general problems of the 2021 Chrysler Pacifica - part 1

While driving at normal road speed, the vehicle suddenly lost propulsion and entered limp mode. A turtle warning icon appeared along with multiple system fault messages. The vehicle began slowing down on it's own and was unable to accelerate. I pulled to the side of the road. The vehicle displayed an error "stop safely vehicle will shut off soon". After sitting for a period of time, the vehicle restarted and was able to be driven again, but the failure occurred without warning and created a dangerous situation in traffic. Diagnostic trouble codes were present related to the hybrid system and high-voltage battery, including p1d43, p1a21, u029a, and u0412. These codes indicate faults in the hybrid control system and battery communication. A Chrysler service department inspected the vehicle, confirmed the trouble codes, and returned it to me without repair because the issue was not immediately reproducible at the dealership. The vehicle has a history of similar intermittent issues, including prior loss-of-power events and repeated service visits for hybrid system faults. The condition is not consistently reproducible, but when it occurs it results in a sudden loss of motive power while driving. This creates a significant safety risk due to unexpected loss of propulsion in active traffic.

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.

On January 14, 2026 while driving on highway fast lane warning light came on that engine was going to shut off and withing a few minutes it did. I managed to pull over off the freeway before engine completely shut off. Turned everything off and waited about five minutes and turned car back on. Car ran with engine warning lights on. Took it to carl burger Dodge but they could not check in the car due to an abundance of work. Asked that I make an appointment later. On January 26, 2026 while driving on the highway same thing happened, warning light came on that engine was going to shut off, pulled over from fast lane to side of busy highway and stopped. Turned everything off and waited for about five minutes and started car again with car warning lights on. Drove it that day. Later in the day parked car at a shopping mall and turned car off. When I returned to turn car on warning light came on that engine was shut down. Turned everything off and waited for about five minutes and turned car back on, it drove with engine warning lights on. On January 29, 2026 took car to carl burger Dodge and left it there for evaluation and repairs. Question, has there been any recalls or fixes relating to alleged problem an internal transmission wiring connector that may short and can cause the car to shut off? an issue NHTSA had previously identified as a problem.

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.

On [xxx] while driving my vehicle on the fast lane of the freeway the warning came on that the vehicle was going to shut down soon. I was able to pull over to the slow lane and immediately exit the freeway and as I was exiting the freeway the vehicle completely shut down. I was able to move the car to park in a safe area on the street with what little power it had. Shut the vehicle down and contemplated what to do. I waited for a few minutes and then turned the engine on and it drove but the orange engine light was still on. I slowly drove it to the carl burger Dodge dealership in la mesa, CA using side streets, avoiding the freeway, approximately 10 miles distance. They would not take my car in for service due to their back log and asked for I to make an appointment which would likely be around two to three weeks away or take it to another dealer that may look at my car sooner. Hesitant, I slowly drove my car to my residence again using only side streets, a distance of about 20 miles. Made it safely but the orange engine light was still on. I have had recall repairs on this vehicle previously. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

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...

On [xxx], I was driving uphill on the interstate at around 70 mph on gas power (hybrid battery was discharged) and warning came up "stop safely vehicle will shut down soon" and lost power (limp mode). I was able to move safely to the shoulder, but with 5 passengers (3 young kids) and a dog and a full load of camping gear it was a bit nervewracking. Could not get the car started again (stayed in limp mode) and used an obdii scanner I had which popped up error code (p0a43 - "intermittent issue with the drive motor "a" position sensor"). The vehicle was towed to the dealer ( 4 hours from home) and after a few days they said the vehicle was fixed and I pushed for them to test drive it on the interstate. Was returned with this comment: " found codes for drive motor "a" position sensor circuit intermittent and hybrid battery pack state of charge low. Checked trans plug and wiring verified operating correctly. Found that resolver needs to have relearn preformed. Preformed relearn on resolver and charged hybrid battery. Test drove vehicle on interstate and verified that issue did not return. Vehicle operating as designed. " I received a notice of an unlimited mile/year warranty on the transmission for this car, and from what I read on the internet, this is a recurrent issue with a known cause. We were able to get off the road safely in this case, but it is nerve-wracking to drive, especially with my family, in the current state. This is related to an open NHTSA investigation: [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Hard shifting. Shifting then rpms dropping to 1000 and not accelerating when hitting gas.

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.

Symptoms exactly as described in safety recall 03a / NHTSA 23v-010. Warning came onto dash with very little time to get to side of road from highway driving before engine fully shut down. Picture of dash after warning attached. Extremely dangerous situation, particularly for a known issue as described in the recall and NHTSA notices above. Currently vehicle is at dealer pending confirmation / diagnostics.

The contact owns a 2021 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated while accelerating with the accelerator pedal depressed. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the rocker arm, lifters, and the right intake camshaft needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to parts not being available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 101,000.

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.

Hello, we recently had an oil change on our 3. 6 liter Chrysler minivan. The engine seized and failed shortly after. The oil cap on oil filter housing had a part come off and plug the oil channel, resulting in engine failure. The car is currently at a Chrysler dealer with noone accepting responsibility.

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.

The check engine light is on with and error code of p0e15 from what I am reading on the web a lot of people are having/have had this problem. The error code came up during windshield repair and recalibration. The technician advised this has been an ongoing problem and this error keeps coming up even after being cleared.

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.

The cylinder 1 misfires and there are a lot of metal shavings in the oil. Engine needs replacing. Under 55k miles.

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.

The start/stop function ceased to function and illuminated a dash light indicating a malfunction. It started on October 3, 2024, when warm starting the vehicle in a store parking lot. The dash light illuminates every time the vehicle is started. Possible no start while vehicle is waiting in the turn lane of an intersection.

When driving on the interstate at speeds of 75 mph. We received a message telling us to "safely stop vehicle will shut off soon". At that point our vehicle began to slow dramatically as we attempted to shift lanes to get to the side of the road. We then had to sit on the side of the interstate, unable to move, with three children in the car for almost an hour before the vehicle allowed us to move it at a snails pace through the ditch and to a road travelling parallel to the interstate. Once, parked on the side of this less dangerous road we sat for another 3 hours for a tow truck, managed to have the vehicle towed to the dealer which is indicating that they do not know exactly what the problem is and are replacing the hybrid battery in an attempt to fix it. We've seen many group messages about this issue and the common thread is that Chrysler does not have a fix or know what to fix and that this issue will generally occur again. I have not received a repair invoice just yet as our van is still in the shop but will do what I can to update this report if possible.

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.

This is a follow up to an earlier submission (NHTSA tracking number 11591550). After the initial incident, the dealership replaced the hybrid battery on the vehicle. A month later, yesterday, while driving the vehicle on the interstate, I again received the dreaded, "stop safely, vehicle will shut off soon" warning indicator and the car lost all power about 30 seconds later. Thankfully, I was on an offramp and was able to stop safely. Had I been traveling at full speed in the carpool lane, it could have been very dangerous. The van is now at the dealership for repair, and I hope they fix it for real this time. This is an extremely dangerous situation, with vehicles dying while going full speed.

Vehicle stopped running on the interstate 205 July 8, 2020. Barely ran with electric motor about 7 miles an hour. Took it to dick hanna Chrysler July 9, 2020 in vancouver washington and they did a software update recall 03a? on July 14 the car stopped running again on the interstate. Took it to the same dealer and now they tell me the power inverter module needs to be replaced. The part is not available. It is dangerous for a vehicle to stop running, especially on a high speed interstate. No timeframe as to when problem will be solved. Car still at the dealer as of today, July 23.

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 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).

Driving the vehicle on the interstate, and the vehicle suddenly lost power and had a warning that said "stop safely, vehicle will shut off soon". However, we were in a construction zone and unable to stop on the interstate causing many vehicles to nearly crash into us. I understand we had previously had a recall worked that simply added this warning, but did not fix the issue. This warning is not a safe solution. It is still very dangerous for your vehicle to suddenly drop to 15mph at highway speeds. We are in the process of having the dealer confirm the issue.

The engine stopped responding in a safe manner and we were not able to maintain safe speeds along a highway. While traveling on the highway in a busy, high-speed merge area at night, I received a warning "stop safely vehicle will shut off soon. " I was far from a safe pull off location along a highway with sound barriers on all sides and no way to walk away from the highway. I made my way to the shoulder. Seeing that I was not in a safe location for me and the other car passengers, I drove very slowly with my hazards on until I could exit the highway. There was not a safe shoulder available for much of the distance and the car was unable to go faster than about 30 miles per hour at its peak. This max speed dropped gradually to close to 10 mph. The engine barely responded and I struggled to make a turn onto a residential street without a collision with oncoming traffic. Once were in a safe location, I turned the car off and back on again and the same warning light appeared and the engine was similarly limited to moving the car at about 10 mph max. I have not had the car towed to a dealer yet for inspection.

While driving at full speed on an interstate, I received the message, "stop safely, vehicle will shut off soon. " the van then lost power, and I was able to pull over safely (thankfully!). After about 15 minutes, the van restarted, and I made it about 10 miles until it happened again. After two more shut-downs, I was able to get the van to a dealership, where it has been sitting undiagnosed for over a week now.

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.

My fuel line was rubbing against a part of the engine and leaked. My mechanic said the fuel line was unsupported causing the rubbing and didn’t have shielding/padding to protect it.

When at a red light or while driving car throws its self into park and then powers off immediately and this isn’t safe with my children in the car while drive it’s also happened while driving during traffic car just throws its self into park and powers off.