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

The contact owns a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while his wife was attempting to park the vehicle with the brake pedal depressed, the engine unexpectedly began to rev. The vehicle then accelerated inadvertently, resulting in a collision with a pole in front of the parking space. There was no damage to the pole. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was towed to a collision center, and the insurance company declared it a total loss. No police report was filed. No injuries were sustained. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 76,000. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ODI 11683184

While driving, the motor began to vibrate and lose power as if not firing on all cylinders, and acted as if it was going to stall in the lane of travel, causing me to have to pull off to the shoulder abruptly, striking a mailbox. The vehicle does not display any trouble lights or show any error codes on diagnostic equipment at an independent garage. Vehicle idles roughly.

NHTSA ODI 11482907

While traveling on a dry highway, with good tires/new tires, and decelerating from 45 mph and approaching a red light, and a moderate, but firm pressure on the brake to bring the van to a full stop, the speed decreased to 15 mph, with the tachometer stable at 800 rpm and then to 10 mph, with both hands on the wheel, left foot on the dead pedal, and right foot on the middle of the brake pedal. As the speedometer made the transition at 10 MPH, the tachometer surged to 1500 RPM and then to 3000 in under 3 seconds, which cause me to initiate an emergency action drill of stabbing the brake pedal hard three times and rotating the transmission control to the lowest gear. The transmission refused to shift lower, and the control of the vehicle turned on oa wrestling match and the tachometer surged from 1500 RPM, them 3000 RPM, then 4500 RPM, and then 6000 RPM, each time the vehicle acting like it was repeatedly being rear-ended at a speed exceeding 15 MPH. The engine could not be disengaged and aceelaretd uncontrollably to over 40 MPH, through a busy intersection, and required over 24 hard break stages over a 10 second period to actually stop the car, and the engine refused to disengage until stopped. Once the car was restarted it immediately surged forward trying to fight through the hard applied brakes. The cruise control was never on the entire time. I then stut down the engine once I was able to wretle it to a stop with the engine climbing to over 4500 RPM. I then took this vehicle to a safe area, and repeated the conditions, and again as the vehilce speed dropped below 15 MPH, and certainly below 10 MPH, the egine tachometer increased in steps of 1500 MPH, 3000, 4500, 6000 RPM, and no control could be achieved other then violently "stabbing" the brake pedal. Under controlled conditions the behavior was repeatable over 20 times. This is a life threatenign defect, and it appears to be software in origin. I have CAN data streams from the events (23) and video.

NHTSA ODI 11433618

30,390WHILE CRUISING ON INTERSTATE, (2/6/21, 3:17 PM, DRIZZLING, 55 DEGREES F, AT 70 MPH IN CRUISE CONTROL) INSTRUMENT PANEL GOES BLACK, ENGINE SHUTS OFF, POWER STEERING GOES OFF, RT PASSENGER WINDOW DESCENDS ALL THE WAY, WIPERS GO OFF, CRUISE GOES OFF, GEAR INDICATOR SWITCHES (ON IT'S OWN FROM DRIVE TO NEUTRAL, TO PARK. COASTING TO SIDE LEFT OF SIDE OF THE (UNDER CONSTRUCTION) SHOULDER (RT SHOULDER IS BLOCKED BY JERSEY BARRIERS) INSTRUMENT CLUSTER COMES BACK ON. I SHIFT FROM PARK TO NEUTRAL, TO DRIVE, WITH NO EFFECT ON DRIVABILITY. I STOPPED OFF THE ROADWAY AND SHUT OFF THE IGNITION. INSTRUMENT CLUSTER HAS BATTERY AND FCW WARNING LIGHTS ON. THERE IS A DISTINCT SMELL OF AN ELECTRICAL FIRE. I CHECK UNDER THE HOOD TO LOOK FOR OBVIOUS FIRE SOURCES. NONE ARE APPARENT. I CHECKED THE BATTERY CONNECTION. THIS APPEARS AS NORMAL FOR THIS VEHICLE, NOT TIGHT ' BUT NOT LOOSE EITHER. I CHECKED THE FUSE BOX. I DID NOT HAVE A FUSE INDICATOR TOOL WITH ME AND DID NOT ATTEMPT TO PULL FUSES. SEEING NO OBVIOUS FIRE SOURCES I SHUT THE HOOD. FIVE MINUTES AFTER STOPPING I TRIED THE IGNITION AGAIN AND THE CAR STARTED. THE RT PASSENGER WINDOW WAS TO 3' SHORT OF CLOSED, THEN IT STOPPED. I PULLED BACK ON THE HIGHWAY AND RESUMED THE TRIP. THE FCW WARNING LIGHT WAS STILL ON. CRUISE CONTROL WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE DRIVER'S SIDE MIRROR WARNING INDICATOR WAS ON. ON 2/7/21 I CHECKED THE CAR. ALL POWER DEVICES ON THE RT FRONT DOOR WERE NOT ACTIVE. I CHECKED THE FUSES AND DETERMINED THAT AT LEAST ONE HAD FAILED (F47). I ATTEMPTED TO REPLACE THE FUSE. IN DOING SO THE RT PASSENGER WINDOW IMMEDIATELY RETURNED TO THE FULLY CLOSED POSITION, THE FUSE BLEW AS I PUT IT IN, THE SMELL OF BURNING ELECTRICAL WIRE WAS APPARENT INSIDE THE CAB, BUT NOT UNDER THE HOOD.

NHTSA ODI 11395580

WE HAVE TAKEN OUR 2017 CHRYSLER PACIFICA TO THE DEALER TWICE FOR A CONTINUOUS ISSUE OF HARD SHIFTING MOSTLY IN 1ST & 2ND GEARS. WE HAVE BEEN JOLTING AND HAVE HAD THE VEHICLE COMPLETELY SHUT OFF ON US.I WAS GOING ABOUT 12 MPH. ON MONDAY, JAN. 13, 2020 MY 3.5 YO DAUGHTER AND I WERE ON A SLIGHT HILL AND THE CAR SEIZED UP AND LOST ALL FUNCTION. I SLIDE (I WAS ON A DIRT ROAD WITH SOME SNOW) INTO A DITCH AND LOOKED OUT THE WINDOW TO SEE A LARGE AMOUNT OF RED FLUID ON THE GROUND. WHEN I EXITED THE VEHICLE I NOTICED THE DISTINCT SMELL OF TRANSMISSION FLUID. MY DAUGHTER AND I WERE STUCK FOR HOURS DEALING WITH THIS SITUATION. I FEEL VERY UNSAFE IN THIS VAN. I AM CONCERNED IF THEY TRY TO "FIX" THE PROBLEM I WILL BE IN THE SAME SITUATION AGAIN.

NHTSA ODI 11300555

WE APPARENTLY HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM AS MANY OTHER CHRYSLER PACIFICA OWNERS. THE VAN HARD SHIFTS INTO GEAR AND IT FEELS LIKE SOMEONE HAS RUN INTO THE BACK OF OUR VAN. (IT SERIOUSLY HURTS YOUR BACK AND NECK.) THE DEALERSHIPS HAVE RESET THE COMPUTERS, ETC BUT IT HASN'T SOLVED THE PROBLEM. WE'VE BEEN TOLD BY THE SERVICE MANAGERS THAT THEY'RE FAMILIAR WITH THIS COMPLAINT BUT THAT CHRYSLER HAS TOLD THEM THAT THE VAN IS SHIFTING CORRECTLY, THEY CANNOT DO ANYTHING MORE AND THEIR HANDS ARE TIED UNTIL CHRYSLER COMES UP WITH A DIFFERENT SOLUTION.

NHTSA ODI 11271141

WE PURCHASED THE VEHICLE IN SEPT 2017. ABOUT A MONTH AFTER WE PURCHASE THE BRAND NEW VAN, WE STARTED HAVING ISSUE WITH THE TRANSMISSION SLAMMING IN TO GEAR. THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED, WE LITERALLY THOUGHT THE PERSON BEHIND US AT REAR ENDED UP THE JOLT WAS THAT BAD. UPON PULLING OVER AND INSPECTING, WE DISCOVERED WE WERENT. OVER THE LAST 23 MONTHS, WE HAVE HAD NOTHING BUT ISSUES WITH THE TRANSMISSION. IT SHIFTS SO AT TIMES IT MAKES YOU DIZZY. THIS TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 10-17 MPH. IN AUGUST 2018, OUR FAMILY WAS ON OUR WAY TO A FUN DAY WHEN AT 10MPH THE VAN SLAMMED SO HARD ALL 5 OF US IN THE VAN FELT OUR NECKS CRACK AND WE GOT DIZZY INSTANTLY. NEEDLESS TO SAY, WE HAD TO PULL OVER BECAUSE I COULDNT SEE STRAIGHT TO DRIVE AND MY ELDERLY MOTHER HURT FOR 3 DAYS. I TOLD HER TO GO TO THE ER FOR PROOF THAT THE VAN IS HURTING THE PEOPLE DRIVING IT. WE HAVE CALLED THE DEALERSHIP ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS AND THEY WONT DO ANYTHING. TELLING US THEY CAN REPROGRAM THE TRANSMISSION. GIVE IT TIME, THE TRANNY NEEDS TO ADJUST HOW WE DRIVE NEVER FIXES THE ISSUE AT ALL. WE HAVE AN ALMOST 2 YEAR OLD TODDLER AND WE ARE PETRIFIED TO TURN HER TO FORWARD FACING IN FEAR IF THE TRANSMISSION SLAMS, IT WOULD BREAK HER NECK. YES, THE VAN HAD 32,000 MILES OR SO ON IT BUT ITS OUR PRIMARY VEHICLE. WE CANT SIT HOME AND TWIDDLE OUR THUMBS. SO, YES UNFORTUNATELY WE HAVE TO STILL DRIVE THIS VAN, EVEN IF IT KILLS US.

NHTSA ODI 11255131

WHEN MY PACIFICA IS STATIONARY THE FOLLOWING DANGEROUS ACTION OCCURS EVERY TIME. WHEN THE TRANSMISSION IS PLACED IN PARK AND MY FOOT IS REMOVED FROM THE BRAKE PEDAL, THE CAR WILL ROLL BETWEEN 6 INCHED TO 1O INCHES. I HAVE BEEN TOLD BY TWO DIFFERENT CHRYSLER DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENTS, "THAT IS NORMAL". I KNOW THAT THIS IS NOT NORMAL BECAUSE I HAVE TALKED TO AT LEAST THREE OWNERS OF THE SAME MAKE YEAR AND MODEL THAT TELL ME, THEIRS DOES NOT ROLL IN PARK. IN ADDITION I HAVE OWNED AT LEAST 2 DOZEN CARS, TRUCKS, AND RVS AND NONE OF THEM ROLL IN PARK. THE FIRST TIME I WAS STANDING AT THE REAR OF THE CAR TO GET SOMETHING OUT OF THE REAR AND THE CAR HIT ME AND MADE ME LOSE MY BALANCE. I HAVE BEEN PUSHED BY THE PASSENGER DOOR SEVERAL TIMES WHEN I GET OUT FIRST AFTER MY WIFE HAS PUT THE TRANSMISSION IN PARK BUT BEFORE SHE TAKES HER FOOT OFF THE BRAKE. I NOW TRY TO REMEMBER TO STEP AWAY FROM THE CAR AS SOON AS I EXIT. IN THE NEXT STEP IT SAYS WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN. I AM GOING TO USE TODAY'S DATE BECAUSE IT HAPPENS EVERY DAY. IT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR AT LEAST A YEAR MAYBE LONER. IT HAS BEEN LONG ENOUGH THAT I CAN NO-LONGER REMEMBER THE FIRST INCIDENT.

NHTSA ODI 11195598

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 CHRYSLER PACIFICA. WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND THE "SHIFT TO PARK CHECK ENGINE" WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT ALSO MENTIONED THAT THE VEHICLE LOST COMPLETE POWER AND THE CLOCK NEEDED TO BE RESET. THE CONTACT ALSO MENTIONED THAT THE FAILURE RECURRED WHILE AT A STOP LIGHT. THE VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO RESTART. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO HALL CHRYSLER DODGE JEEP RAM CHESAPEAKE (3353 WESTERN BRANCH BLVD, CHESAPEAKE, VA 23321, (855) 544-8545) WHERE THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE SYSTEM NEEDED TO BE UPDATED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL AUTO SHOP WHERE THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE WIRING HARNESS WAS BURNT, BUT IT WAS NOT DETERMINED IF THAT CAUSED THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED AGAIN. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 44,000. *TT UPDATED 11/29/18* JB

NHTSA ODI 11139446

WHILE IDLING AT A LIGHT AND PRESSING PEDAL TO GO. MY 2017 CHRYSLER PACIFICA FAILED. LIGHTS STARTED. FLASHING IN DUST CYCLING THROUGH CHECK ABS, CHECK TIRE PRESSURE, ETC... CAR WAS IN DRIVE AND WAS ROLLING BACKWARDS WITH BREAKS AND STEERING NOT WORKING. THIS RESULTED IN AN ACCIDENT ROLLING INTO THE VECHICAL BEHIND US. THE NICE INDIVIDUAL THE WE CRASHED INTO WAS ABLE TO CATCH THE FAILURE ON HIS DASH CAM. WE HAVE BROUGHT IN THE VAN ON OTHER OCCASIONS TO HAVE IT LOOKED AT FOR TRANSMISSION WANTING TO LAUNCH FORWARD WHEN GOING FROM IDLE. THEY STILL CAN NOT FIGURE IT OUT AND TOLD USE NO RECORD IN SERVICE REPORTS WITH OTHER HAVING ANY PROBLEMS. AFTER A 10 SECOND SEARCH WE FOUND OTHERS HAVE HAD SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH SAME MAKE AND MODEL. THESE. CAN BE FOUND ON CONSUMERS REPORTS. WITH. OUT A GUARANTEE THE BREAKS AND STEERING WILL NOT GO OUT AGAIN I DO NOT WANT THE CAR BACK. I. JUST. WANT MY MONEY BACK. THE SELL THIS THING AS A SAFE FAMILY VEHICLE, BUT LOOSING BREAKS AND STEERING IS NOT WHAT I WANT MY FAMILY IN. THEY STILL CAN NOT FIGURE OUT WAY IT HAPPENS.

NHTSA ODI 11093876

THE VEHICLE HAS 950 MILES ON IT, A ROTATORY GEAR SHIFT KNOW, AND AN ELECTRONIC PARKING BRAKE. AT HOME I PARK THE VEHICLE ON A LEVEL SURFACE. I DO NOT ENGAGE THE PARKING BRAKE WHEN I LEAVE THE VEHICLE. ON QUITE A FEW OCCASIONS WHEN I ENTER THE VEHICLE AND TURN ON THE ENGINE, THE PARKING-BRAKE LIGHT COMES ON AND THE BRAKE IS ENGAGED EVEN THOUGH I DID NOT SET IT. FOR MOST OCCURRENCES, I CAN PRESS THE PARKING BRAKE BUTTON, AND THE LIGHT WILL GO OFF AND THE BRAKE WILL DISENGAGE. HOWEVER, ON SOME OCCASIONS, PRESSING THE BRAKE BUTTON GIVES NO RESPONSE. IF I TURN THE ENGINE OFF AND THEN BACK ON, THE BRAKE THEN DISENGAGES. A FEW TIMES I HAVE HAD TO TURN THE ENGINE ON AND OFF MORE THAN ONE TIME TO GET THE BRAKE DISENGAGED. A MORE SERIES PROBLEM WITH THE PARKING BRAKE IS THAT ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS THE BRAKE HAS SUDDENLY COME ON WHILE I AM DRIVING. THIS HAS OCCURRED WHEN I HAVE STARTED THE ENGINE AND DRIVEN ABOUT 100 FEET. IT HAS OCCURRED WHEN I AM MOVING FORWARD AND WHEN I AM BACKING UP. THE BRAKE SUDDENLY ENGAGES AND BRINGS THE VEHICLE TO AN ABRUPT HALT. ON THESE OCCASIONS PRESSING THE BRAKE BUTTON GAVE NO RESPONSE. I HAD TO TURN THE ENGINE OFF AND BACK ON. 7/5 I STOPPED AT A PHARMACY DRIVE-UP WINDOW, AND PUT THE VEHICLE INTO PARK. AFTER MY TRANSACTION, I ROTATED THE GEAR KNOB TO DRIVE, AND THE PARKING BRAKE LIGHT THEN WENT ON. I PRESSED THE BRAKE BUTTON MULTIPLE TIMES, AND THE LIGHT WOULD NOT GO OUT. I THEN TURNED THE ENGINE OFF AND BACK ON. (TO DO THIS I HAD TO HAVE PRESSURE ON THE BRAKE PEDAL.) WHEN I TURNED THE ENGINE BACK ON THE VEHICLE TOOK OFF AT SIGNIFICANT SPEED, AND I CRASHED INTO A STREET LIGHT POLE. WHEN A TOW TRUCK CAME TO GET THE VEHICLE THE TRUCK OPERATOR FOUND THAT THE VEHICLE GEAR KNOB WAS IN THE PARK GEAR. HE HAD A GOOD DEAL OF DIFFICULTY IN GETTING THE VEHICLE INTO NEUTRAL GEAR FOR THE TOWING PROCESS. HAVE PICTURES UPON REQUEST. .....UPDATED 11/03/17 *BF ..UPDATED 11/13/2017*JS ...UPDATED 11/17/17 *BF *JS *TR

NHTSA ODI 11003478