2020 Chrysler Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid engine problems

Filed May 23, 2025 · Electrical, Engine · 57,016 miles · OH

The contact owns a 2020 Chrysler Pacifica Plug-in-Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 MPH the vehicle lost motive power. The contact stated that the "Turtle Symbol” was displayed with the message "Vehicle Will Shut off Soon - Pull Over" displayed. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer; however, the failure was not duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred, and the vehicle was taken back to the same dealer. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure again. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure occurred while driving at various speeds and was a recurring failure. The manufacturer was contact and referred the contact to a dealer for a diagnostic test. The failure mileage was 57,016.

Filed Sep 20, 2024 · Engine · DC

A coolant leak in the engine led to contamination, misfiring spark plugs. Check engine light came on while driving, and very soon thereafter (~3 minutes) car began sputtering while accelerating and shaking while idle. Acceleration seemed particularly unreliable and dangerous, leading driver to immediately exit the highway and continue straight to dealership on back roads. Dealer found that coolant had leaked into the engine, causing the need to replace right side cylinder head, gasket and spark plug.

Filed Sep 6, 2024 · Electrical, Engine · MO

After driving a few minutes gas engine died and received "Stop safely vehicle will shut off soon" on cluster as well as a turtle icon.

Filed Aug 10, 2024 · Electrical, Engine · WA

I was driving in a remote region of Washington in high heat (101 F) outside of Pasco, when my car alerted me that it was going to turn off and I needed to pull the car over and stop before it shut off. I had to rapidly decelerate and dodge other vehicles to make it to the shoulder of the highway. When I pulled over and shut it off, it reported that the charging system was broken and needed to be repaired. Once off, the car would not start back up. I called for a tow through my State Farm insurance but had trouble getting a vehicle to my location. After an hour of being stranded on the highway in high heat with small children, the car finally turned back on, with the check engine light on. I took it to the Chrysler service station in Walla Walla. They said that the car showed no errors and that it was safe to drive. The check engine light turned back off. I researched this and it’s related to recall 03A, which I am now having performed. The problem is that the fix they are doing for 03A does not fix the underlying problem — it just changed the text of the error message and adds potentially a few more seconds before the car turns off and I lose control of the vehicle. I don’t understand why this “fix” was accepted if the car is still unsafe to drive. I would expect Chrysler to have to replace the faulty components in the transmission. I often have to drive in remote, unpopulated areas in bad weather, icy conditions, etc. Even with the “fix”, the car will not be safe to drive in such conditions. What if my car turns off when I’m on a mountain pass on an icy road? If I survive the crash, I’ll still be stuck on the side of the road in freezing conditions. I am extremely disappointed that the federal safety agency approved this “recall fix” that leaves these vehicles unsafe to drive. Because of the problems with this car, I can’t get very much for it in trade-in, and honestly it would be unethical to sell it to an unsuspecting family. Now I’m stuck with an expensive, unsafe vehicle.

Filed Jul 21, 2024 · Engine, Fuel system · IA

We were traveling 70 mph down a steep incline and suddenly the vehicle, a Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, displayed the warning "Pull Over - Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon" and immediately the vehicle lost all motive power. I was able to pull over to the side of the road safely. This is the second time this has occurred. The first time a Chrysler dealership did not fix the problem. The code pulled was P0A43 related to the 03A recall.

Filed Jun 24, 2024 · Electrical, Engine · GA

Got the stop safely Vehicle will shut off soon warning. My wife was upset and not sure what to do. Was able to start again but now we don't trust the van

Filed Dec 18, 2023 · Engine · OR

Check engine light came on first in 12/2021 because of a failed coolant heater. Dealer repaired under warranty in 8/2022. Loud/rough idle started 2/23 dealer could not determine what was causing the sound. Started noticing empty coolant bottle once a month. 11/23 check engine light came back on indicating coolant heater failed again. Still noticing vehicle losing coolant. Vehicle begins rough idle again and misfiring code in #3 cylinder. Dealer requires diagnostics to determine reason for coolant heater failure since they replaced in 8/22. soonest appointment avail for diagnostic is [XXX] Misfire continues. On [XXX] goes in “limp mode” take it immediately to the dealer, service advisor clears codes sends me on my way. Take vehicle to scheduled diagnostic on [XXX] and they determine the cause of the rough idle is the valve cover seal leaked oil into spark plug tubes and coils were soaked in oil. Warranty has expired and the dealer cost is $2700. I take to my local mechanic on [XXX] and he replaced all recommendations for $1800. He recommends that coolant is being lost due to head casket issues, cracked block. I have read dozens of the same experiences with these vehicles on Pacifica forums and believe that there is a huge safety issue as they are advertised for families and can carry 6+ passengers and the cost for repairs is in the $6000-$15000 range and are occurring when the vehicle warranty has expired. [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] 2020 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Lithia Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram Bend, Oregon INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Aug 1, 2023 · Electrical, Engine · TX

The car has lost power while driving multiple times. It was in the shop for many months more than once regarding the issue. An error came on the screen saying “vehicle speed may be reduced” then it stopped. The most recent time. After the recall fix. I got a second warning telling me to pull over because the car was going to stop. I barely made it off the highway into a parking lot. The time before that I was off the side of the road on a frontage road because the car could not make it to a parking lot.

Filed Jul 18, 2023 · Engine · 58,000 miles · NC

The contact owns a 2020 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH, the vehicle independently accelerated and slowed down with a message to “Pull Over Safely – Engine Will Shut down” displayed. The contact pulled over and the vehicle shut off. The contact was able to restart the vehicle, but the failure persisted. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and the contact was informed that software update needed to be performed. The vehicle was repaired but the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was contacted, and a case was filed but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 58,000.

Filed Jun 24, 2023 · Electrical, Engine · DC

My family was driving down the highway and an error message came on the dashboard telling us to " stop safely. Vehicle will shut off soon". The vehicle lost acceleration power making it dangerous to change lanes. We made it to the shoulder and turned off the car. We called our service station since they had just done a recall update regarding these types of error messages. We were able to start the car again with only the engine service light on. We assumed there was some type of issue as we transferred from battery to gas since it's a hybrid. We had just drained the battery when this error message had appeared. However, this happened again less than an hour later into our trip but and our battery had gained some power due to hills. We again pull to the shoulder. We're able to turn off the car. Let rest for 1 minute restart and then it was drivable. In total this happened six times on this long distance trip. Never before have we had this issue. The car has 24,000 mi on it. Our safety was put at risk because we had to pull onto the shoulder on busy highways and restart the car. We've scheduled a service appointment at the first available time with the local dealership. We are currently out of town on vacation and cannot take it to the dealership that did the recall.