While driving our minivan it stalls or it seems like the gas isn’t getting to the engine. It has happened when I’ve been accelerating from a side road across a very busy road on more thank e occasion. We thought it was the gas we were using. Now we’ve been advised it is due to a “crank shaft sensor”. (?) We may not be eligible to get it fixed because we got our 2017 Pacifica in Oct 2016, drove it approx. 15,000 miles/ year so we may not be able to get it fixed for free.
2017 Chrysler Pacifica acceleration complaints
Page 2 of 4: complaints 11 to 40 of 90, newest first, as owners wrote them.
As we drive this vehicle at a slower speed, it seems to almost cut off and then it will jerk (a very hard jerk) back into motion. We have had it serviced, both batteries replaced, and a diagnostic done on it and it continues to act up. It makes us afraid to drive it. Do you have any suggestions on how to move forward? Thank you - [XXX]- [XXX]Industries- [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
My Pacifica suddenly will not start. I ended up jump-starting the van. Then whenever I stopped, it needed a jump start. This whole ordeal is from a single day. Driving back on the high-way, suddenly van acted weird, all electronics going haywire, various instrument "unavailable" messages started coming, and on the highway Van all systems failed, power steering locked, I pulled over and battery icon (red) came on as well. Car died. I re-jump started it and then drove again with seeing the battery fluctuating between 10.2 v to 16v. Then when we exited the highway, this time, the van stalled right in the middle of the road. No warning, nothing. I feel this is a single point of failure that if the battery is having an issue, (though it seems alternator) was charging it, it could have caused two crashes. I am really concerned. I have had dead batteries in my other cars but nothing like that where all instruments start acting weird. Also few other weird things happening during this time: passenger windows will come down automatically again and again and again while driving. All different security features sporadically say unavailable, airbag, esc, ACC, FCW etc.. This needs to be looked at as a "Single Point of Failure" issue.
at random times my vehicle will lurch forward when I am driving. It could be right after I begin to accelerate or while I am at a consistent speed. It usually occurs under 40 mph. I have almost lost control many times. And had to slam on my breaks to avoid hitting people in front of me.
The vehicle will randomly lose power when going from a stop or low speed and attempting to accelerate. For example, if I am stopped at a red light and start to accelerate once the light turns green, the vehicle will not gain speed. I have to let up off the gas pedal and then I will feel a "jolt" and then the vehicle will pick up speed. The safety of myself, my kids and others were put at risk because I cannot maintain a safe speed while driving. If I am stopped to make a turn, my vehicle has lost power or wouldn't gain speed as I was turning into or merging into oncoming traffic. Also, and the most dangerous, was when I had the vehicle in reverse to pull out of a parking spot at a store. When I attempted to turn the dial knob to "Drive", the vehicle turned itself off and the dashboard flashed with a message stating I need to put it in park and restart the engine. It was very scary to have the vehicle cut off on me like that. I have taken the vehicle to the local Chrysler dealership and an independent service center. The Chrysler dealership claim they were not able to reproduce the problem but stated they would have to break the engine down to the point of failure to diagnose the problem, a minimum charge of $750. The independent service center stated they could reproduce the problem and that it was the camshaft sensor which I had replaced for $400 but the problem continued not even an hour after I picked up the vehicle. They kept the vehicle an extra day but stated they were unsure of the problem and suggested it could be transmission related and that I take it to a certified transmission repair shop. The engine light came on when the problem first began but since having the vehicle serviced at the Chrysler dealership and the independent service center, the problem continues without the engine light appearing.
I have not gotten into an accident. I have noticed for a long time my van transmission seems to have problems shifting. I will be starting to accelerate, and when i reCh speeds between 25-55 it often feels like I have no power (more often with time) I can hear the van "revving" bur not increasing speed at the rate it should be. Then all of a sudden the transmission feels like it "catches" and it lurches forward. Making it feel like the van us going to literally fall apart, or have the enginefall out. It is a very scary!! And it is getting worse even though when this happens I have started to take my foot off the gas because it I feel something terrible will happen. However taking my foot off the gas, especially when merging is extremely dangerous (people are so agressive driving these days) and I continue to be put in dangerous situations because of this issue. I know other people are complaining about this so I do not know why a recall has not been submitted! We need this fixed. Please help us!! Also anothwr issue.. Cruise control speeds up the vehicle when going downhill. It does not ever stop from accelerating! I'm aware and always take cruise control off on big hills. But this I'd also very dangerous as sometimes I have to tap the break because the cruise won't come off with the button when this happens.
My wife said that she was pulling into a parking spot and did not have her foot on the accelerator as she coasted into the spot. The car accelerated by itself she had to step hard on the brake to get it to stop before she hit another car. It was not a problem with a floor mat since they are snapped into place and do not come close to the pedals. I do see that similar problems have been reported on this type of vehicle with no satisfaction received. This incident is the 2nd time it has happened according to my wife. She does most of the driving around town.
This is my 3rd problem to be reported to the federal safety agency on this 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The "L" gear should typically slow down the vehicle when engaged, especially going downhill, so that you can use the transmission to slow the car down and use less braking. On a recent trip on I-5 the Grapevine, i used the L gear to attempt to slow down the vehicle on a steep and long descent. Instead of slowing the vehicle down immediately upon switching to L, the vehicle actually sped up 10 to 15 mph initially before it starts to slow down the car, creating a very dangerous situation especially when vehicles in front of me were slowing down too on the descent. I took it to the dealer, and they actually replaced the TCM because of another dangerous problem (see Complaint 11405469, March 2021) with the vehicle. I have tried the "L" gear again after, and it still does the same thing. The dealer says they cannot replicate the problem because there is no downhill where they can test for this problem.
The transmission often lurches and clunks into gear when shifting at lower speeds (between 2-4th gears). It happens when accelerating or decelerating with specific pedal pressure. This has happened since we bought the vehicle almost a year ago, and seems to be a common issue with these vehicles.
Tl* the contact owned a 2017 chrysler pacifica. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to safford chrysler jeep dodge ram fiat of springfield, 7611 loisdale rd, springfield, va 22150, for a routine repair. The contact stated that while his wife started the vehicle to drive and took her foot off the brake pedal, the vehicle accelerated and crashed into a pole and knocked over the pole and crashed into a wall behind the pole. The driver sustained bruising from the seat belt and air bag but no serious injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer where it remained but was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The contact mentioned that his wife attempted to apply the brake pedal but was not able to slow the vehicle down. The contact also mentioned that the entire front end was damaged. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 17,196.
The cruise control downshifts the transmission while descending hills in order to maintain the desired speed. But prior to downshifting the engine will accelerate 5-10mph depending upon the initial speed and the grade of the hill. While not an issue on a straight road, it is a safety issue on a 70 MPH hwy with a 50 MPH curve at the bottom of the hill, especially when traction is reduced, often the case on hwy 37 between libby & eureka mt. I have taken the car into the dealer twice concerning this issue since it is 'normal' for this car, ie, it does the same thing on every hill while cruise control is engaged. They said it's normal for this car ' nothing to be done. The last time I took it in was 9/24/2020 at which time they gave me a copy of a star case report (attached). This report recommends cruise not be used in hilly areas. While they note that speed may increase, not that it will increase, they don't mention the increase is not just due to gravity but actual acceleration. Nor have I seen any mention of this issue in the users' manual. 2017 was the first year of production for the pacifica, but you will note the star is dated 2012 so other models must also be similarly affected. We recently bought a 2020 ram 1500 and the cruise control works perfectly in it, so I know chrysler knows how to make a safe & effective speed control unit.
Multiple times our 2017 chrysler pacifica has revved up, then stalled. The screen tells the driver to put the car in park. I did, then was able to put it in drive again. Sometimes it completely stalls, other times the RPM increases then the car decelerates and I cannot drive over 20 MPH. This has happened while driving slowly at an intersection as well as driving on a highway.
Periodically when pressing on gas the vehicle will not go and you need to take foot off gas and press firmly. Our car was one of the pacifica's that stalled in the past for no known reason and it was fixed. This new problem is concerning as we have been in intersections when it occurred which is a major safety hazard.
The vehicle was traveling on the highway at approximately 70 m.p.h. With the cruise control activated when the vehicle started to accelerate up to almost 90 m.p.h. Without input (depression of accelerator pedal or increasing speed from cruise control buttons) from the driver. The acceleration ceased when cruise control was deactivated by depressing the brake pedal.
Tl* the contact owns a 2017 chrysler pacifica. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle inadvertently rolled. Additionally, there was a clicking in the steering wheel while driving. The contact stated that the vehicle was difficult to steer. The contact also stated that the vehicle jerked while changing gears. The contact stated that the accelerator went to the floorboard however, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact was concerned about rust to the hood of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an auto body shop and the vehicle was provided a rust treatment however, the rust spot increased in size after the treatment. The vehicle was taken to victory chrysler dodge jeep ram (45 naber dr, shallotte, nc 28470, (910) 356-9867) to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the throttle body needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure recurred. The mechanic sealed the steering column with lock tight sealant however, the clicking sound returned and the vehicle remained difficult to steer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was filed. The approximate failure mileage 7,000.
At 10mph decelerating to stop light. Engine shutoff. On restart error message appeared _service shifter. No lights on shifter designating gear in use was able to return to chrysler service. Replacing shifter. Previously there have been instances when doors opened while car was at 30 MPH. That was corrected with new locking computer. Several times the transmission would not shift into drive when car was started. Ignition had to be switched off then on a couple of times before the shifter would work properly. The parking brake would not disengage when car started and brake control button was presseed. Ignition had to be cycled couple of times . Not shifting into drive and failure to disengage brake occurred together frequently but not every time on downhill roads in cruise control at 45 to 55 MPH , transmission down shifts so RPM would exceed 3000 and did not immediately upshift when road became flat . Rpm would remain above 3000 for several seconds then return to 1500 RPM. This is a very recent new action. There a disturbing thunk sound and hard jerk when transmission shifts under load at approximately 40 to 50 MPH
When passing a farm tractor car went in to the passing gear and then there was no accelartion would not shift into any gear could not shut car off after awhile side doors wouldn't open after about 2 hours car finally started and went back to normal
Tl* the contact owns a 2017 chrysler pacifica. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds the vehicle experienced unintended vehicle acceleration. Additionally, while accelerating from a stop, the emergency parking brake independently activated which caused the vehicle to come to an abrupt stop. Additionally, while at a stop light, the economy fuel feature malfunctioned which the engine to not automatically restart when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The vehicle also had experienced electrical malfunctions which caused failures to the wind shield wipers and the door would not lock. The vehicle was taken to the local dealers cherry hill chrysler (1708 west nj ave cherry hill ny.) and rockwall chrysler (970 east interstate 30, rockwell tx) where software updates were performed however, the failures recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failures and the contact received case numbers: [xxx], [xxx], and [xxx]. The failure mileage was 10,000. *dt information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
While driving approximately 65mph on the highway,all of the lights on the dash came on and the car started to slow down even though I had the cruise control set. I tried to press the accelerator and the car would not speed up. I pulled over and turned the dial to park but the p did not light up. While in park the car was jerking forward and I could not set the parking brake. I turned it off at that point and tried to turn it back on to solve the problem. The problem has not yet been solved.
Hesitation when I turn and try to accelerate. I thought it was my gas but I'm seeing there was a recall on some 2017 for this problem. Mine has done this several times when I turn. It has only happened on the city streets while in motion. Almost like it wants to stall out then a small few small jerks and then takes off. I just bought this van in march 2019 from westgate jeff wyler. There was no recalls for this van but I'm having the same problem they recalled on other 2017 pacifica. It's done this several times
I was turning at an intersection and my pacifica stalled and would not go until I slammed on the gas because a car was coming and I almost got hit. It's very unsafe for my kids to be in the van if it's going to stall when turning.
Upon a start from a start, the car bucks between the speeds of 14-17 MPH while accelerating. The reaction from the car feels like the car was hit from behind. It is random and I not been able to correlate the action with any particular driving characteristic such as a slow or fast start. The car has about 30,000 miles as of this writing and has about 25,000 as of the date of first occurrence.
Yesterday morning my battery voltage while driving was fluctuating to low erratically. When I tried to make left turn the battery voltage immediately dropped down drastically to point or cutoff and nearly caused a collision. It then jumped back up to 14.4v and held that consistently. A few hours later it dropped down while driving. The dashboard didn't have any lights lit and the battery strength was fine other than the erratic fluctuations. I googled and saw there was a recall for this issue on my vehicle type and year. Phone dealership to tell them my car was unsafe and performed erratically because of battery issue. Despite the article from may 2019 pertaining to this same exact issue, they said I didn't have a recall on my car. I did research and it showed the stalling I've experienced was due to battery connector issues. This morning I got into my vehicle just fine. Turned on car and immediately the battery voltage gauge on dash was erratically fluctuating non stop forn10 mins and the car was sounding like it was shutting on and off on its own. The dash lit up and now a icon for emergency steering pops up and stays lit. All of this relates to the mandatory recall article in may 2019 but the dealership says otherwise. Not feeling like dealer is being honest and has best interest of my safety. I attached pic in upper left corner of the emergency steering icon that stayed on as well as shows my battery charge as fine at that moment but was erratically fluctuating when I took the pic this morning
I took my vehicle in for an oil change and work up on september 19, 2019. I was reporting rough transmission when switching gears but other than that everything was fine. They ran updates on my cruise control and the like and off we went. The following day I was driving in a flat area out of state with my cruise control set at 70. I was pulled over for a speeding ticket where the deputy reported I was going not 70 but 84 MPH!! In the course of the 13 hour drive we noticed that the transmission was still rough and the engine was revving for no apparent reason. Upon returning home, on september 24th, I was taking my daughter to a doctors appointment where I was again stopped for speeding. The trooper said I was going 55 in a 45 when I again had my cruise control set. I am now thinking the first ticket was a warning and not a fluke so I parked my van until my husband was able to follow me home to make sure everything was working properly. On the drive home, again a level surface, I had the cruise control set and noticed the van had accelerated to 55 MPH! I have caught it on one other occasion at 10-12 MPH over where the cruise was set and managed to get a picture of the dash were it can clearly be seen the engine is revving and the cruise control does not match the speedometer.
Tl* the contact owns a 2017 chrysler pacifica. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign numbers: 18v049000(electrical system, engine and engine cooling), 18v395000(electrical system, equipment), and 18v332000 (electrical system, vehicle speed control). The parts to do the repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs as the recall notice was received over a year ago. Ray brandt chrysler dodge jeep ram fiat (1660 westbank expy, harvey, la 70058, (504) 334-8908) was contacted and confirmed that the parts were not available. The dealer diagnosed that the battery failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was contacted several times and was unable to confirm when the parts were to become available. While driving various speeds, the check engine and brake warning indicators illuminated. Also, the vehicle lost power once the contact released the brake pedal. The contact would have to turn the vehicle off and back on in order for the vehicle to resume normal operation. An independent mechanic performed a second diagnostic test, but found no failure. The failure mileage was approximately 53,000. Vin tool confirms parts not available.
2017 chrysler pacifica. Consumer writes in regards to defective cruise control feature. *ld the consumer stated the forward collision avoidance system was inoperable.
While operating the vehicle - car unexpectedly accelerated! I quickly reacted and brought a car to a complete stop. Gas pedal broke off. Police and auto-insurer were notified. Police officer stated that broken gas pedal while driving = severe manufacturing defect; and that I am very lucky to come out alive. No one wants to bother with the repair ' now returning this defective product to a loan-lender requesting terminate lease due to a car defect. Leasing agent'notified, doesn't respond. Dealership'refused to accept, each time I call ' requests to deal with manufacturer. Chrysler ' manufacturer-was notified; case was opened = in 2 hrs-matter escalated to the highest department supposedly, and that I would be contacted. My numerous and continues attempts for 2 months = customer care said repeatedly that, as to my particular case, they are instructed to only take my messages; would not transfer to any of the supervisors and declined providing any info. I've been repeatedly told that my case is with a special investigation unit; as I must wait for their call. At each call I'm denied any information or help as to that special investigation unit's address, name of the department, last name of the assigned agent, his title, phone number, contact info, everything literally. Lately, they've been simply hanging up on me. One time one rep said that legal department is holding the process. They reconfirmed-all my messages were delivered and accepted by my assigned case manager, who called our home once - may 9th w/out leaving a message. When I called displayed 586‑274‑8000 as chrystler grp, it said 'old chrysler non-working number'. Auto-insurer requires full coverage regardless of a defect. Auto-policy adjuster ' can not repair for it's manufacturing defect. Loan-lender demands payments, knows defect, says 'doesn't care' and not helping to get through to chrysler.
When accelerating the vehicle often stalls or jerks or does not accelerate as untended. This occurs on freeways and also while turning or accelerating from a complete stop.
When driving the vehicle and turning a corner from a low speed (<20mph) or accelerating around a corner from a stop, the vehicle has lost power and the engine just revs as if in neutral. The vehicle has to be placed into parked and restarted to begin driving again. This has happened approximately 4 times in the last year and a half with less than 24,000 miles on the vehicle. The vehicle also jerks when accelerating at times, usually around 15 MPH. Sometimes it jerks like it has been hit in the rear. We've taken it in multiple times to the shop and they have replaced a valve body related to the transmission, but continue to still have issues.
Tl* the contact owns a 2017 chrysler pacifica. While reversing, the vehicle spontaneously accelerated and crashed into another vehicle. In turn, the other vehicle crashed into two additional vehicles. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The air bags did not deploy. There were no injuries and a police report was filed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but the cause of the failure was not determined. The dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 12,496.
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