2017 Chrysler Pacifica Engine

Oil leak from oil filter housing

2017 Chrysler Pacifica at 70k miles, check engine light came on. After engine warm up, engine starts to rough idle. Diagnosis is misfire on cylinder 2 (code P0302). In addition, vehicle voltage fluctuates in gage cluster between 12-14 volts. No issue until engine is warm and no issue above idle or with load. Injectors were checked and fine, coils and leads were replaced. Fix did not work. Took to Chrysler dealership for addition diagnosis. Dealership diagnosis is cylinder head warpage due to overheating. Single owner of vehicle, regularly maintained and with no “low coolant” engine light.

Blown head gasket

P0302 code triggered the CEL. Spark plug showed signs of coolant spark plug, and leak down pressure test presented a leaking cylinder head gasket. Disassembly of the air intake manifold revealed the oil cooler was leaking oil and mixing oil with coolant.

The check engine would blink and the engine would shutter for a few minutes when the van would start. It would drive around normal. A few days later the van would not start at all. We checked both batteries and they were not the issue. We then towed the van to a Chrysler dealer who checked the starter and alternator, those were both good. They stated the engine was seized and quoted $15,000 for a new motor.. the van has 120,000 miles on it. The van is worth less than the quote we received.

I noticed when I am driving the van would lose power and or the the transmission would shift very hard and stall the car engine would then take off very fast or slow. I reported the car to the dealership that I purchased the car from and to the customer service at the Chrysler Pacifica Corporation no one will help me I told them that the car was very dangerous while driving.

The coolant leaked into the engine and blown the headgasket. This has been confirmed by Pepboys who work on my car. It has not been inspected by manufacturer or others. It started by causing the ignition coil to fail and the engine would start rough and check engine light would come on. started around 5/1/2025

The check engine light came on. Upon using a code reader, a code for a misfire in cylinder 3 populated. The ignition coil was replaced for cylinder 3. About a month later, the check engine light came back on and all 6 spark plugs were replaced. My vehicle had some rough starts periodically. As time went on, the rough starts turned into serious shaking. The check engine would come on and be gone in a day or so. Every time the code reader read cylinder 3. After months of trying to trouble shoot and do what we could, we took it to a mechanic where they informed us that my vehicle had a blown head gasket. They revealed to us that this is a very common problem with the particular engine, 3.6L Pentastar. This is a problem that they have seen for years in this particular engine. The mechanic had to send part of my engine out to a machine shop to be re-drilled properly in order to fix the issue which was very costly. The safety of my family was put at risk as the gasket blew while we were driving down the freeway unsure if we were going to make it home. My vehicle has not been inspected by anyone other than ourselves, the mechanic and the machine shop.

The engine failed at 57,400 miles. My wife was driving with our kids and engine locked up. I took to the dealership and they said that the engine block and head is warped and cracked. The engine needed to be completely replaced. My warranty period was over and company did not want to stand behind the product and help with any repairs. They said the vehicle overheated but that never happened during this time.

Cylinder 5 was misfiring causing driveability problems. If the engine were to fail completely, then the vehicle could become uncontrollable and cause an accident. The manufacturer knows about the problem but has not issued a recall. The vehicle was repaired by the local car dealer. The problem occured around 57000 miles on the odometer. A check engine light did come on.

The contact owns a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an engine misfire with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a misfire in cylinder #3. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was informed that the vehicle was undrivable. The dealer declined to release the vehicle without repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 74,600.

Engine has a blown head gasket at 80k miles. Number 3 cylinder keeps misfiring due to the engine coolant being injected into the cylinder due to the blown head gasket. Poor engineering with this engine and I’ve read several others have experienced this same issue. Please do a recall for this issue due to the warranty not wanting to cover this!

2017 Chrysler Pacific diagnosed with leaking head gasket at ~65000 miles. Initially diagnosed from a check engine light code for a cylinder misfire. My private mechanic said that he has done 4 of these in the past month (Jan 2025). He said this is a costly repair that should not happen with this low of mileage. In exploring the problem, it appears that it is a known issue.

I do all routine maintenance on my car and do my standard oil changes on time. I only have 80K miles on my car and may now have a head gasket issue. I have seen many online posts that there are many users that have experienced this issue and some looking to possibly do a class action law suit. Has this issue been looked into as a potential recall? When speaking with the dealership I advised that my check engine light had come on and I took it to my local repair shop and the code indicated it was either a coil or spark plug that needed to be replaced. My repair shop checked and it was the spark plug that needed replacing. The car was fine for 2 weeks then the engine light came on again. When speaking with the dealership they said that yes the code will usually first present as a coil or spark plug and the engine light stops blinking since it assigned a code. So that is why my engine light went off but now came back on. I am not sure why this should not be addressed by the manufacturer if so many people are having this issue with a head gasket issue with such low mileage. This repair is going to cost 1k-4k to fix which is ridiculous in an engine that is maintained and has only 80K miles.

The oil filter housing and oil cooler unit is made of plastic, mounted to the central engine (metal). It warped with heat and caused oil to leak into the valley of the engine and cause failure of bay 3 and 5 fuel injectors which caused multiple cylinder misfire. My engine experienced this problem for the first time in a busy intersection. With the engine heaving I had to pull over and tow the van to a shop. The faulty oil cooler unit was confirmed by dealership diagnostics and was not covered under warranty. I have the original part. This a recurring problem with many other drivers online and an aluminum aftermarket part has been made to solve this problem. The original part should be recalled and replaced by Chrysler. The EGR hosing is made of brittle plastic and split/cracked of its own accord. I have pictures and most of the original hose.

Blown head gasket and oil cooler leak

This vehicle has been totaled about a week ago. I meant to report this earlier but since we're moving (military) I never had the chance. Around april 2023, I noticed my pacifica had a misfire. I assumed it was plugs and wires so I replaced them - check engine for misfire went away. A few weeks later same thing happened. This time, I was loosing coolant. Took it to a chrysler dealer top have it properly diagnosed fearing the worst - they told me without even looking at it that this particular year of pentastar on the pacifica has blown head gaskets and that they change them all the time. I decided to repair the head gasket myself and I did so and drove the vehicle up until last week when it was totaled. There are many others experiencing this same issue with the pacifica and Chrysler needs to do something about it as it typically happens around 75-85K miles. Mine was no different.

2017 through 2024 Pacificas with the 3.6 Pentastar engines have problems that in case of coolant leaks in the system, it leads to a engine coolant reservoir low level which allows air to enter the system and causes unrepairable damage to the engine that needs it to be replaced. ROOT CAUSE is FAC / Stellantis / Chrysler FAILED to install a simple and cheap engine coolant reservoir low level warning sensor which would save the majority of the people with blown head gaskets all this grief and expense. The 3.6 Pentastar engine uses aluminum heads with an open skirt design which means that the cylinder heads are weak and prone to warping under ANY overheat condition.

The contact owns a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed a burning odor inside the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. In addition, the contact was informed that the engine was operating on five cylinders instead of six. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that previously the check engine warning light was illuminated, and the vehicle had been taken to an independent mechanic several times. The contact was informed that the failure was due to a plastic piece that was missing from the engine. The contact stated that the independent mechanic reset the vehicle and the check engine warning light was off. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

2017 Chrysler Pacifica with 103,000 miles experienced a blown head gasket.

2017 Chrysler Pacifica Touring L with 3.6L engine. Odometer 78623 miles. Noted rough idling of engine for a few seconds when started. Later in day, at low speeds, check engine light came on solidly (no flashing) for a few seconds and then turned off. Early next morning took van to reputable local mechanic who has maintained the vehicle according to Chrysler recommendations. They pulled error code P0305 Cylinder misfire. They removed and inspected spark plug which showed minor deposits. Looked in cylinder with bore scope which showed orange-redish discoloration on piston. Put new spark plug on #5 and swapped coil #5 with coil #3. Coolant was low but no coolant leak was discovered. Van never had an overheating episode. All maintenance was performed according to Chrysler recommended schedule, first by local Chrysler dealership, and then by this same mechanic shop. Diagnosis, warped or fractured cylinder head resulting in coolant leak into cylinder. Pictures were taken by shop and available on request.

The contact owns a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power with no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 168,854.

Engine light came on. Independent service operator noted leaking coolant and oil. Sent camera into cylinder from misfiring spark plug and discovered broken head gasket. The car is available for inspection on request.

Engine head gasket failure requiring a complete engine replacement

Head gasket failure and warped cilinder @ 73K miles. Sounds like this is an extremly common problem and wanted to report it here. Vehicle is currently awaiting repairs at dealership. i was quoted $6,000 for repairs.