2021 Chrysler Pacifica

Driving on the freeway at speed (approximately 65 MPH), the vehicle suddenly lost power and displayed "Service Charging System" message on dashboard. Accelerator pedal was non-responsive. We had remaining battery charge and fuel in the vehicle (it is a PHEV). Pulled over to side of freeway as vehicle was decelerating and came to a stop in the safest place our momentum could carry us to. We were eventually able to get the vehicle restarted by putting the vehicle in Park and pressing the start button 3 times in a row without touching the brake. This issue has happened four (4) times in the last several months, and has occurred on the freeway each time, and each time with remaining battery charge and fuel in the vehicle. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by the manufacturer for this specific problem.

*Please note: this is the second incident of this kind with my van (see NHTSA #11468554). The dealer checked our car after the first incident, saying it needed a repair to the transmission. They said they checked with Chrysler engineers who said it was a known issue, but were confident the issue would not occur again for at least another 1,000 miles. They assured us we could drive it the 4 hours home with no problem. However, the same problem occurred about 3.5 hours (~240 miles) into the trip. I am including documentation from the dealer after the first incident.* Today, the van suddenly lost power on the highway going 65mph. The car gave a “service charging system” error. We started to quickly decelerate amid high speed traffic. Pushing on the gas pedal did not make the car accelerate - we were coasting. Luckily, I was able to cross two lanes of traffic and coast up an exit to get to safety. We could have easily been unable to change lanes and stopped cold in a lane on the highway. This is highly dangerous.

While driving on the interstate at 65mph, the vehicle suddenly beeped, showed a “service charging system” warning and simultaneously lost propulsion. Pressing the gas pedal did nothing, so I had to coast over to the shoulder. My attempts to restart the vehicle were unsuccessful for a few minutes, but then it did restart and I was able to get off the freeway. It was an extremely dangerous situation. We are having the vehicle towed to the dealer tomorrow.

Have a 2021 Pacifica Hybrid Pinnacle purchased 01/2021. Since getting the vehicle randomly the car will not start, the gear selector flashes and will not drive. Have to continually restart the vehicle to get it to move. Then randomly while driving the car would display a check engine light and message Service Charging System. This would occur 1-2x a month. When you plug the car in the indicator lights would flash, the fan would spin up very loud and not engage charging. This would last for a few days. Took it into service around 5 times to two different dealers and could not recreate either issue. Then in April 14 2022, while driving on the freeway roughly 75 the engine cut off, message came up Service Charging System, Shift To P To Start. Check Engine Light comes on, drive selector in bottom right flashes, gear selector light flashes. Have to restart it multiple times, get the vehicle to sleep by open door, and pressing start button multiple times with foot on brake and off brake. Eventually got it to start again and happened again 15 minutes later. Took into service again, they replaced some wires and it failed again twice driving on the freeway over 70 on April 22nd 2022. Took into service again and they replaced the wiring harness and a sensor in the transmission. Got it back and it failed again while pulling into my driveway on April 30th 2022. Vehicle is still in service and they are unable to find the root cause. In 4 of the 5 stalls, driving at a high rate of speed completely losing engine power with children in the car presents a severe safety hazard. Thankfully each time have been able to safely pull over. Has been in service 4 times in the last month over this specific issue. About 10 times total on service charging system message.

the electric heater for the battery has been broken for 3 months now. Chrysler cannot seem to find a replacement part. what this does is cause the engine to come on and go off way more then expected. this also can cause weird transmission and acceleration issues when the car doesn't know which one to pick. this is also putting a lot more pressure on the transmission and causing issues with which device is sending the power. this has been going on all winter and Chrysler cannot find the part to replace.

We were driving on the interstate when the vehicle all of a sudden lost power. We were luckily able to get it to the side of the road, but if there was more traffic, we would not be able to do so. The car was then towed to the dealership and they said they will be replacing the the power inverter. The car has been in the dealership since the October and it is February now.

We currently have 13170 miles on our 2021 Pacifica. We have seen this charge system error now for the third time. Here is the list of errors below. First time I was driving 45 mph and the vehicle lost power and had a charge system error. I was able to safely stop on the side of the road. I was able to restart the vehicle after about 2 minutes with a check engine light. I was able to take it to the dealership and had all of the current software updates and removed the check engine light. Second time I was at work and I attempted to start the vehicle from the run button. The radio turned on but I had a charge system error and the vehicle would not turn off. I worked for about 5 to 10 minutes to turn the vehicle off. Luckily I was not driving at the time and was parked. I again had a check engine light. The dealership diagnosed that I have a failing PIM. The vehicle sat at the dealership for a month, the part was continually on back order every two weeks. The check engine light was removed and I took the vehicle home still waiting on the replacement PIM. Third time I was in the garage, PIM still not replaced, on back order and the vehicle would not start from the run button. I was able to turn on the vehicle after waiting about 2 to 3 minutes. After driving for about 25 minutes the issue came up again. I was able to wait and the vehicle restarted. A check engine light illuminated on the dash. On the way home after a stop, I had loss of power and had the charge system error going 25mph . I was able to stop the vehicle in a empty parking lot. I waited about 5 minutes and was able to restart the vehicle. I drove the vehicle straight home and is now sitting in the garage at home. As of today I am still waiting for this back ordered PIM since October. The vehicle now will sit in the garage, unusable, until the replacement part can be installed. This may be a reliability and safety issue in the future.

I purchased a pre-owned 2021 Pacifica Hybrid on November 4th 2021. After driving it off the lot, the vehicle stalled (essentially loses power and gas pedal does not work) while driving at a high rate of speed on the highway. Symptom: While driving at a high rate of speed (65MPH, 60MPH, 50MPH, 70MPH), van loses power and gas pedal will not work. Van is on <1% battery and running off gasoline power. After coasting to a stop on the side of the road, a message pops up that says "Service Charging System" and the check engine light comes on. Then it says "Shift to P to Start". Check engine light is on. Frequency: Occurrences happened immediately after taking ownership of vehicle and were 11/4/21, 11/6/21, 11/7/21, 11/9/21. After that we stopped driving the vehicle and took it back to the dealer because of safety concerns. Workaround: Shifting to P to start (starting like you would normally start the car) does not start the vehicle. We have been able to figure out a workaround to get it to start however. If you push the start button without your foot on the brake so it is in the "accessory" power mode, then put your foot on the brake, then push the start button again, it starts. The check engine light stays on for a period of time (less than 24hrs) after each event, but then goes off. I see this has been reported by several people with at least 4 NHTSA IDs filed with the exact same issue. This is a serious safety concern and is not only reported with these IDs, but also is prevalent on other online forums such as pacificaforums.com and Facebook group "Chrysler Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid 2017 and beyond." Symptoms match these NHTSA IDs. NHTSA ID Number: 11439920 NHTSA ID Number: 11432866 NHTSA ID Number: 11430933 NHTSA ID Number: 11418815