2021 Chrysler Pacifica

Both second-row seats in my 2021 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid have developed serious safety-related mechanical problems. While my children were seated in the second-row seats and the vehicle was being driven, the seat locking mechanism suddenly released. I heard a sudden release sound, the seat release lever moved, and the lower floor-locking mechanism disengaged, allowing the seat to become unsecured and move/slide while the vehicle was in motion. This problem affects both second-row seats. The seatbacks also do not remain securely locked in position. I am extremely concerned that if a second-row seat or seatback unexpectedly releases while a child is seated in it, the occupant may not be properly protected during normal driving, sudden braking, or a collision. I brought the vehicle to an authorized Chrysler dealership for inspection. The dealership provided an estimate of approximately $6,302 to repair the second-row seats. I was informed that because the vehicle has more than 100,000 miles, it was not eligible for Goodwill assistance. My concern is not simply the cost of an out-of-warranty repair. Both second-row seats have experienced locking/anchoring problems, including an actual incident in which the seat became unsecured while the vehicle was being driven with my children seated in the second row. I am asking NHTSA to investigate whether this represents a safety defect involving the second-row seat locking and anchoring mechanisms.

The contact owns a 2021 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that the second-row seat failed to remain in the upright position, causing the seat to collapse forward or backward while the vehicle was being driven. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer who confirmed the seat failure but stated that the vehicle was not covered under NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V181000 (Seats). The contact received an estimate for the part; however, the part was on backorder. An independent mechanic later inspected the vehicle and suggested that the vehicle should be covered under the recall; however, inquiries to other dealers and the manufacturer resulted in consistent confirmation that the VIN was not under recall. A temporary repair was performed on the vehicle by the initial dealer; however, a permanent repair was not performed. The failure mileage was approximately 74,000.

After deploying the second-row Stow 'n Go captain's chair seat from its stowed position in the floor, the integrated headrest fails to lock in the upright, passenger-safety position. The headrest remains folded forward or flops forward under normal conditions and cannot be secured in the upright position required for safe occupancy of the seat. The root cause, as identified by dealership technicians and documented by numerous owners across multiple model years (2017–2022), is failure of a small plastic component within the headrest actuator cable assembly. This cable mechanism is designed to automatically fold the headrest during stowing and return it to the locked upright position when the seat is deployed. When the plastic cable end or the locking mechanism fails, the headrest cannot return to or maintain the upright, locked position. The cable itself is not sold separately by Chrysler/Stellantis, with dealers quoting $500–$1,000+ for repair requiring full seat frame or headrest replacement. This constitutes a safety hazard because: (1) a headrest in the forward/folded position provides no rear-impact protection to an occupant, increasing the risk of whiplash or cervical spine injury in a collision; (2) the condition prevents safe installation of child booster seats in the affected seating position; and (3) the defect is a known, widespread, and persistent design flaw affecting multiple model years with no manufacturer recall or remediation issued. This issue has been reported by a large number of owners on owner forums and acknowledged by Chrysler customer care representatives, yet no recall, technical service bulletin fix, or goodwill repair program has been established. I am filing this complaint to support an investigation and potential recall.

The rear headrest will not stay in its proper upright position. After putting it into its Stow N Go position in the floor, the headrest is broken and down and no one can sit in the seat safely. This is a safety issue and Chrysler needs to repair it for free. It is a design flaw. A very thin piece of plastic breaks and results in an unusable rear seat! So many complaints from people who have had this happen. It is not a fluke. It is a regular problem with this otherwise great car! And if someone has an accident with someone trying to sit in that broken seat and gets hurt because there is no headrest………..

2nd Row Seat fails to latch and lock in position. The seat reclines back and forth without being able to be latched in place. My [XXX] and [XXX] 's safety is greatly impacted by this, as the seat is unable to be properly secured in the event of a crash. I have had the other 2nd row seat repaired nearly 2 months ago at a Chrysler dealership, but am dealing with the same problem on the other 2nd row seat. When I took the vehicle to the dealership 2 months ago, the 2nd row seat that has now failed to latch was not experiencing those problems. There were no warning lamps or symptoms of this failure to occur other than knowing that the other 2nd row seat had experienced the same failure 2 months prior to this. A poor design in the seat reclining mechanism in the 2nd row seats of the Chrysler Pacifica by Chrysler appears to be the problem. Numerous other posts about this same issue exist on the [XXX] webpage, as well as by doing a google search on the failure INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The 2nd row passenger side headrest failed to latch in the upright position and prevents anyone from sitting in the seat since the headrest is almost horizontal. I reported it to the dealer and they will replace the headrest due to a plastic piece in the latch broke. While waiting for the part to come in the driver’s side 2nd row headrest also failed to latch. Upon inspection the same plastic piece had broken. Since the van is 38 months old and less than 36,000 miles it is out of the manufacture’s warranty period

Vehicle Information: Make/Model: 2021 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Incident Dates: Thursday June 12, 2025 & Saturday June 14, 2025 Description of the Incident: On two separate occasions, the second-row passenger seat of my 2021 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid collapsed and slid forward without any manual intervention. The first incident occurred when my wife was buckling in our son. The seat unexpectedly folded over him, and it would not latch back into place. To ensure safety, she moved him to the third-row seat. When she stopped at a stop sign, the unlatched seat slid forward and collided with the front passenger seat. If my son had remained in that seat, he could have been seriously injured. A similar incident happened a couple of days later with the second-row seat on the driver’s side. This seat also folded over and slid freely on the floor. Both incidents present a major safety concern, especially since the vehicle is relatively new and was purchased as a certified pre-owned vehicle in excellent condition. The dealership diagnosed the issue as broken seat cables, which prevented the seats from latching properly. While there is no open recall for this specific issue, it closely resembles the conditions in recall Campaign Code Z22, which also addressed seat latch problems in the same make/model and model year. Despite the safety risk, Chrysler has declined to cover the diagnostic costs or the repair under because the basic warranty had expired (although two of their phone reps assured me that there was still some warranty available to help with the expense). I am filing this complaint so that NHTSA can investigate this issue further to prevent potential injuries to other passengers.

The headrest worked when I got the car and the headrest stopped working it won’t stay open it went down to fold into the floor and it won’t lock in position so the seat is unusable because the headrest is locked/ broken in the down position that has it hit right at the middle of neck for some that 5’2 and it would mostly break someone’s neck if an accident occurred