general problems of the 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid

The contact owns a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure occurred immediately after the vehicle was repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 23v010000 (electrical system, hybrid propulsion system). The vehicle was taken back to the dealer. The dealer requested that the vehicle be diagnosed and provided the cost for the diagnostic test. The contact declined to pay for a diagnostic test. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was 100,800.

The contact owns a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle decelerated and failed to accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that the hybrid vehicle battery capacity warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the check engine warning light also remained illuminated. The cause was not yet determined. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 74,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the messages "service hybrid system" and "service shifter" were displayed. Additionally, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the software update was completed under Chrysler campaign number: a14; however, the failure persisted. The check engine and the mil warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where Chrysler campaign number: z11 was performed. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it started after 45 hours. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The dealer received assistance from the manufacturer’s engineers; however, the failure could not be duplicated. The failure persisted with a beeping sound activated. The dealer diagnosed that the vehicle speed signals, the coolant bypass valve 'b' control circuit, the coolant two-way valve had failed, and the high temperature shut off valve had failed internally. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 23v010000 (electrical system, hybrid propulsion system), which the dealer related to the failure; however, the parts to do the recall repair were not yet available. The pcm was updated. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was unknown. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Phev van was charging overnight while plugged into house outlet (110v) using manufacturer supplied charging cable. At around 7 am we heard an explosion and found the van burning in our driveway. Vehicle was quickly engulfed in flames. Fire truck put it out after arriving (~5-6 minutes, I think). No one was injured, in or near the car when it happened. A nest camera across the street showed that the vehicle was smoking prior to the explosion.

Vehicle will not start with the lights flashing, disabling the vehicle for a number of hours until the battery is completely drained. After this, the car needs to be jumpstarted. When disabled the car does not jump start. This has happened 5 times in ~5 months I have owned the vehicle.

Driving from san francisco to las vegas at 70 mph the engine stopped. We were able to get off the expressway under some duress. We called emergency responders but after 30 to 40 minutes the car started again. A part was ordered (energy inverter modem) but has not arrived in almost three months. Afraid to use car out of town.

While driving at 60mph on freeway, vehicle lost engine power without warning and was no longer responsive to gas pedal. Not enough time to maneuver out of traffic. First occurred 2 weeks after new vehicle purchase. Out of service for 15 days then returned to owner after software update. Same problem occurred again 3 months later, driving on freeway at 60mph. Has currently been out of service for 19 days. Dealership service department has ordered new power inverter module (hybrid motor).

Engine caught on fire while driving.

While driving with my family on the highway at around 70mph, we experienced a loss of power. I coasted to the shoulder, across three lanes of traffic, with cars passing at 60+ mph on both sides. Once stopped, we noticed the smell of fire and evacuated the vechicle. Car is at dealership awaiting repair, technician stated vechicle still smelled like fire when they pulled it into the shop the morning after the incident. Technician also stated this is a known issue related to the catalytic converter.

My family and I were riding along at 70 mph and suddenly, the left side energy consumption meter started bouncing up and down. Some burnt rubber smell came through the vents and then the car just start slowing down. I was lucky there were no cars around me and was able to make it across 4 lanes to the right hand side shoulder. All of the lights on my dash were lit but the engine department obviously dead. I powered the car down and tried to crank it again but the computer was confused about which gear I was in. Now, the dash only showed the engine light and battery light. After trying this several more times, I gave up and called the fca tow truck which was a horror story all on its own. Took me longer to get and fca rep online and conversation finalized (30 min) than it took the tow truck to get to my location (15 min). Before the tow truck got to my location, I was able to start the car in gas mode after it died 45 minutes ago and hobbled over to a gas station a 200 feet away. The smell was still prevalent at this point. The tow truck towed the van to the service department where I bought the van (covert in austin) which just happened to coincide within the 10 miles towing limit for my case. This happened 10/6/2018. It's been 9 days and my van hasn't been looked at yet. Apparently there aren't enough hybrid techs to go around. Covert which is a larger fca dealership in the austin area only has 2 techs. In the mean time, covert lent me a loaner since the day I dropped the van off. Not sure what the problem is or when it will be fix. But this doesn't look promising.

The car engine was not responding when the car was stationary (in a parking lot) and all the electronics systems were continuously on for 3-4 hours and second row doors and trunk were not opening. The car can not be towed as the car wont go into neutral mode, the manual way to put the CA in neutral mode was using a yellow cable and the cable itself was missing. This is the manufacturers defect as the car is not fully loaded so its not functional. This happened twice within a week and caused lot of trouble to get help. Both the time I had to spend 4-5 hours to resolve the problem. The car will jump start after all the electronics system is off (after 3-4 hours) and then it would be drivable. I do not feel safe to drive this car anymore specially because I drive this car around the town with my kids. The car can shut off even while driving so its a dangerous car to drive around anywhere.

The car totally shut off when driving 20 mph. Full tank of gas. Brand new car with 5,000 miles on it. Called Chrysler -- they left us abandoned mid-road, they said it would take the 90 minutes. We purchased the top, perpetual warranty. Called aaa who got the car onto a flatbed. But no way to get it off because wheels are locked. Chrysler non-responsive. Car non-responsive.

Two weeks into ownership and with only 750 miles driven, the engine started smoking and caught fire while I was driving my family to lunch. I was heading eastbound on highway 18 in washington state, toward I-90. Updated 10/31/jb.

We were driving car at 25 mph on busy city road in gas mode (not electric mode) when the power steering and accelerator stopped working. The check engine and battery indicator lights lit up, and a message saying "car must be in park to continue driving" showed up on the dashboard. The brakes worked, and we coasted to a stop and were stuck in the middle of an intersection on a busy artery. When we put the car in park, it would not then go back into drive or reverse; the "d" and "r" gear lights were flashing. The car would not turn off, it would stay in run mode when we tried to turn it off. Battery operated functions, like power sliding doors, stopped working. Earlier in the day, the car had a rough idle while in gas mode.

The vehicle had no power at a stoplight. It was like the vehicle had completely shut down, but the power display was still on. I was unable to go forward and the car. I turned off the engine completely and after about 30 secs or so, restarted the car and then I was able to regain power. No warning lights or indicators came on. Then a burnt smell started coming from the car.

While driving at approximately 55mph, on an overpass ramp connecting two different freeways, driving uphill around a broad turn, the car suddenly became non-responsive to pumping the gas pedal or applying the breaks. Steering was still possible. I turned on the hazard lights and continued to steer the car around the bend as it decelerated (it was 25mph or less before I got it restarted). Concurrently, I shifted into reverse (I intended to turn the knob to neutral but overshot due to nerves), then back into neutral, and back into drive. At that point, the gas pedal became responsive again, and the car drove normally subsequently. At the time of the incident, the car was in electric mode (although given that the car was going up an incline on the freeway, it is possible that the gas engine kicked in briefly and I didn't notice), with approximately 50% battery remaining. Additionally, the car was under recall (u73/NHTSA 18v-332) for a cruise control problem and had not yet had the software update required to address the recall problem. However, cruise control was not engaged during this incident, and the dealership told me subsequently that the problem I reported was not part of the cruise control recall. The car was purchased new six months previously, and its first maintenance appointment was scheduled the day following this incident. No accident resulted from the incident, and the police were not involved. Driving conditions were optimal, with light traffic on a sunny, dry day.

Chrysler issued a u73 update as a recall in June 2018 or so and then quietly updated the same u73 software as part of their rrt 18-087 because the software update in June has been burning out catalytic converters and some cars are catching on fire. I feel that because this isn't a recall that more cars are going to catch on fire until it is. Please look at the facebook group "Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid-fire risk: read group announcement" for multiple people reporting about the issue. Fyi I had this update done on my personal car because I frequent the forums and facebook group. I personally did not have an issue but I've seen reports of many people who have.