Gas Recirculation Valve (egr Valve) problems of the 2018 Chrysler Pacifica

2018 Chrysler Pacifica, 3. 6l v6, approx. 66,476 miles. The vehicle began losing coolant with no visible external leaks. When cold, opening the coolant reservoir cap releases a strong hiss of pressure and coolant flows back into the tank. The check engine light appeared, first showing a cylinder misfire (resolved after spark plug replacement), then later a slow egr leak code. Over the next several weeks, the coolant level continued dropping and the reservoir remained pressurized even when cold. Vehicle was inspected by waxahachie Dodge Chrysler Jeep (ro #490099, sept 2025). Technician performed a combustion gas test and confirmed exhaust gases are present in the coolant system. No external leaks were found. Diagnosis: failed head gasket allowing combustion gases into the cooling system and coolant to burn in cylinders. The technician stated overheating or warpage may have opened a path at the head gasket but found no external signs of overheating. This condition poses a safety risk—coolant loss and trapped pressure can cause sudden overheating, engine stall, or hydrolock while driving, potentially leading to loss of power or a crash hazard. The issue was confirmed by a Chrysler dealer and documented in the repair order. The vehicle remains available for inspection. Prior to failure, symptoms included the check engine light, rough running, and repeated coolant loss. There were no visible leaks or overheating messages. Manufacturer was contacted but declined assistance; dealer verified diagnosis and estimate for repair (~$7,800).

While driving, my son, who was seated in the passenger side of the third row, noticed that his cupholder area was extremely hot. I pulled over and confirmed. We drove on and I told him to check. It stayed very hot for the duration of the drive. At the first visit the dealer said that they added insulation between the interior panels and the coolant lines in the area, though as an engineer I understood that said insulation would do nothing if it were squeezed tightly between the panel and the pipe. We noticed no change and reported the problem to Chrysler, who refunded the visit but took no further action. A repeat visit to the dealer had them saying there was less than five degrees difference between the hot spot and the surrounding area. I used my infrared thermometer to prove that the section of the interior panel is over 130 degrees whereas the surrounding panel is about 65. You can see this in the video I link to below. This is a safety issue, as second degree burns can result from temperatures that high, and it could start a fire. Repeated attempts to contact Chrysler were ignored. Https://youtu. Be/gtbecz5chtg.

2018 Pacifica with 5450 miles on it. While driving on highway at 60 mph with adaptive cruise control engaged, vehicle sudden appeared to stop running. Vehicle had been operating perfectly normal with no indication of a problem until it started to quickly lose speed and had no response from accelerator pedal. Message on dashboard said to place vehicle in park and press start button. I'm not sure if the engine was actually idling or if it had completely stopped running. I did not notice a loss of power steering or brakes. Coasted over to shoulder, placed in park and tried to restart. The engine would start, but only idle at about 600 rpm. Accelerator pedal had no effect on engine rpm and I could not shift out of park. Shut the vehicle off and restarted it several times with same result over a 3 minute period. Then I switched the auto start/stop button into the off (defeat setting) and was immediately able to restart the vehicle, which then operated as normal. Since this incident yesterday, the vehicle has operated as normal and has reported no faults through the u-connect application. Clear weather with temperature near 100 degrees when this incident occurred. Both keyless remotes for the vehicle were inside the vehicle, mine in my pocket and my wife's in her purse. Before heading out on this trip I had used the remote start function and allowed the vehicle to run in remote start mode until it timed out. Then had remote started the vehicle a second time before switching it to normal run mode before leaving the parking lot. This was about 40 minutes before the event happened. It occurred to me that the messages that were displayed on the dash while the vehicle was inoperable were similar, or possibly identical to messages displayed during the remote start function, which is why I thought of switching the auto start/stop button to the defeat position.