Engine And Engine Cooling Problems of Chrysler Pacifica - part 1

While driving, the vehicle suffered a sudden, severe, and un-commanded complete loss of propulsion and motive power on a live roadway, posing an immediate crash hazard. * sequential fault chain: 1. An audible, physical "pop" was heard emanating from beneath the engine bay/high-voltage system compartment. 2. Immediate loss of acceleration and propulsion. 3. Simultaneous illumination of the check engine light, a "service charging system" warning message, and a "turtle" (absolute critical limp-mode) dashboard icon. 4. Electrical failure cascading to the interior control panel and displays, which flickered and went entirely dark while the vehicle was still rolling. 5. Abrupt, un-commanded physical engagement of the electronic parking brake (epb) as the vehicle slowed down, locking the rear wheels on a live road. 6. Total electrical blackout, rendering the hazard lights completely inoperable and leaving a dead vehicle entirely un-illuminated in active traffic.

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Blown head gasket. Having the unknown blown head gasket issue may have caused extreme damage to other engine components. Vehicle has less than 145,000 miles.

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Vehicle once it came to a full stop on the highway the check engine light popped on and would not go out. It drove okay the reset of the way home until the last few miles, came to a stop sign and vehicle shut off. Placed into park and restarted the vehicle and continued journey home.

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Head gasket issue. Known issue with this model. Costly repair "the primary reason is inadequate construction techniques, design, and materials. There isn't a preventive solution for this issue. If it occurs, it will be dealt with at that time. " [xxx] [xxx] [xxx] [xxx] cell information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The contact owns a 2019 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while stopped at a traffic light, the vehicle lost motive power and the engine shut off. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving in reverse (r), the rearview camera displayed a frozen image. The dealer was notified of the failures. The contact stated that the failures were known issues for the vehicle model. The manufacturer was notified of the failures and advised the contact to report the issues to the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 112,000.

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Rear seat warning which I couldn't resolve. Then engine shut down unable to restart in left lane in construction area with concrete walls on both sides of highway with traffic traveling at 75 mph. Instructions to put in park to start. Rolled slowly into emergency pull off area. Unable to restart. Engine protection countdown for 30 seconds. Still unable to start. Display screens working. Music and apps working. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

At 105,000 miles the check engine light came on, at which point the vehicle experienced rough starts and a rough idle. Vehicle also began emitting white/gray smoke from the exhaust upon starting. Upon diagnosis it was determined that coolant was leaking into #4 cylinder requiring head gasket replacement. Total repair came to $4,287. 07. This is a known issue commonly being experienced by other Pacifica owners. This major mechanical issue is a safety issue and could easily have stranded my family on the road. We were fortunate to have been home and located near a known and trusted mechanic when the issue presented.

Put the car in park car instantly cut off didn't come on. It was having electronic issues said service abs system, service steering control and I had to get it towed. Had the whole car diagnosed brought a new battery the another was fried due to corrosion. (the issue was the wiring harness) one month later put the car in park car did not come back on stated abs system and steering control needed to be serviced once again battery fried. Towed again once again got a new battery. Had a diagnostics. And it was the was wiring harness again. 3rd time in a year when the car shuts down, it’s impossible to use anything in the car. If the windows were rolled down, you can’t roll the windows up. If the door was left open, you can’t close the door. You can’t even shift the car to neutral even with the manual function, you can’t shift the car to neutral. Everything is locked.

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Head gasket blown! vehicle is under 100k miles, never overheated, service properly maintained. When researching symptoms, I discovered I am one of hundreds if not thousands of 2017-2018 model Pacifica owners who have suffered this issue. Heads are known to be faulty and Chrysler will not address the root of it. It's very possible this could lead to a locked engine while driving and cause harm to driver or others.

We had to replace both head gaskets last July with only 70,000 miles on the vehicle. The repair cost was $4,600. 00. This August, we started experiencing coolant leaks again. We discovered the cylinder heads are warped now. This was checked last year and it was not the main issue then. It is extremly disappointing that now at 80,000 miles we are looking at another $5000. 00+ repair. There needs to be a recall on the engine cylinders and head gasket.

This report is for a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica with 90,100 miles. The check engine light came on in July 2026. It was a cylinder 5 misfire. The spark plugs and ignition coil were replaced. The check engine light came on again about 2 weeks later (cylinder 5 misfire again), was dismissed and reset by the shop, and came on again about 2 weeks later. This time, the shop diagnosed cylinder 5 misfire due to "cylinder 5 is leaking coolant into the cylinders. " they quoted $12,000 for engine replacement. Went for 2nd opinion at a Chrysler dealership. They confirmed cylinder 5 misfire due to coolant leaking into cylinder 5. Cylinder 5 had low compression. Tech recommended replacing cylinder head for $6200. My research shows that this issue is common for the Pacificas, so I reached out to both Chrysler and the dealer for goodwill assistance with the repair. It was declined due to the van being older than 2019. I cannot continue to drive it with this issue, due to the safety risk of engine failure while operating.

I experienced a sudden loss of power and steering while driving my vehicle. The screen advised me to pull over because the engine would shut off soon, but I already had lost steering and power. I turned the car off and was able to restart it and drive it 1 mile home, and the check engine light was on. I had it towed to the dealer. After 2 weeks of testing, the dealer reported, “when your vehicle was initially checked in, the following trouble codes were present: 5 bpcm fault codes p1a21-00, p1d43-00, p1c01-00, p1a2a-00, and p1a29-00. We have completed recall y40. ” the repair tech said they expected the engine to lose power again at some point and I would need to have it towed in again to be repaired then. The repairs made so far are only software updates, no hardware has been repaired because the dealer said the errors didn’t recur after they reset the system. I have elevated the issue with the dealer and am awaiting a response. I am concerned based on the error codes and technician information that my vehicle is still at risk of catching fire at any time or experiencing another catastrophic loss of power if the faulty hardware is not replaced.

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My 2019 Chrysler Pacifica touring l plus is experiencing coolant leaking into a cylinder, diagnosed by. This has rendered the vehicle undrivable. The pentastar 3. 6l v6 engine used in this vehicle has a well-documented pattern of coolant intrusion into cylinders due to head gasket failure across the 2017–2019 Chrysler Pacifica model years, based on extensive owner complaints already on file with NHTSA and reported by consumer advocacy organizations. Despite this known pattern, no recall currently exists covering this specific defect for 2019 model year vehicles. This is a safety concern because coolant intrusion into a cylinder can cause sudden misfires, rough running, loss of power, and potential stalling while driving — creating a hazard in traffic, particularly at highway speeds or during turns/merges. I contacted Chrysler case management regarding this issue. The manufacturer has attempted to attribute responsibility to the dealership rather than acknowledging this as a manufacturer defect in the engine design/manufacturing, despite the well-documented pattern across multiple model years of the same engine. I have also not been provided a rental vehicle despite my vehicle being undrivable.

Failed head gasket that put vehicle in compromised working condition on the roadway - check engine light flash, poor and inconsistent engine running. First indications were 5-10 seconds of rough idle after startup when sitting overnight, then p0303 check engine code for cylinder three misfire as well as loss of coolant. Independent shop confirmed issue and replaced head gasket. Problem appears to have re-occurred after 2 years and 20000 miles with similar indications. Same shop advised likely engine block or cylinder head defect or damage and would not do any tear down or repair short of engine replacement.

As I pulled up to stop, in electric mode, at a stop light, the display screen pulled up a message to pull over safely because the engine would stop soon, within about 10 seconds the screen showed the engine stopped. I was still at the light. I tried restarting the vehicle, moving the shifter from drive to park and back, pressing the park button several times with no success. With cars honking behind me, I got out of the car, told them my car had died and asked them to drive around me. I got back in the car, repeated the actions a few times and the car started in electric mode. I drove home (about 5 miles) without incident. Check engine light was on. I pulled 2 codes u0412 and u029a. I have had the u0412 code a few times before with only the check engine light coming on. It would go away in a day or two (no check engine light and no code). U029a is new.

I was driving to the dealership and stopped at a light and the start stop button turned off completely. Brake locked and wouldn’t start back.

When driving on freeway the vehicle overheated and engine warning light flashed and had to come to stop at side of freeway. The vehicle had lost its coolant from a rear heater hose connection. The car was towed to dealer and the repair comment was that a part was deformed from mis-assembly (or words to that effect) - rear heater core fitting clip distorted causing hose come of the core. This was an early life failure.

My vehicle is currently being recalled for the recall 52d, I have reached out twice in a thirty day span asking about a fix and been told both times there are no parts for this fix. The risk of this recall includes fire, while charging or while parked and off.

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First, I had camshaft related error which turned out to be a bad intake camshaft on bank 1. The camshaft, all rocker arms, lifters, camshaft adjuster and all vvl actuators have been replaced with genuine mopar parts. 3 weeks latet, the head gasket on bank 2 failed, caused coolant to leak into the cylinder. The van has 89k miles, very clean and always maintained on time.

The contact owns a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while driving 15 mph, there was white smoke coming from the front of the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed, and it was determined that coolant was leaking into cylinder #3, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle warranty had expired. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000.

Lots of power going up steep hills. Especially while ac is on. Almost complete loss of power yesterday with vehicle behind me.

Blown head gasket.

The head gasket failed at 89,000 miles. The engine gave p0305 cylinder 5 misfire codes and would run rough causing difficult to drive in standard traffic flow. There are borescope pictures of coolant in cylinder 5. We stopped using the vehicle until the repair can be completed. This appear to be a widespread problem for 2017-2019 Chrysler Pacifica which are numerous on the road and could be hazardous if these vehicles failed on regular roads and highways. See [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

My 2019 Chrysler Pacifica experienced repeated electrical/network communication failures. The first sign was erratic dashboard behavior and a check-engine light in our resort parking lot. We drove to pep boys, where it was evaluated and we were told it was okay to drive. We then drove to chick-fil-a (. 4 miles from pep boys). While stopped in the drive-thru in drive with my foot on the brake, the vehicle began dinging, the engine revved, and multiple warning lights/messages appeared, including the check-engine light, red electronic throttle control warning, “blind spot alert temporarily unavailable,” “service trans stop safely shut off engine to engage park,” and “stop/start not ready. ” after shutting it off, it would not reliably restart, and when it did, I could not shift it to move. The vehicle returned to pep boys, where dtcs u0001 (can c bus) and u0401 (implausible data received from ecm/pcm) were documented. It then went to a Chrysler dealership in florida. They evaluated it and told us it checked out and was okay to drive. After leaving that dealership, the problem returned while my family and I were traveling at highway speed. The vehicle malfunctioned and began losing acceleration. I exited the highway. When I stopped at a stop sign, the vehicle died. It restarted but again would not shift. Eventually we were able to reach a nearby gas station. The problem continued intermittently as we tried to get home. Because we could not predict when it would happen again, we determined it was unsafe and had it towed. A Chrysler dealership in georgia then documented numerous loss-of-communication codes and performed a pcm software update. The vehicle passed testing and was released, but the problem returned again after we returned to ohio. The vehicle was ultimately towed to a Chrysler dealership in ohio. The communication faults became active during diagnosis, and the dealer replaced both can-c and can-I splice-block connectors. The problem has not recurred since.

This is what I wrote to stellantis. Dear stellantis customer care, my vehicle has now stalled five separate times while I was making a left turn through an intersection. When this happens, the engine shuts off unexpectedly, the vehicle shifts into park and I must attempt to restart it while sitting in the roadway. During the most recent incident, the vehicle would not restart on the first attempt and required a second attempt before it would run again. This creates an extremely dangerous situation. Losing power in the middle of a left turn places me, my passengers and other motorist at risk of a serious accident. The vehicle has approximately 43,000 miles and has been taken to my Chrysler dealership for diagnosis. Unfortunately, I have repeatedly been told that they cannot duplicate the problem and therefore cannot repair it. Despite those visits, the dangerous condition continues to occur. I am requesting that stellantis immediately: • open a formal case regarding the safety issue. • assign a regional field engineer, or star technical specialist to inspect and diagnose my vehicle. • work directly with my dealership to determine the cause of this intermittent stalling condition. • advise me whether the vehicle is safe to drive while this issue remains unresolved. I have been a responsible owner and have sought assistance through the dealership, but I cannot continue driving a vehicle that unexpectedly shuts off in the middle of an intersection. I am asking stellantis to take this matter seriously, and provide a timely resolution before someone is seriously injured. Please contact me as soon as possible regarding the next steps. I would appreciate receiving a case number and the name of the representative assigned to assist with this matter. I intend to file a safety complaint with NHTSA regarding this matter. Thank you for your prompt attention to this urgent safety concern.

See all problems of the 2023 Chrysler Pacifica 🔎.

While driving, the vehicle unexpectedly shut off without warning. The engine stalled while the vehicle was in motion, causing an immediate loss of acceleration and power and creating a serious safety hazard in traffic. This vehicle previously received the safety recall u01 repair in January 2018, but the same engine stall condition has returned. The recall remedy does not appear to have permanently corrected the problem.

While driving, the vehicle unexpectedly shut off without warning. The engine stalled while the vehicle was in motion, causing an immediate loss of acceleration and power. This created a serious safety hazard in traffic. The issue is consistent with the condition described in safety recall u01 for 2017 Chrysler Pacifica vehicles involving the powertrain control module (pcm). However, this vehicle's VIN is not included in the recall despite exhibiting the same symptoms.

Driving on the interstate at high speed, when check engine light comes on, warning message - stop safely vehicle will shut off - and red turtle warning indicator (limp mode). After a short time, vehicle will no longer accelerate. I pulled over to the shoulder, stopped and shut off engine. Restarted after a few minutes and everything appeared to work fine, with check engine light on. About 15 minutes later, it happened again. The dealership serviced the vehicle. Found error code p0a78 for driver moteo "a" inverter performance. Used stellantis technical service bulletin 08-253-24 to diagnose (both modules were out of date) and complete the indicated updates. This is a known issue that has affected many vehicles (per internet forums and that stellantis has created a TSB. It is an extremely dangerous situation causing the vehicle to enter "limp mode" and requiring the driver to stop in a matter of minutes. Stellantis should recall all potentially affected vehicles to update the modules proactively.

On July 19, 2026, I was driving my 2022 Chrysler Pacifica hybrid on e-470 at approximately 75 mph. Without warning, the dashboard displayed "stop safely. Vehicle will shut off soon," and the amber check engine light illuminated. At the same time, the vehicle immediately lost all motor power, began slowing, and did not respond to accelerator input. There were six occupants in the vehicle, including four young children. I was traveling on a busy six-lane highway with little to no shoulder. I had to maneuver across traffic without motor power to reach the side of the road, placing all six occupants at immediate risk. After turning the vehicle off for about five minutes, I restarted it. Only the check engine light remained illuminated, and the vehicle appeared to have normal power. We continued driving at 55–65 mph to reach a safer location. About 10 minutes later, the same warning appeared and the vehicle again lost all motor power. This time we were on a steep, busy exit ramp and had to immediately pull off as the vehicle rapidly lost speed, again placing all six occupants at risk. After waiting about five minutes, we restarted the vehicle, drove it to a safe location, and had it towed to a dealership. The dealership was closed, so the cause of the failure has not yet been determined. This incident created an extremely dangerous situation, and we narrowly avoided a collision on the interstate. A sudden loss of propulsion at highway speeds without warning is a serious safety hazard that warrants investigation and consideration for a recall.

While driving, the engine stalled and produced a cranking noise. Subsequently, the display screen turned black. Currently, I am experiencing a problem where I cannot turn off the vehicle or shift gears, rendering it immobilized. I have taken the vehicle to a Chrysler dealership, and they have been unable to identify any faults. However, I believe the vehicle is not safe to drive.

On 7/16/26 vehicle would not start; high-pitched noise heard near engine during no-start diagnosis. Towed to goldy Chrysler Dodge Jeep ram, huntington wv. Per dealer invoice #27136: blown 500-amp main battery fuse found; after jumping past fuse, white smoke from exhaust and no coolant in system, diagnosed as blown head gasket. Repair: both-side head gasket replacement plus fuse assembly. Vehicle in shop 7+ weeks, returned 9/4/26 with new unresolved issue: strong smell of burned electronics and antifreeze in cabin. All failed components available for inspection upon request. Safety risk: head gasket failure/coolant intrusion caused engine hydrolock, a sudden uncommanded loss of engine power that can occur without warning, including while driving in traffic. Burned-electronics smell raises electrical/fire risk; antifreeze odor raises cabin fume exposure and window-fogging visibility concerns. Confirmed by dealer: yes. Goldy diagnosed and documented the fuse failure, coolant loss, and head gasket failure in writing, and performed the repair. Manufacturer/police/insurance inspection: not by police or insurance. Spoke by phone with a Chrysler hq rep 5 times (8/13-9/1/26) who was informed; no confirmed independent physical inspection by manufacturer beyond dealer's own diagnosis. Warning signs: p0304 misfire on cylinder 3 appeared first, progressing to complete no-start with high-pitched noise, prompting the tow-in and hydrolock diagnosis.

2024 Chrysler Pacifica completely shutdown during a left turn. Engine died all electrical stopped functioning. Had to restart the vehicle to move the vehicle. This condition happened twice last week, but has not happened since. Fortunately it was a low speed situation rather than at highway speeds. Highway speed could have been a very serious situation with the potential of being rear-ended from high speed traffic. Vehicle has 27,500 miles on the odometer and was driving normally prior to the shutdowns. Chrysler dealer has been notified of the situation, but an appointment is 7-10 days out. No warning lights or messages were noticed.

I had my cylinder heads, valves and head gasket replaced over a year ago and drove 15k miles and I am having the same issues again. The dealer is trying there very best not to honor my valid powertrain parts warranty like saying the head gasket is only covered for 12 months and denying my claim but my cylinder heads and top end have a 3 year 100k mile warranty since they were installed not to long ago and they are trying to deny my claim using the head gasket. I have seen and read online that these engines all have similar problems with the head gaskets.

The contact owns a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 mph, the vehicle suddenly experienced reduced power and hard shifting. Additionally, the steering wheel suddenly became difficult to turn while driving. The cause of the failures was not determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failures, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 50,000.

A misfire code came up. Had plugs done. . Didn’t solve problem now blowing white smoke burning antifreeze. Head gaskets bad. We just bought this 2019 7 months ago. And it only had 68,000 miles on it now 71000 miles on it. We thought we would get the newer better vehicle and having engine problem in a car that we paid 22000 dollars for. Going to be an expensive fix on a problem that shouldn’t be occurring on a car with that mileage.