Adaptive Cruise Control problems of the 2022 Chrysler Pacifica

A message appeared on the dashboard stating the engine would shut off soon. I could not accelerate. This has happened multiple times (at least a dozen since I bought the vehicle in April 2025) and I cannot drive above 70 mph or it will cause the issue to occur. Several times I have been in multi-lane traffic and because you cannot accelerate, I have to try to park on the should across multiple lanes of traffic at high rates of speed while slowing down.

I was driving on the interstate with adaptive cruise control active. The gasoline engine was running. The vehicle suddenly made a "ding" sound, and the main driver screen displayed an error message "stop safely. The vehicle will shut off soon". The engine shut down and vehicle completely lost motive power. I had to rapidly change across three lanes of traffic to reach the shoulder while losing speed, where I eventually parked with the hazard lights on. As we sat parked on the shoulder, the driver screen screen also showed a red battery-shaped indicator in the upper left, and an orange speedometer with an exclamation point in the upper right.

While travelling on a controlled-access highway at 70 mph with the adaptive cruise control active, and no other vehicles or objects nearby, the braking system engaged spontaneously (without driver input) and forcefully, for approximately . 5 seconds, also engaging the anti-lock brakes. The rapid deceleration was forceful enough to snap my family of 5 all into their seatbelts. The speed of the vehicle slowed approximately 10 mph or more during this incident. My family and I were fortunate enough that no vehicles were behind us, no collision occurred, and I was able to maintain control of the vehicle though I was very much surprised. No warning indicators nor messages appeared. I took the vehicle to a servicing dealer three days after the incident for inspection/diagnosis. I was told be the service agent at the desk that, in order for this to not happen again, I should not use the adaptive cruise control. The technician, who was at the service desk, stated he was unable to reproduce the incident on test drive, and that he recalibrated the adaptive cruise control system and sensor, without further explanation as to what that meant.

The contact owns a 2022 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while driving at 80 mph with the cruise control activated, the vehicle experienced phantom braking. The following day, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was vibrating and the brakes failed to immediately stop the vehicle. The contact stated that the brakes caught fire, and there were flames coming from the brake calipers. The contact was able to put out the fire with a hose. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it remained for twenty-one days; however, no cause of failure was found. The failure recurred, and the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who recommended the contact stop driving the vehicle as it was unsafe on the roadway. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and dispatched an inspector to the dealer to inspect the vehicle, but the report was not yet available. The failure mileage was approximately 13,000.

While driving on the freeway using adaptive cruise control, the display indicated that the adaptive cruise control was canceled. I did not cancel the adaptive cruise control. The vehicle decelerated and appeared to turn off completely. The gas peddle did not respond, I was unable to accelerate. The screen then displayed “push button to start”, as though the car was off. I was able to pull onto the shoulder of the freeway, toggle the car into park, and press the start button while pressing the break. Then, the screen display battery light and check engine light turned on. The display said automatic high beams disabled. The vehicle would not respond to pressing the start button while pressing the brake. Finally, I held the start button down while pressing the break for a long period of time. My seat moved back automatically like the car was turned off. I was then able to restart the car and drive to the nearest exit. This is a very dangerous problem that needs to be thoroughly investigated. I am fortunate I was able to get to the shoulder of the road without causing an accident. The vehicle is currently at the nearest dealership, we are awaiting news of the cause.