2020 Chrysler Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid: check engine light

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 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 15, 2024 · IA

We were driving and the vehicle displayed "Pull Over, Vehicle will Shut off Soon" along with a check engine light. Fortunately we were almost home and the vehicle made it to our house before shutting off. We took it to the dealer and the dealer claimed they were not able to reproduce the issue or see any problems with the vehicle, despite it losing motive power.

Filed Apr 30, 2024 · Fuel system · NC

Invertor coolant pump failure, giving a Check Engine Light P0E7C (coolant bypass valve B control circuit having low voltage). Part from Chrysler seems to be on national back order. replacement part offered by dealership keeps failing.

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 27, 2023 · Fuel system, Transmission · MI

Twice now the A/C has quit, and a short time later the Hybrid battery severely overheats and the van shuts down. This happens at highway speeds, and the vehicle loses power and shuts down. This is dangerous to have a sudden shutdown at 75 MPH. When driving in hot weather for a couple hours, the electric A/C compressor quits. On this van, the Hybrid battery is cooled by the passenger HVAC system. When the A/C quits first you feel the air from the ducts getting warm. Then you get a message on the dash for "Battery Conditioning" and a Check Engine light. If you keep driving, it stalls and will not restart until the battery cools off. It takes about 3-4 hours to get the van to move again at reduced power. If you let it cool overnight, the van drives normally until the next incident. There are trouble codes set for battery overheating, P0A7E, P1AA6, P1A9A, P1A21, P1AA2, P1A9E. There have been multiple unsuccessful attempts to diagnose the van by Chrysler dealers. Dealers can't/won't replicate this due to having to drive for approximately 2 hours in high ambient temps. The vehicle is fine in moderate or cold temps due to not needing the A/C to cool the battery, it is cooled and heated by secondary systems in those conditions. This issue is very dangerous because lithium batteries do not like extreme high temperatures, this issue could cause a thermal runaway event of the battery. Many of the codes that were set are for the battery temperature exceeding 131F (55C), which is severely hot for Li-Ion. This is much hotter than safe high temp recommendation for Li-Ion. Recall 03A for not giving warning before stalling was performed, however this issue is not the same symptom, nor the same cause as that recall. That recall involves a transmission short, not battery overheating. My van has had multiple reflashes and is up to date on all software. My vehicle was a "lemon law" buyback for the same stall issue, and was purported to have been fixed before I purchased the van.

Filed Jun 1, 2023 · Brakes, Driver assistance · KS

When driving car gives the warning that FCW is not working and other error messages on the screen. When you apply the break, it automatically started breaking having sudden stops which is dangerous to drive on roads. For some reason those check engine lights will go away after some time and everything seems to be normal. Towed to dealer and reported to Chrysler multiple times and they are not taking car of this ones as they cant replicate the issue.

Filed Mar 7, 2023 · Engine · 24,813 miles · TX

The contact owns a 2020 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The check engine warning light illuminated intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an Auto Parts store for a diagnostic test. The employee retrieved DTC: P0A43-00 (Drive motor ‘A’ position sensor circuit intermittent). The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and update 22-100 was performed; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to Nyle Maxwell Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM of Austin (13401 Highway, Ranch Rd 620 N, Austin, TX 78717) where the vehicle was diagnosed and the contact was informed that the vehicle experienced the failure listed in the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V010000 (Electrical System, Hybrid Propulsion System) however, the contact stated that the part to do the recall repair was not available. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 24,813.

Filed Jan 6, 2023 · Transmission · CA

Was driving the vehicle and all of a sudden the vehicle lost ability to accelerate. Warning of "Service Charging System" appears on the dash and the "D" indicator starts blinking. Warning of "Shift to P to Start" appears and check engine light comes on. I tried to shift to park and restart the vehicle, but it did not do anything. I was on a decline, so was fortunately able to coast into a parking lot. This is the 5th time this has happened while driving the vehicle. There is no warning that it will happen and it is extremely dangerous for the vehicle to lose all motive power without warning. I was lucky to not get rear ended. The vehicle has been serviced at a dealership two times for this same issue.

Filed Dec 6, 2022 · Acceleration, Electrical · KS

I was driving the car around 70 mph on a highway with charged batteries and a 3/4 full tank of gas when the engine shut off a red dot appeared under the check engine light and a message appeared saying charging system fault, shift to park. Before this the van had been in the shop multiple times for a periodic check engine light that have a "cam shaft position sensor fault"message but the dealership was unable to locate the issue.

Filed Oct 12, 2022 · Electrical, Engine · MD

I was returning home from a road trip and with five miles left the accelerator stopped working and the check engine light came on with the service electrical system message. I was able to safely coast to the side of the road. It started working again but it stopped working 5 more times and barely made it to my driveway. It’s been in the shop since 7/6 and now they say a new hybrid transmission will be in on 8/3. This is the worst situation that I have ever had with any vehicle!

Filed Sep 19, 2022 · Transmission · MI

On July 30th 2022 the van suffered total loss of motive power while driving on a rural highway at 65mph. The incident put my family as risk as I was required to coast the car off of the side or the road to keep from becoming an obstruction to traffic. If the incident had occurred on a 3 lane highway or in heavier congestion I may have been unable to pull off the road before losing my momentum. The van showed no prior indication of malfunction until it shuttered as the engine stalled. Following the shutter and loss of all forward power the car dash produced a check engine light followed by a warning to Pull over and place car in Park. I pulled over to the side of the road and was able to place the car into park and shut it off. After that the car would not start or shift out of park and only displayed "Service Charging System" on the dashboard. The car was then towed to the nearest Chrysler dealer (Watson Benzie, LLC 1514 Benzie Hwy Benzonia,MI49616-9650) where it was determined that "Power Inverter Module" had failed and needed to be replaced. As of September 19th 2022 the car is still at the dealer awaiting a replacement part. The damaged part should be available for inspection.