2018 Chrysler Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid: multiple warning lights

Filed Feb 7, 2024 · Electrical, Engine · TX

Tried to start car. When start button was pressed the dash lit up like a Christmas tree. Multiple error messages. FCW unavailable, power steering unavailable, fuel door open, park brake unavailable, park sense unavailable, Service hybrid electric system, power steering unavailable. The gear indication, both on dash and by shifter was flashing. The car would not turn off. I had to open hood and disconnect 12v battery for the car to power off. Waited 10 seconds and connected 12v and it power on, but the check engine light is still active

Filed Feb 23, 2023 · Electrical, Engine · FL

While driving at a low speed in a neighborhood, received the message "Service Charging System" then within seconds car completely died. No engine power or electrical systems working, all lights and screens were black. Was able to pull over and park safely.

Filed Sep 23, 2022 · Electrical, Engine · CA

While driving an a well paved road, I received a check hybrid system alert on my dashboard. Then several lights bean to flash including the blind spot alerts on the side view mirrors and several other alert system. Adaptive cruise control and lane change failure alerts also went off. I was only two miles from home and managed to get back. The engine did not cut out. The next morning, it started up but just a few miles into testing it out, the same alerts and light appeared, but this time the engine died along with the power steering. I coasted to roadside, turned off the car, and waited for 5 to 10 minutes. I started it up and drove it home. The engine remained on but the lights and warning continued to flash. The emergency lights also cut out periodically. I managed to drive the car to a Chrysler dealership I've visited in the past. The diagnostic alert on the Mopar app said there was a problem with the Electronic Throttle control (ETC) and the service person that looked over the diagnostic saw several system failure and alerts when he viewed the diagnostic record. At this point, the dealership has had my car for the week and the problems persist and now it won't go into gear. They still cannot determine the source of the problem. I contacted the Chrysler support line to ask them to escalate the problem. There is an open recall on this vehicle, but the parts are still not available to fix it. It only has 101,000 miles on it. I've found several complaints from Pacifica Hybrid owners related to the same ETC alert.

Filed Oct 21, 2018 · Engine, Fuel system · 1,400 miles · TX

My family and I were riding along at 70 MPH and suddenly, the left side energy consumption meter started bouncing up and down. Some burnt rubber smell came through the vents and then the car just start slowing down. I was lucky there were no cars around me and was able to make it across 4 lanes to the right hand side shoulder. All of the lights on my dash were lit but the engine department obviously dead. I powered the car down and tried to crank it again but the computer was confused about which gear I was in. Now, the dash only showed the engine light and battery light. After trying this several more times, I gave up and called the fca tow truck which was a horror story all on its own. Took me longer to get and fca rep online and conversation finalized (30 min) than it took the tow truck to get to my location (15 min). Before the tow truck got to my location, I was able to start the car in gas mode after it died 45 minutes ago and hobbled over to a gas station a 200 feet away. The smell was still prevalent at this point. The tow truck towed the van to the service department where I bought the van (covert in austin) which just happened to coincide within the 10 miles towing limit for my case. This happened 10/6/2018. It's been 9 days and my van hasn't been looked at yet. Apparently there aren't enough hybrid techs to go around. Covert which is a larger fca dealership in the austin area only has 2 techs. In the mean time, covert lent me a loaner since the day I dropped the van off. Not sure what the problem is or when it will be fix. But this doesn't look promising.

Filed Aug 22, 2018 · Engine, Fuel system · 11,000 miles · CA

Incident #1 (7/17/2018) - while breaking towards a traffic light that turned from red to green, I attempted to accelerate but heard a loud popping noise, felt the van lurch, and immediately lost all power to the vehicle. Numerous warning lights appeared on the dashboard including engine light & power/hybrid plug-in failure. I was able to steer to the side of the road and break to a stop, and restart 1-2 minutes later. Brought to chrysler dealer on 7/20 and was told on 7/21 upon pickup that the issue had been rectified via software update. Incident #2 (7/23/2018) - while moving slowly in traffic, I attempted to accelerate as the vehicles ahead of me moved and again lost all power with the same set of errors/warnings mentioned in incident #1. Once again, after 1-2 minutes I was able to restart the vehicle. I brought to a different local chrysler dealer that same day. Picked up the vehicle on 7/24 and was told that after thorough multi-point mechanical inspection with the fca engineers, the company believed the previous dealer had incorrectly applied the software update. Dealer test drove the vehicle for 20 miles and could not recreate the issue. Incident #3 (8/21/2018) - while again moving in traffic, my wife (with our 1 year old in the back) again suddenly lost all power as mentioned in incident #1 and #2 above, except she also had the steering completely lock up on her. She was able to break to a stop mid-traffic and restarted the vehicle 1-2 minutes later. Soon thereafter I called fca corporate directly and have requested a full repurchase of the vehicle and plan to pursue lemon law remediation if that doesn't lead to resolution. All three incidents are life threatening in nature and have not been diagnosable by multiple chrysler dealerships working in conjunction with fca engineers. (image provided from incident #2)