2019 Chrysler Pacifica Power Train
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
Engine shut down warning while on the highway stating to pull over as the engine was going to shut down. No power to accelerate during this time. This is the second time this has happened and the first time the transmission needed to be replaced under warranty. The problem persists despite Chrysler’s attempts to fix.
When driving the car with not shift for a long time and then shifts hard into gear.I can also smell an odor some times. I have kids I don’t want to be driving and it cause me to wreck or catch fire. Other people I know had the same problem. This needs to be addressed.
The transmission is starting to jerk and make hard abrupt transitions from gears
The transmission is very unresponsive and dealerships don’t find anything wrong other than resetting the computer every 2 days. The transmission clunks and jerks the car going into 2nd and or 3rd gear. Many times I press the pedal in highway/city driving and the transmission takes 2.5 to 3 seconds to respond. This is not the electric model. Online tons of people talk about this it’s a safety hazard to have an unresponsive clunky transmission. Reputable companies are naming this the worst car. Cars.com wrote an article over this very problem. [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The contact owns a 2019 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the RPM's increased rapidly, but the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway, where the failure persisted. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 204,000.
The contact owns a 2019 Chrysler Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH down a winding mountain road, the message “Pull Over Immediately - Vehicle will Shut down Soon” was displayed. The contact pulled over and was able to restart the vehicle. The contact stated that the message was displayed three times. The vehicle was driven to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that a software update and transmission rebuild were needed. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 70,200.
Internal failure of the electronic shifter assembly. Essentially the shifter would lock into place in undesired gear-for example-attempt to move into D, would move to R and lock up so the only way we could get it to stop moving/into desired gear was to immediately power off (even though not in P) and try again on restart (which is very scary thinking your car may reverse or move foward w/no ability to stop it). This occurred on multiple occasions prior to bring to dealer, when children present in the car, and did not consistently occur every ignition. Currently vehicle is at Cornerstone Ford/Chrysler/GMC in Elk River and they have ordered the part (Nationwide backorder), estimated stock date w/in 7d but suspect seeing nationwide shortage-is this shortage due to many vehicles needing replacement-that alone would make me suspect need for safety recall! The vehicle hasn't been inspected by anyone but the dealer, no warning lights/messages/other symptoms that we noted.
Van engine failed during driving. This is a known issue by Chrysler and they will not repair the underlying problem - this is related to a prior recall. Instead, it only suggested replacing the battery which is a temporary fix. Separately, this van has a pending recall due to a fire risk. Unable to use the plug-in hybrid function of the van nor park it in a garage due to the recall issue. It has been almost four months since the recall notice without any news of when Chrysler will fix this problem. I requested a buy back due to the inherent risk of severe injury from simply being inside this van but was denied.
Vehicle was found to be overheating, with low coolant. Initial concern for possible hose leak, but nothing visualized on inspection...testing demonstrated a blown head gasket and possible warped cylinder. This is a recurring problem for Chrysler Pacifica's that Chrysler refuses to address. There were no warning signs before hand.
6/20/24: Driving on highway. Message comes up "Stop Safely Vehicle Will Shut off Soon" and a turtle lights up on the dashboard. I pull over and turn van off. I turn it back on and message is still there. I turn it off again and this time quickly open and close the door to completely shut down the electric. Turn it back on and message is gone but check engine light is on. Drive home and then drive more during the evening with check engine light on the entire time. 6/21/24: Start the car in the morning and check engine light is off. Able to travel for about an hour and then, driving on highway, same message comes up and I do the same thing. Check engine light stays on again but message goes away. Drive for about 20 minutes and the message comes up again. Again I pull over and do the same series of things as described. Car allows me to drive but check engine light is on. Do not drive the car for the rest of the weekend. 6/24/24: Start car in the morning. Check engine light is on as I drive it about 5 minutes to my local mechanic. He runs the codes and does the research and tell me that I need a new transmission and it is under warranty. I pick up the van later to take it to dealer and the check engine light is off. Drive to dealer and now the dealer says there is nothing they can do if the light doesn't go back on. They are saying that I have to experience this same problem on a highway with my family in the car for them to fix it even though there is a recall on this transmission.
Clunking from the transmission and this is a common issue with many pacificas. There is a “reset” online but this temporary solves the issue. At times it’s very dangerous when driving when the transmission clunks when finding another gear.
The van started with very jerky shifting around 70,000 miles. The car would, at times, lurch hard forward when shifting. Eventually, a Chrysler dealer looked at the transmission and determined it needed replaced. The replacement transmission started with the same problems after about 20,000 miles. Van currently has only 115,000 miles.
On [XXX] around 12:00 PM, while traveling northbound in the HOV lane at 70 MPH on [XXX] near [XXX] , with two small children in the passenger row and two adults in the front, the following error suddenly appeared on the dashboard: "Stop Safely -- Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon." Power to the engine stopped as a result and the car coasted. A "red turtle" warning and a "Check Engine" error also displayed. No other errors, unfamiliar sounds, or mechanical noises preceded these errors, nor had there been any other recent problems with the car. We pulled over to the shoulder immediately and turned the car off for approximately 5 minutes to see whether the errors would persist. With the "Stop Safely" error no longer on the dashboard, we turned the car on again and drove it to the dealership. On that drive, the previous errors appeared a second time. The dealership, Carl Burger Dodge Chrysler Jeep RAM World (La Mesa CA), has confirmed that the transmission needs to be replaced and that it is unsafe to drive the vehicle until the transmission is replaced. On August 30, 2024, the dealership said that they are waiting for Stellantis to release the transmission and "that won't happen any time soon." As of today, September 2, 2024, Carl Burger has failed to provide a timeline for the replacement and have informed us that we must deal with Stellantis in order to get the case escalated and the car repaired. They have also refused to offer us a replacement/loaner vehicle while ours is in the shop. Mileage: 51,000 Stellantis Case Number [XXX] Dealership: https://www.carlburger.com/ INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Vehicle more and more frequently clunks the transmission when accelerating or shortly after excelerating to highway speeds. First started around 60k+ miles. Can tell when it will occur because the engine RPMs don't match the throttle input. RPMs rev just as transmission is ready to shift. Slight feeling of being out of control for a moment, especially in the rain. A quick Google search shows us that the shift jolt isn't new and is actually exactly what was happening with the Honda Odyssey van, which used to share the same transmission. Dealership acknowledged the issue has occured with multiple customers but Chrysler doesn't warrant the concern due to the $8,000+ service expense.
The Front head gasket failed near cylinder 6 causing a mixing of fluids and a "wash out" in the cylinder. This is not repairable and the whole engine must be replaced. 70,100 miles, 10,000 miles past it's warranty.
This Pacifica shifted hard from 1st to 2nd gear about a month ago. We were driving 75 mph and then the vehicle lost all power on the interstate. Had to shut the car off and turn it back on before I continue on my way.
The contact owns a 2019 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while stopped on an incline, the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact restarted the vehicle and the failure recurred while reversing. The contact restarted the vehicle however, the failure persisted after shifting to drive(D). The lights on the gear shifter started to flash with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact restarted the vehicle and drove to the residence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the vehicle was not under recall or covered under warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 96,000.
When the vehicle is preparing to shift gears it almost stops like it is going to stall, then when it finally does shift gears the entire car jolts. It started off only doing it occasionally but now does this multiple times in a short 15 minute drive.
Requesting an N.H.T.S.A. an investigation into the 2019 Chrysler Pacifica defects as they relate to this specific model & vin number, leased directly from a Connecticut CJDR dealer as a new vehicle. Vehicle currently has 53k miles on it. The lurching & hard shifting defects in the transmission are well cited back to 2016 for this model. Our minivan began lurching forward during gear shifts at &/or approaching highway speeds (37mph - 59 mph) at ~35k miles, while on the highway or roadway with this permissible speed. Problem was intermittent & is now constant. Transmission lurching, & slamming began last year is so aggressive that the slamming woke my son from a sound sleep and vibrated the front cabin. A complaint has been made to Stallantis & the vehicle has been brought to the local CJDR dealer four times for the same issue. There is no code, so they can not fix the issue, nor can they can get the van to re-create the issue in the 7 or 8 miles they test drive it. Blogs have shown updates to the PCM and TCM. Service Bulletin NUMBER: 21-027-17 as a possible fix, but we did that & nothing has changed. TCM has no updates. Stallantis is now telling me I need to bring it back to the dealer and leave it for several days so they can "drive it home" & add more miles to the miles I have already added to it to have it diagnosed, back & forth the dealership & it's a lease. Stallantis is stating they will "look at it" even if the power train warranty is over at 60k miles, but won't guarantee they'll repair it. In the past they have given me Mopar vehicle protection plans for the life of the lease for specific issues, when these issues have not been fixable. Case manager says he isn't aware of that & has to check with his supervisor. The concern is the vehicle is going to have a total transmission failure with my children in the van. A "Star" case needs to be opened by Stellantis for this issue & I am going to request that tonight. Service bull. attached. CC. Atty Gen./CT.
Low speed while slowing accelerating van will shift so hard that the traction control goes off. Very hard shifting. Intermittent. This has been reported numerous times since 9 speed trans were installed.
On two separate occasions vehicle went into limp mode (red turtle mode) and then within minutes lost power and completely stopped working. The message "Service Charging Station" appeared after both incidents on the dashboard. We were fortunately traveling at low speeds (less than 25 MPH) and were able to pull over before losing power, but under other circumstances on other roads, the outcome could have certainly been worse and we may not have been able to move over to safety. On both occasions we were left stranded and the vehicle had to be towed to the dealership for repair. The vehicular failure we experienced on both occasions appears to be the same that is currently being investigated in the Office of Defects Investigation PE 22-008. The first incident occurred in December of 2021. Eventually the dealership replaced the power inverter module (PIM) in February of 2022. Vehicle was road tested and checked for safety and returned to us. In June of 2022 the vehicle broke down again with the exact same chain of events. Vehicle is currently at the dealership for repair and is again awaiting replacement of the PIM. It is my understanding that the failed parts have been/will be sent to Chrysler for internal investigation. As far as I am aware, they have not been inspected by any other parties. Other than the car going into limp mode, there were no other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure.
My transmission or other powertrain components have failed several times. While driving my vehicle has a hard time shifting gears. When It does find a gear it Jerks hard forward. That happens most days. Last week it completely disengaged in the middle of an intersection and would not find a gear for about 20 seconds I could not accelerate at all. I was scared and almost got hit from incoming traffic. I have repeatedly reported the problem to the dealership I bought it from and our local chrysler dealership. They have told us that without a malfunction code from our van they don't know what to fix or what the problem is. The technician that drove our van said the transmission slipped while he was driving, but that it only happened once while they had it. I am scared to drive this van with my children.
The following has happened twice. Once with me and once with my wife. The van is in reverse. My foot is on the brake. I am getting ready to reverse the van to get out of a parking space. Suddenly, the van lurches forward when I take my foot off the brake. The lurch is not soft of mild, it is shocking and frightening. In one case, we hit the car parked ahead of us. In both cases, had a person been in front of the car, he or she would have been surely injured.
The contact owns a 2019 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that on two separate occasions while at a complete stop, the vehicle shut-off as the stability control and service shifter warning lights illuminated. The contact had the vehicle towed twice to the dealer after each failure. The first time the dealer replaced the shifter assembly; however, the failure returned two months later. The second time, the dealer stated that the range switch had failed, and they made additional repairs to the vehicle. The contact stated that she does not feel safe driving the vehicle and had left the vehicle since the second repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 10,376.
TRANSMISSION WILL ONLY GO INTO 9TH GEAR AND ENGAGE AT SPEEDS UP TO 61 MPH, IF IT DOWNSHIFTS TO GO UP A HILL IT WILL NEVER EVER GO BACK INTO 9TH GEAR AGAIN UNLESS YOU SLOW DOWN TO 61 MPH THEN SLOWLY ACCELERATE TO GET IT TO STAY IN 9TH TOP GEAR? I TOOK IT TO CHRYSLER DEALER AND THEY SAID WELL YOU MIGHT NEVER SEE 9TH GEAR THAT'S HOW THEY RUN. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE, CHRSYLER NEEDS A UPDATE TO ITS PROGRAMMING FOR BETTER SHIFTS... *TR
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Quick Summary
The 2019 Chrysler Pacifica has 28 Power Train complaints on file. 1 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.