[PacificaMinivanFan]

I often wonder if the OPs of these types of threads have already made up their minds beforehand. And if things go south, will they report back to us what happened? So go for it! I am not inclined to buy a new Pachy anyway, and especially not inclined to buy a used one, but if I were to see one with a trailer hitch, I'd run away as fast as I could.

 

[Chris]

I would be very concerned with regenerative breaking (front wheels only) that may result in instability particularly in conditions with poor traction. May result in jack knifing!

 

[The Cool Van Crew]

Any firsthand towing experience with the hybrid?
I know it says “don’t”and I’ve read all the opinions and “tHeY’lL CaNcEl YoUr WaRrAnTy!!!” rants from people who don’t, but does anyone actually tow a trailer with theirs?

I have a 900# popup and a 2000# boat.

Thank you

I know many are worried about towing. My Pachy has been towing our 2400lbs camper (more like 3000lbs loaded up) for a while now and it works perfectly fine. In fact, Chrysler will continue to warranty the van with no questions asked if you have a hitch installed through a Chrysler dealership. I monitor trans temp and stress with and obd reader and there are no concerns at all. (Obviously don’t drive the van like a race car, but overtaking and large hills are no sweat with common sense driving) Also, anything over 2000lbs does better with trailer brakes, but not necessary. Hope this helps some.

 

[The Cool Van Crew]

I would be very concerned with regenerative breaking (front wheels only) that may result in instability particularly in conditions with poor traction. May result in jack knifing!

With my experience, no worries there. Regen is not strong enough to cause a problem in 99% of conditions, just don’t put your foot down on breaking, but that is the same for a non-hybrid. Regen could cause an issue with ice or slick snow, but you can overcome that by lightly keeping your foot on the accelerator to be “neutral“ on regen. Hope that helps!

 

[The Cool Van Crew]

Was it the engineers or the lawyers? I had an E class wagon that said “do not tow” in the US owner’s manual but the exact same car in the rest of the world could tow nearly its own weight. It towed my sailboat quite well.

Exactly. The US rating is based on an opinion rather than testing. I use the Canadian towing capacities to get an accurate rating as long as the cars are made to the same specs.

 

[OverEasy]

I know many are worried about towing. My Pachy has been towing our 2400lbs camper (more like 3000lbs loaded up) for a while now and it works perfectly fine. In fact, Chrysler will continue to warranty the van with no questions asked if you have a hitch installed through a Chrysler dealership. I monitor trans temp and stress with and obd reader and there are no concerns at all. (Obviously don’t drive the van like a race car, but overtaking and large hills are no sweat with common sense driving) Also, anything over 2000lbs does better with trailer brakes, but not necessary. Hope this helps some.

Thank you for being the only one to reply who actually has firsthand experience towing. I pick it up tomorrow and I’ll put a hitch on it as soon as I figure out which one I want and order it.

 

[The Cool Van Crew]

Thank you for being the only one to reply who actually has firsthand experience towing. I pick it up tomorrow and I’ll put a hitch on it as soon as I figure out which one I want and order it.

Good luck and happy towing! I went with the drawtite hitch since they make a version for the hybrid. It is rated for 4500lbs and 5000 for weight distribution. Likely more than needed, but good to have. 👍🏻👍🏻😃

 

[ThisSuckersElectrical]

It would be interesting to see the outcome of the red turtle, service shifter, or complete hybrid drive system failure when a tow truck arrives to see a trailer behind it on a freeway in the middle of nowhere.

 

[The Cool Van Crew]

It would be interesting to see the outcome of the red turtle, service shifter, or complete hybrid drive system failure when a tow truck arrives to see a trailer behind it on a freeway in the middle of nowhere.

126,000 hybrid/towing miles later, no problem.

 

[VelvetRedAWD]

It would be interesting to see the outcome of the red turtle, service shifter, or complete hybrid drive system failure when a tow truck arrives to see a trailer behind it on a freeway in the middle of nowhere.

The world is full of idiots.

 

[PacificaMinivanFan]

Ok, ok. Let's keep this things civil here. To OverEasy, after towing with your Pachy for a while, maybe you would be kind enough to report back with your experience (good or bad). Perhaps let us know what you hooked up, how many pounds (net), any mountains, transmission and oil temps, all that good shtuff. Thanks!

 

[kenchills]

It truly would be interesting to find Chrysler Engineering's reasoning on why the Pacifica hybrid's tow rating is zero. Does anyone know how we could get a real answer from a Chrysler engineer?

Just saying this because unlike the ICE version, the PacHy has no clutches or wear items in the transaxle. In fact, it has 2 liquid cooled electric motors that should provide superior/instant starting torque. Theoretically, it would seem the PacHy should be superior for the purpose of towing.
I know for my own driving, I have to deliberately feather the throttle on takeoff many times, as the torque from the electric motors is much more than any ICE vehicle I own. The feeling I get from the PacHy is more like a go cart, with pretty impressive acceleration from a standstill.

I will never try it myself, but I'm definitely interested in the long term experiences of those towing small TTs or pop-ups with the PacHy.

 

[The Cool Van Crew]

It truly would be interesting to find Chrysler Engineering's reasoning on why the Pacifica hybrid's tow rating is zero. Does anyone know how we could get a real answer from a Chrysler engineer?

Just saying this because unlike the ICE version, the PacHy has no clutches or wear items in the transaxle. In fact, it has 2 liquid cooled electric motors that should provide superior/instant starting torque. Theoretically, it would seem the PacHy should be superior for the purpose of towing.
I know for my own driving, I have to deliberately feather the throttle on takeoff many times, as the torque from the electric motors is much more than any ICE vehicle I own. The feeling I get from the PacHy is more like a go cart, with pretty impressive acceleration from a standstill.

I will never try it myself, but I'm definitely interested in the long term experiences of those towing small TTs or pop-ups with the PacHy.

I agree with you! In my experience, towing with the hybrid is better than the gas model (I had 65,000 miles on a gas Pacifica before the hybrid) No issues at all and plenty of power. Braking is great as well. Talking to an engineer, his best guess was the extra weight of the car from the electric motors and battery pack is the reason a lawyer/insurance advisor estimates a zero towing capacity. In reality, you have more starting torque, stronger suspension and more breaking power. I would recommend it, but it’s up to what anyone feels comfortable with. 😃👍🏻

 

[CANADAHYBRIDGUY]

The world is full of idiots.

I don’t think the world is full of idiots per say , I think the mentality here is that if something happens to the powertrain I’m sure the post will go something like this . This van is crap , Chrysler Pacifica is garbage and now I need a new tranny . I’ve seen and read a ton of posts on this forum and issues like this that when you dig into the real stories it’s just about lacking common sense and the “ it’ll never happen to me ideology “ . And to all the naysayers about warranty will never be affected , you have no idea how many claims get” denied “ because of certain visual red flags .

 

[The Cool Van Crew]

I don’t think the world is full of idiots per say , I think the mentality here is that if something happens to the powertrain I’m sure the post will go something like this . This van is crap , Chrysler Pacifica is garbage and now I need a new tranny . I’ve seen and read a ton of posts on this forum and issues like this that when you dig into the real stories it’s just about lacking common sense and the “ it’ll never happen to me ideology “ . And to all the naysayers about warranty will never be affected , you have no idea how many claims get” denied “ because of certain visual red flags .

For warranty claims, if you are taking about Canada, you are likely correct to a degree. If the US, then it is likely that all claims will be accepted, due to variant laws. My wife works for the head of service at a Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge/Subaru dealership, and I am amazed at what they will cover. Either way, I feel like talking about towing and warranty together may matter for some, but others that are avid camper/fleet towing people may care less about the vehicles warranty. I wouldn’t necessarily assume that they think they are above the chance of vehicle failure. It could happen to anyone, for any number of reasons. I feel that many in this discussion would rather shame people for their decisions or questions rather than answering the initial question in the thread. Not trying to be rude to you or others. I just feel like this discussion is way off track. It should be answers from people with experience towing, as said in the original question.

 

[VelvetRedAWD]

Perhaps those thinking about adding a hitch to a hybrid should do some research into what the black box is capable of recording.
😳

 

[ThisSuckersElectrical]

Just saying this because unlike the ICE version, the PacHy has no clutches or wear items in the transaxle. In fact,

It does in fact have 6 compression spring-tensioned torque limiter clutch packs on the Si (Single Inputshaft). This is most likely the reason for NO towing as they are rated for the weight of the vehicle. Put a trailer behind it traveling up mountains with the ICE running putting your foot in it, could cause those to start slipping burning them out quickly. They are designed for limited-slip on startup and short quick accelerations, not continuous torque from heavy loads. If those clutch packs get stripped/burned out you will be going nowhere.

I don't see towing in all-electric would cause any problems, BUT in hybrid charge sustaining mode I do see a failure point in the torque limiter clutch packs under heavy load as those were not engineered for that.

 

[The Cool Van Crew]

The van is designed to carry seven adults, If you assume each adult weighs 200 pounds, you can assume the van can carry roughly 1400 pounds. If the driver is the only one in the vehicle, you can assume a 1200 pound trailer is adding little to no additional stress on the vehicle. Anything over that would be extra stress and most modern vehicles can handle at least half of their designed weight above its own in normal/ the average conditions.

My scenario is a bit on the extreme side, but towing 3,000 pounds for more than 120,000 miles with a fully loaded van, rooftop box, 3 people and 3 dogs, my van shows no signs of any issues. I keep up on maintenance and monitor trans heat to make sure.

My last non-hybrid Pacifica had trans issues before 60k miles with light towing. 900lbs trailer, but it was rated at 3600lbs. I think I had a defect, but luckily it was covered under warranty. Just sharing my experience to compare.

Hopefully this is helpful for some.

 

[CANADAHYBRIDGUY]

There is no variance of North American warranty claims . Nobody is shaming anybody what we’re trying to prevent is a thread about my electric motors or battery or tranny just Imploded. But I guess when the manual for treadmill says weight limit is 300 lbs and somebody exceeds that limit and deck breaks it’s the manufacturer assembly or quality issue , right ? . I just know that some posts on this site don’t tell the real stories about what actually happened , yet the headline reads “ piece of garbage “ . To each their own , but if **** goes sideways don’t complain about the astrnomical cost to fix it , just saying . And another small little tidbit , warranty claims are North American not just U.S.A. or Canada as a separate entity. Any claim associated with any vehicle all goes to auburn hills and not just Windsor . Glad your up to speed now , just saying .

 

[The Cool Van Crew]

There is no variance of North American warranty claims . Nobody is shaming anybody what we’re trying to prevent is a thread about my electric motors or battery or tranny just Imploded. But I guess when the manual for treadmill says weight limit is 300 lbs and somebody exceeds that limit and deck breaks it’s the manufacturer assembly or quality issue , right ? . I just know that some posts on this site don’t tell the real stories about what actually happened , yet the headline reads “ piece of garbage “ . To each their own , but if **** goes sideways don’t complain about the astrnomical cost to fix it , just saying . And another small little tidbit , warranty claims are North American not just U.S.A. or Canada as a separate entity. Any claim associated with any vehicle all goes to auburn hills and not just Windsor . Glad your up to speed now , just saying .

Let’s not be rude, let people make that choice or talk about it on a warranty thread if you would like.

Literally read the very first post in the thread, it states to not talk about the impact to the warranty. Read the thread before responding.

Also, I wasn’t referring to Chrysler’s policy, what you may not know about the US, is that the dealerships are able to claim warranties separately from Chrysler’s claims, this helps prevent law suits, since the USA is a bit Lawsuit happy. When I lived in Canada and worked as a maintenance manager for Chrysler, only around 75% claims would go through, but working for Chrysler in the US, about 99% go through since the dealership owners will also cover warranties. Many times we would warranty claim vehicles 50k miles out of warranty. Please ask questions if you are confused or not sure, rather than saying “glad your are up to speed”, you may not know everything, as I am also always learning a lot from these discussions.

This will be my last post on this thread since others seems to like to fight and put others down rather than answer the original question or share their own experiences. Good luck to all!