2020 Chrysler Pacifica PLUG-IN Hybrid

Pacifica hybrid turned on but would not shift out of park or turn off. The radio was playing, air was blowing (though not cold), power doors were not functioning. The car was towed to a Chrysler service center while still running. They turned the car off and when they looked at it several days later there were no errors codes and the car was turning on/off and able to shift out of park and drive. They returned the car to me without any explanation for why this happened. The car was purchased 13 months ago and this is the second time this has happened. The car did the same thing in January 2024. The car ran for hours without being able to shift out of park or turn off. The car died by the time it was towed to the Chrysler service center. The service center recommended replacing the auxiliary battery at that time, which we did (Jan 2024). They said there were no mechanical error codes showing.

We were driving and the vehicle displayed "Pull Over, Vehicle will Shut off Soon" along with a check engine light. Fortunately we were almost home and the vehicle made it to our house before shutting off. We took it to the dealer and the dealer claimed they were not able to reproduce the issue or see any problems with the vehicle, despite it losing motive power.

Twice now the A/C has quit, and a short time later the Hybrid battery severely overheats and the van shuts down. This happens at highway speeds, and the vehicle loses power and shuts down. This is dangerous to have a sudden shutdown at 75 MPH. When driving in hot weather for a couple hours, the electric A/C compressor quits. On this van, the Hybrid battery is cooled by the passenger HVAC system. When the A/C quits first you feel the air from the ducts getting warm. Then you get a message on the dash for "Battery Conditioning" and a Check Engine light. If you keep driving, it stalls and will not restart until the battery cools off. It takes about 3-4 hours to get the van to move again at reduced power. If you let it cool overnight, the van drives normally until the next incident. There are trouble codes set for battery overheating, P0A7E, P1AA6, P1A9A, P1A21, P1AA2, P1A9E. There have been multiple unsuccessful attempts to diagnose the van by Chrysler dealers. Dealers can't/won't replicate this due to having to drive for approximately 2 hours in high ambient temps. The vehicle is fine in moderate or cold temps due to not needing the A/C to cool the battery, it is cooled and heated by secondary systems in those conditions. This issue is very dangerous because lithium batteries do not like extreme high temperatures, this issue could cause a thermal runaway event of the battery. Many of the codes that were set are for the battery temperature exceeding 131F (55C), which is severely hot for Li-Ion. This is much hotter than safe high temp recommendation for Li-Ion. Recall 03A for not giving warning before stalling was performed, however this issue is not the same symptom, nor the same cause as that recall. That recall involves a transmission short, not battery overheating. My van has had multiple reflashes and is up to date on all software. My vehicle was a "lemon law" buyback for the same stall issue, and was purported to have been fixed before I purchased the van.

The current recall, NHTSA 23V-010, on my vehicle can not be resolved. The manufacturer customer service stated that repair instructions would be released within the 1st quarter or 2nd quarter of 2023. That could be up to six months. I am losing a lot of money because I can't fix the issue. Currently, I do not have any noticeable issues with my vehicle, but Chrysler Customer Service is telling me that even though there is a risk for an accident to occur due to the recall, it is okay for me to continue driving it. This is unacceptable and I think Chrysler should be pressured to move quickly to repair safety recalls or they should have to pay customers subject to the recall for the time they are unable to use their vehicle. This would include either payment for the monthly vehicle loan (or equivalent cost) or payment for a rental vehicle. This particular recall could result in a crash, a fire, injury or a fatality.

I was travelling on I-95. My 2020 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid completely shut down while driving at 65-70 mph. A Service Charging System message flashed on the dash. The van decelerated and another message "put in park to start" flashed. All of this was while I was driving on the interstate. I was able to brake to a stop on the shoulder and turn on the hazards. I was NOT able to turn off the car. The gears would not move. I could not put it in Park. After 20 minutes I was able to put it into park and turn it off. I restarted the van, but the same message flashed and I could not move. The van was towed to a Chrysler dealership. They had the car Monday and part of Tuesday. They could not duplicate the issue and could not find any error messages. They said they checked the battery several times and it was fine. There was nothing else they could do and sent me home with the van. Fortunately, I was in the right hand lane when this happened. I don't know what would happen if this occurs while in the middle lane and would need to maneuver to the shoulder. I have found that this is not a unique situation and the exact thing has happened to many other Pacifica owners. Unfortunately, I do not believe this is the last time this will happen. I am TERRIFIED to drive this van. I would guess a battery, electrical or computer issue, only because of the many messages on the dash and the inability to turn off the vehicle. I will gladly offer my van for inspection if requested.

Husband was driving the vehicle on a highway during a road trip and it turned off while he was driving. It generated a “charge fault” message on my phone (uConnect). He pulled over to the shoulder, had to start it again, got going, and it died again. He managed to limp it into the nearest town, we had to pay to have it towed and rent a car to get our family home. Vehicle has fewer than 8,000 miles on it, was purchased new December 2020.