/air settings to scroll on their own, the radio to constantly scan, and the touchscreen and knobs to stop responding. The navigation system shows incorrect locations, sometimes placing the vehicle in another state or in the ocean. The system has also made random phone calls on its own and has added a second call during an active call without input. During one incident while turning at an intersection, the vehicle lost power and shut off mid?turn. I coasted to the side of the road and restarted. At the same time, the screen blacked out and flickered, and the ignition button malfunctioned. No warning lights appeared. The battery has died multiple times and has been replaced several times, and software resets have not resolved the issues. These problems were intermittent at first, making it difficult to take the vehicle to a dealer, but they have recently become more frequent and severe. While researching possible causes, I discovered that NHTSA has an open investigation involving similar steering and electrical failures in this model. The combination of steering malfunction, electrical instability, uncommanded inputs, and an engine shutdown presents a significant safety risk.

The contact owns a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated while driving 35 mph and turning the steering wheel to the left or the right, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The power steering engaged and jerked the wheel to the left or the right of center. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 154,000.

My 2017, Chrysler Pacifica van just stopped for no reason whatsoever scaring me to death, I was just driving with no issues then all of a sudden as, drove into a restaurant parking lot my van just turned off on its own before I could get in parking spot. It would not restart so I had to get it tolled. Ended up spending over $3000 two different mechanics, one being the hawk Chrysler dealer, in forest park, illinois, the other one a private mechanic abes auto repair in both cases I had lots of work done it was one issue after another, first I was told it could be the starter, than the, battery, after returning (engine light back on within 24 hours or less of work completion) then injectors, spark plus, gasket, cylinder all replaced and still continues to have engine issues. Every time engine the engine light turned back on shortly or a day after, the engine being serviced. Whats worst is each time the engine light comes on it is new issue. So far no resolution to date. This last time the mechanic had my Pacifica for exactly a month and one day got it back light was off drove it 30 minutes light came back on new service issue. I have paid more into the Chrysler that I owe. At this point I have no choice but to park it and continue to pay my van payments for a van which seems to have several issues one after another. Now my engine light is blinking so I cant not even take it to a repair shoppe. There is something going on that service people are not able to fix.

The contact owns a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while driving at a slow speed, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal, and the vehicle stalled. Additionally, the steering wheel seized. The message “no letter d” or “p for park”, was displayed and flashing on the instrument panel. The contact was able to coast to the side of the road. After several minutes, the contact was able to restart the vehicle to continue driving. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the nhsta hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 128,000.

I do all routine maintenance on my car and do my standard oil changes on time. I only have 80k miles on my car and may now have a head gasket issue. I have seen many online posts that there are many users that have experienced this issue and some looking to possibly do a class action law suit. Has this issue been looked into as a potential recall? when speaking with the dealership I advised that my check engine light had come on and I took it to my local repair shop and the code indicated it was either a coil or spark plug that needed to be replaced. My repair shop checked and it was the spark plug that needed replacing. The car was fine for 2 weeks then the engine light came on again. When speaking with the dealership they said that yes the code will usually first present as a coil or spark plug and the engine light stops blinking since it assigned a code. So that is why my engine light went off but now came back on. I am not sure why this should not be addressed by the manufacturer if so many people are having this issue with a head gasket issue with such low mileage. This repair is going to cost 1k-4k to fix which is ridiculous in an engine that is maintained and has only 80k miles.

After the latest 73b recall, the engine light sporadically turn on. In one occasion, while cruising at low speed ~25mph in the electric mode, the vehicle switched to gas engine mode even there was 16 electric miles on the battery. This issue was not there prior to the recall. Need investigation on the software reliability and the underlying battery issue.

Blown head gasket.

The contact owns a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while his wife was attempting to park the vehicle with the brake pedal depressed, the engine unexpectedly began to rev. The vehicle then accelerated inadvertently, resulting in a collision with a pole in front of the parking space. There was no damage to the pole. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was towed to a collision center, and the insurance company declared it a total loss. No police report was filed. No injuries were sustained. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 76,000. The VIN was not available.

The contact owns a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while driving at slow speeds, the vehicle stalled with the message "service now” flashing on the instrument panel. After waiting for approximately 15-30 minutes, the vehicle was restarted and resumed normal operation. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, and it was discovered that the oil filter adapter was cracked, contributing to the failure. Upon investigation, the contact linked the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 18v049000 (electrical system, engine and engine cooling). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

While stopped in traffic, the car started shifting from drive to neutral and parking, the lights of the shifting wheel started blinking, and it was not possible to turn off the engine. After ~20 minutes, it stopped doing that and I was able to turn it off. 10 minutes later I started the engine and I was able to drive home but the steering wheel was very hard to move and the check engine light and there was a message in the cluster to take the power steering assist and the electronic stability control system to service, but while stopped in the driveway with the engine on, it did exactly the same and I wasn't able to power off the engine. I wasn't able to start the engine again after that, the lights of the shifting whell kept blinking. I took the car to an independent mechanic and he was able to start the engine, but power steering is so hard to move.

The check engine would blink and the engine would shutter for a few minutes when the van would start. It would drive around normal. A few days later the van would not start at all. We checked both batteries and they were not the issue. We then towed the van to a Chrysler dealer who checked the starter and alternator, those were both good. They stated the engine was seized and quoted $15,000 for a new motor. . The van has 120,000 miles on it. The van is worth less than the quote we received.

The van have issues with a head gasket, Chrysler is aware yet the dealers keep selling the van with this known problems, I reached out to Chrysler and they said they cannot help. I had the van less than a year and I had the van serviced multiple times. Im attaching this link to show you guys that there IA a lot of people having the same problem, everything starts with the smell of the coolant then the misfire po201, po301, then after taking it it was po305 and po205, https://youtu. Be/suftxnbkrlu?si=joll29t6ybhziivg they speak on the video how they replaced the apparently bad part then the codes come back. I had this vehicle less than a year and I had so many issues, in my search I found this happening to multiple Pacifica owners. Vehicle starts misfiring creating a real possibility of having an accident as the car speed had to be reduced, specially if we are on the highway.

The contact owns a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal clanking sound coming from underneath the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the valve gasket covers, the intake manifold gasket kit, oil filter housing, front brake pad and rotors, all the motor mounts, and the front sway bar links needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 117,000.

On Thursday may 30th was the first incident of the vehicle shutting down we were able to start it back up almost immediately within seconds on the 2nd occasion I was on a street with cars behind me going down to make a turn the stop start did not engage but we were still a ways away from the stoplight and suddenly the engine stopped no signs other than just stopping I could not start it back up I look down there was no indication of any issue other than a stalling so put it in part turned it off turn it back on no start try it again didn't work could not turn it over to neutral to get off the road police came while I had somebody disconnect battery and reconnect it to try to get it started again there was no less battery power on the engine it took 15 minutes or more to get it started once able to get started we brought it back home it was Sunday the 1st of June 2025 so there were no mechanics available still unknown as to what caused the malfunction no indicator lights other than during the issue with a lightning bolt and during the outage the check engine light was on no lights currently on. The danger was to myself and two children in the vehicle and too many other vehicles behind me that could have crashed into me or cause incident being in the road working on the vehicle having to go around us waiting for green lights or a miss trying to get around us and avoid other traffic.

The contact owns a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction. Additionally, there were several unknown warning lights illuminated, and the engine seized. The contact stated that after several attempts, the vehicle started. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the road and the failure reoccurred. The contact's husband started the vehicle, and the vehicle was driven to an independent mechanic; however, the failure was not duplicated. The contact stated that while attempting to leave the independent mechanic, the vehicle failed to start. The dealer where the vehicle was purchased, was made aware of the failure. The contact was advised to have the vehicle towed to the dealer and was provided a diagnostic fee. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 69,000.

The can bus connector (found in the glove box area) fails periodically and without warning. It affects everything on the vehicle; it stops the car from shifting, car won't start up, windows stop working, all of the warning lights turn on, etc. The issue seems to be a manufacturing defect; the soldering cracks after a while, so the low voltage applications malfunction. Many people have noticed the problem, but the dealerships refuse to do a recall or address the issue properly. The vehicle has been in and out of the dealership probably 10 times in the last 7 months or so. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. This problem is unsafe because it can occur while driving on a freeway which can cause an accident. Every warning light comes on when the malfunction happens.

The coolant leaked into the engine and blown the headgasket. This has been confirmed by pepboys who work on my car. It has not been inspected by manufacturer or others. It started by causing the ignition coil to fail and the engine would start rough and check engine light would come on. Started around 5/1/2025.

We are the original owners of this vehicle, which has been consistently and properly maintained. Recently, the vehicle stalled unexpectedly in the middle of the highway and would not restart, creating a significant safety hazard. The check engine light illuminated, and the vehicle could not be shifted into neutral, preventing it from being safely moved out of traffic. After the vehicle was towed to the dealership, we were informed that the starter had failed due to coolant leakage from a compromised head gasket. This coolant intrusion damaged the starter, rendering it inoperable. The dealership advised that while the starter could be replaced, it would likely fail again unless the underlying head gasket issue is addressed. We have since learned that this is a known and recurring issue with certain Chrysler models. Unfortunately, Chrysler has not issued a recall, nor have they provided vehicle owners with any formal notification or long-term solution to this potentially dangerous defect.

Had to have plastic oil filter housing and oil cooler replaced due to warping from the engine heat and leaking into engine bay causing a burning oil smell throughout the entire vehicle. Was replaced by meineke car care with an aftermarket aluminum constructed part. Constantly having transmission issues since the vehicle hit 70,000 miles. Now at 139,000. Fluid flush and fill done and transmission fluid was ridiculously thin and dirty despite it being known as a sealed transmission and being told by Chrysler that no fluid changes should ever need to be done for the transmission. Seems as though the transmission may be slipping, and is shifting very hard after having the fluid changed.

The contact owns a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an engine misfire with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a misfire in cylinder #3. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was informed that the vehicle was undrivable. The dealer declined to release the vehicle without repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 74,600.

Unknown.

-stalled while driving -loud clanking upon start -no diagnostic info was accessible -replaced Cadillac converter, was glowing red -once replaced still hot, 10,000-20,000 degrees -.

The check engine light came on. Upon using a code reader, a code for a misfire in cylinder 3 populated. The ignition coil was replaced for cylinder 3. About a month later, the check engine light came back on and all 6 spark plugs were replaced. My vehicle had some rough starts periodically. As time went on, the rough starts turned into serious shaking. The check engine would come on and be gone in a day or so. Every time the code reader read cylinder 3. After months of trying to trouble shoot and do what we could, we took it to a mechanic where they informed us that my vehicle had a blown head gasket. They revealed to us that this is a very common problem with the particular engine, 3. 6l pentastar. This is a problem that they have seen for years in this particular engine. The mechanic had to send part of my engine out to a machine shop to be re-drilled properly in order to fix the issue which was very costly. The safety of my family was put at risk as the gasket blew while we were driving down the freeway unsure if we were going to make it home. My vehicle has not been inspected by anyone other than ourselves, the mechanic and the machine shop.

2017 Chrysler pacific diagnosed with leaking head gasket at ~65000 miles. Initially diagnosed from a check engine light code for a cylinder misfire. My private mechanic said that he has done 4 of these in the past month (Jan 2025). He said this is a costly repair that should not happen with this low of mileage. In exploring the problem, it appears that it is a known issue.

Unknown, engine light came on flashing while driving. Car has been repaired by the dealership a few weeks ago and replaced the fuel pump.

I noticed when I am driving the van would lose power and or the the transmission would shift very hard and stall the car engine would then take off very fast or slow. I reported the car to the dealership that I purchased the car from and to the customer service at the Chrysler Pacifica corporation no one will help me I told them that the car was very dangerous while driving.

My car will start, I will start to drive and when I am driving a “electrical stability” label will pop up on the dash and then the battery icon and check engine icon will show up on dash. My radio screen will go blank and then the car will shut off completely. It will then pop up on the dash and say stop safely vehicle with shut pff soon.