general problems of the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica - part 1

While driving, the vehicle suddenly shut down completely. All systems lost power: no lights steering wheel locked/stuck hazard lights were non-functional after approximately 2 minutes, the vehicle was able to restart, but an error message appeared: "ecu needs service" I then drove for about 2 minutes and parked. After stopping the engine and waiting for about 5 minutes, I restarted the vehicle. On restart, there were no error messages and the vehicle operated normally.

Backup camera - blue screen or black screen. This has been reported several times and was recalled for the 2021-2023 Pacifica. This is dangerous. The transmission jerks really hard between 2-3 great which has also been reported as a normal occurrence that Chrysler has not addresses.

Despite repairing multiple things on the vehicle, the automatic engine start/stop continues to malfunction.

Unknown. Steering wheel sticks most days. Happens especially when turning and driving around a curb. Have felt this multiple times a day.

After driving, I can to a stop to park the van. The van would not shift to park and instead would go to neutral. I then could not turn the van off. It would only stay in accessory mode. Upon looking at this issue online, many Chrysler Pacifica owners have the same issue. Some people are able to fix the issue easily, while others needed to replace the transmission valve body. This is an incredibly expensive repair. There were no warning lights ahead of this problem happening, it happened out of the blue. No codes are shown when reading for codes in the van. The message that pops up when the van would not shift to park was “service trans press brake when stopped key off engine to engage park”. But the van will not turn off completely. To get the van to shut off, the battery needs to be disconnected. Safety is put at risk as I am not able to park the van or turn it off completely which would result in a dead battery.

- digital display not working when in reverse; yes it is available upon request - unable to see behind the vehicle properly impacting safety of everyone in vehicle. - dealership confirmed there is a recall for this issue but our VIN is not included yet. - no inspection yet. - no; 6/6/2025.

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.

Pacifica has been at hillsborough Chrysler Dodge Jeep ram for recall repair since April 28, 2025. We have called an emailed chrylser/stellantis and the dealership repeatedly and have only been told they are working on it. This is long past a "reasonable" time for this repair.

Hard shifts when accelerating. Constantly having issues where if I press on gas the vehicle hesitates and rpm jumps and jerks my children and I very bad. The vehicle constantly stalls out to were we can be killed one day! I would like this reported due to the scary situation I have been having on the road with accelerating the vehicle and the car starts smelling like it's going to catch fire one day! I keep smelling oil burning and no one acts like they know about the thousands of recalls about the transmission failure that is not covered for my VIN. This is a waste of money to be investigating my vehicle issue. This vehicle was poorly made to kill someone. No check engine lights have ever been displayed since I bought this vehicle.

February 5 2024 my check engine light came on and started blinking as I was driving. I then noticed that my car was sputtering. I stopped my car immediately and had it towed to a dealership at that exact point I had just over 64,136 miles on my 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The following is the work that they performed on my vehicle. Concern verified. Vehicle has an active misfire, check engine light is flashing. Scanned vehicle for codes and found misfire on cylinder 3. Removed coil and swapped to cylinder 1. Spark plug removed and swapped to cylinder 5. Retested. Misfire moved to cylinder 1. Replaced ignition coil and road tested vehicle. After vehicle was warm the misfire on cylinder 3 returned. Swapped fuel injector to cylinder 2. Misfire stayed on cylinder 3. Removed coil and spark plug from cylinder 3 and borescoped cylinder. Found coolant leaking into the cylinder. Recommend replacing cylinder head gasket and checking the cylinder head for warpage. Removed cylinder head and found cylinder head to be warped and needing to be replaced along with the gaskets. Replaced left and right valve cover gaskets, cylinder head, cylinder head gaskets, timing cover gaskets, exhaust manifold gasket, spark plugs, upper and lower intake gaskets. Completed oil change. Fast forward to December 14, 2024 vehicle mileage 74,955 my wife was leaving to go to the farmers market. She called me to inform me that the check engine light came on blinking and the car started sputtering again. The exact same issue happened again. I told her to stop the car immediately and we had it towed to the same car dealership today December 20, 2024 was the first call that I received from the dealership they informed me that cylinder six has failed the compression test and they recommend having the engine replaced. Currently waiting to speak to more people to see what can be done.

My car shut down on highway and the dealership said it was the terminals on the battery being dirty it happened agin so I had the battery changed then it did it again and the dealership changed one spark plug , one coil pack then it happened again changed all spark plugs and coil packs my car did it again and now I’m being told I’m probably going to need a new engine I notified Chrysler telling them this has happened several times and they said there was nothing they could do.

In December 2018 a recall on the shifter was issued for Pacificas 2017 and 2018. The emergency brake would engage when ignition was turned on and van would not go forward or reverse. We purchased our 2017 Pacifica van on November 24, 2020. We started having this issue again last year in September 2024. The van’s emergency brake engaged when husband stopped at a red light and couldn’t start the van until after four light changes. Drivers behind us were not happy. He finally got the car to the Chrysler dealership. They had it for 6 weeks without much communication with us and what the problem was. They put a diagnostic device on it and it drove fine from December 2024 until yesterday, March 9, 2025, when the same brake issue came up again and we couldn’t get van started. We left it in the parking lot and our son came and gave us a ride home. Around 10pm last night our son and my husband went back to see if they could get it started to at least get it home. Many tries were unsuccessful until the last try when our son had the driver side door open and turned on the ignition. On the screen it said “shifter needs service”. My husband had been unable to reach a service personnel to read the device on the van. In the meantime, I called another Chrysler dealer, told them what was going on with van, and asked about the recalls. The lady there was very nice and asked for the VIN on van. She looked it up and said the recall for shifter went out in December 2018, and the issue on our van was fixed in 2020. Is there a way to find the month and day as well as the year in the history? we purchased the van on November 24, in 2020. Is it possible the issue has returned? the recall said it had something to do with dashboard design and something was replaced with the dashboard that was a real safety issue. We were planning to leave tomorrow for an over 900 mile trip to see family and we are concerned about traveling safely. No one has yet to return our calls from the dealership.

Auto start/stop need service and then vehicle will mention stop safely vehicle will turn off. I then will lose power to my vehicle.

We continue to get errors with the start/stop technology. Three times since 2018 the indicator light came on while driving stating start/stop errors. On one occasion we lost power on a freeway and had to quickly pull off the highway when the vehicle went into limp mode. That repair was covered by warranty. In other cases we have replaced batteries but they soon die and produce the same warnings before a normal life span of a battery. We have repair recipients to document.

Our 2017 Pacifica has been in for diagnostic review/repair several times. While traveling between speeds of 50-70 miles per hour after a period of anywhere between 35-90 minutes when making easy right corners the steering sticks in place between 11 & 1 positions. Has been noticed on shorter distances in hotter weather than and on longer trips farther into the drive. We recently had the electronic power steering computer replaced which did not fix the problem. Currently the dealership is advising that the rack and pinion need replacing but the warranty company will not pay as they are not able to replicate the error in the presence of the warranty company inspector. Since replacing the electronic power steering was unsuccessful in correcting the problem, the warranty company is requiring the dealership to provide proof of part failure before they pay. My son turned 16 on July 25th, 2024 and got his drivers license. At this time we do not have $4,000 to replace the rack and pinion and the warranty company won't cover it due to dealership errors. It is my understanding there are hundreds of reported cases of this same exact issue without any recalls. We refuse to allow our teenage son to drive a literal death trap with known and reported steering issues to the government and manufacturer but that may not be an option for everyone. May god or whomever forgive the souls of those who wait for the death of a child or other before taking action.

Was driving smelled plastic burning parked it at my house now dash says service charging system. It wont turn on or go into drive. I am afraid its going to catch fire.

I was pulling into a parking lot and had my foot on the gas. The gas pedal suddenly stopped allowing me to accelerate. The dashboard read "place car in park" I lost power of the vehicle. I was able to pull safely into a parking space and then I put the van in park and turned it off. I started it up and it started without issue. This was a very scary situation as I almost hit a shopping cart where I was forced to pull in as I had no power and was coasting in a parking lot full of cars.

This vehicle’s uconnect “infotainment” system began to malfunction after only 20,000 miles or so. At first it was only intermittent resets but they progressed over the last two years or so until now it is constantly auto-selecting every feature in the system while driving. I have experienced random selection of the heating/cooling system, auto parking brake, random nav selections, radio/audio changes, display units, language, seat heater, and more. Basically every selection available through the touchscreen it does randomly while driving. It is hugely distracting and even uncomfortable. I have had it in twice seeking a fix but the dealer seems unable to address it.

Unknown while driving, the electrical system seemed to malfunction causing the lights to flash on/off, the rear windshield wiper to activate, the horn was blaring (quick repeated beeps, with occasional blaring), the dash indicated that the parking brake could not be used, indicated that the airbag system was not working, indicated that the driver’s side seatbelt was not connected, amongst other warnings that I cannot recall. The abs brakes were not working, nor was the power steering. The car indicated that it needed to be put into park, and allowed for the turning of the dial; however, the dash indicated that the vehicle was moving too quickly to shift into park. We were able to make a turn onto a street with an uphill incline from the road we were driving on; and the brakes stopped the car - using a lot of force as the abs braking system was still malfunctioning. The vehicle was put into park and the parking brake indicated that it was active; but of course could not be trusted as the indicators on the dash had been so haywire just moments before. While the vehicle was “off” the horn was still blaring (both short beeps and intermittently long blares), the rear wiper was still active (while in the off position), and the interior lights were flickering. This continued until the red connector was disconnected from the battery. The black connector seemed to make no change, connected or not. When the red connector was reconnected, the electrical issues seemed to be replicated with the horn and rear wiper. The vehicle was towed and we have no current answers. This was extremely dangerous as we lost all power and control of the car. We were driving, on what is oftentimes, a very busy street.

While driving on the expressway the sunroof imploded. Nothing hit it.

I am reporting a serious and ongoing safety defect with my 2017 Chrysler Pacifica (VIN: [xxx] , current mileage 51,875). The vehicle stalls and shuts off unexpectedly while driving, including in intersections, creating a life-threatening hazard. I have reported this issue multiple times to carmax and prestige Chrysler Dodge Jeep ram in las vegas, nv, but it remains unresolved. Key points: • first reported to carmax on 2/6/2024 (invoice #[xxx]). • battery health test passed on 3/1/2024 (invoice [xxx]). • dealership later misdiagnosed the problem as a dead battery and charged me $837. 95 for a replacement on 10/11/2024 (invoice #[xxx]), which did not fix the stalling issue. • I returned within 7 days with the same safety complaint. • multiple service attempts have failed to permanently resolve the issue. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Driver side sliding door fell off onto my wife causing window to break and was hanging by just a cable on bottom track.

As I am driving down the street in the middle of traffic the van will cut off and all wheels will lock , I buy a new battery and wires and it continues to happen, not able to drive the expressway scared of causing an accident. The dash will start blinking and the electric will start flashing radio shuts down and the whole car is down for a few minutes like it need to reset.

Noticed a wet spot on my driveway under my car that was not going away, the first mechanic that looked at it could not find the problem and initially thought it might have been condensation. A few weeks late the spot was becoming much larger and check engine light came on and the code indicated that there was an issue with the oil pressure. Upon taking it to be looked at by another mechanic it was found to be an issue with the oil filter housing resulting in a substantial oil leak. An oil leak can be dangerous both due to the slippery nature and the fire risk it presents, in addition it can cause further issues with the engine.

When going to accelerate, the car will not shift into gear. It g jerks and it takes a few seconds to physically move foward. There are times when turning onto a road or highway it will not accelerate as it should.

Van keeps shutting off while stopped at stop light and stop signs.

Unknown. My back up camera is intermittently not working.

When driving, car completely shuts down. Usually happens when we are slowing down or stopping, but has also happened when accelerating. No lights come on and never happens when we take it to a mechanic. Happened 10x today alone but 5x over last seven days. We thought it was an issue with the auxiliary battery, but continues to happen. 130k on 2017 Pacifica.

The "start stop" function has stopped functioning completely. I had both batteries replaced a year ago and this solved the issue, temporarily. Months later, I went to park and the vehicle shuttered as I put the van in park and shut off, then turned back on. Immediately, the "start stop" light came on. I've been driving just fine for 5 months with the light on, but this could become a hazard for myself and others. I have check my VIN for any recalls for the start stop function but nothing has come up. I've seen many other recalls for this issue on 2017-2019 Chrysler Pacifica's, but my VIN is not listed as there having a recall. I took the van to autozone and o'reilly's to have the codes checked, nothing is coming up.

When accelerating slowly or if stuck in stop and go traffic, the vehicle stalls or loses power briefly, but long enough to get hit from behind if the person behind is not paying attention.

The van stopped while driving without warning in traffic, luckily I was able to coast to the side of the road and there was not a vehicle directly behind me or my family and myself would have been in an accident. Even now it does not have a check engine light on we had the battery checked and alternator and they are both good. I’m not sure what else would cause the vehicle to stop while driving with out warning. It completely turns off just suddenly without any warning. This is dangerous and could cause an accident. We are having it towed to the dealership today to hopefully repair whatever caused the dangerous shut off. I will revisit and if able upload whatever I am told the problem is.

At least once a week, the rear camera stays on when I put the car from reverse into drive. I will be driving forward and can see the rear of the vehicle through the camera system on the radio for a minimum of 5 seconds. This happens randomly with no associated pattern. I just saw it was an issue for the 2018 model, and I am telling you it is an issue on the 2017 model too. My vehicle fails to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard (fmvss) number 111, "rearview mirrors. ".

The gear shifter, which is a knob to put the vehicle in gear, sometimes locks in the "p" park position. When this occurs, the vehicle cannot be moved, and the occupants are potentially stranded. This first occured about the middle of August 2023. After some moments, the shifter came back on and we were able to drive the vehicle to the dealer, who replaced the gear shifter module at a cost of about $700. The problem reoccured within a few days of the repair. The dealer again replaced the module (at no cost to us). The issue has not been resolved. The gear shifter continues to intermittenly lock in the park position. The dealer has simply given up on trying to fix the problem. They indicate they have performed substantial diagnostics and are unable to resolvce the problem. We cannot rely on this vehicle to not strand us somewhere. Thus, we believe it is a safety issue.

Driving down road vehicles shift mechanism locked out with 4-5 warning lights stop and car locked in gear could not shut off or put in park.

I was stopped at a light and the car flashed all its lights and shifted me into park. After it started right back up but the check engine light came on and stayed on. It did this another two times as well and is very dangerous for me driving with my kids. Prior to this issue I had to replace shutter and head gasket (coolant leak). This car has so far cost 6k in repairs.