2021 CHRYSLER PACIFICA Fuel/propulsion System Problems
68 complaints about Fuel/propulsion System
High Severity Issue
This component has been associated with crashes, fires, or deaths.
This Problem Across All Years
All Fuel/propulsion System Complaints (68)
Reversing onto roadway and shifted from reverse to drive via rotary dial and vehicle went into park and would not move causing me to block the roadway. In addition and even more concerning was that the vehicle could not be turned off and any and all actions to do so just left the car "on" and the hybrid system running. Eventually we pulled the battery cable on the main 12v in the trunk and the reset allowed us to move the vehicle again. I sat across a busy section for twenty minutes with no way to move, turn off, or overide the system with three kids with me in a busy traffic area. The vehicle has not reproduced the issue as of yet. The dash had multiple warnings for park system and service various items needed. this occurred 12/17/2025 with 70,000 miles.
High pressure fuel leak with large fan spray pattern in fuel line part number 68492134AA where it sits and rubs against a sharp corner of another component, (appears to be ignition coil) above the rear passenger side of the engine. Searched online and found another owner had posted an image of the exact same leak! https://www.reddit.com/r/ChryslerPacifica/comments/1amcdp9/2021_pacifica_hybrid_fuel_leak/Their photo and mine are identical and in comments on their thread, Two other owners that responded to that thread also said they've also had exactly the same leak. The cause appears to be how this line is routed by the factory. it is resting against the coil and not secured in a way to prevent chafing. Result is extremely dangerous with fuel spraying down towards the exhaust. The part is available for inspection. Safety of my family was put at risk by fuel spraying towards hot exhaust while my wife was driving. She was unaware of problem until fuel smell just prior to arriving at home. Problem is easily reproduced. I spoke with Olympia Chrysler Jeep and the service advisor Corey, said he had seen this issue before as well. He also said because car is not under warranty and I don't have roadside assistance, towing would be at my expense. I have ordered replacement part and will install and secure it to prevent chafing. I will keep part to be availalbe for examination. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms prior to the fuel smell.
While driving 70MPH on the expressway the dash randomly sent a message saying “Pull over vehicle shutting off” and then it put itself into limp mode. Thankfully we were able to coast to the small shoulder and put on our hazards. This happened at 2am with 4 kids in the car. Nothing in the car would work, it wouldn’t turn on, shift, nothing. We had to sit on the side of the expressway for hours waiting for a tow. While waiting it had the check engine light on, limp mode light, and messages to service hybrid system & plug in battery for reconditioning. It is waiting to be serviced, but there is a very limited amount of techs that will service it due to being a hybrid.
While driving my children home from an evening activity, there was a strong odor of gas inside the cabin. I had the vehicle towed to the dealership the next morning for diagnostics and repairs. The dealership 's technician was able to reproduce the issue and upon further inspection discovered a small leak in the fuel line. It was determined that the fuel line had been rubbing against the coil pack, which created a small hole. The fuel was leaking onto the coil pack. This puts both the driver and the passengers at risk because the coil pack is in close proximity to the spark plugs. When there is a spark and gasoline, fires and/or explosions tend to be the result. The technician stated that there had been no tampering with the components and that the gap between the fuel line and the coil pack is very small. I believe that the gap is too small because normal operation of a vehicle should never cause a hole to be rubbed into a fuel line due to it's proximity to the coil pack. Prior to the smell of fuel, there were no other warnings. I have included pictures of the faulty part.
I received the "Red Wrench" warning light several times, but it would clear. One day while travelling in a 45mph zone the car suddenly stopped and I came to a skidding stop, luckily I was coming to my turn and was only going about 10mph. I did fear I was going to get rear ended, luckily it did not occur. I was stuck in the road and traffic built up. I couldn't push the car off the road because every time I put it in Neutral and opened the drivers door it would go into Park. My daughter lived nearby, so they came to assist with diverting traffic around me and to put safety cones out. I called the County Sheriff because I felt I was a safety hazard. When a Deputy arrived he and my Son In Law were able to push the car off the road while I steered. I was blocking traffic for about 30 minutes. I called a flat bed who towed the vehicle to the dealer. The issue was troubleshot to the Power Inverter Module (PIM) internally shorted causing the Main Battery Disconnect fuse to blow. The dealer replaced the PIM and the Main Battery Disconnect. This occurred on or about June 27, 2023. The dealer invoice is Aug 21, 2023. It took several weeks to get the part and repair. This issue has not re-occurred. At the time mileage was 29564, currently it is 48171.
Van had a smell of gasoline inside the cabin and out. Upon inspection, the fuel line going from the hard line to the nylon line in the engine bay was leaking. The nylon line between the fuel pressure sensor and the hard line had rubbed against a coil pack and was leaking fuel. Any fuel leak, especially in the engine bay, poses a safety risk as it can combust and cause a fire inside the engine bay. Other owners have posted about this exact problem on forums, hence why I knew where to look for the issue. I have ordered the new fuel line through the dealership, however, if the fuel line has the same bend in it as the original, the same thing will happen in the future.
WHEN DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE AT SPEEDS OF 75 MPH. WE RECEIVED A MESSAGE TELLING US TO "SAFELY STOP VEHICLE WILL SHUT OFF SOON". AT THAT POINT OUR VEHICLE BEGAN TO SLOW DRAMATICALLY AS WE ATTEMPTED TO SHIFT LANES TO GET TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. WE THEN HAD TO SIT ON THE SIDE OF THE INTERSTATE, UNABLE TO MOVE, WITH THREE CHILDREN IN THE CAR FOR ALMOST AN HOUR BEFORE THE VEHICLE ALLOWED US TO MOVE IT AT A SNAILS PACE THROUGH THE DITCH AND TO A ROAD TRAVELLING PARALLEL TO THE INTERSTATE. ONCE, PARKED ON THE SIDE OF THIS LESS DANGEROUS ROAD WE SAT FOR ANOTHER 3 HOURS FOR A TOW TRUCK, MANAGED TO HAVE THE VEHICLE TOWED TO THE DEALER WHICH IS INDICATING THAT THEY DO NOT KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THE PROBLEM IS AND ARE REPLACING THE HYBRID BATTERY IN AN ATTEMPT TO FIX IT. WE'VE SEEN MANY GROUP MESSAGES ABOUT THIS ISSUE AND THE COMMON THREAD IS THAT CHRYSLER DOES NOT HAVE A FIX OR KNOW WHAT TO FIX AND THAT THIS ISSUE WILL GENERALLY OCCUR AGAIN. I HAVE NOT RECEIVED A REPAIR INVOICE JUST YET AS OUR VAN IS STILL IN THE SHOP BUT WILL DO WHAT I CAN TO UPDATE THIS REPORT IF POSSIBLE.
I went to start my van and out of nowhere I got an error message saying to “service hybrid electric system” and a check engine light came on. I am not sure if there are any safety hazards related to this, but am no longer able to charge the vehicle. When I plug it in the charging lights flash and the “service charging system” error pops up.
The battery coolant is leaking from the rear of the vehicle
Van has 70K miles. After a long road trip. last stop noticed a gas smell from the front of van. When opening the hood noticed gas had been leaking over top of the motor by spraying fuel. Moving the fuel line running over the top of the motor, showed it was rubbing against top of the coil pack on engine. The rubbing over time caused a small cut in the fuel line allowing for fuel leak. The fuel line seam to be malformed or is unsported causing the rubbing.
Traveling down [XXX] in Escondido at approximately 73mph. In the fast lane and moving left into the car pool lane the vehicle lost all motive power and the error "Service Charging System" came up on the dash then flashing back to "SHIFT TO P TO START". We were able to make it to a very small emergency lane on the left side of the interstate. Had to power vehicle off and restart twice before be regained motive power. There was a very good chance that we would have been stranded in the middle of the interstate with wife and 2 kids in the care on an 85 degree day. We were able to make it off freeway with "Check engine light showing" but no other errors on the dash. We were able to drive home 7 miles and will tow the Pacifica to the dealer tomorrow. This is the second time this has happened and could have had a horrible outcome. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Vehicle has suddenly went into low power mode while driving three times. Was towed to shop each time to find no issues besides codes. Codes were cleared and vehicle was returned. Now vehicle is in the shop at chrysler due to a service charging system code for the hybrid system, causing the vehicle to not start or shift out of park gear. Vehicle has 58,000 miles and is not covered under the battery warranty with only 2 thousand miles remaining on the factory power train warranty.
High pressure fuel line leaking due to tube rubbing against hard plastic clip. Smelled gasoline fumes from outside the vehicle. Narrowed it down to the passenger side of the engine compartment but couldn't isolate it. Read some forums from similar cases and identified a high pressure fuel line that could wear a hole due to a design flaw. Sure enough I wigged it just slightly and upon starting the vehicle it started spraying gasoline all over the engine at an alarming rate. I drove my children to daycare the previous day, this could have started a fire or caused the engine area to explode. Crazy unsafe and glad I caught it quickly.
My fuel line was rubbing against a part of the engine and leaked. My mechanic said the fuel line was unsupported causing the rubbing and didn’t have shielding/padding to protect it.
I had purchased the vehicle three days beforehand. It was a lemon law buyback car. I had driven around 120 miles or so that day. The high that day was at least 90 degrees or so. It was past the halfway mark of driving that day, when I tested the Level 2 EVSE I had bought. It didn't work because the plug wasn't energized, but I did notice that the time to charge was reading 3 hours instead of the expected 2 hours. Once I got back to town, I plugged in to a Chargepoint charger, which was only charging at a Level 1 rate. I contacted the dealer to report the problem, and then went to my storage locker. On the way, the AC stopped working. When I tried to leave, the vehicle would not start. Suspecting an overheating problem, I left the hood open for a half hour or so, and after that, the vehicle started up. On my way home, the vehicle suffered a complete loss of motive power, displaying a message saying "Stop Safely Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon", leaving me stranded in a parking lot. This was followed by a message saying "Service Charging System". After another hour or so of sitting with the hood up, the vehicle worked again. This has happened multiple times since then. I have traced the problem to the battery pack reaching a temperature of 55 C, at which point the vehicle invariably shuts down. One time it did this, I was on stuck on the side of a road with no shoulder, after dark. The dealers I have taken it to could not reproduce the problem, as it takes hours of driving to trigger, and they are not willing to drive it enough to reproduce the problem. A case was raised with the manufacturer, but their protocols were insufficient to reproduce the problem. I have recently learned that the problem is apparently the same problem that the original owner had, and that the vehicle was bought back for originally. I have collected extensive CSV logs documenting the defect. The vehicle is obviously still unfixed, as they will not fix it until they duplicate the problem.
I was traveling at highway speed. The hybrid was utilizing mostly the battery. I needed to accelerate to the speed of those around me. The van switched from just battery to utilizing battery and gas power. About a minute after it switched, the engine completely shut off. A warning flashed up on the dash display to “Stop safely Vehicle will shut off soon”. The engine shut off. I could no longer use the gas, the only thing I could do was coast to a stop. This was very terrifying because I was traveling at such a high speed on the interstate. I immediately put on my hazards and coasted to a stop. This was harmful to others on the interstate because they had to slow down behind me or get around me. Eventually when I was slow enough, I managed to coast onto the shoulder and come to a complete stop. I was able to reproduce the problem upon restarting the vehicle. I have taken the van to a dealership but they have not been able to look into it yet. The engine light is now on in the vehicle. This happens consistently at high speeds
Vehicle shut down unexpectedly multiple times even AFTER recall update was applied. Allows for minimal time to pull to safe location. Potential for serious incident if safe shoulder is not immediately available such as on a bridge.
While driving early in morning on local highway (70mph speed limit), car flashed "Service Charging System" shut off the engine and power to the vehicle including acceleration, and check engline light illuminated. Thankfully early hours made it possible to drift to side of road to put car in park. Engine light illuminated dash and dash flashed "shift to P to start." Car would not shut off after pressing the start button nor depressing the break either (hazards were engaged at this point). Hazards had to be shut off in order to completely shut off the vehicle to restart it. Dangerous on major highway with no lights or hazards on side of road. 25 degrees outside. This is the Second time this has occurred to this vehicle. The last time occurred on 1/20/2023 the exact same way shutting off power and engine of the car on the same local highway with similar cold temperature (always issues with this car in the cold, hybrid battery system fails in cold below 40 or temperatures higher than 90). Last time a grounding issue was found in the transmission and was replaced. I will be contacting the dealership for repair today will update if it is still grounding issues or something new causing same problem. As i made in my last nhtsa report in january on this vehicle, the fact this car shuts down while in motion and you have no control over the car is dangerous and can cost people their lives. As a hybrid system, the van should automatically switch to gas only and bypass the hybrid charging system to continue functioning as any car would. By shutting down the engine and everything you are jeopardizing the lives of everyone on the roads. Both incidents of mine occurred on a highway at high speeds. I am just thankful I was not on a bridge at the time it failed as it would have caused an accident. I heard nothing about or from my last nhtsa report. Please for the safety of everyone look into these hybrids. Look into this car history and you'll see the constant repairs it has had.
Was driving at 72-74mph on Dallas North Tollway on Oct 6th. Vehicle is a Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid 2021 model - Limited Plug in Hybrid trim. Battery charge was 2% (less than 1 mile range) Fuel was 95% showing 395 miles of range left After the battery depletes, the vehicle is supposed to switch over into ICE mode (Gas engine kicks on) Car was running only on Electric power and when the battery hit 0%, the car stalled on the highway and showed multiple warning lights Service Hybrid Electric System Charge system not available EBD2 Engine Malfuction Transmission Temperature Automatic Transmission Fluid overheating Check Engine light Car still had power (power steering and brakes working) but lost all propulsion suddenly Luckily i was able to safely pull over on the shoulder Turned car off and on and still had same warning lights and car's engine would not start Finally waited 15 minutes, disconnected battery (12v) and tried it and now engine started Came home and charged battery to 100% (showed 32 miles of range) but now car will never run on Electric motors - Only via Gas engine This is a serious safety issue - I had the same exact problem on my 2018 Pacifica Plugin Hybrid which was diagnosed as a HCM (Hybrid Control Module) issue. It was the subject of a recall. This is the 2021 model with less than 25,000 miles and its still a major safety concern. Chrysler should immediately address the problem and issue a safety recall Car is currently at Frisco Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram for the last 7 days waiting to be diagnosed
The charging system is shutting down my vehicle while driving in high speed heavy traffic. I was traveling with my grandchildren and my dog and my vehicle stopped in 90+ degree weather in the middle of no where. Once it ran again I got it to a charging station so I could continue my travels. The check engine light went away and we were traveling home when the charging system shut us down again doing 65 mph on the interstate about 30 miles from any town with no cell service. My vehicle had to be towed from the 30 miles to the closest town and then towed again from the closest town to the closest Chrysler dealership. They can't even get to my vehicle for over 3 weeks and I am out thousands of dollars in rental car fees. I even took my car to the Chrysler dealer before my trip because the check engine light came on and they ran a diagnostics that said my front camera wasn't working. No a single thing about the problems I was about to encounter for about the 5th time!! This happened last year also and I was without a working vehicle for almost 2 1/2 months. This has been an ongoing problem that started about 5 months after I purchased my vehicle. I don't feel safe on the roads because the vehicle just STOPS!! This a such a lemon of a car and the Chrysler dealer knew about these problems before they sold me my vehicle.
Between March 1, 2023 and April 6, 2023, the engine experienced unexpected shutdown on 4 different days. On April 7, 2023, a dealer in Madison, WI serviced the car under recall notice 03A. On April 17, 2023, the car's dash presented a warning message "Stop Safely: Vehicle will shut off soon." On all occasions I have waited 30 seconds and restarted the car successfully. This behavior of the car is unacceptable. It is likely that I will be driving in a situation where it will not be safe to shut down the car, come to a stop, and restart it while driving in traffic.
While driving above referenced vehicle, I was driving southbound on Hwy 515 when i noticed a vehicle driving northbound began to lose control, so i slowed down and then began to watch the vehicle cross the median and headed straight for me. I pushed the pedal to the floor to accelerate to get out of his way but the vehicle did not respond, i pushed the pedal again on several occasions and the vehicle just bucked and did not accelerate. Unfortunately the vehicle hit me right in the door at a high rate of speed. Unbeknownst to me this vehicle had been in the shop on several occasions for this exact problem: This can all be verified due to the fact i had a Chrysler service manager on the phone as this horrific experience unfolded
Chrysler issued a safety notice to me last week via mail, which informed me that my vehicle may stop at any time without warning. This is a serious safety and accessibility issue for me, as this is my family's sole vehicle. There is no ETA for when or if a repair will be available. I have ceased using the vehicle on any highway and keep speeds under 40 mph for safety reasons, but am incredibly scared to do so and have gotten no support from Chrysler. The dealership offered no assistance. The recall hotline informed me verbatim that "there is no plan nor expected plan to provide a loaner, rental, or other compensation to those affected by this recall" on a call on 3.10.23. Chrysler's corporate call center informed me of the same thing but informed me I could submit any costs for transportation or a rental vehicle and they would "consider" reimbursement. I am currently paying on a vehicle that is not safe to use. Chrysler is offering me no remedies at all.
when slowing to make a turn the vehicle turned off and engaged the parking brake on its own. I had to disengage the parking brake before starting the vehicle again. I did not have a problem after that but I worry about it happening again. There was no warning to indicate anything was wrong beforehand and no indication of an issue after restarting the car.
Traveling at 60mph up a large hill/mtn in passing lane and car went into limp mode or lost power from engine. Was unable to push gas for power and had to maneuver through 60mph traffic to shoulder by the time I was able to make it to the shoulder I was not able to get all the way off of road because of no more momentum. I was unable to turn off vehicle for quite some time until I used key fob and remote state option on key fob which then allowed me to turn off vehicle. Losing all power at 60 mph while passing was terrifying and could have caused serious bodily harm.
I have a 2021 hybrid Pacifica purchased in May 2021. I have been experiencing loss of engine power for months. I brought it to service in January, they said they fixed a recall and changed the oil, said I was good to go. The problem started happening more frequently after that, and on 2/7 my vehicle lost power 7 times while driving roughly 20 miles. These instances occurred at highway speeds with immediate loss of drivability requiring me to coast to the shoulder. I brought it to service on 2/8. On my drive to the dealership the car shut off 5 times. After the tech assessed my vehicle, they replaced the electric coolant heater and said although there is no fix available for the recall yet, the battery is affected by the coolant heater and so it should be 100% good to go now. I made it safely home on 2/9. While I was driving to work the next day (2/10) the car shutoff 3 times on a busy interstate during rush hour before I was able to find a place to safely abandon it.
On December 7, 2022 I brought my Pacifica into the dealership because the day prior, my vehicle just shut off unexpectedly while driving. I was unable to get it to turn back on it just gave me a “service charging system” message on the dash. I had my vehicle towed home and it wasn’t until the following day 12/7/22 that I was able to finally start it back up. I drove straight to my local dealer and dropped it off. After a few weeks they told me they were going to replace the hybrid battery as that was the issue. On 1/20/23 I received a message from the dealer stating they had my vehicle back together and running and we’re going to fix a recall issue. On 1/26/23 I received another message stating my vehicle would no longer start and they didn’t know why. It has been 2 months now that they’ve had my Pacifica and as of Monday 2/6/23 they are unable to diagnose the issue
11/14/2022: WHILE DRIVING at 75mph, a battery icon appeared in the hybrid info system on left of dash. Immediately after the engine icon appeared, a message that said "shift to P to Start" appeared in the the dash info. The letter "D" along with a red icon of a charging cord also appeared to the bottom left of the electric range readout. ALL POWER TO THE VEHICLE CUT OUT WHILE MOVING AT 75mph simultaneous to these images/messages appearing. Following the above, an image of a Pacifica hybrid appeared in the middle of the dash info system. The Pacifica image included a red plugged in charging cord and the message "service charging system". Vehicle was pulled to the shoulder and put in park. Attempted to restart vehicle unsuccessfully for 15 minutes. After vehicle started, it was driven to the closest dealership that had a qualified PHEV tech, Frontier Dodge Chrysler Jeep in Lubbock TX. The error codes wouldn't repeat at the dealer. Dealer informed that, in speaking with Chrysler a part remedy had been determined but would require lead time to obtain part. On 12-08-22, the dealership informed us the repair had been made and vehicle was ready for pickup. The code found and repaired was POE15 and electric heater lock up. At pickup, the vehicle had not been fully charged. When driven out of service, the echarge was 24% and it wasn't depleting during operation. This was abnormal. Drove the vehicle from Lubbock to our residence in Taos, NM. Part of the drive includes a canyon, with two lanes, blind curves and zero shoulder. If the vehicle were to lose power in the canyon due to this issue, there is a HIGH PROBABILITY OF CRASH, INJURY, and/or DEATH. The vehicle repeated the issue on 12/12/22, 12/30/22 & at least two more times that are undocumented. Vehicle was towed from Taos to Larry H Miller CJDR in Albuquerque on 1/11/23. We were notified of recall while at dealership. My family's and my lives are at risk due to this recall issue.
While driving down a 4 lane major highway where the posted speed limit is 70 mph, the vehicle suddenly flashed "Service Charging System" with the check engine icon came on and the propulsion on the vehicle ceased funtioning. The D for drive was flashing as well. As a hybrid vehicle, the car should transition to gas without incident, but it doesn't. Instead it cut power to the engine leaving me, the driver, scrambling to find a safe location to get off the road, which is not always feasible or safe, endangering everyone in the vehicle and on the road if others are not paying attention to the sudden loss of power and propulsion of the vehicle in front of them. Thankfully, I was able to safely get off the road as a result of some helpful semi's, but not everyone may be in such a situation. Should this happen to someone else who regularly drives across a bridge, for instance, could possibly cause an accident by being unable to pull off at a designated area. I was able to engage the gas engine by turning it off and back on after stopping, but it did not store the "service charging system" error. This was determined when dropping it off at the Chrysler dealership. There are a few stored error codes including a "low voltage differential signal" which also occurred last year when they said they replaced a part in relation to the heating/cooling battery fault on the high-voltage batteries (less than 6 months old at the time) and similar to the recall on the older models. Making this the second time in the shop for a battery issue. Should a connection between the battery faults and the Body Control Module or PCM (not sure what that one stands for), they were parts also replaced within the first month of the vehicle. The vehicle is currently at the dealership for review. There were no other warnings or messages prior to the failure. Pictures of the error as I saw them after safely stopping are provided. Never have I had a car just stop functioning and this is entremely unsafe.
I have a 2021 Pacifica Hybrid in (Vin: 2C4RC1S70MR51943) that has encountered the dreaded "Service Charging System" message 5 times now in the past year, with the past 3 occurrences all happening in the last 3 weeks. Each time the car will not start, and the gear shifter will flash, the red charging light will illuminate on the dash, and the check engine light is on. On one occurrence, I turned the car off, then on again and was able to drive, however the check engine light was illuminated. I ran an OBD scan and the code was P1A21. On another instance, I was driving and lost all propulsion, the screen indicated "Service Charging System" message. Luckily I was on a local road and not a freeway and I was able to pull into the bike lane, still obstructing 1/2 of the right lane. After 5 minutes of trying to restart the car, I was able to move the car and I drove it to Earnhardt CJDR in Gilbert Arizona. When I got there, the check engine light had disappeared. I dropped off the car and to my disbelief the dealership told me there is nothing they can do if they can not replicate the issue. I am not stuck with a van my wife is afraid to drive due to the imminent threat of the car turning off while driving. I have 2 young children and I do not feel the van is safe in its current condition. Yet, the dealer is unable to resolve/replicate the issue. I have videos displaying the issue along with a screenshot of the OBD error code. It appears the dealership does not care about the safety of my wife and children by not being able to fix this issue. I have done a significant amount of research online and have found this to be a relatively common issue. In my opinion this vehicle is not safe to drive due to the risk of a complete shutdown and I commute on the freeway to and from work and the last thing I need is to have the van disabled on a busy interstate.
I was driving in stop and go traffic about 4 hours into a road trip on I95. At around 60mph, an error popped up on the dash saying “Service Charging System” then it quickly went away and said “Shift to P to Start” at which point I lost all propulsion. I was in the left lane and had to make my way to the side of the road with my family of 6 in the car. This was extremely stressful and dangerous as I had no way to accelerate and was stuck to coast. I flipped on my hazard lights and was able to navigate to a safe place under an overpass. At this point, I completely cut off the car and restarted it. It worked fine again upon restart, but the check engine light remained there after. The incident happened again on a side road at around 40mph on the same day. I coasted to a stoplight and had to power cycle the car 3 times to get driving again. The following day, I went to a local Chrysler dealership and they are still in the progress of diagnosing, however they won’t have a response until after Christmas. So, I’m being directed to rent a vehicle until the van is deemed safe to drive again.
While traveling on the highway (>70mph), my Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid (~44k miles) suddenly lost power and the "service charging system" error appeared along with the instructions to "shift to park". The check engine light began to flash as well. Fortunately, I was able to cross three lanes of traffic in a van with an unresponsive accelerator to get to the shoulder. Once safely on the shoulder, I still could not shift to park and I could not turn the car off either. After sitting for 25 minutes or so, I was able to shift to park and turn the car off and then on again. I immediately took the car to the dealership (using surface roads). They kept the van for 10 days and diagnosed a software issue. I got the van back and for about 3 days it was fine. Then we were driving the same freeway (at speeds of 70mph or more) and the exact breakdown happened again. Chrysler has had the van for 4 weeks now and just informed me that the issues is metal shavings in the transmission; they will be replacing the transmission. This is related to the ODI investigation # PE 22-008
Driving on the freeway, all propulsion suddenly and without warning ceased and the dash declared "service charging system" and the check engine light came on.. My only choice was to coast off to the side of the freeway. My safety was definitely at risk, as I was stuck on the side of the freeway. After several minutes, I was able to turn the car all the way off and turn it back on again. The check engine light was still on. I drove it straight to the dealership, who has it in for service for this error. Prior to this, the van gave no indication that anything was wrong.
I was driving my kids to school this morning on the interstate, traveling at roughly 70 MPH when my Pacifica just died on me. I wasn't able to get the vehicle moving again and I coasted to a stop on the shoulder. The vehicle reported a "Service Charging System" fault and would not restart afterwards. I am waiting (2 weeks) for an opening at the dealership and will have the vehicle towed. I was lucky the interstate had a wide shoulder and traffic was light otherwise it could have been incredibly dangerous.
I was driving the van on interstate 85 in NC on my way to Charlotte from Raleigh. I was traveling at 70 mph when the van suddenly lost power. I could not accelerate and had to immediately pull over to the shoulder coasting on momentum only. I barely missed being hit by a semi truck as I attempted to get out of the way of traffic. The van remained stalled on the shoulder as I attempted to restart the van. It took 5 tries to get the van off the shoulder and onto an exit where I was able to park the van at a Waffle House parking lot to await a tow truck. Each attempt to restart the van would give me about 30 seconds of power before the van would stall out again. I was traveling with my wife and 4 small children and this was a very harrowing experience and could’ve have ended in disaster with that semi barreling down on us. The error code on the dash was “service charging system” Chrysler needs to fix the is issue before someone dies in a horrible accident.
We drove at normal interstate speed when the “accelerator stopped responding.” The digital dash cluster then showed a message stating “Service Charging System” and “Shift to ‘P’ to Start.” The vehicle was turned off and turned back on after waiting roughly one minute.
While traveling in the #1 lane at 65mph on the freeway, the engine suddenly lost power and I had to coast to the far right lane amid traffic to enter the emergency stopping area. This has happened 4 times in the last few weeks. The dashboard display says there is a charging system problem. I am able to restart the car after stopping completely and opening the driver's door. This creates a very unsafe situation. I took it to the dealership today and they performed the Z76 recall campaign software update, however, upon driving 10 miles on the freeway, it happened again.
Our 2021 Pacifica Hybrid with less than 21k miles on it lost all propulsion/motive power; this happened while I was driving on a freeway just seconds before going onto an overpass at freeway speeds to change freeways. Driving uphill on an overpass at freeway speeds with our kids in the car was very dangerous (especially during weekday traffic in Orange County) but, fortunately, we coasted to a stop safely. The vehicle's other systems seemed to still be working. For example, the vehicle's dashboard was working. As soon as the vehicle's power ceased, an error light on the dash appeared reading "Service Charging System Error," and instructed the driver to pull over and put the car in park. The check engine light has been on since the incident. The car was dropped off at the dealership on October 14th. They said that the electrical guy will be available on October 17th to look at the vehicle.
while driving the car down the high way at normal highway speeds (70mph) the car lost all propulsion. Shortly before the malfunction the electric motor started growling. A message on the screen appeared "service charging system" and " put car in Park". I was in the far left lane when this happened and traffic was low as it was early in the day (7 am ) I managed to move the car from the left lane through all the other lanes and stop on the side of the highway. I was not able to drive the car and called for tow. While waiting for the tow the car became responsive after about 15 min. I recalled the tow and drove to dealer. The dealer scanned for codes and found a code for "Motor A position error". This is the second time this has happened to this car - previous time the dealer "upgraded" firmware and said it should be fine. Hardware issues cannot be solved by software. I posted a video on youtube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDk6z6-snaA And on the Pacifica forum : https://www.pacificaforums.com/threads/2021-pacifica-hybrid-failure-while-driving-on-highway.52648/ Seems this has happened to others as well.
On 3 separate occasions while driving the dashboard has flashed the error message "Shift to P, Service Charging System". As soon as this occurs, the car begins to lose power and is no longer driveable. Once the car is shifted to "Park" it is temporarily stuck in that position with the car "On" but no power to the engine. For somewhere between 30-90s the car can't be turned off or shifted out of "Park". At some point after a short period - sometimes opening the door seems to help - the car will turn off and can then be re-started. The check engine light is on, but the car can be driven. Within a couple of hours the check engine light goes off and the car seems to behave normally. This has happened to us 3 times over ~2 months now. The car has actually stopped in the middle of the road forcing us to turn on hazard lights while trying to restart. It is extremely dangerous and seemingly common problem. Our local Chrysler service center was only able to book an appointment a month out due to limited technicians qualified to work on the hybrid vehicles. We described the problem in detail but they are not aware of the problem or solutions. We are trying to contact Chrysler Corporate directly to find out what their solution is.
While driving on the highway, the vehicle abruptly lost propulsion, flashed error lights, and indicated an issue with the EV battery and charger, and would not charge when plugged in. Error codes flashed related to the Power train control module, Hybrid control processor, and Aux hybrid control processor. The CJDR Fairfax dealer would only provide software updates and would not perform other repairs per Chrysler's recommendations.
Driving on US-23 and "Service Charging System" warning displayed on dashboard. Car lost power and I had to coast to the side of the freeway. Turned car off but could not turn back on. Transmission would not go out of Park. Tried about 10 times and after about 15 minutes the car turned on and could drive. Check engine light remained on for remainder of the drive home. Planned on visiting dealer in the morning but car turned on and no check engine light. This is the 3rd time the "service charging system" warning has happened, but the first time the car died on the road. Every time the check engine light disappeared the next day. Had codes scanned and permanant code P1A21.
While driving, the car would loose power then check engine light comes on and "service charging system" would pop up. The gas peddle is rendered useless as it doesn't do anything and would have to coast to safety. Dealer would just reset the computer and vehicle is realease. unfortunately, it had happen many times. Safety is a concern, more so on the highway.
Driving on the interstate, the vehicle simply shut down and gave the following error message: "Service Charging System." I was able to pull to the shoulder and get the vehicle started again. There had been no prior warning messages or symptoms of the problem. I took the vehicle in for service, and the dealership ran a diagnostic check and found no issues. A couple weeks later, the same thing happened. I was again able to get to the shoulder without incident. Took the vehicle to a different dealership where they identified the issue as a bad Power Inverter Module. The vehicle is still at the dealership (it has been a full week). While I was able to navigate the situation without injury. This could have been a very dangerous situation in the instance where a shoulder was not available or traffic was significantly heavier. It appears this is a fairly common problem for some of the new Chrysler Pacifica Hybrids, which brings to question why there has not been a recall issues.
My wife and I were driving on HWY 101 at 11pm at night while camping, were headed to the ER as I had just cut my hand with a hachet. While driving, all of a sudden an error light on the dash appeared reading "Service Charging System," the accelerator no longer delivered power, and the car began quickly slowing down. Luckily, I was able to move to the shoulder and stop the van. The Pacifica remained on with all systems working (radio, lights, etc), but the car accelerator would not deliver power. The car would not fully turn off after pressing the ingintion button. Opening and closing the driver side door allowed for the van to be turned off and then back on, it started again and was driveable. We were able to drive the car to the ER and back to the campsite. The problem has not yet re-occurred. It has not been seen by the dealer center yet, but has an appointment scheduled. Driving at night in the mountains with a vehicle that loses all power while traveling at highway speeds is extremely dangerous and disturbing.
While driving in the freeway this morning the check engine light and service charging system came on. Shortly thereafter the car lost all power and I was able to coast to a stop on the shoulder of the freeway. Fortunately I was in the carpool lane and near the shoulder and would not have been able to get over otherwise putting myself and others in a very dangerous situation on the freeway. Once stopped, the steering wheel locked as well as the wheels and the car lost all function. Although there are no formal recalls, there are forums dedicated to this problem: https://www.pacificaforums.com/threads/service-charging-system-error.41145/ The dealer is currently advising but the threads in those forums suggests FCA does not have a fix in place. The car becomes dangerous to drive as this happens out of nowhere with limited to no warning.
While driving on hybrid system (battery at 0%) and braking toward a stop sign , the car went into neutral and would not power the wheels. A message appeared to service hybrid charging system. all gauges wen to zero (start position) . The car was pulled over and it would not go back to to any gear. I was only 2 miles from my house and was able to get tools to disconnect the 12V battery in hopes for system recovery. After disconnecting the 12V battery the system recovered and I was able to get back home to setup a service appointment. The entertainment system did not recover correctly and required a software reboot with all settings reset. The previous week the battery charge indicator was behaving strangely as it would start with 36 miles of range and after 2 miles of very slow driving it wold drop to 26 miles. After a few more miles it would drop to 21 miles and stay at that for a long time.
The vehicle loses power while driving. I have to pull over shut it off and turn it back on. Most of the time it happens when I'm driving 75 mph. The service charging indicator pops up while also telling me to shift the car to park. Dealership diagnosed it to being a transmission issue. Drive motor A is failing in the transmission and is causing it to over heat. Which causes it to shut down. A quick restart and the van is going again.
Occurred at 1000,1500,and 16000 miles. Car would turn on but steering column is locked and it does not get in to gear. D and R just put car in neutral. Dealer is replacing hybrid battery. Car eventually got in to gear after several hard resets.
Driving on highway and experienced total loss of power. Coasted to side of road. Unable to "restart". Error displayed "Service Charging System" Dealership ran software updates to remedy issue. One week later same issue. Driving on highway and total loss of power., same error message. Towed to another dealership. Diagnosed as dead 12v battery, but I doubt this diagnosis. Battery was not dead at time of breakdown, it died after 4.5 hours waiting for a tow with hazards on.
Driving on the interstate at 70-75 mph and lost all forward drive. Car said service charging system and would not recover. Got towed to dealer and troubleshot and replaced the transmission
Service Charging Error flashed on instrument panel Power cut and car had no power Unable to restart for 5-10 minutes Power comes back on with check engine light Power cut on the freeway. SUPER dangerous.
I was driving on the interstate in the middle of morning rush hour traffic at approx. 65 mph and approximately 1/4 mile before a tunnel my van completely shut off and I was not able to accelerate or maintain speed. I was in the far left lane when this happened and immediately crossed the 3 lanes of traffic to get to the shoulder on the right side. I then tried to turn off and restart the van 3 or 4 times after periods ranging from 5-20 minutes apart and the van would only allow me to go a foot and shut off again. After waiting for over an hour in the 30 degree weather with no heat, I was finally towed back to the dealership. Due to many fortunate circumstances (i.e. none of my 3 children [ages 4, 2, and 9 months] were in the van, I was not yet in the tunnel, no cars were immediately behind me, and I was able to get across all 3 lanes before I lost speed) nobody was injured. However if any of these variables were different, the situation could have been devastating. My van has now been in the shop for over 3 months waiting for a part (engine coolant heater pump) and I still do not have a working vehicle. The issue with the engine coolant heater pump is a known issue to Chrylser, resulting in vans shutting down in the middle of driving, yet Chrysler has not issued a recall or notified owners of these dangers. After waiting on the part for 2 months, I called Chrysler Customer Support and was assigned a case manager, however they have to this point, one month later, still not helped at all and within the last 10 days not returned any of my voicemails or emails. My car is available for inspection and this issue was inspected/documented at the service department of my dealership. The problem has been confirmed by the dealership as well as the tow truck driver. About 10 days prior to the incident, my check engine light went on. I immediately scheduled the next available service appointment at my dealership, but the problem occurred 2 days before my appointment.
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.
The vehicle accelerator fails while driving, with a message on dashboard '''service charging system''. If your car have enough momentum, you can pull to safe spot or shoulder, but tbis is a dangerous issue. I had this issue multiple times and many other owners has reported similar issue.
*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.
Nov 23, 2021. Check Engine Light Illuminated. Dealer service diagnosed the problem as the battery pack coolant heater “A” control circuit performance. Dealer replaced part. Jan 12, 2022. Check engine light illuminated again. Dealer, again, diagnosed the same problem and replaced the same part.
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
While driving on the interstate at ~60MPH the vehicle suddenly shut off and flashed a "Service Charging System" Error. The gas pedal was unresponsive and we were forced to swerve through traffic as the vehicle was rapidly decelerating to make our way to the side of the interstate. This is a minivan, and as a minivan, we were using it for it's intended purpose of transporting our 4 small children to school and daycare. Because this event happened on the interstate, not only did we risk a high speed crash, but we had to move the kids from one vehicle to another as cars whizzed by at 60-70mph. We tried multiple attempts at restarting the vehicle and it would not restart. The vehicle is currently at the dealership and is being looked at under warranty.
I wanted to write to you and let you know about our recent and scary experience with our new 2021 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Limited. We purchased our van on Labor Day, September 6, 2021. Since then, we have had 2 out of town family funerals and a family vacation so we have right at 5k miles on the vehicle. On 11/5/2021, at approximately 1:15pm, I was driving our van on a 6-lane major thoroughfare with my two small children with me. We had 43% of our EV battery remaining and so we were driving on EV power (and had a half tank of fuel also). Suddenly, the engine power stopped, I had no acceleration, and a “Service Charging System” message popped up on the instrument info panel along with a check engine light, a red battery light near the compass, and a red plug symbol just below the fuel gauge. I was not able to get the van to do anything but roll with whatever forward momentum we had toward the side of the highway. In nothing short of a miracle, we avoided multiple collisions and safely made it to the shoulder. We had electric power to run the radio and climate fan only but the car engine was completely inoperable and could not start or shift into gear after multiple attempts to restart it. I contacted roadside assistance and waited for a tow while trying to keep my small children calm and safe sitting in a dangerous location on the side of a highway. After about 30 minutes, the car engine fan shut off and so I attempted to restart the car and it finally worked. I immediately headed toward the closest dealership by taking the side roads and hoping that we wouldn’t have another incident and be a sitting duck on the highway again. This vehicle malfunction could have, and realistically still could, cause a traumatic and horrific fatal motor vehicle collision. This is not just a routine and minor malfunction like a door sensor issue, or check engine light, etc. This issue can lead to a severe safety issue that will, and did, render the vehicle a target with no escape.
While driving our 2021 Chrysler Pacifica PHEV in EV on the highway, at speed of 65 mph, the vehicle lost power and the accelerator pedal became unresponsive. This has occurred on three occassions, each on different days. The dashboard signaled these issues: Shift to P to Start, Service Charging System, and the check engine light indicator. This is a very serious safety issue. The Engine and Power failed while driving at highway speed, this has occurred 3 times in the past few weeks. After losing power, the vehicle can only coast using it's own momentum. The steering and braking functions remained operable, so the driver was able to steer the car to change lanes (while losing speed) to get to the shoulder. This UNSAFE for my family because vehicle is at risk of being rear ended while on the highway. This is unsafe for anyone in the vehicle directly behind my vehicle. After the 2nd incident of losing power while on highway, I made an appointment with local Chrysler Dealer's service department. They inspected the vehicle and, as I understand it, they found a message or fault indicator that was somewhat concerning in relation to the electrical system. The service provided a solution by adjusting or tuning something. They did not replace any parts. Three days after the service was done, the problem occurred again; again, my vehicle lost power while going ~65mph on the highway. I called local chrysler service and left message with them today, requesting another service appointment. When they call me back I will request Chrysler to report this as a safety issue.
I was driving at just over 70MPH in hybrid mode (battery fully depleted for full electric operation) and suddenly the van lost all power and a warning came up on the screen that said "Service Charging System". The van was totally stalled and had no power, but still had electrical functions. I had to pull over on the side of the road in busy traffic, put the van in Park and then restart. After this event, my engine light has remained on and I am attempting to schedule an appointment with the Chrysler dealer. This high speed stall in busy traffic was extremely dangerous and I hope that we can resolve this matter effectively. The dash photo I uploaded is not my actual dash, but that is the exact same error screen and engine light that I saw. Exactly the same.
While in EV mode, driving 75 mph on the freeway for at least five minutes, the vehicle suddenly loses power and the accelerator pedal becomes completely unresponsive. My vehicle was slowing down in the carpool lane and I had to carefully find my way to the shoulder to be able to turn the vehicle EV motor back on. There are no warning signs. It is very sudden. This has happened 8 times so far. Dealership service center has inspected and tested the vehicle twice for a few weeks and has not been able to reproduce. My vehicle is available for more inspection but I just initiated a buy back process with Chrysler Customer Care.