Service Brakes Problems of Chrysler Pacifica - part 1

I am experiencing a serious brake safety issue involving the brake booster on my Chrysler Pacifica. When braking, the pedal becomes extremely hard, pushes back against my foot, and requires excessive force to stop the vehicle. In some instances, when I am at a complete stop, the brake pedal pushes upward and the vehicle begins to move forward on its own. This issue causes a loss of braking assist and significantly increases stopping distance, creating an unsafe driving condition and risk of collision. The problem occurs intermittently but has worsened over time. Chrysler/stellantis has acknowledged this brake booster defect by issuing a warranty extension; however, they have not issued a safety recall. I was denied repair coverage solely because my vehicle is now outside the extended warranty period, despite the fact that the defect is known and directly affects braking performance and vehicle control. This is not normal wear and tear. It is a failure of the brake assist system that compromises safe operation of the vehicle, whether driving at speed or stopped in traffic. The condition presents a clear safety risk to occupants and others on the road. I am submitting this complaint so NHTSA can investigate whether this defect warrants a formal safety recall.

See all problems of the 2018 Chrysler Pacifica 🔎.

While driving the indicator light for forward collision warning (fcw or pedestrian emergency braking (peb) illuminated. This is an intermittent issue and has appeared during snowy or wet road conditions. The owner's manual states description states: warning light indicates a fault in the fcw/peb warning system. Contact an authorized dealer for service.

See all problems of the 2023 Chrysler Pacifica 🔎.

Car rolls forward when in reverse and takes a dangerously long time to slip into gear. Car rolls back when foot is taken off brake, especially on hills.

See all problems of the 2021 Chrysler Pacifica 🔎.

Brakes have a skip feeling horribly. We took to garage after changing brakes and rotors 2x to be sure it wasnt the issue. But doesnt even feel safe to drive the garage took the whole front end apart down to the calipers and didnt find any issues so they questioned if maybe it wasnt a similar recall to the hybrid braking issue to do with the caliper? the van only has 45,000 miles and feels so unsafe to drive anywhere with 5 kids and a newer vehicle you shouldn't not feel safe driving. Ive seen more than my complaint on brake issues just by looking around on internet and the brake light will come on I have to turn off and crank vehicle again for the red brake dot to go away and engine light comes on.

See all problems of the 2022 Chrysler Pacifica 🔎.

The contact owns a 2026 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while driving 5-10 mph, the brakes locked up. The contact stated that the parking brake unexpectedly engaged and failed to release. The driver’s side rear wheel locked up. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the brake actuator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. While driving in the driveway, the brakes locked up. The vehicle was taken to the dealer again, where the abs module was replaced. Additionally, there was an engine malfunction, and the battery was recharged. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case. The contact requested a vehicle buyback. The failure mileage was approximately 5,000.

As I began driving errors popped up engine failure, electrical system and hybrid system errors, the gas pedal would not move beyond 10 miles per hour, the brakes made a weird noise as if were trying to start the car. This happened with no warning.

Brake booster and vacuum failing due to cracked diaphragm.

See all problems of the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica 🔎.

Well driving down the interstate my van slammed on brakes stated safety mode engine will. Shut off soon. Now it will not start. It could have caused us to get in a serious wreck.

The rear brake at 4mm at 32k miles at the time of oil change at dealer and front brake still have 7mm, as a mechanical engineer, I know this should not happen. Also while driving, there is high freq metal sound, I have notified the dealer every time I went to oil change, they confirmed it is fine but I do not feel safe. 2nd issue is the powertrain system feels no power while climbing hills and the car almost stops and sliding back even I put on gas pedal and almost hit the car behind me one time. 3rd issue is that gas door seal is broken within first year of use, it could cause gas leaking.

At a stoplight the fcw ( forward, collision), warning dash light went on and engaged the brakes, thankfully, no movement was taking place. I had to put the car in park and then drive to be able to resume. This indicates that it could have occurred at high speeds, potentially causing a collision.

During normal driving from office to home car suddenly started stuttering and I was apply break but speeded up and showed engine light on, I was about to hit front car due to additional speed. During that time I saw few quick messages on the dashboard, the one that I can remember was related with acc. That's the dangerous situation. I looked d from obd and found that code was u0412 and reported that code to huntington beach Chrysler service station. Please keep an eye out for some similarities between others reports.

See all problems of the 2019 Chrysler Pacifica 🔎.

Component failute: first the cruse control would stop working while driving. Then the engine would rive way up while trying to accelerate and not gain much speed, gas mpg dropped. When breaking to stop I had to push the break pedal harder. When the cruse had stopped and I shut the engine off, it was hard to start, and would bump and shake as if it was hitting on 2 cylinders, cruse still would not work. After I made it home, the next time I started it, it was ok, then the last time I parked it the brake will not depress and it will not start. Battery has 12 volts, jumped it anyway break still want depress. Took battery cables off shorted them together , did not help. Break pedal still will not depress.

Brakes hiss and won't slow the car down well. Issue is with the brake booster. The car creep forward or sometimes not stop in time. The peddle pushes back against you when depressing it.

I have been experiencing a brake surge when I come to a stop, it has been a few weeks now (or maybe months). It feels like the regenerative braking is disengaging and the friction brakes are not engaging immediately. I am concerned this is a brake handoff issue and a major safety problem.

The contact owned a 2021 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that occasionally, while driving at various speeds, upon depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle would surge forward 3 to 4 feet before proceeding to slow down or come to a complete stop. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed, and the contact was advised that the failure was not duplicatable and nothing was found to be wrong with the vehicle. The local dealer proceeded to replace the spark plugs, the brake fluid, field spark plug weld, and gasket cylinder head cover, however the contact stated that after the repair the failure increasingly persisted leading them to be involved in a crash where the contact stated that while driving on a highway at 55 mph, there were two vehicles stopped ahead, the contact depressed the brake pedal and the vehicle proceeded to surge forward and crash into the vehicle infront of them with the entire front end of their vehicle. The impact caused the vehicle in front of the contact to crash into the rear end of the vehicle in front. That vehicle sustained damage to the entire rear and front end of the vehicle as the impact caused that vehicle to crash into the rear end of the vehicle in front of it. No property damage was reported. The vehicles came to a stop upon rebound after the impact. The air bags were deployed. The vehicle was towed to an auto body center, and no warning lights were illuminated. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The contact was injured while seated in the driver's seat; the passenger in their vehicle was not injured. An individual in the vehicle in front of the contact was injured. The contact sustained injuries to their ribs and sternum. Medical treatment was needed for the injuries, and the other individual also required medical treatment for unknown injuries. The individual at the front of the line in this collision was not injured. The local dealer was contacted however, the vehicle was not diagnosed as it was decla.

My son was driving the vehicle down the interstate and attempted to exit. He hit the brakes and the car would not slow down. He had the pedal all the way to the floor and the vehicle still would not slow down. The vehicle went off the exit ramp, through a grassy hill area, across the entrance ramp, and finally stopped when the tire broke off. Even with the tire broke off and the vehicle not moving the engine was showing it was going 30-40 mph. No airbags were deployed. I received a luckily the only injury was my daughter's sprained wrist. The entire front end of the vehicle has been replaced, including the frame, and yet no airbags were deployed. I did receive and abs failure alert on my app but was told that was because of the tire breaking off and not what caused the accident. I have requested the vehicle be inspected since the accident occurred. Insurance stated it would need to be repaired before an inspection could occur. I have filed a case with stellantis who now states they will not have anyone look at it because it has to be done before repairs are made and since insurance has paid for the repairs, they have to request an inspection. We had multiple issues with the tpm system not working properly and had it to a dealership for repairs, that was the only warnings we received. The vehicle is still sitting at the dealership/collision repair shop as they feel it warrants further investigation as well.

See all problems of the 2025 Chrysler Pacifica 🔎.

When you are pushing the brakes the brakes want to push against you and go forward. It also wants to not steer the direction that you are steering sometimes making it very dangerous.

1. Brakes give way and cannot stop car until halfway into intersection. Brake is metal to metal. Hear clanking sound………. Also 2. When stepping on brake, car speeds up. I’ve had 2 accidents by rear ending car in front of me. This has happened 4-5 times this past year.

The car doesn't stop when break is pressed all the way down has newer brake pads, practically slides into intersections and other vehicles. Has appointment at dealer on July first but they stated no recall is issued for this problem.

Brake pedal loses assist, vehicle continues rolling while pedal fully depressed. Known issue in newer Pacifica models but 2017 excluded despite same symptoms and parts.

The brake pedal felt spongy and did not engage without me pumping the brakes at a traffic light. I had to quickly change lanes to get the brakes to engage. Otherwise I would have crashed into the vehicle in front of me. Also sometimes when sitting at a traffic light the brake pedal pulls away at random as if it is disengaging which cause the car to roll forward. I have to again pump the brake pedal. This issue has occurred 2-3 times so far. I took the van to two different auto repair shops. One shop said it’s the brake booster. I got a second opinion at another mechanic shop and he did not find a problem with the car and could not recreate the problem. The second mechanic indicated it is most likely a Chrysler specific problem and the car should be taken back to the dealer. As the car needs to stop when the brakes are depressed as it could cause an auto accident. I was advised to check to see if there is already a recall relating to the abs brakes system for the Chrysler Pacifica. I also mentioned the electronic stability control service light is coming on the dashboard display at times.

In may 2025 shortly after purchasing this vehicle I had complete brake failure while driving down the road. I was driving approximately 65 mph when the forward collision warning, abs warning, brake warning, auto emergency brake warning lights came on and when I pushed on the brake pedal it was hard as a rock and wouldn't stop the vehicle. It was returned to the purchasing dealership, and they replaced the brake booster. On November 27th of 2025 I was driving down the road and the exact same problem occurred with a complete loss of brake function. It went to the local Chrysler dealership; they replaced the master cylinder. I picked it up 12/10 drove it 5 miles home and parked it. I got in the vehicle the next morning to go to work and on my way to work all the same dash lights came on and I had a complete loss of brake function. It was towed back to the dealership again; this time they replaced the abs module. I picked it up on 12/30 drove 5 miles home, parked it, tried to leave 3 hours later and couldn't push the brake pedal far enough to get the van started. When I did finally get it started all the same dash lights were on and the brakes were not functional. It was towed back to the dealership again and this time they replaced the wiring harness. I picked it up 1/16. Drove it minimally over the weekend, on 1/19 the front-end collision warning lights came on and the check engine light came on while driving 70 mph. The brakes didn't lose function this time, however. The following day I was sitting in line at an elementary school waiting to pick up my daughter when all the same dash lights came on again and I had a complete loss of brakes, it was towed back to the dealership, where it still is. There was contact made with Chrysler engineering during the 2nd repair. The dealership has been able to recreate the problem more than once since they have had it. This put myself and my children a significant risk of injury, and other cars if there was an accident.

The emergency brake came on while I was driving.

When driving on hybrid mode with battery charged up suddenly warning message showing “transmission failure” and message saying “stop safely vehicle is going to shut off soon”. Breaks don’t work as normal when this happens and vehicle wouldn’t stop immediately. Feels unsafe to drive. Engine warning lights turn on and stay for a day after this happens. Checked with dealership and they mentioned recall is still being worked upon and not yet available. Tried reaching mopar directly but no response yet.

I am writing to report another incident related to my 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. Today, while driving on a major highway, my vehicle unexpectedly shut off and braked violently multiple times without warning, creating a serious safety hazard. Fortunately, there was no accident, but due to the sudden and forceful braking, I am now experiencing pain in my head, neck, upper back, and shoulders. I previously reported electrical issues with this vehicle on January 22, 2024. Given the recurring nature of these problems, I am extremely concerned about the ongoing safety risks. Please advise on the next steps to formally document this incident and any updates regarding similar reports or investigations into this issue. I appreciate your prompt attention to this matter and look forward to your response.

My brake starts hissing, and starts pushing back against my leg. It happens much when I push brake padel then it hissing sound and brake padel pushes back, the vehicle starts crawling. I got messege blind spot monitor unavailable. Engine hood paint fall off, easy visible paint fall off or peeling paint. This one I brought used car from alm gwinnett.

Car will not start with push button and/or key fob push. Problem started 10 months ago with dead stop/start battery. Both batteries were replaced and then two months later stop/start system failed at stop lights. Car would stall once break was released to go. Had car serviced, starter replaced. Next day, car stalled and would not restart in parking lot, service department could not find any problems and no error lights found so the solution was to turn stop/start system off. A few months later car would not start on first try, took several pushes and sometimes a keyfob push. Sometimes "no key fob detection" light. Car was sent to service center again and they could not find any problems. At this time car only starts on 2nd push. Problem has worsened over the last 5 months, car takes at least 5 tries to start or doesn't start at all. Additional observations: brake gets very tight and pressurized after the first attempted start, steering wheel is locked.

The contact owns a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to slow the vehicle, with the brake pedal depressed all the way to the floorboard the vehicle failed to stop as intended. As a result, the contact had to go through a stop sign eventually coasting to a complete stop. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that the brakes had seized. The contact was also informed that the front end struts needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 140,000.

Hello. Writing to you about a serious safety concern on my 2023 Chrysler Pacifica hybrid. Overnight, I had it parked in my driveway, and this morning, I found it had rolled down the driveway. In addition, because it was plugged in charging overnight, the movement of my van rolling, caused it to pull on the cord and ultimately snapping my charging port. Fortunately,no one was walking at that time as you could understand the concern this would be if this had been the case and my van would’ve harmed someone. I checked my cameras, and it shows the van beginning to slowly roll on its own around 9:40pm until it reaches the end of my driveway. I believe the only reason it did not go any further is because our sidewalk is a bit raised where it meets the end of the driveway, which stopped it from sliding even further than it did. I would like to see if this is a known issue and if not make it aware as this is a serious concern to the public. Also what steps can I take to Chrysler to fix this issue, I don’t feel comfortable now with the car sitting idle in the driveway with kids playing. Also corrected steps to repair the damage to my car. I contacted the dealer and have an appointment scheduled for Friday 12/27/2024. Please see images of damage and start and finish of where the car was and lastly ended up. Please feel free to contact me about this.

My car will start, I will start to drive and when I am driving a “electrical stability” label will pop up on the dash and then the battery icon and check engine icon will show up on dash. My radio screen will go blank and then the car will shut off completely. It will then pop up on the dash and say stop safely vehicle with shut pff soon.

On November the 17th of 2024 this problem occurred for the third time in the past 90 days. I purchased this vehicle approximately 90 days ago so that means that has happened three times within the past 90 days. As I step on the brake pedal to stop the car accelerates and lunges forward. The first time this happened I was involved in an incident. The third time it happened took me through an intersection but I was wanting to turn left but because of the excessive acceleration lunging forward scenario I could not slow down the vehicle enough to make the left turn but continued through the intersection. After pumping on the brakes it finally stopped accelerating and I felt that I was under control then of the vehicle.

Adaptive cruise control slammed on brakes at least five times when nothing there in front or on the sides. First time I ended up with whiplash…now I hear it start to stop and I override system by speeding up. It also sometimes gets so close to car in front without braking so I have to manually brake. I’m concerned about being rear-ended if it slams on brakes for no reason. Five times there were no deer, people, etc.

See all problems of the 2024 Chrysler Pacifica 🔎.

Dash reads stop safely engine will shut off soon. Just before that the driver will loose power steering and brakes for a second. No acceleration or ability to stop safely have to just role and pray.

In December 2018 a recall on the shifter was issued for Pacificas 2017 and 2018. The emergency brake would engage when ignition was turned on and van would not go forward or reverse. We purchased our 2017 Pacifica van on November 24, 2020. We started having this issue again last year in September 2024. The van’s emergency brake engaged when husband stopped at a red light and couldn’t start the van until after four light changes. Drivers behind us were not happy. He finally got the car to the Chrysler dealership. They had it for 6 weeks without much communication with us and what the problem was. They put a diagnostic device on it and it drove fine from December 2024 until yesterday, March 9, 2025, when the same brake issue came up again and we couldn’t get van started. We left it in the parking lot and our son came and gave us a ride home. Around 10pm last night our son and my husband went back to see if they could get it started to at least get it home. Many tries were unsuccessful until the last try when our son had the driver side door open and turned on the ignition. On the screen it said “shifter needs service”. My husband had been unable to reach a service personnel to read the device on the van. In the meantime, I called another Chrysler dealer, told them what was going on with van, and asked about the recalls. The lady there was very nice and asked for the VIN on van. She looked it up and said the recall for shifter went out in December 2018, and the issue on our van was fixed in 2020. Is there a way to find the month and day as well as the year in the history? we purchased the van on November 24, in 2020. Is it possible the issue has returned? the recall said it had something to do with dashboard design and something was replaced with the dashboard that was a real safety issue. We were planning to leave tomorrow for an over 900 mile trip to see family and we are concerned about traveling safely. No one has yet to return our calls from the dealership.

Brake booster has failed. There was previously an extended warranty published for this same issue on November 11, 2023 (no d-22-15) for xa7 brake booster, however that expires after 5 years after the vehicle was placed in service or 150,000 miles (whichever is sooner). The brake booster failure on our vehicle happened just a few short months after this "expiration date" of the extended warranty. Also, the date of the extended warranty was issued was November 2023. This left only 5 months from the issuance of the letter to the expiration of the warranty, which does not seem to be a reasonable amount of time. Our vehicle is not safe to drive as the brakes are not functioning properly which could result in serious and fatal injury's to the occupants or other vehicles on the roadway. Additionally repair parts are not available to purchase and are on a "national back order". Attention needs to be given to this topic as there are many vehicles on the road that are not safe because of this lack of quality.