[M0Par]

I have a 2017 Pacifica with about 93k miles. Hadn't had any problems with it at all until earlier this year when the check engine light came on. I took it to Pep Boys and they said it was a misfire and to replace the sparkplugs. A few months later, another misfire but Pep Boys said it was fine and just a random thing. Then four months later, another misfire. Now it's at the dealer having the head gasket replaced.

I'm originally from Toledo, so I'm sort of used to be being loyal to Chrysler and also knowing they're junk, but I'm wondering if this is going to lead to the entire engine needing to be replaced after spending all this money on a van with nearly 100k.

Do you have an extended warranty? Otherwise what's the cost for the repair?

 

[MkRob]

Do you have an extended warranty? Otherwise what's the cost for the repair?

No extended warranty. It's about $5k for the head gasket.

 

[M0Par]

No extended warranty. It's about $5k for the head gasket.

That's a bummer. Did they happen to check the cylinders for wear? These head gaskets fixes usually go well beyond the head gasket.

 

[joeyma01]

As someone who had their engine fail, I reject the idea that it was anything I did or any neglect on my part. I bought and used only the correct MOPAR coolant. I never went over on an oil change. The car never overheated. It just out of the blue started drinking the coolant. And then shortly thereafter, the engine was toast.

The van is nice looking, but it's quality is lacking. The autostart/stop is a joke, the star connector in the glove box that complains about service shifter now that disables the van, the failed actuator to the left of the glovebox that hunts endlessly, clunking transmission shifts, lame motor mounts, chipping/bubbling paint on the nose, etc.

You literally described my 2018 Touring L to the letter. Had oil filter housing replaced as ispection saw it was leaking slightly and I never saw any oil on driveway. Dealership replaced under my lifetime warranty. Got car home a couple days later, boom...misfire P0303 and flashing check engine light. Got it towed back to dealership, they said ignition coil for 3 was bad and replaced. A couple of days later getting a pending code for P0303 intermitently. Never had a misfire for 117,000 miles. Haven't had any coolant leaks yet, no overheat conditions, my spark plugs were changed out at 100,000 mile maintenance. Never once did any notes form periodic scheduled maintenance has anyone said coolant was really low. Don't know what's happening, but I'm keeping an eye on vehicle/coolant level, and next time it pops up, taking it right back to dealership and asking a lot of questions.

 

[PacificaMinivanFan]

Never once did any notes from periodic scheduled maintenance has anyone said coolant was really low. Don't know what's happening, but I'm keeping an eye on vehicle/coolant level, and next time it pops up, taking it right back to dealership and asking a lot of questions.

This tells me you relied on others to check your Pacifica's fluids before the failure, but at least now you are correctly checking it yourself.

 

[M0Par]

This tells me you relied on others to check your Pacifica's fluids before the failure, but at least now you are correctly checking it yourself.

Bingo. Don't rely on dealership grease monkeys for basic information about your vehicle. It's your vehicle, not theirs.

 

[ThisSuckersElectrical]

No surprise here, number 3.

Someone did an HG replacement, and it still failed on 3. Looks to me like hydro locking bent the rod, and the rest is history.

 

[M0Par]

Summary: SELF DESTRUCTING Chrysler Pacifica 3.6 Pentastar Engine. HACK MECHANIC's "Repair" Couldn't Save it!

Interesting. He concludes what many of us have already concluded: This will eventually happen to every Pacifica engine because it is an engineering design flaw for this particular vehicle.

 

[SitKneelBend]

No surprise here, number 3.

Someone did an HG replacement, and it still failed on 3. Looks to me like hydro locking bent the rod, and the rest is history.

I watched that video last week and found this in the comment section...

"I had a dealer put 3 head gaskets on one of these before realizing the cylinder block had a .003" dip/undulation on the block surface around the #3 and #5 cylinders. The cylinder head was not warped at all! And it's a epidemic with this 3.6L engine as what I've seen out there. Cylinder liners are shifting causing coolant wash in the cylinders. Yeah I'm an inspector, pretty handy with a straight edge, and I've seen a lot of them. Head gasket replacement will not fix them obviously. "

 

[BriPac]

No surprise here, number 3.

Someone did an HG replacement, and it still failed on 3. Looks to me like hydro locking bent the rod, and the rest is history.

I watched a decent chunk of this video and he quotes the "same" 3.6 goes in at least 6+ other brands of Chrysler & that Mopar on here states that this design flaw is mostly inherent to Pacifica why eventually all of them will fail at some point, however if the same 3.6 is in many other Chryslers why are the majority of failures only in Pacifica when it's the same motor across the board,, still makes little to no sense because if it's a surface anomaly in the heads or whatever is causing Pacificas to fail it should relate to ALL different brands not just Pacifica which still puts this topic somewhere back to square one again with theories as to why this is continuing to happen..

 

[M0Par]

I watched a decent chunk of this video and he quotes the "same" 3.6 goes in at least 6+ other brands of Chrysler & that Mopar on here states that this design flaw is mostly inherent to Pacifica why eventually all of them will fail at some point, however if the same 3.6 is in many other Chryslers why are the majority of failures only in Pacifica when it's the same motor across the board,, still makes little to no sense because if it's a surface anomaly in the heads or whatever is causing Pacificas to fail it should relate to ALL different brands not just Pacifica which still puts this topic somewhere back to square one again with theories as to why this is continuing to happen..

I'll recall he addressed this in the video by discussing different heat sinks unique to the Pacifica application.

It's easy to forget that engines are part of an entire ecosystem of a power train and just dropping an engine into one platform doesn't mean it will produce the same results as another.

 

[BriPac]

I'll recall he addressed this in the video by discussing different heat sinks unique to the Pacifica application.

It's easy to forget that engines are part of an entire ecosystem of a power train and just dropping an engine into one platform doesn't mean it will produce the same results as another.

It was a 45 minute video didn’t sit through all of it maybe I missed that but if all the engines are the same one would bode the question why would even heat sinks be unique to Pacifica only. Usually only external components might be different versus different makes but when we get into cylinders and head material they should all be the same regardless of make..Oh well.... Maybe the push and pull and torque sequence of Pacifica being front wheel drive is putting excess stress somewhere who knows

 

[SitKneelBend]

It was a 45 minute video didn’t sit through all of it maybe I missed that but if all the engines are the same one would bode the question why would even heat sinks be unique to Pacifica only. Usually only external components might be different versus different makes but when we get into cylinders and head material they should all be the same regardless of make..Oh well.... Maybe the push and pull and torque sequence of Pacifica being front wheel drive is putting excess stress somewhere who knows

Maybe it's the unique configuration of the catalytic convertor in this area pointed out previously? Same engine, different thermal profile...

 

[ThisSuckersElectrical]

I watched that video last week and found this in the comment section...

"I had a dealer put 3 head gaskets on one of these before realizing the cylinder block had a .003" dip/undulation on the block surface around the #3 and #5 cylinders. The cylinder head was not warped at all! And it's a epidemic with this 3.6L engine as what I've seen out there. Cylinder liners are shifting causing coolant wash in the cylinders. Yeah I'm an inspector, pretty handy with a straight edge, and I've seen a lot of them. Head gasket replacement will not fix them obviously. "

Been saying there is a factory defect for a very long time, as the point of failure is always the exact same.

Have also been saying this: "Head gasket replacement will not fix them obviously."

 

[ThisSuckersElectrical]

It was a 45 minute video didn’t sit through all of it maybe I missed that but if all the engines are the same one would bode the question why would even heat sinks be unique to Pacifica only. Usually only external components might be different versus different makes but when we get into cylinders and head material they should all be the same regardless of make..Oh well.... Maybe the push and pull and torque sequence of Pacifica being front wheel drive is putting excess stress somewhere who knows

Maybe being the vehicle trims are loaded and cheaper than most other Mopars, it is engineered to fail just outside of warranty to generate money on the back end.

 

[ThisSuckersElectrical]

Maybe it's the unique configuration of the catalytic convertor in this area pointed out previously? Same engine, different thermal profile...

I don't think that's it. The exhaust valves, ports, and headers are the hottest points on the heads.

This video proves it is not just Pacificas when he starts reading from the list in his hand.

https://www.pacificaforums.com/posts/718534/

 

[BriPac]

Maybe it's the unique configuration of the catalytic convertor in this area pointed out previously? Same engine, different thermal profile...

That's always been my top theory sadly, I'm just waiting for the day where finally someone chimes in and says
"We know what it is now!!!!",...🧐🧐

 

[SitKneelBend]

I don't think that's it. The exhaust valves, ports, and headers are the hottest points on the heads.

This video proves it is not just Pacificas when he starts reading from the list in his hand.

https://www.pacificaforums.com/posts/718534/

I don't disagree, I'm mostly speculating that heat soak is a factor that is making this particular location have this particular failure on this particular engine in this specific model.

 

[PacificaMinivanFan]

That's always been my top theory sadly, I'm just waiting for the day where finally someone chimes in and says
"We know what it is now!!!!",...🧐🧐

All good points here. I also have pegged a lot on the location of the catalytic converter, but have wondered...

It is my understanding that catalytic converters run the hottest when something is wrong with the engine, such as unburned fuel from misfires or a bad O2 sensor. When this happens the check engine light starts flashing. How many have said they had flashing CELs?

By now we must all be coming to the conclusion that it isn't just one thing that is causing these failures, but a combination of things.

As a student of this issue for maybe three years, I've seen numerous reports over different social media platforms of owners going well over 100,000 miles with no head gasket failure. One common denominator is those owners know a lot about car maintenance, read the owner's manual, do their own oil changes, know what fluids to use and not to use, check fluid levels often,... and they don't overtighten the oil filter cap!

I would guess that most minivan owners are not car enthusiasts. They have families with busy schedules. They know just enough to get the the oil changed every 10,000 miles. They take it to an express lube place and let them deal with checking the things that they should be checking themselves. Who knows if the right coolant is being used to top off the reservoir?

You regulars and me, we're car enthusiasts and we honestly care about such thngs; but I really do believe most minivan owners could give a rip.

 

[BriPac]

All good points here. I also have pegged a lot on the location of the catalytic converter, but have wondered...

It is my understanding that catalytic converters run the hottest when something is wrong with the engine, such as unburned fuel from misfires or a bad O2 sensor. When this hapensures the check engine light starts flashing. How many have said they had flashing CELs?

By now we must all be coming to the conclusion that it isn't just one thing that is causing these failures, but a combination of things.

As a student of this issue for maybe three years, I've seen numerous reports over different social media platforms of owners going well over 100,000 miles with no head gasket failure. One common denominator is those owners know a lot about car maintenance, read the owner's manual, do their own oil changes, know what fluids to use and not to use, check fluid levels often,... and they don't overtighten the oil filter cap!

I would guess that most minivan owners are not car enthusiasts. They have families with busy schedules. They know just enough to get the the oil changed every 10,000 miles. They take it to an express lube place and let them deal with checking the things that they should be checking themselves. Who knows if the right coolant is being used to top off the reservoir?

You and me, we're car enthusiasts and we honestly care about such thngs; but I really do believe most minivan owners could give a rip.

You bring up a topic most people are afraid to address and that are in fact probably guilty of,, neglect or stretching maintenance intervals to Insanity. 10K mile oil changes, never changing your coolant etc.. I get the whole boring minivan concept, families, busy lives as they put maintenance off and also Rent A Car fleets use these a lot of Pacificas but I'm inclined to think they are up on maintenance alot better.. I realize minivans are hard to be enthusiastic about but if you're an Enthusiast that carries over to all your vehicles. I've had new Corvettes in my day, new Expeditions etc and I treat this minivan the same as I would those. I'll brag a little bit here, only 3K oil changes I flush my radiator every 20k miles with nothing but purple Chrysler fluid, I've already changed my trans fluid at 40K, took out the AGS slats, took off the belly pan and took off the top cosmetic top cover in attempts to keep the heat down, spark plugs & oiler cooler changed also at 60k. P303 is basically spark & fuel but will also show up with coolant intrusion
I've even gone so far as to pull all 4 of the pain in the a** to get to 02 sensors last month to clean those which luckily weren't that bad which helps with gas mileage and proper fuel mixture for better catalyst & heat operation..
I only bring all this up so people can at least take some or all of a bite out of this to help ensure their vans run as cool as possible not to mention as proper and efficient as possible and everything listed above I did by myself no shops or other people involved so if you're a decent backyard mechanic it can be done responsibly in your driveway. One of the most important things you should also do is pop your hood three or four times a month and look at your coolant level. That's an indication right there that something is wrong before you do further damage