2018 Chrysler Pacifica Steering
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
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Steering is sticking. While turning the wheel at speed the steering sticks and does not automatically straighten out requiring the driver to manual straighten out of the turn. Very dangerous.
2018 Pacific Vas (limited edition) has 51,000 miles on it. For the past two weeks the van has experienced loss of power steer on multiple occasions and it will last for just a few seconds to a few miles. If I shut the vehicle off and turn it back on that generally solves it. The loss of power steer has happened at an idle to up to 60 plus miles per hour. Online research shows a recall for this specific issue however, when I enter my VIN my van is not affected. I have also had other issues with the van such as third row getting locked up, passenger door not opening, stop/start feature not working, van says "pull over vehicle will stop soon".
Minivan has 59,194 miles. While driving home the power steering stopped working. It lasted a a second or two and a message displayed something about power steering unavailable. Then it started working normal, but a few minutes later it happened again - lasting a second or two. The first time was on the highway - second time on secondary roads at 55 MPH. VERY scary. The steering wheel was unresponsive - I wasn't expecting the loss of movement. Didn't dare drive it the next day. Took it to a local mechanic, but they were not able to find anything - stated it matched the description of the recall for steering issues - but my minivan wasn't part of the recall.
I was driving 10 days ago on a 75mph highway and suddenly a red light pops up in the dashboard and the steering wheel got really stiff and I could not move it, only about a 1/2” to each side. It lasted around 1 minute but seemed forever as I felt I was in a very dangerous situation since I had trucks behind me and I had to lower my velocity, while shaking and fearing for my life. I never got the opportunity to read exactly what the dashboard said. After that, everything seemed “well” for up to yesterday (one week after first incident). I was driving a 40mph road and it happened again. This time I was able to read the message that said “power steering unavailable” even though it disappeared really fast. This incident only lasted around 30 seconds, but put me in a really dangerous situation once again, because an SUV was about to hit me since I could not turn the curve of the road. I fear for my life and the life of my 3 children if I use my Pacifica again. That same day I called for service at my local Chrysler so that they could help with this very dangerous issue and they did not give me an appointment until 2 weeks from that day. They mentioned they hadn't had a client with this issue before, so I don’t know what’s going on but this is a threat to my families safety. Please help!! P.s. I googled this issue and read that there had been issues and had been recalled but I never recieved a recall for my vehicle as I should’ve. I will add photo of this article.
While driving the steering locks up and a message comes on that says power steering unavailable. It does not happen every time but lately it has been more frequent. This prevents me from steering and I have to try to pull off the road to shut the vehicle off and restart it. It is difficult to steer on a curve when your steering is locked up. This has happened at various speeds.
DURING LONG AND SHORT DRIVES VEHICLE RANDOMLY LOCKS THE POWER STEERING. DRIVER THEN HAS TO MANUALLY MANEUVER VEHICLE, WHICH BECAME DIFFICULT FOR DRIVER. HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES ON THE INTERSTATE, HAD TO PULL OFF AND THEN STEERING WOULD UNLOCK AND POWER STEERING WOULD COME BACK. FEW MILES IT WOULD DO IT AGAIN.
TWO OCCURRENCES OF COMPLETE LOSS OF POWER STEERING ASSIST DURING ONE DAY. FIRST OCCURRENCE WAS WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 25MPH IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA. VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN INTO PARKING LOT AND PARKED. THE NEXT OCCURRENCE WAS DURING THE NEXT DRIVE CYCLE AND OCCURRED IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED AND PLACED INTO REVERSE. POWER STEERING RETURNED WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS THEN PLACED IN DRIVE. ON BOTH OCCASIONS. WARNING WAS DISPLAYED ON DRIVER INFORMATION CENTER BUT CLEARED WHEN STEERING ASSIST RETURNED. NO MIL OR STORED MESSAGES ACCESSIBLE BY VEHICLE OWNER. APPROXIMATELY 1,800 MILES ON VEHICLE.
WHILE IN MOTION, A LOSS OF POWER STEERING IS OBSERVED. THERE DOESN'T APPEAR TO BE ANY SPECIFIC SEQUENCE OR EVENTS TO CAUSE THE ISSUE, AND APPEARS TO OCCUR RANDOMLY. INSTRUMENT CLUSTER INDICATES THAT THERE IS A LOSS OF POWER STEERING, AND TO SERVICE SOON. A RED LIGHTNING BOLT IN THE UPPER LEFT CORNER REMAINS ON FOR AS LONG AS THE POWER STEERING LOSES FUNCTION. ISSUE HAS OCCURRED BETWEEN 1 - 4 TIMES IN A DAY, AT WIDE SPECTRUM OF SPEEDS (STATIONARY AT RED LIGHT, AND BETWEEN 30 - 125 KM/HR)
POWER STEERING LOSSES ALL ASSISTANCE AND ITS VERY HARD TO HANDLE THE VEHICLE . MESSAGE SHOWS UP ON DRIVER DISPLAY THAT SAY POWER STEERING SYSTEM IS NOT AVAILABLE. THIS HAS HAPPEN NUMEROUS TIMES WHILE DRIVING FROM 20 TO 50 MPH AND SOME TIMES WHILE STOPPED. VEHICLE HAS 19K MILES ON IT. HAS BEEN AT THE DEALER 2 TIMES AND HEADING BACK A THIRD TIME WITHIN THE LAST 2 WEEKS FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. FIRST THEY CHANGED THE GEAR RACK 19001012 AND EPS MODULE RETURNED VEHICLE. DID NOT EVEN LEAVE THE DEALERSHIP PARKING LOT AND THE PROBLEM WAS BACK. RETURNED VEHICLE FOR ANOTHER SERVICE AND THIS TIME THEY CHANGED EPS WIRING HARNESS. HAD THE VEHICLE FOR 3 DAYS AND PROBLEM IS BACK, TAKING BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR THE 3RD TIME. THE LOSS OF POWER STEERING ASSIST IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE AND WILL LEAD TO AN ACCIDENT AND MAYBE EVEN DEATH.
AS I WAS DRIVING ON A THREE LANE INTERSTATE WITH ALL THREE OF MY CHILDREN IN THE AUTOMOBILE THE POWER STEERING INDICATOR LIGHT CAME ON AND I COULD NOT STEER MY CAR. I PUT ON MY FLASHERS AND STARTED BEEPING MY HORN TO ALERT OTHER DRIVERS. THANKFULLY, I WAS ABLE TO FIND A CLEAR PATH OVER TO THE SHOULDER. AFTER I WAS STOPPED FOR ABOUT 30 SECONDS THE INDICATOR LIGHT WENT OFF AND THE STEERING CAME BACK.
2018 CHRYSLER TOURING L PLUS PURCHASED 4/23/2018. ON 3/25/2019, WHILE DRIVING ON A CLEAR DRY ROAD IN LATE AFTERNOON AT 50 MILES/HOUR ON A MAIN ROAD LEADING INTO OUR CITY, THE STEERING SUDDENLY TURNED HARD RIGHT (COULD NOT CONTROL IT) AND THE VEHICLE WENT OFF THE ROAD. NO INJURIES (SIDE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED), BUT SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO VEHICLE. IT MAY BE A TOTAL LOSS. IT'S UNBELIEVABLE THAT NOBODY WAS KILLED OR HARDLY PHYSICALLY INJURED, BUT BOTH DRIVER AND PASSENGER (A VERY YOUNG CHILD) ARE TRAUMATIZED BY THE EXPERIENCE WITH THIS NEW VEHICLE. *DT*JB
ELECTRIC POWER STEERING SUDDENLY WENT OFF AND STOPPED WORKING WHILE DRIVING AT THE HIGHWAY SPEED LIMIT OF 65 AND AT 75. IT HAS HAPPENED A TOTAL OF 7 TIMES DURING A ONE WEEK PERIOD WHILE ON 2 TRIPS. MY VAN HAS 15,500 MILES ON IT. SO FAR IT HAS ONLY OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING IN A STRAIGHT LINE. IT HAS HAPPENED WITH CRUISE CONTROL ON AND WITH IT OFF. IT HAS HAPPENED WITH TEMPERATURES IN THE MID TO UPPER 20'S AND WHEN IT WA S IN THE UPPER 60'S.
I WAS TRAVELING ON I-95 NORTH BOUND IN SOUTH CAROLINA AT 75 MPH IN THE FAR LEFT LANE. I WENT TO SHIFT BACK TO THE CENTER LANE WHEN THE POWER STEERING COMPLETELY FAILED AND SENT US ACROSS 3 LANES OF TRAFFIC. WE ALMOST SIDESWIPED A SEMI-TRUCK. I WAS ABLE TO BREAK ENOUGH TO END UP BEHIND THAT TRUCK IN THE FAR RIGHT LANE AND REGAIN CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. THE RED STEERING WHEEL LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED ON THE DASH BOARD WITH A MESSAGE POWER STEERING FAILURE SERVICE REQUIRED. I WAS ABLE TO MAKE IT TO THE NEXT OFF RAMP AND ONCE ABOUT HALF WAY UP THE RAMP THE POWER STEERING STARTED WORKING AGAIN. SEVERAL HOURS LATER THE POWER STEERING WENT OUT AGAIN THIS TIME I WAS GOING STRAIGHT AT 65 MPH IN NORTH CAROLINA. IT REMAINED OUT FOR A FEW MINUTES AND THEN STARTED WORKING AGAIN. IT DID THIS 4 MORE TIME ON OUR TRIP FROM FLORIDA TO MARYLAND. ON ONE OCCASION WE WERE IN TRAFFIC IN VIRGINIA AT 5 MPH AND IT WENT OUT FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES BEFORE WORKING AGAIN.
I WAS DRIVING MY VEHICLE DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT APPROX. 30 MPH AND MY DASH STARTED TO BEEP STATING THAT I HAD NO POWER STEERING AND I WAS UNABLE TO TURN MY STEERING WHEEL. I BROUGHT THE CAR BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY TOLD ME THAT IT WAS ALL COMPUTERIZED AND THAT IT SHOULD NOT HAPPEN AGAIN. AFTER I LEFT THE DEALER AND DROVE DOWN THE HIGHWAY AGAIN MY VEHICLE CONTINUED TO LOOSE POWER STEERING BUT ONLY AFTER THE VEHICLE WOULD ACCELERATE. WHEN I WOULD COME TO A STOP THE COMPUTER MESSAGE WOULD GO AWAY AND THEY VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO BE TURNED AND DRIVEN AS NORMAL.
AT ABOUT 12900 MILES, THE CAR SUDDENLY HAD PROBLEMS FOR ABOUT 15 MINUTES AFTER STARTING WITH MAINTAINING POWER STEERING. A LIGHT ON THE DASHBOARD WOULD BE LIT AND SAY THAT THE POWER STEERING IS UNAVAILABLE AND NEEDED TO BE SERVICED AND IT WOULD BE OUT. THEN IF WOULD COME ON AFTER A WHILE AND THEN MIGHT GO OUT AGAIN FOR A TIME. I WOULD BE STARTING THE VEHICLE IN THE MORNING AFTER SITTING ALL NIGHT AND I WOULD DRIVE IT, EVEN WHEN IT WAS OUT BECAUSE I HAD TO GO TO WORK.
2018 PACIFICA HAS 218 MILES ON IT. BOUGHT IT 4 DAYS AGO. WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD THE POWER STEERING COMPLETELY FAILS. WHEN THIS HAPPENS VAN PULLS HARD TO THE RIGHT. THIS HAS HAPPENED 3 TIMES. POWER STEERING SERVICE LIGHT, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ARE BOTH ON. TURNING VAN OFF AND RESTARTING FIXES THE PROBLEM, FOR AWHILE. CALLED DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD " THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE". TAKING IT IN FIRST THING MONDAY MORNING.
THE CAR WAS PUT IN DRIVE AND WAS DRIVING AT 20 MILES AN HOUR. SUDDENLY THE POWER STEERING WAS LOST. THE CAR WOULD NOT TURN AND HAD TO TURN THE CAR OFF AND ON AGAIN TO FIX THE PROBLEM. THE PROBLEM OCCURRED AGAIN AFTER 20 MINUTES. THE STEERING WAS STUCK AND TURNING THE CAR OFF AND ON AGAIN RESOLVED IT. I AM WORRIED IT WOULD HAPPEN AGAIN ON THE HIGHWAY AND AM TAKING IT TO THE DEALER. *TT *TR
I HAVE HAD MY VEHICLE EXACTLY 1 MONTH. I HAVE NOTICED WHEN TAKING A SHARP RIGHT OR LEFT TURN GOING APPROX. 20MPH, THE STEERING WHEEL WILL RIP OUT OF MY HAND. TODAY WHILE DRIVING STRAIGHT GOING ABOUT 34MPH MY POWER STEERING WAS COMPLETELY GONE AND I HAD A LIGHT FLASHING ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL TO SERVICE POWER STEERING. I PULLED OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WHICH WAS VERY DIFFICULT, TURNED MY VEHICLE OFF AND THAN BACK ON AND IT HAD RESET ITSELF. NOT HAPPY WITH LESS THAN 1,000 MILES ON THIS VEHICLE.
DRIVING AT 45 MPH IN VERY LIGHT TRAFFIC, THE POWER STEERING ON THE VEHICLE FAILED IN 'TURNING TRAFFIC' MAKING IT NEAR IMPOSSIBLE FOR MY WIFE TO PHYSICALLY BE ABLE TO CORRECT THE DIRECTION OF THE VEHICLE. SHE CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP AS THE VEHICLE WAS UNRESPONSIVE WITH AN ERROR BEING REPORTED ON THE DRIVER INFORMATION CENTER LOCATED CENTER/DASH WHERE THE ERROR REPORTED WAS THAT THERE WAS A POWER STEERING FAILURE AND THE VEHICLE SHOULD BE TAKEN TO A CHRYSLER DEALER FOR IMMEDIATE SERVICE. PROBLEM: POWER STEERING FAILS ACTION TAKEN: STOPPED, RESTARTED AND ERROR MESSAGE WAS NO LONGER PRESENT. TRIED ON 3 SEPARATE OCCASIONS TO REPRODUCE THE ISSUE WITHOUT SUCCESS. NOTE: I HAVE BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL IN REPRODUCING *BF *TT UPDATED 9/20/18*JB
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Quick Summary
The 2018 Chrysler Pacifica has 69 Steering complaints on file. 1 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.