2018 Chrysler Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid: won't start

Filed Aug 3, 2023 · Electrical, Transmission · MD

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? - The dealer / manufacturer is unable to determine the root cause. The car shut down while I was driving on the highway. It does not start, meaning no engine turnover to operate / drive the vehicle. The only known issue was the recall for the electrical component failure. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? - Yes, both myself and others on the highway were at great risk. As my car shut down, I lost control of the vehicle - no power steering or ability to use the accelerator. My vehicle slowed to 40mph in the right lane, while other vehicles including trucks were still traveling at high speeds and quickly approached my vehicle. They did not see the hazard lights until they were only 20 feet away. This was very close to a fatal accident. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? - No. There is no solve to the issue. They claim, however, that they are replacing the *entire* transmission and think that this will fix the car. Yet, this seems to be an entirely separate, unrelated issue. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? - No Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? - Yes, I received an error message 1 day prior. See attachment photo of dashboard. I was instructed by the dealer to drive it into the dealership the very next day - the day the car shut down on the highway.

Filed Jan 25, 2023 · Electrical, Transmission · TX · crash

Pacifica Hybrid Limited found completely dead in our driveway and unresponsive to the remote. I manually unlocked the driver door, no usual dash indications, opened the hood and found the 12v battery system at 2.9v. It would not start & no responses or indications. There had been no warnings or indications of any problems prior to this. The car prevented my 6 A charger from charging the battery while it was connected to the car. I jump started the car with a known good battery, removed the jump, and allowed the engine to charge the car battery some. I decided to take no chances and replace the 12v battery. I turned the car to the OFF state via the dash push button. The car was never moved out of P park. I left it to go purchase a new 12v battery. I returned 2 hours later with a new battery to find the car in the street and having knocked over my neighbors 700-800 lb brick mail box. A police report was filed, pictures taken, and I jump started the car with the new battery. It started normally and I backed it up under its own power into my driveway where I replaced the 12v battery without incident. The car has operated normally with no warnings or indications of a problem before and since the incident. The car on its own and while OFF, unlocked the transmission park pawl allowing the car to roll 80 feet down a very mild slope and across the street to crash into my neighbor’s mail box when the 12v battery failed. There was no occupant, and no key fob was present. My quick search has found at least 3 other incidents with this same model, where the 12v battery failed and the car, on its own, unlocked the transmission allowing it to roll away. Of the 4 incidents I am aware of, 3 resulted in collisions and property damage. the federal safety agency 11173732 Pacifica Forum post: 597914, member: 76986 Pacifica Forum post: 543399, member: 66469 It’s only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured or killed by this defect. Chrysler is aware. The car and battery are available for inspect

Filed Nov 11, 2020 · Electrical, Engine · 41,000 miles · KS

My car purchased in 2018 from reed jeep chrylser in overland park kansas. In september of 2020, the vehicle was in hybrid/electric mode and stopped running as we were driving down the street. We were driving slowly and able to coast to the right side of the road and were able to safely leave it on a residential street. The car would not start and it was not an issue related to the starter or battery. We had the car towed to the dealership. The problem was reviewed by the engineering team with chrysler and it was found to be a computer electrical hybrid component. Originally, chrysler advised they had no replacement part anywhere in the country. After two weeks, they advised they would be able to get a component from the component manufacturer but that it would take time. The car remained in the service center for at least two additional weeks. They replaced the regular battery and performed recall on other components during this time as well. A little over a month later, the same failure/problem occurred. Fortunately, we were again on a residential street and leave it. A couple of hours later, we were able to start it and get it back to our residence. We tried to charge it using the 240v charger we had but the car would not take any additional charge even though not fully charged. Three days later, we returned the car to the dealership with the same complaint and were told that they could not find any problem with the car. Our overarching concern is safety, as there is no warning as to when the car will shut down.

Filed Sep 4, 2019 · Electrical, Transmission · 4,500 miles · GA

On august 7, while I was driving on a state highway, around 30 MPH, my van suddenly stopped and would not start again. I was stuck in the middle of the road for about 5 minutes while the car made noises and the check engine lights and other dashboard warnings flashed. After a few minutes I was able to restart my car to move it to a safe location. My "micromechanic" engine light reader gave me codes u0401 and u0100, lost communication with ECM/PCM and invalid data received from ECM/PCM- and said the car was unsafe to drive. I had it towed to the dealership. After about a week, the dealership said they rebooted the computer and test drove the car about 15 miles and it was working again. They said it was safe for me to drive and had me pick it up. I had the car back for 10 days. On august 22, I was attempting to leave work. The car was stationary in the parking garage. When I started my car, the same thing happened - it began flashing and beeping. I was unable to turn the car off or move the car. When I pushed the ignition button instead of turning the car off it would re-cycle and begin beeping again. I ran the micromechanic and it gave me the same codes u0100 and u0401 dealing with ECM and PCM. I had to stay with the car 2.5 hours to wait for the tow truck and the entire time it beeped and flashed - I was unable to turn it off. I had it towed back to the same dealership, where it still is currently. Both times this occurred the car was not charged electrically but had gasoline fuel.

Filed Feb 23, 2019 · Electrical, Engine · 4,500 miles · CA

Vehicle will not start with the lights flashing, disabling the vehicle for a number of hours until the battery is completely drained. After this, the car needs to be jumpstarted. When disabled the car does not jump start. This has happened 5 times in ~5 months I have owned the vehicle.

Filed Feb 2, 2019 · Brakes, Electrical · 950 miles · AR · crash

Two weeks after purchasing this vehicle, it started having numerous electrical issues. Finally on a friday, the check engine light came on. Called th dealership and they said to bring it in the next week. Went to work. (battery has been fully charged) came out of work and vehicle would not start. Then it started going crazy. Wipers going. Lights flashing. Does wouldn't open. All without car being turned on. Called the dealership and they gave me a loaner and towed the car to their lot. The next morning I received a call that the vehicle had rolled into another vehicle overnight and crashed. On its own. With no keys in it dealerahip is lewis chrysler in fayetteville ar and they said they have video footage from their security cameras. Luckily I was able to retract my contract for purchasing this vehicle and buy another one. And luckily no one was hurt. These vehicles are not safe and need to be investigated. A week before this happened, I was driving down a busy street going 45mph and the car shut off. Luckily I was able to coast into a parking lot and restart it but it could've been much worse. If you go on pacificaforums.com there are so many stories of similar issues. Some much scarier.

Filed Jan 14, 2019 · Brakes, Electrical · 680 miles · CA

This morning my 2018 hybrid limited was dead. I purchased it new three weeks ago. It had been plugged in overnight using the 110 charger that came with the van. It would not start, and briefly flashed some kind of service needed warning on the screen. Then the screen turned off and the vehicle repeatedly made a clicking sound. The van was completely unresponsive. I noticed the windshield wipers were ever so slowly in motion back and forth. I checked the switch but the wiper was set to the 'off' position. None of the wiper controls would change the setting. The dealership set me up with a number for chrysler tow. I was on the phone about 20ft away when suddenly the van started rolling backward down the driveway and into the street! I ran over and checked it and still everything was unresponsive, the wipers no longer moving however the parking brake button, and shifter buttons, and overhead lights were flashing. We had the van towed to the dealership. They said the battery was bad and replaced it. Below is a post about my experience with more information and videos: https://www.pacificaforums.com/forum/433-2017-chrysler-pacifica-phev-hybrid-general-discussion/41697-battery-dies-pacifica-hybrid-rolls-out-driveway-into-street.html also here is video taken immediately after it rolled. Note the interior lights actively flashing including the parking brake indicator as well as the digital shifter knob lights. Https://youtu.be/6_ly7blnjns https://youtu.be/jfcp0idbfqi also, after researching online I found someone else who also had the brakes disengage with 12v battery issue.. Her experience can be found here (see post #3): https://www.pacificaforums.com/forum/433-2017-chrysler-pacifica-phev-hybrid-general-discussion/40261-brand-new-hybrid-completely-died.html chrysler needs to address this serious and dangerous issue!