2020 Chrysler Pacifica

July 21, 2024 On June 1, 2024, while driving at normal speed under normal conditions, 2020 Chrysler Pacifica (with 14,600 miles) engine seized up, serpentine belt tore, power steering lost, and all lights went on within seconds. I immediately pulled to side of busy 495 Beltway. Dealership concludes that mounting bolts holding alternator in place simply sheared off, broke off causing alternator to drop into engine, tearing belt, breaking AC hose and chain of other breakages. As it turns out, this exact incident has been reported by others on the Chrysler Pacifica Forum online with pictures. Without obvious explanation, vehicle engine shuts down resulting in a very dangerous situation with loss of all control of the vehicle, including steering. One possible explanation is that the bolts are made from a mixed alloy and are very weak or that the bolts holding alternator as well as other engine components are over-torqued resulting in sudden snap breaking of multiple bolts. It is a very dangerous as well as helpless situation. Our vehicle has been at the dealership for over 6 weeks as they negotiate with Stellantis. The warranty expired in March 2024. Estimated cost of replacing alternator (the screws sheared off in such a clean manner that they cannot be extracted from the alternator), AC hose, serpentine belt, battery and more is at $6500 now. The mini-van has 14,600 miles and is used primarily for my 100% disabled veteran husband and his medical appointments. In summary, I am alerting the NHTSA as others hopefully have. This exact same experience of an engine seizing up due to over-torqued engine mounting bolts cleaning shearing off while driving at highway speed is extremely dangerous and cannot be due to normal owner driving/vehicle wear and tear. I recommend that the NHTSA do a further inquiry to this matter to ensure that responsibility is taken with Chrysler to prevent more serious accidents in the future. I will try to enclose photos. Thank you -

My problem started about a year ago with the auto start/stop light coming on- said it needed serviced. They replaced my auxiliary battery. Mind you, my van was only about 2.5 years old at this point (bought it brand new). So then about a month ago, same warnings. Stop/start isn’t working. I get it inspected at the dealership, they say everything is fine. Well yesterday, my van stopped emergently in the middle of an intersection. The brake engaged, couldn’t use any pedals, steering or switch gears. I had to shut my vehicle off and restart. In the middle of a busy intersection at 4pm. The auto start/stop light keeps coming on. Take it to the dealership today and they said it’s a sensor issue with my hood switch. My hood thinks it’s open so my van freaks out and stops driving. It’s a $540 fix. This is a huge safety concern. From what I read, this van has had numerous start/stop issues and sensor problems. It’s a 2020 with 62k miles. I’m glad I wasn’t on the interstate or somewhere more dangerous.

The stop start system on my 2020 Chrysler. Pacifica has been malfunctioning since 2021, I’ve taken this car into the dealer multiple times, and replaced the batteries that should’ve been covered by Warranty but weren’t and my car recently died completely, and had to be jumped only have to replace the battery changed again. I have complained about noises in the dashboard that sounds like ticking, and dealer says that’s not covered by warranty even though my car only has 50,000 miles on it, and at 13,000 miles, when I told them about it, they didn’t do anything about it. The electrical system will completely shut off, lights and warnings will turn on, and after pulling fuses, the system will start The vintage seats on the driver side have not worked for three years, I have informed the dealer about that and was at 15,000 miles and they still did not fix it after complaining every time I went in they finally said “it wasn’t covered under warranty anymore” even though I had complained about it and all the above when we were covered by the warranty. We even purchased an extended warranty when purchasing the car and it’s like jumping through hoops for them to actually look up what is actually covered and every a fight every time for them to not charge me what we already paid for!

While driving, received "service power steering" warning, followed by intermittent outage of the power steering. The power steering cuts in and out at uncertain times, so I will be taking a corner using a lot of force on the steering wheel because the power steering isn't working, when it will suddenly start working again, and cause me to oversteer. So far this hasn't caused an accident, but it most definitely could.

Power steering has failed on 2 occasions while driving. Fault code was set and dealer confirmed fault codes using scan tool. Power steering returned after a few seconds of driving. This vehicle has an electric power steering pump. Fault code listed a communication failure between the power steering controller and body ecu. Dealer service department could not duplicate the problem and returned the vehicle to us saying there was nothing further they could accomplish. It is a dangerous situation losing power steering while driving. Warning icon did appear on our on screen driver display.

The windshield fogs up when it is raining. I will drive for about 30 minutes before it fogs up. Usually the cabin air is blowing through the vents and when the windshield begins to fog I turn on the defroster. It will only work if the heat is turned way up, and the blower is set at the highest setting. When I stop at a traffic light the defroster sounds like it is still blowing but the windows fog up until I cannot see out. I have used my hand to clear a spot in front of my face and I have had to pull over to the side of the road and wait for the windshield to clear. yesterday all of the windows fogged up front and the sides. also. I took it to the dealership yesterday and after a quick look was told that I just had to turn the heat up. That is not a solution in the Summer. I have read about other Pacifica's having this same problem. It is terrifying and I don't want to drive when there is a chance of rain anymore. I did have this happen in the Winter when it was snowing a few years ago once or twice.

The contact owns a 2020 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while making a sharp left turn at slow speeds, the vehicle shuddered. There was no warning light illuminated. In addition, the contact stated that while at a complete stop, the vehicle jerked forward upon releasing the brake pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The contact called JT’s Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM of Lexington (4838 Sunset Blvd, Lexington, SC 29072) and JT’s Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Columbia (190 Greystone Blvd, Columbia, SC 29210) and was informed that there were no recalls on the VIN for the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the wiring harness that controlled the flaps for the coolant and the radiator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the failure was a known issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and attempting to reverse, the rear-view camera image display screen was not working as intended, increasing the risk of crashing into an object behind the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or local dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000.