What 1,475 owners told NHTSA about the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Awd

The contact owns a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while driving at 35 MPH and turning the steering wheel to the left or the right, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The power steering engaged and jerked the wheel to the left or the right of center. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 154,000.

NHTSA ODI 11691777

When I was taking curved exit, 10 mph over, the wheel got stuck and over corrected itself.

NHTSA ODI 11691789

When driving on the freeway, at around 65-75 mph, and on a gentle right bend, the steering wheel gets stuck. We can move it, but it jerks the car a little. It initially occurred rarely and was not easily reproduced. My dealer could not reproduce it. It is now becoming more common and a nuisance on road trips. It is also getting more stuck, resulting in more significance movements. I nearly left my lane when getting the steering unstuck this past weekend. We are going to see if our dealer can reproduce it.

NHTSA ODI 11691528

Steering seems to stick momentarily during turns. Especially on ramps.

NHTSA ODI 11691445

Steering sticks especially when going around turns. This is an inconsistent issue, and the car does not self-correct steering as normal and needs to be pulled back to neutral. There are no lights or warnings that this is going to happen. The car has been taken to a dealer who simply drove it around the block and said it is fine. It is not fine and if something happens to my elderly parents driving this car, this will be a much bigger issue. This becomes a higher risk when driving in high traffic areas as there is no warning that the steering is going to change. The safety risk is that the car cannot always be controlled well, and we are afraid this problem will worsen, and a manual override will not be enough. My father has been complaining about this for some time, today I drove them into the city for an appointment, almost 2 hours behind the wheel of this van, and felt first-hand how scary that is to happen when driving. I am happy to have someone come take this car for a drive and get this fixed before someone get hurt.

NHTSA ODI 11690552

Took vehicle to Chrysler Dealership on May 24, 2025 for issues one being the powersteering. For a little over a month, noticed steering sticks at 11 o'clock and the 1 o'clock. Chrysler confirmed. I have uploaded the report they sent. I know there is an ongoing investigation and would like to provide my vehicle in that report. I would also greatly appreciate a response if and when there will be a recall on this so I can get it fixed. I am unable to get this item fixed as I am on a limited income. It will take me a long time to save money to have this item fixed.

NHTSA ODI 11689887

Steering sticks or drags at 11:00 and 1:00. Will not return to center all the time. It is a safety factor. It has not been confirmed by a dealer. Said would be 2 weeks before they could make an appoint. No inspection of any kind. It happens every time I drive it.

NHTSA ODI 11689584

The contact owns a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while driving and making a right turn on several occasions, the steering wheel was sticking and failed to automatically return to center after the turn. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Action Number: PE25009 (Steering). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 59,000.

NHTSA ODI 11689160

The steering is sticking after car returns to original position from the curve road.

NHTSA ODI 11689295

When the wheel gets turned to the right to go around a curve, the steering wheel gets "Stuck". The car continues to turn when exiting the turn, and will only return back to center by having to pull hard on the steering wheel.

NHTSA ODI 11688752

When turning to the right, around 35-45mph on a sharp turn, the steering will stick. Yesterday the sticking was so bad it almost caused me to lose control in the middle of the curb. It does not stick when taking sharp turns to the left. The mechanic has not been able to locate the issue.

NHTSA ODI 11687147

The contact owns a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while turning to the left or the right, the steering wheel remained in the position the steering wheel was turned, instead of automatically returning to center. The contact used force to straighten the steering wheel. The contact stated that the failure was most persistent while turning; however, the contact noticed that the failure had started to occur while the steering wheel was slightly turned to the left or the right. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11686842

When turning vehicle back to the left after a slight right turn the steering wheel is difficult turn.

NHTSA ODI 11686885

Most noticeable when about to merge on to highway (so a very slight turn of steering wheel), it catches just slightly, causing me to jerk the wheel in over correction.

NHTSA ODI 11686576

I read that the NTSHA was looking into the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica's rack and pinion sticking at the 11 & 1 o'clock positions. Our did that a couple of years ago, but we had it repaired. Dealer replaced the rack and pinion, that fixed the issue.

NHTSA ODI 11686720

Mine has a looseness feeling yet on inspection everything like tie rod ends are good. Definitely at the 11 o clock position I can get a shudder or shimmy even at low speeds. Despite it feeling loose it’s tracking excellent on the highway like everything is tight. I also get a rattle like the tie rods are loose at speeds below 30. There is no looseness anywhere on inspection. If the wheel is shaken on a drive on lift you can feel the noise in the rack mostly on the left side. Happens every day.

NHTSA ODI 11686184

On December 28, 2024 my family and I were in a crash with our Pacifica van. In a gradual left turn at approximately 40 mph, the van slowly drifted to the right. I slowly corrected to the left with no affect. After slightly more left correct, the van cut hard left and crashed head into a concrete wall on the opposite side of the roadway. The steering correction inputs should not have resulted in such a hard left turn. The drift to the right should not have occurred and I was not able to correct for some reason. The vehicle was inspected by insurance and totaled. No other inspections were completed to my knowledge. There were no issues or warnings of a potential problem. We did suspect the lane keep assist system could have caused an over correction but have no way to confirm that.

NHTSA ODI 11686189

During a road trip at mostly highway speeds, we experienced an intermittent "sticking" sensation in the steering wheel while trying to recenter the wheel on turns, almost as if the power steering temporarily disabled, that required additional torque to turn the wheel back to center, after which the steering felt normal again until the next time it happened.

NHTSA ODI 11686283

While driving you feel the steering wheel sticking when at a certain degree. It has mostly occurred when on a curve and when going over 40 mph. We take several long trips and it has happened multiple times.

NHTSA ODI 11686368

When driving and turning wheel to the right it gets " stuck" and uses more effort to straighten wheel back. Sometimes it's "stuck" to the right longer than the turn in the road and about run off the side of road. Speed does not matter happens at any speed. Happens more often than before. Happening for year and half . Have took it to 3 different mechanics and they couldn't determine for sure the reason. Said electronic power steering should not fail.

NHTSA ODI 11686399

The vehicle will randomly shut itself off while it is operating causing the dashboard to flicker on and off before shutting down fully. The steering wheel gets stuck at the 1:00 position.

NHTSA ODI 11686461

When turning right, changing lanes, or taking a circuar exit the steering wheel will feel stuck. You have to move the steering wheel in the opposite direction before continuing your turn. Once I let go of the steering wheel and it was locked in place duing a turn. Not as frequently, but I also experienced this while turning slight left to pass a vehicle in a passing zone on a 2 lane road. The delaership has been unable to resolve this issue. This started happening in 2024, but it wasn't until spring 2025 that is became a consistent problem that wasn't resolved by new tires, front end alignment, new brakes, or new struts.

NHTSA ODI 11686466

When turning right, changing lanes, or taking a circuar exit the steering wheel will feel stuck. You have to move the steering wheel in the opposite direction before continuing your turn. Once I let go of the steering wheel and it was locked in place duing a turn. Not as frequently, but I also experienced this while turning slight left to pass a vehicle in a passing zone on a 2 lane road. The delaership has been unable to resolve this issue after having new tires, 3 front end alignments, new breaks, and new struts.

NHTSA ODI 11686468

Unknown. Steering wheel sticks most days. Happens especially when turning and driving around a curb. Have felt this multiple times a day.

NHTSA ODI 11685843

Steering exhibits a sticking sensation on gradual right or left turns, like while driving along a wide sweeping cu4ve on a road. The steering hangs and does not return to center, and I have to pull it back to center.

NHTSA ODI 11685847