general problems of the 2021 Chrysler Pacifica - part 1

Had two different electric coolant heaters fail in just over 2 years. One at 36,000 miles and one at 72,000 miles. Each time it has failed it results in a loss of cabin heat which prevents me from being able to use the defrost capability and heat my minivan that I bought to drive my 4 young children around.

This is an intermittent issue that has been happening for a while now and the car was sent to the dealership twice but the issue still persists. The engine would shuts down or partially loses torque all of a sudden and the steering becomes very stiff. At the same time you would see all kinds of alarms, error messages, and check lights on the dashboard. I would then have to pull over to the side of the road, turn off the car, then try to start it back up. Usually after several attempts (one time that took nearly 30 minutes), the car works properly again with no error messages but sometimes I'd still have some persistent check lights on the dashboard. Error messages and check lights that I see include the following: -service electronic stability control -autopark engaged -shifter autocorrect active -park brake temporarily unavailable -awd system temporarily unavailable -automatic emergency braking off check light -forward collision warning off check light -check engine light the dealership has been unable to properly diagnose and fix this issue so far. On the first visit, they replaced the main battery, auxiliary battery, some wire harnesses that I was told had some corrosion, and the adaptive cruise control module. On the second visit, they replaced the can bus star connector. The same issue still persists after replacing all above components.

The electric coolant heater (ech) failed (error code p0e15), which is a critical component of the high voltage battery thermal management system. This failure disabled the vehicle's hybrid propulsion system and prevented the vehicle from operating in electric mode. This is a documented systemic issue (ref: TSB s2208000203) that affects the driveability and safety of the vehicle's hybrid powertrain.

Went to start vehicle and it was possessed. Would not turn over. Wipers lights everything was going off. Could not get it out of a/c mode. When hooked to a computer at mechanics it can only read two modules. Ecm is malfunctioning.

I am reporting a safety defect involving my 2021 Chrysler Pacifica hybrid. The vehicle experiences repeated hybrid system failures, including “system charging” errors, rapid battery depletion from full to zero within minutes, and vehicle stalling. These failures have occurred multiple times, even after dealership repair attempts. The vehicle has stalled and been towed more than once, most recently on September 26, 2025. Now, today, January 20, 2026, the vehicle has once again stalled and will have to be towed for the third time since purchasing in August 2024. This has left us stranded once again. This is a serious safety concern, especially given the risk of stalling while driving. I transport elderly family members and depend on this vehicle for medical appointments. I am requesting NHTSA document this issue and review whether this represents a broader safety defect.

Reversing onto roadway and shifted from reverse to drive via rotary dial and vehicle went into park and would not move causing me to block the roadway. In addition and even more concerning was that the vehicle could not be turned off and any and all actions to do so just left the car "on" and the hybrid system running. Eventually we pulled the battery cable on the main 12v in the trunk and the reset allowed us to move the vehicle again. I sat across a busy section for twenty minutes with no way to move, turn off, or overide the system with three kids with me in a busy traffic area. The vehicle has not reproduced the issue as of yet. The dash had multiple warnings for park system and service various items needed. This occurred 12/17/2025 with 70,000 miles.

While driving down the highway at 70 miles per hour ater driving 2. 5 hours our 2021 Pacifica hybrid minivan flashed a warning on the vehicles display saying approximately "warning engine shutting down". The engine immediately shut down in the middle of the highway and we were forced to coast off the highway to the shoulder. The engine warning light came on. We turned the car off for a few minutes and proceeded to start the engine. The engine warning light was still on, but the other message was gone. We attempted to drive towards our destination and approximately 30 minutes later the same thing happened again. We tried one more time since we were several hours from home and within 30 minutes the vehicle had the same issue. At that point we decided to try to get home. We drove the vehicle 15-20 mins at a time and then exited the highway over and over giving the vehicle time turned off. After returning home with no additional events the engine warning light went off the next warning. This was on a Sunday so we were unable to get it to a dealer. The next day we dropped off the vehicle at nappletom Chrysler dealership. The called us the next day and told us they could not cause the event to happen again. They could see a set of error codes showing the problem occurred, but told us there was nothing they could do and it was up to us to cause the problem and then return the vehicle. Now I have a minivan with 70k miles on it that my wife primarily uses my with to get my daughter from place to place and I have no idea when this vehicle will shut the engine down at any time potentially causing a dangerous accident. I believe Chrysler has the responsibility to determine what the issue is. Researching on the internet show this is a common problem for my vehicle and typically requires a new transmission or and engine wiring short.

While driving my vehicle soon after purchase I notice an engine light on along with a huge fan noise from under the hood. Addressed the issue with dealer they diagnosed the car and so called fixed the issue. About a month ago I’m driving the car on a residential street and noticed the car jerking loud fan noise and the whole dashboard light up saying service hybrid service engine and transmission. . Suddenly the engine stops in moving traffic. The vehicle windshield wipers cut on by themselves and the car stayed in park. . Tow the vehicle to the dealer using only a dolly tow truck due to vehicle unable to be placed in neutral. Dealer calls to give update and noted no codes were stored and there is currently no issue with vehicle. . He suggested to keep the vehicle longer to see if the problem returns. I’m afraid the electrical issue that is going on with this hybrid will cost me and my children life one day. This vehicle is not safe to drive and I am stuck in a purchase contract.

When driving our van from nashville to memphis, we were 2 hours from home when we received an on screen alert stating “stop safely - vehicle will shut off soon”. This was in a construction area with little to no shoulders to pull the vehicle over as power loss began to occur. We contacted Chrysler for help but the nearest dealership told us the earliest they could see the vehicle was 3 weeks from Tuesday. I had 3 children in the car ages [xxx}. A web search for this shows how prevalent this issue is with several blogs and reddit forums indicating a problem. The NHTSA even has an open investigation into this specific issue. Apparently the only fix is a full transmission replacement, but we have no assurance from Chrysler that will happen and now our van is left 3 hours away in memphis as we had no choice but to leave there. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. . Read more...

Since week 1 of owning my brand new 2021 Chrysler Pacifica hybrid, I have had issues of loss of motive power. I have done all of the recall remedies yet my car with a 35day old 12v battery not only died on me, but drained every battery in my vehicle so that I couldnt open my doors. The vehicle was unable to be jumped so that it could be driven, so I ended up paying o or $1000 in towing to get the vehicle to my dealership to be diagnosed,again. That happened on July 12th, I finally had it towed on July 14th to my dealership & it has been there since. Although the pim & battery are under warranty, Chrysler is refusing to reimburse me any of the tow fees & only 20 days of a rental I have now had for a month. The dealership installed the pim which cleared a couple of codes, but not all. They installed another new 12v battery, which was immediately drained. They have ordered another coolant something or other for the battery & here we are. I attempted in 2022 to retain a lemon law lawyer but he gave up very easily once Chrysler just stopped answering him. He said because I had my car updated under the class action lawsuit moran is Chrysler fca et al, I was not able to continue under lemon law. I have not been able to find a lawyer, even one from the class action lawsuit, to assist me in fighting Chrysler to do something to make me whole. My vehicle needs to be inspected in less than 40 days but at this point my 5 yr old vehicle can not pass the PA inspection, so what am I supposed to do? I live in the mountains, have an 8 yrold grandchild that im raising & certainly cant afford to rent cars forever. I still haven't gotten my pension from the coty of philadelphia after 3 years of retiring after getting hurt on the job. I just read an article about the office of drfective products investigating Chrysler in 2022 for exactly the problems I continue to have!!.

The side back doors do not work all of a sudden when you push the button on the vehicle frame inside of the van. This is on both sides of the van. They will only shut by pushing buttons on the outside door handles. Also, the windshield wipers will only work on high. There is no intermittent, low, or medium speed working.

While driving 70mph on the expressway the dash randomly sent a message saying “pull over vehicle shutting off” and then it put itself into limp mode. Thankfully we were able to coast to the small shoulder and put on our hazards. This happened at 2am with 4 kids in the car. Nothing in the car would work, it wouldn’t turn on, shift, nothing. We had to sit on the side of the expressway for hours waiting for a tow. While waiting it had the check engine light on, limp mode light, and messages to service hybrid system & plug in battery for reconditioning. It is waiting to be serviced, but there is a very limited amount of techs that will service it due to being a hybrid.

1. This vehicle was recalled for a software update due to the rear camera failing to operate at times. The software was updated by the dealer. However, this did not completely fix the problem. While the camera fails less frequently, it still does not energize at times. I took the vehicle back to the dealer. I was then informed that there is water intrusion into the rear lift gate, which causes the electrical to short out. I was told that I would have to replace the wiring harness which energizes the camera as well as the rear vehicle lights. I have not noticed any problem with the lighting as of yet. However, I have been told that this is a problem with the Pacifica in general, as well as the durango. I was told that replacing the harness would not guarantee that the problem would be solved as there would still be water intrusion, which could cause the problem again, even with replacing the harness. This is obviously a safety issue, as the camera fails to operate at times, and there is a potential of losing lighting on the back of the vehicle. This is also a known defect by Chrysler. 2. When using the adaptive cruise control on streets and highways with multiple lanes traveling the same direction, the vehicle will brake suddenly and hard when the vehicle in front of me changes lanes. This occurs after the vehicle in front of me has completely changed lanes and is not impeding my forward progress whatsoever. My vehicle speeds up to the set speed and then violently brakes as if it is about to crash into the vehicle ahead of me, even thought the lane is completely clear. The vehicle has been inspected for this scenario. I was told that it didn't perform as described above when the technician drove it. This is a safety issue as the vehicle suddenly and violently brakes at highway speeds, with traffic behind me.

The emergency brake came on while I was driving.

On three separate days, 2021 Pacifica lost power at 70 mph. After second incident transmission was replaced. The third loss of power occurred after the new transmission was installed. All of these incidents occurred on freeways with heavy semi-truck traffic.

Driving on freeway at 70 mph clear conditions 65degree weather. Warning light said to stop safely engine would shut down soon. Pulled over safely, waited, restarted. Drove another 10 miles, same error message, car lost power.

While driving home with my children in the vehicle. When coming to a turn, the vehicle completely turned off without warning while I was doing about 35 mph.

My Pacifica completely shut down. All the warning lights came on such as crash detected, abs light, and the windshield wipers came on. The vehicle was towed to the dealership that I bought the vehicle from. They completed a hard reset of the vehicle, and I took it home. Two days later it did the same thing all the lights came on, but it allowed me to drive it to the dealership. Still waiting to see what they think the problem is this time.

On 12/20/2024 my wife was driving about 20mph on a road and with no warning lights or messages the vehicle completely shut down. Nothing would work on the vehicle. She could not even put my hazard lights on or put the vehicle in neutral to move out of the roadway. The vehicle blocked traffic for an hour. It was fortunate the car behind did not hit our vehicle and also that my children were not in the car with her. The police assisted in redirecting traffic around the vehicle but they also were unable to get anything working. A tow truck towed to the dealership to assess what's going on. There was absolutely no warnings or previous instances or issues which makes this extremely dangerous. At only 20mph the car still significantly jerked when it came to an abrupt halt.

Dear sir, I am submitting this formal complaint regarding severe misconduct, fraud, and reckless endangerment committed by Hyundai escondido, Hyundai motor America, and ally financial in connection with the sale and financing of a dangerously defective 2021 Chrysler Pacifica hybrid touring awd (VIN: [xxx] ). 1. Background of the case on [xxx] I purchased the above-referenced vehicle from Hyundai escondido under the representation that it was a Hyundai certified pre-owned (cpo) vehicle that had passed rigorous manufacturer standards. The dealership provided me with a carfax report showing no prior accidents or major repairs and falsely assured me that the car was in excellent condition. However, immediately after purchase, I discovered that the vehicle had severe hidden defects, including: •extensive flood damage, which was concealed at the time of sale and significantly compromised the car’s electrical and safety systems. •prior frame and structural damage from an accident that was never disclosed. •critical electrical malfunctions causing the vehicle to swerve uncontrollably on its own, without any driver input. •severe safety risks, which nearly resulted in an accident with another vehicle carrying a baby on board. •substantial mechanical and structural issues requiring over $20,000 in repairs, making the car unsafe and unusable. Despite reporting these issues on the first day of ownership, Hyundai escondido refused to acknowledge or rectify the matter. 2. Hyundai escondido’s role in fraud and misrepresentation •knowingly sold a flood-damaged and structurally compromised vehicle without disclosure. •misrepresented the vehicle as a certified pre owned. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

My wife was driving driving the vehicle on October 21st, 2024. She was shifting from park to drive just after our children got out of the vehicle in the school parking lot when the whole vehicle froze up and the dashboard lite up with all error lights including the engine light. It was flashing "service hybrid battery system", "service transmission", "turn off parking brake" and the vehicle began to power cycle on and off, then on with gas motor, then on with electric motor. The vehicle could not be powered off and it could not be shifted out of gear and the parking brake could not be disengaged. The tow truck had to drag our Pacifica onto the flatbed while it continued to turn on and off and cycle through the engine and hybrid system. This vehicle has 36,000 miles and just had the transmission replaced under the "recall for hybrid transmission systems" this is the second time this has happened, it originally occurred at 7000 miles and after the dealer had it for a week we were told there was no problem. The dealer had to pull a bunch of fuses and the 12v battery to get the vehicle to stop turning off and on, the same thing happened this time when it was dragged off the flatbed at the dealer.

Two things: my auto start/stop often shuts off, and the display reads: "auto stop/start is disabled/hood open," though it's not. I also often get a "service stop/start system" notification and the car will require a restart before it will allow me to shift it back into gear and turn off parking brake.

I was driving in the highway with both of my kids in the car. We were driving from ohio to alabama. While on the highway, the vehicle shut down into a disabled mode and displayed the message “stop safely, vehicle will shut off soon”. It did this a total of 5 times on our trip down to alabama.

We noticed our van having issues getting stuck in gear and then jerking to get out of the gear. After doing further research it seems to be a common issue in 2021 Pacifica vans. The next issue is electrical. Our van rear door opens if we are too close to it with the keys and now the sliding door will not open. They just fixed a recall regarding the entertainment system and back up camera. The entertainment system is still having issues. When we start the car up the system will reboot itself.

The battery coolant is leaking from the rear of the vehicle.

The ess battery fails constantly and manufacturer will not find problem and just replaces battery. When the ess battery fails it drains the main battery which then leaves the driver and its occupants at risk of being stranded. The transmission is an electronic transmission and if the battery fails while driving that could compromise the occupants also. We have had to have the battery replace twice and a third time tomorrow 9/21 if the dealership will "fit" us in. The ess system will tell you it is unavailable but only after the battery has failed.

I am having a problem with my under-warranty (32,000 miles) 2021 Chrysler Pacifica which the service department at my dealership appears unable to help. I was driving on an interstate in stop-and-go traffic for a couple of hours. It was a very hot day, temperatures well above 90 degrees. Six times over 15 minutes the following occurred: while coasting/braking, so at low rpm the engine turned itself off I braked to stop the vehicle the vehicle put itself into park a message on the dash said to place my foot on the brake pedal and press the button to start the engine I did so, and the engine cranked for an unusually long time, becoming longer each of the 6 times, before eventually starting by the last time we were doubtful it would start at all after the 6th time I cut my long-distance trip short, turned around, and came home in normal (not stop-and-go) highway traffic conditions, with no more engine failure. The check engine light did not turn on, and no service codes were generated which could have been related to these power failures my local dealer's service department (pohanka in salisbury, MD) tested the alternator, starter, and battery and found nothing wrong. They did charge the battery up a bit, saying it took only 20 minutes. They have been unable to re-create the problem, which is not surprising, due to the unique conditions under which it happened. They say there is nothing they can do about my problem under warranty because there is no code and they can't reproduce the problem, so they want to give me back a vehicle that we know behaved unsafely six times under dangerous conditions. Engines failing without warning on interstates are likely to result in being rear-ended. I see online that the hybrid model of the same model year has a recall for exactly this same issue, so it is not a new issue for Chrysler, although maybe new-ish for my non-hybrid model of the same vehicle.

I purchased my vehicle from autonation Chrysler Dodge Jeep ram spring - 21027 I-45, spring, TX 77388 on or about April 15, 2021. I began having trouble with the electric/gas drivetrain around January 30 of 2023. The vehicle lost all power, as well as throttle and proper braking response. I brought my vehicle back to helfman Dodge Chrysler Jeep ram fiat at 7720 katy fwy a, houston, TX 77024 for repairs on February 6, 2023. The repairs performed seemed to have worked until [xxx]. The most recent event on [xxx] my Pacifica hybrid lost all power on the highway. While attempting to pull the vehicle off of the highway it abruptly entered its parking gear at 5mph, almost causing a rear end collision from the semi tractor trailer following behind us. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Traveling down interstate 15 south in escondido at approximately 73mph. In the fast lane and moving left into the car pool lane the vehicle lost all motive power and the error "service charging system" came up on the dash then flashing back to "shift to p to start". We were able to make it to a very small emergency lane on the left side of the interstate. Had to power vehicle off and restart twice before be regained motive power. There was a very good chance that we would have been stranded in the middle of the interstate with wife and 2 kids in the care on an 85 degree day. We were able to make it off freeway with "check engine light showing" but no other errors on the dash. We were able to drive home 7 miles and will tow the Pacifica to the dealer tomorrow. This is the second time this has happened and could have had a horrible outcome.

My car has the 03a recall, and had the software update in March 2024. In summer 2024, I got the red turtle, "stop, pull over. Your car is going to stop" warning, my car stopped moving, etc. I was able to get it restarted and cel came on and has been on ever since. I took it in for the open recalls (66b), and state inspection, as well as the liftgate recall that was performed by the dealership but the liftgate has never worked since then. They stated that all the recalls except 66b were completed and when I asked why I had gotten the stop now message after the software "fix" was done, they had no answer. I provided them with research stating that Chrysler had issued an unlimited lifetime warranty for these transmissions, since that is where the short is located that is causing the cars to stop. They have insisted since then that the transmission isn't the problem; that my hybrid battery is the problem. I have had no issues that would indicate the battery is the problem, but plenty to indicate the transmission is the problem. My car's been in the shop since March 17, and it is April 27. The new battery was supposed to be in on April 10, but there is still no eta. I have a star case and a case open with customer cares, who has been absolutely no help in getting this problem actually fixed. Despite my providing the dealership and customer cares the necessary information stating that the new transmission is the only repair that will stop the car from stopping randomly, endangering myself and my family and other people on the roads, they continue to encourage me to "trust the engineers" and let them replace the battery. They are refusing to fix the issue, and I will not drive that car until it's properly fixed. This transmission issue is creating death traps and there is a known fix that even Chrysler has acknowledged by issuing lifetime warranties on the transmissions affected by this recall, yet the dealership and Chrysler cares refuses to perform the fix for it.

I was backing out of the driveway. I had all the safety features on, and I was checking my surroundings. Typically, the blind spot and front sensors would alert me to dangers. However, on this and many other occasions the warnings didn't alert me to danger on my passenger side that I couldn't see. This resulted in damage to the front quarter panel of my van as well as damage to the bumper. The body shop said it would cost at least $5000 to repair the damage. I can't afford that; in turn I am driving around with the damage.

Vehicle has suddenly went into low power mode while driving three times. Was towed to shop each time to find no issues besides codes. Codes were cleared and vehicle was returned. Now vehicle is in the shop at Chrysler due to a service charging system code for the hybrid system, causing the vehicle to not start or shift out of park gear. Vehicle has 58,000 miles and is not covered under the battery warranty with only 2 thousand miles remaining on the factory power train warranty.

For the 3rd time after driving approximately 200 miles, the vehicle has shut down on the highway. I receive a warning instructing me to pull over safely because the vehicle is shutting down. All three of these times happened on interstate highways. Two times this occured on the NJ turnpike. My husband is disabled and the process of getting off the highway - involving exiting our vehicle and getting into a tow truck is frightening and daunting. By this third time I figured out that we can cool the vehicle by waiting. Which we did because this last breakdown happened again on the NJ turnpike. I had 3 dogs with me in addition to my handicapped husband. I could not imagine getting out into the lanes of traffic with the three dogs and the disabled husband. I waited 45 minutes and the car started and we were able to proceed 10 miles. At which point we were several miles from the exit off of the turnpike. We were now within 7. 5 miles of a dealership. We were instru cted by the vehicle again to pull over safely because the car was shutting down. We waited another 30-45 minutes. Managed to get off the highway. Now within 1. 5 miles of the dealership we were told again to pull over. We waited again and made it to the dealership. The codes were the same codes we had on the April 7 breakdown -- the February breakdown also had our car not being able to start. I bought a used Chrysler 2021 Pacifica hybrid that has broken down for the third time with the same codes p1a9a, p1a9ae, p1a21, and p1aa2, and the low-temperature active pump is suspected to be the issue with battery cooling and heating.

On two separate occasions (on April 30 and may 1, 2024), my Chrysler Pacifica's engine suddenly lost power while driving on highways. I was served with an error "stop safely. Vehicle will shut off soon. " after a few minutes on the side of the highway, the vehicle was able to start again and drive. After the first incident, I drove to a Chrysler dealership, who plugged in a portable computer to check for error codes. Despite the severity of the issue, the vehicle's onboard computer recorded no errors. Since then, I found that the NHTSA is aware of the problem (NHTSA action number rq24004) related to a wiring harness short circuit. Chrysler's supposed "recall" only entails a feature to supposedly allow time to pull over safely. I enjoyed no such time. I lost power immediately and had to immediately traverse multiple lanes in busy traffic to pull off the road.

I was driving home from a trip of 208 miles. I drove to bethlehem PA 208 miles, was there for 4 hours and was returning home driving another 208 miles. I did not plug in my plug in hybrid prior to leaving bethlehem, PA. When I was less than 10 miles away from my home, lights came on and my dashboard said "stop safely vehicle will shut off soon". I have a picture of the dash. In the upper left hand corner was a picture of the battery on the right lower corner a picture of a plug. I had 288 miles range left on my gas. My husband is disabled and the police officer who pulled behind me had to close a lane of traffic on the interstate highway (I-84) to allow him to disembark the vehicle at 8:30 pm and to reenter the tow truck that towed us off the highway.