general problems of the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica - part 1

Brake pedal loses assist, vehicle continues rolling while pedal fully depressed. Known issue in newer Pacifica models but 2017 excluded despite same symptoms and parts.

I am writing to report another incident related to my 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. Today, while driving on a major highway, my vehicle unexpectedly shut off and braked violently multiple times without warning, creating a serious safety hazard. Fortunately, there was no accident, but due to the sudden and forceful braking, I am now experiencing pain in my head, neck, upper back, and shoulders. I previously reported electrical issues with this vehicle on January 22, 2024. Given the recurring nature of these problems, I am extremely concerned about the ongoing safety risks. Please advise on the next steps to formally document this incident and any updates regarding similar reports or investigations into this issue. I appreciate your prompt attention to this matter and look forward to your response.

The contact owns a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to slow the vehicle, with the brake pedal depressed all the way to the floorboard the vehicle failed to stop as intended. As a result, the contact had to go through a stop sign eventually coasting to a complete stop. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that the brakes had seized. The contact was also informed that the front end struts needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 140,000.

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.

On November the 17th of 2024 this problem occurred for the third time in the past 90 days. I purchased this vehicle approximately 90 days ago so that means that has happened three times within the past 90 days. As I step on the brake pedal to stop the car accelerates and lunges forward. The first time this happened I was involved in an incident. The third time it happened took me through an intersection but I was wanting to turn left but because of the excessive acceleration lunging forward scenario I could not slow down the vehicle enough to make the left turn but continued through the intersection. After pumping on the brakes it finally stopped accelerating and I felt that I was under control then of the vehicle.

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.

We have tried to figure out what is going on with our brakes for months now. We have changed our brakes to new brakes and took into two car repair shops. Both even after explaining to them couldn’t figure it out because it does not do it all the time. We thought it could be the brake booster or something but they don’t want to changed it if it’s not our brakes become hard will not brake even to the point we can’t stop and slide through lights almost like we are on ice. This has happened many many times. We just recently have been reading forums to see if this is happening to anyone else and there are so many complaints! this is so scary to drive espically with teens and two little ones and winter drives. We expect a recall soon or someone will be sued ASAP.

The brake booster created unsafe vehicle handling/driving . Safety was at risk as the car would not remain stopped when the brake pedal was pushed. The pedal would resist pressure and the car would move forward into instersections, cars in front of this car, and it required that I place the car in park to stop the car. The part has been replaced and the brakes work as they should. There was a recall of the 2018-20 Chrysler Pacificas for the same reason. I read that others have experienced this brake booster problem with other years, excluding 2018-20. Lives of the people in the car were at risk until this was fixed. Also, it was not noted on the Chrysler computer check as a problem. I had to insist that it was happening in order to get this repaired. There has been precedence for this malfunctioning part and I request that I am reimbursed what I paid for repair, along with a recall issued. Lives are at risk!.

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.

My vehicle now 3 times just stops on me luckily 2 of the 3 times I was going maybe 10 mph. Only once I was going 35 and it just slams shut I am being told they are no active recalls however this is a problem and going to cause an accident when this happens my drive light on the dash is flashing as well as on the knob to put it in to drive. This is just one of the many problems with the vehicle the transmission constantly jerks you around. The sliding doors have a mind of their own. I am a single mom of 4 and I purchased this car almost bran new and I only have 3000 left to pay on it and I can barely drive it I dont even like going around my neighborhood in the vehicle for fear it will just stop. It has also left me stranded when everything just stopped working in the car and that turned out to be a recall that I was notified about til a few weeks after it left me and my kids on the causeway bridge. And before that alot of time my car wouldnt even start it was something with the battery for starting the vehicle. Chrysler should be sued for making this vehicle it is horrible I got it to have a reliable car for me and my kids and now im paying almost 500 a month for my car to sit in my driveway because no one wants to ride in it.

Battery light comes on, power steering goes out, start/stop function switches in and out of accessory mode, then total power drain and vehicle will not turn over or maintain a charge. Vehicle is available for inspection. Safety was compromised by lack of control of steering and vehicle shutdown in a roadway. Issue has not been reproduced by independent services or dealer or other representatives. Battery light appeared, etcs light came on, voltage meter drained very quickly until total loss of power.

Since owning the vehicle for over 3 years the brake shave been hissing and inconsistently engage when pressing the brake pedal. I have had several near accidents ranging from rolling into some while in a stopped position (moved vehicle to park to avoid), to almost causing major collisions on hwy do to the inability to come to a quick stop or slow. It is pure luck I have not been in an accident.

Computer code p258b - electric vacuum pump - after fixing code p000b with an oil change, the p258b code caused the check engine light to come back on and after further investigation found that the wire that comes from the pump looks like it has started melting. The external wiring casing is no longer covering the wires and the piece plugged into the pump looks like its splitting. I finally found the part through the mopar site but is referred to as an air pump: product 68274999ad. Luckily the car has not stalled or caught on fire. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance reps, or others. I plan on ordering the part to install myself as personal funds don't allow me the luxury of taking to the dealer to have this done. I will keep the part if the manufacturer wants it to inspect.

Brake system is not functioning correctly. The pedal completely depressed, car does not stop. Requires pumping brake pedal once or twice to stop vehicle. This is a concerning safety issue. Took the care fir service, no issue was found. Vehicle still not braking correctly.

I received p258b warning and further diagnosis came to know that c0021-02 and c1252-92 warnings. While applying breaks I am getting hissing noise and break pedal pushes me back where I have to apply lot of pressure to stop the vehicle. This is happening only when I press the pedals hard. I did diagnosis and noticed that the break vaccum pump fuse gone and replaced the same again it blown. Then realized that that the vaccum pump it self is not working and the same is ordered and replaced. Now the vaccum pump issue is fixed but still the break pedals are hard and getting hissing noise while applying breaks. Now I may need to change the break booster to get this fixed.

When having to press hard on brakes my vehicle does not stop right away. I have to pump them to get my van to stop. When at a light with vehicle stopped by pressing on break the brake pedal will push back up with force and start moving forward.

Vehicle on several occasions has slowly rolled forward when at a complete stop with brake fully engaged. Brake needed to be released and depressed again to stop vehicle. Multiple incidents have occurred while being fully stopped for traffic control devices. Latest incident occurred today, January 15, 2023.

Braking is severely compromised. Hissing noises and stiff pedal. Brake booster.

The brakes were extremely hard to push and stop the vehicle. I took it to a local auto mechanic and they identified the issue as a failed brake booster. The repair shop replaced the booster and the vehicle is working correctly now. This is the 2nd time the brake booster has failed on this vehicle (1st repair was within the 1st year of ownership). It appears Chrysler is aware of this issue as it has extended the warranty for certain model years.

I was driving my van and the dash board turns on and off several times. It starts to light all lights while I'm driving. It was a scary situation while im driving my vans brakes while I'm in the freeway. This has happened several times. I also had my vehicle not turn on at all it stays locked and the dash boards says come error code. My vehicle jerks randomly and feels its gonna shut off. Had to tow the car to the dealer, no problem found. On another occasion my transmission was defective and it was changed. . It's has been taken to the dealer several times and I continue to have electrical issues and mechanical issues. I contacted the manufacturer and asked to do a buy back. The company refused and I explained all the issues that I have on my van and no resolution was made.

Brake booster issue. Makes a hissing sound when braking and almost to the point where I will hit the car in front of me. At a stop light the brake pedal will rise and car will move forward although im pushing down.

While traveling on a dry highway, with good tires/new tires, and decelerating from 45 mph and approaching a red light, and a moderate, but firm pressure on the brake to bring the van to a full stop, the speed decreased to 15 mph, with the tachometer stable at 800 rpm and then to 10 mph, with both hands on the wheel, left foot on the dead pedal, and right foot on the middle of the brake pedal. As the speedometer made the transition at 10 mph, the tachometer surged to 1500 rpm and then to 3000 in under 3 seconds, which cause me to initiate an emergency action drill of stabbing the brake pedal hard three times and rotating the transmission control to the lowest gear. The transmission refused to shift lower, and the control of the vehicle turned on oa wrestling match and the tachometer surged from 1500 rpm, them 3000 rpm, then 4500 rpm, and then 6000 rpm, each time the vehicle acting like it was repeatedly being rear-ended at a speed exceeding 15 mph. The engine could not be disengaged and aceelaretd uncontrollably to over 40 mph, through a busy intersection, and required over 24 hard break stages over a 10 second period to actually stop the car, and the engine refused to disengage until stopped. Once the car was restarted it immediately surged forward trying to fight through the hard applied brakes. The cruise control was never on the entire time. I then stut down the engine once I was able to wretle it to a stop with the engine climbing to over 4500 rpm. I then took this vehicle to a safe area, and repeated the conditions, and again as the vehilce speed dropped below 15 mph, and certainly below 10 mph, the egine tachometer increased in steps of 1500 mph, 3000, 4500, 6000 rpm, and no control could be achieved other then violently "stabbing" the brake pedal. Under controlled conditions the behavior was repeatable over 20 times. This is a life threatenign defect, and it appears to be software in origin. I have can data streams from the events (23) and video.

My wife said that she was pulling into a parking spot and did not have her foot on the accelerator as she coasted into the spot. The car accelerated by itself she had to step hard on the brake to get it to stop before she hit another car. It was not a problem with a floor mat since they are snapped into place and do not come close to the pedals. I do see that similar problems have been reported on this type of vehicle with no satisfaction received. This incident is the 2nd time it has happened according to my wife. She does most of the driving around town.

When using service brakes and trying to stop the vehicle, I have to push down on the brake pedal multiple times to get the vehicle to stop. Which caused me to almost run several red lights and stop signs. While stopped at a stop light, and my foot is on the brake pedal, the pedal goes to the floor and I have to push down on the brakes multiple times. There is also air noise when pushing down on the brake pedal.

Tl- the contact owns a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica . The contact stated that the the vehicle was taken to safford Chrysler Jeep Dodge ram fiat of springfield, 7611 loisdale rd, springfield, va 22150, for a routine repair. The contact stated that while his wife start the vehicle to drive and take her foot off the the brake, the vehicle accelarated and crashed into a pole that was sticking out of the ground and knock over the pole and crashed into a wall behind the pole. The drive was sustained bruce from the seat belt and air bag but no serious injuries. A police report was file. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer lot where it remained but was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The contact mention that his wife attempted to apply the brake but was not able to slow the vehcle down. The contact also mention that the whole front end were damage. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 17,196. Aw.

The van lost control on its own and would not allow me to break whatsoever, until I got into a very dangerous accident. I was told by fiat Chrysler automobiles that there was nothing wrong with the car, but there certainly was something wrong with the breaks. There was no issue with my driving, nor was there any issue with the weather. I am a seasoned driver of over 20+ years, and the weather the day of the accident was completely sunny and it was bright daylight outside. I was driving straight ahead on a residential neighborhood street. This should be looked into, especially considering the vast number of similar complaints regarding breaks and vehicle safety for this type of car.

When taking off from a stop and begin to accelerates it like it goes to neutral the engine's been revs and then shifts back into gear can cause a really hard jarred in the car all happens in about a second it has done it roughly 20 or so times in the 4 months we've owned it and the and when breaking and accelerating you can hear a clicking in the front of driver tire area and the back sliding doors will not always shut it takes multiple attempts what the electric motors sometimes you have to manually shut the doors.

Check engine light is on wont go off mechanic says its an electrical problem and to let manufacture know, van had been making weird sound when brake applied, dealer said it was brake dust and all was okay, but sound still persisted and now a year later its much worse the brake system has malfunctioned and brakes do not work when trying to stop, I have to apply brakes multiple time slowly and even then sometimes still not able to completely stop , took to a mechanic and two separate mechanics stated that its a manufacturer error that they cant even fix , have to go to work only car I have but I am more at risk , while driving I have to drive slower then speed limit , avoid going downhills and some time have to run red lights because I cant stop . It is so scary and I feel helpless because I cant afford another vehicle, still having to make payments on the van and at this time trying to trade it in but with the brake problem its putting me at a loss.

In the past month I had experienced on two occasions, (while in motion and on a city street, specifically on the cross streets of dysart and camelback and a light at dysart and w. Sonoma dr. ) that when I engaged the breaks the vehicle failed to slow and I felt as if the breaks were not working and the vehicle was not going to come to a stop. In the same month, approximately a week and a half after the last incident, on December 18th, 2019, my Chrysler, Pacifica was involved in a motor vehicle accident. Two vehicles in front of me came to an immediate stop. I applied the break but my vehicle began sliding and the abs system did not seem to engage. The accident occurred on litchfield and camelback. My insurance company is conducting an investigation on the accident currently. I feel that it is important that I disclose the problems I had noticed and was ultimately too late to discuss with Chrysler. I do not want this issue to occur to anyone else.

2c4rc1gg4hr545353 braked at a stop light car started hissing and the brake pushed back and the car started to roll forward vacuum brake booster check valve issue.

My husband was driving my 2017 Chrysler Pacifica on 9/9/2019 around an s turn when suddenly the van lost its power steering. He could not control the vehicle that was traveling approximately 30 mph. He couldn't break and the van hit a curb which caused the vehicle to blow out both driver side tires and rip the drivers front strut apart. In June of 2019 after receiving the notice of recall v53, I took my van to the dealership to fix that recall and any other recalls it may have. I waited approximately and 1 hour and 30 minutes while my vehicle was being fixed. I was told that all were completed and was handed the keys. Right after the accident I received an email about the recall. I called the dealership and they told me they didn't fix recall number v53. I contacted Chrysler about the accident and they sent an investigator out to inspect the van. In return I received a letter from fca saying that they couldn't find any issues. I formally believe a malfunction happened at the time of the accident. Over the course of several months since owning the vehicle it had showed signs of an existing problem which we made complaints at the dealership and nothing was ever found. When you come to a stop or slow down to come to a stop/yield and accelerate the van would buck and or jerk as if it were to loose power and shut off. Something is wrong with the van whether it's related to recall v53 or an un-identified problem.

With just over 45,000 miles on the odometer, the van developed a leak in the vacuum booster. This initially happened while stopped at a stop light. The van would continue to roll forward until we put it in neutral. When we took it to the dealer for repairs, they verified that it was a leak in the brake booster and that it was not covered under warranty with the miles we had on the van. They also verified that there was no recall on this.

The brakes routinely are slow or stiff to engage. While driving, the brake is applied and the vehicle starts slowing down; then it seems like the brakes quit working. It is very unsettling. I pressed down hard(er) on the brakes and they engaged. Multiple times this has caused me to almost crash. On one instance (while in motion), I was unable to stop at a red light -- rolling straight through. On another occasion, I was able to slow at a stop sign, but not come to a complete stop. The dealer had the vehicle for three weeks and initially stated that it was an issue with the brake booster, but later stated that they could not replicate the issue, so they returned the vehicle to us without any repair.

We took a 7 hr trip in our 2017 Pacifica on sat back home from vacation. The next day we drove to a local movie theater. We observed several warning lights appear for no reason. The next day the van would not start. Both batteries are dead. We used a battery charge to charge main battery but it would only charge to 11,6 and will not start the van. We tried jumper cables. Nothing will start the van. When roadside assistance came to tow the van to the shop the manual park release did not work and the rear tires were locked. Something is seriously draining the battery as soon as you take it off the battery charger. Something in the computer is sucking all the life from the battery. Very frustrating since I just took the van into the shop a couple of weeks ago to get the fourth recall issue fixed.

1) braked at a stop light car started hissing and the brake pushed back and the car started to roll forward. Service stated brake booster needs repair. 2) turning slow as in backing out of parking spot and there is a creaking sound. Service states needs wheel hubs need replaced. Car is 67,000 miles.