The way I drive, I very rarely end up in the left lane, and I pay attention to my surroundings so even if I were to lose power on the highway, I would have a high chance of being able to get it off to the side. But I get it, its always someone else's fault.
They're doing some major road work here in Michigan and on one of the freeways (I-696), they have it down to 2 lanes each way on one side while they tear up the other side.If you are that afraid of a vehicle losing power on the highway, then you dont belong behind the wheel.
I hate it when they do construction like that but in some places they have no choice but to have no shoulder.They're doing some major road work here in Michigan and on one of the freeways (I-696), they have it down to 2 lanes each way on one side while they tear up the other side.
That said, they just have 2 narrow lanes & don't have a shoulder or anywhere to pull over IF your van did die on you. Aka you'd be screwed.
I'm not that paranoid, but it did cross my mind when I was cruising thru that 10 mile stretch that there'd be nowhere to go except to stop on the freeway.
Thanks for sharing. Do you mind also sharing how the buyback works? Some details, like are you getting your full purchase price back? I don't recall the exact amount, but I think we had around $4K in dealer incentives, knocking our $49K sticker price to around $45K, then minus our trade, and then add taxes. Are you getting the several thousand dollars in sales tax back? I'm curious to know just how much I'd be getting in a buy back, if it is just the current used value or closer to the original purchase price.Just to post an update on my Pacifica for anyone that was following my thread. I am in the process of doing a buyback with Chrysler they already approved it, and it should happen in the next week or so. This will probably be my last update post as I don't think there will be much else to say.
As for the van it is now seven and a half weeks of being at the dealership and they are still waiting on the replacement transmission so I will probably complete the buyback before they even get the transmission and get it installed.
Thank you to everyone on this forum for all the help and I wish you all luck with your rides.
I just received a letter from Chrysler stating that the transmission 2017-2023 warranty has been extended to 10 years because of the 03A recall problem...I guess all of the blogging has started to pay off and FCA is doing the responsibility thing (short of offering new transmissions to all affected)...my 2022 is working fine so farWe have had our Pacifica for 23 months now and in that time, we have enjoyed it. Other than allot of unfortunate interior rattles and the Uconnect being delivered without full functionality (multi users took about a year to get) it has been pretty good, and I probably would have recommended it to anyone considering buying one.
But last Friday (March 17th, 2023) as my wife was on the way home from picking up the kiddo at school the check engine light came on and a message saying "check charging system" popped up right as she got home. I then took it on a test drive around the block and as I was driving it suddenly and totally died with the message of "shift to park to start vehicle". I stopped and was after a few mins of blocking the street able to get it to restart and make it back home. I immediately called the local dealership and scheduled an appointment for the next day Saturday March 18th to have them look at it and do the 03A software update that supposedly fixes loss of motive power. AND THIS IS WHERE IT GETS BAD!
On my way to the dealership service center which is only about 1 mile from my house the van died about 3 or 4 times, so I arrived at service with an appointment for a 30 min software update that turned into much more. I explained to the service advisor what had happened, and he said they would flash the software update and see if this fixed the issue since the recall of 03A addressed loss of motive power problem. IT DIDN’T and I was given the option of picking it up as they wouldn’t be able to do anything till Monday the 20th of March as they are closed on Sunday. I pointed out that it doesn’t really run so they might as well keep it, he agreed and told me I would have an update Tuesday morning. Tuesday comes and goes but I hear nothing so Wednesday I call and get no answer and leave a VM on his extension asking for an update, reminding him I was promised an update on Tuesday but still I hear nothing until today (Thursday now). The update is that they found metal shavings in the transmission and are still working with Chrysler to diagnose the issue. They haven’t ordered any parts yet and have no estimate of how long it will even take to find out what else is wrong and what needs to be ordered. He also told me that the car is dying for them, and they had issues even getting it started after looking at it to get it out of their service center.
Since they don’t have any timeframe of repair I asked about a loaner and was told that they don’t give loaners, but I could call Chrysler and open a case, so I did but now I need to wait 24-48 hours for a call back with approval for a rental car.
At this point I would ABSOLUTELY NOT recommend anyone buy a Pacifica Hybrid. Admittedly I am bitter at this point because Chrysler moves so slow but honestly, I don’t know if I would even trust any stellantis product for my next car purchase. They have a chance to make this right and act quick, the ball is in their court. My guess is they don’t care much about loosing one buyer and nothing will change but time will really tell.
For what it’s worth I have opened a case with NHTSA because honestly, I feel like Chrysler knows about this issue but is trying to band-aid the problem (software update) that clearly DOES NOT fix anything as evidenced by my situation. They need to be held responsible and provide a REAL FIX before someone gets killed. All sales of Hybrid Pacifica’s (both new and used) need to be stopped until this issue is fixed. They obviously are just buying time in releasing software updates why does the NHTSA allow that?
Problem is the dealers have a wait time of 6-8 weeks for new transmissions and most Chrysler dealers offer NO LOANER vehicles!I just received a letter from Chrysler stating that the transmission 2017-2023 warranty has been extended to 10 years because of the 03A recall problem...I guess all of the blogging has started to pay off and FCA is doing the responsibility thing (short of offering new transmissions to all affected)...my 2022 is working fine so far
..fingers crossed...
Thank you for your feedback on this. We are glad to hear that your vehicle is working fine. Should you have any questions, concerns, or issues with your vehicle, please do not hesitate to reach out to us directly.I just received a letter from Chrysler stating that the transmission 2017-2023 warranty has been extended to 10 years because of the 03A recall problem...I guess all of the blogging has started to pay off and FCA is doing the responsibility thing (short of offering new transmissions to all affected)...my 2022 is working fine so far
..fingers crossed...
Hello @SleeperProblem is the dealers have a wait time of 6-8 weeks for new transmissions and most Chrysler dealers offer NO LOANER vehicles!
What I had to do after the second time when my dealer told me they could not replicate the loss of power, was to get the van back from the service department, go take it on the interstate, and drive over 70 mph until it went into turtle mode again (which was about a minute once I got up to speed). After I pulled over, waited 30 or so seconds (for the red flashing dot on the left side of the instrument cluster to stop flashing), then restarted, I drove back under 70 mph to the dealership where they could pull the code.Dealership service department called me today. I was barely able to get it back to the dealership after it lost motive power (turtle screen) at 75 MPH within 3 miles of the dealership.
They said the problem is now gone, and they were told my Chrystler to have me keep testing it.
Service adviser told them I have refused taking the car back until a correction is applied.
They asked them to drive it more, and they claim they put 70 miles on it today with no problem.
Car has been there for three weeks now (other than the 30 minutes that I had it back when it died).
They won't open a star report because the problem is no longer present.
I asked them to keep driving it. Not sure what more I can do.
According to the court documents, FCA started issuing updates in 2017- in about a year after the van hit the market.You missing a point what Chrysler knew about problem and did nothing for 5-6 or so years.
I did a buyback when I had a 2018 with a HV battery problem. Don't remember the exact numbers, but the deduction was quite reasonable. I don't know if this loophole still exists, back then I also kept the federal tax credit, so I actually turned a profit on the whole ordeal. Things are different now. When I bought the current 21 Pachy, it was hugely discounted. Since that all the discounts are gone and the MSRP went through the roof. If FCA would buy back my van now, it would cost me major $ to get a replacement, which would probably be worse equipped due to the parts shortage.I paid $44627 for the van. This problem started at 32,000 miles.
Looking at various lemon law calculators online, the most I would get back is $32,726.
That's about the same as I could get on a trade in for another car.
Maybe it's time to let someone else deal with this problem...
Hello,Dealership service department called me today. I was barely able to get it back to the dealership after it lost motive power (turtle screen) at 75 MPH within 3 miles of the dealership.
They said the problem is now gone, and they were told my Chrystler to have me keep testing it.
Service adviser told them I have refused taking the car back until a correction is applied.
They asked them to drive it more, and they claim they put 70 miles on it today with no problem.
Car has been there for three weeks now (other than the 30 minutes that I had it back when it died).
They won't open a star report because the problem is no longer present.
I asked them to keep driving it. Not sure what more I can do.
Everyone's experience is different. We have owned 2010/2014 Town and Country, then 2018 Pacifica and now a 2021 Hybrid Pacifica. All have been fantastic vehicles. This loss of power is the only major issue we have had, but Chrysler is taking care of it in an appropriate fashion.Agreed. Inventory shortage is the reason I held onto this sucker after it was lemoned out last year (different issue).
In retrospect, the first mistake was buying a Chrystler. The second mistake was keeping it.
What's your theory? So far I've been lucky no issues in my 2018, 2020, 2023.They didnt know about it for 5-6 years, this started happening in 2020 and even more frequent in the newer ones ( I have a theory as to why)
