[MrBasset]

Hi,

Sorry if I'm supposed to create one thread per issue, let me know and I'll sort it if need be.

My wife and I picked up our factory order limited on Friday - we ordered the configuration 25p with the advanced safety tec group. We haven't done a whole lot of driving with it and are still getting used to the new vehicle.

However, after doing some night driving yesterday evening we have been having issues with the auto high beams. These were working fine until about halfway through our journey home yesterday. We were driving through a small town which had intermittent street lights. As we were passing through the street lights were causing the high beams to switch on and off, until they switched off and haven't come back on. If we disable the auto high beams then they work fine, but we just can't seem to get the beams to come on at all when they are on the auto setting. Has anyone seen this before or have any suggestions?

The other problem we seem to have is that we don't seem to have the engine auto stop/start in our vehicle. We got the feature "Adaptive Cruise Control with Auto Stop/Start" with the Advance Tech package which I took to mean that we were getting an engine Auto Stop/Start as detailed in the manual on page 102. The button to disable the feature is missing and there are no settings for it. I've been through the build configuration online, but can't see any mention of this feature. I figured I'd call the dealer Monday, but wanted to try here to see if anyone else knows what could be up (most likely me misunderstanding the spec).

Thanks in advance,
~MrBasset

 

[BrettP]

I thought the ACC with stop/start referred to the ACC's ability to brake to a complete stop when the car in front comes to a stop. Mine does this and starts moving again when the car in front of me starts moving. You don't get this with normal Pacifica cruise control but you do with the ACC whose on off switch is one row lower on the steering wheel.

As to engine shutting off to save gas there are several on line references to this in association with the newest Pentastar engines
(which Pacifica supposedly has) but I haven't heard of anyone actually having this feature yet in a Pacifica. Which manual are you looking at? Is it the manual in the glove box or an on-line Chrysler.com owners manual? I'm not seeing the reference on page 102.

 

[generaltso]

Welcome to the forum! You'll generally get more specific responses with separate threads for separate issues, but it's not a huge deal.

Brett is absolutely correct that the 2017 Pacifica does not have the auto engine stop/start that you're thinking of. The ACC with Stop & Go is likely what you're thinking of, which works as Brett describes.

As for the auto high-beams, double check that they didn't inadvertently get turned off in the Uconnect menu. If that's not it, you'll likely need to have the dealer check it out.

 

[MrBasset]

Both,

Thanks for your responses, I've been waiting for the dealer to get back to me, but figured I'd post what I have found out so far.

I'd checked the auto high beams in the UConnect settings; but they were OK. I think that it might be something to do with my wife's key fob settings as it doesn't appear to happen with mine.

Literally, she will leave the stalk in the on position for the high beams and the auto dim will work a few times and then it'll get stuck in the low beams and not come back. The only way around is to disable the function for her fob or do a factory reset which seems to restore it for a bit.

I've contacted the dealer will see what they can do.

As for the stop/start; Brett is correct that the feature I listed is in relation to the ACC. There is however an ESS (Engine Stop/Start) listed on page 102 of my manual - can I post pictures on this forum? Anyway, from what I have been told this is going to be a late add feature that will be standard across the Pacifica line. The question I have now is whether existing owners will get this added as a dealer recall or are we out of luck?

Again, I've asked the dealer to find out for me.

 

[hawkfan]

I sure hope they don't add ESS to my vehicle. Cylinder deactivation, direct injection, CVT & ESS...I'm not yet sold on these as the benefits gained seem outweighed by the long-term issues they tend to cause and what they can take away from the overall driving experience. The Pacifica NOT having these things was one of the selling points for me over the Odyssey & Sienna. I bought a van not a hypermiling machine and I'm willing to accept the MPG hit for being able to haul around 8 folks with their stuff all in relative comfort. Just my $.02...

 

[generaltso]

There is however an ESS (Engine Stop/Start) listed on page 102 of my manual - can I post pictures on this forum? Anyway, from what I have been told this is going to be a late add feature that will be standard across the Pacifica line. The question I have now is whether existing owners will get this added as a dealer recall or are we out of luck?

I think you'll find several things in the manual, usually marked "if equipped", that aren't actually available on the Pacifica at all. ESS is one of those things, at least on the 2017 model year. I feel pretty confident that ESS will arrive with the 2018MY. This is exactly what they did with the Cherokee release. It was a new model for 2014, and they added ESS for 2015.

As far as retrofitting ESS for existing owners, it's not going to happen. It requires a different starter, alternator, and battery along with the button inside the vehicle to disable it.

Honestly, I'm glad that we have the opportunity to get a Pacifica without it. ESS really doesn't save all that much gas, and it can be really wonky in every day driving. Wouldn't be a big deal if it would stay disabled when you hit the button, but Chrysler's system re-enables it every time the ignition is cycled. The Cherokee forums are filled with people that are really annoyed by it.

 

[Gohawks1224]

I sure hope they don't add ESS to my vehicle. Cylinder deactivation, direct injection, CVT & ESS...I'm not yet sold on these as the benefits gained seem outweighed by the long-term issues they tend to cause and what they can take away from the overall driving experience. The Pacifica NOT having these things was one of the selling points for me over the Odyssey & Sienna. I bought a van not a hypermiling machine and I'm willing to accept the MPG hit for being able to haul around 8 folks with their stuff all in relative comfort. Just my $.02...

You might be interested in this

 

[BrettP]

Good video, thanks!

 

[dolee7]

high beams

One of the things I notice with mine is the on and off lever is the same as the turn signals and whenn using the turn signals once in a while I will switch the auto high beams off when putting on the turn signal. No big deal as I just push the lever forward to have auto high beams again.Did this on my 2013 van also.

 

[cue003]

Good info in that video. Thanks for posting.

 

[Riley]

Does anyone have issues with the low beams? Mine are very limited in distance especially when going down a hill. Compared to many other autos Ive owned they are very unsafe.
Riley

 

[Tsuter]

Does anyone have issues with the low beams? Mine are very limited in distance especially when going down a hill. Compared to many other autos Ive owned they are very unsafe.
Riley

The headlights are okay, I switched out the bulbs to a 9012 or 9011, I forget which right now, but they put out good light. As for the hill descent, that will be like that in any vehicle unless the beams self level. The halogens don't do that and I'm not sure if the hids do either. I had a q7 and I currently have another Audi sedan that does the self leveling magic and the q7 would also turn the beam left and right with the depending on the angle of the front wheels, it is pretty cool tech and I took it for granted until I am in the Pacifica without either of those features. But those are just minor items in my book, the headlights work fine otherwise. What I'm surprised at is the amount of folks that actually use auto high beams. I always thought that was a big gimmick. I very rarely have an opportunity to even use high beams. But I could see it with rural driving.

 

[Knucklehead]

Does anyone have issues with the low beams? Mine are very limited in distance especially when going down a hill. Compared to many other autos Ive owned they are very unsafe.
Riley

We have a Ltd with HID's. I find the low beams are great, BUT I think the beam cutoff (the top of the beam could be higher). I think the high beam performance is a little limited (our are Halogen), but then again my 6 decade old eyes may be part of that. :smile2:

 

[pacificant]

A FCA press release dated 1/11/2016 mentions that ESS is planned for late in the 2017 model year.

Engine stop-start
Standard fuel-saving engine stop-start (ESS) technology will be introduced later in the model year on the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica.

At its heart is a high-speed and high-durability starter that reduces crank time, culminating in quicker restarts. Its function is regulated by algorithms, which act on a vehicle’s powertrain and chassis components.

Accordingly, acceleration is always aligned with driver inputs. Passive accelerator application is met with measured throttle response; hard inputs trigger aggressive starts. And there’s no waiting for either.

ESS works this way:
Engine controls constantly monitor vehicle speed
When the vehicle brakes to a stop, fuel flow is cut and the engine turns off – events that save gas and reduce emissions
Beefier batteries maintain other vehicle systems, so in-cabin comfort is unaffected
When the brake pedal is released, the engine automatically restarts and the segment-exclusive nine-speed automatic transmission is engaged

If a driver chooses to forgo the benefits of ESS, the feature can be deactivated with the push of a button, and then reactivated

Source: media.fcanorthamerica.com/newsrelease.do?id=17218&mid=

 

[nick]

Automatic Engine Start/Stop (ESS)

A FCA press release dated 1/11/2016 mentions that ESS is planned for late in the 2017 model year.



Source: media.fcanorthamerica.com/newsrelease.do?id=17218&mid=

Confirmed. Just picked mine up last night. It was fresh off the line (because I ordered it) and it has ESS with easy disable button if you prefer not to use it.

 

[generaltso]

Confirmed. Just picked mine up last night. It was fresh off the line (because I ordered it) and it has ESS with easy disable button if you prefer not to use it.

Hi Nick. I think you're the first to report receiving a Pacifica with ESS. Care to post a pic of the button so we can see where they put it?

I don't suppose that easy disable button is easy enough to stay disabled when you restart the car?

What are your impressions of how well it works? Are the start and stops very perceptible? Does it do the little dance when you get where you're going and the engine restarts when you shift to Park only to be manually turned off?

 

[elrodvt]

Hi,

Sorry if I'm supposed to create one thread per issue, let me know and I'll sort it if need be.

My wife and I picked up our factory order limited on Friday - we ordered the configuration 25p with the advanced safety tec group. We haven't done a whole lot of driving with it and are still getting used to the new vehicle.

However, after doing some night driving yesterday evening we have been having issues with the auto high beams. These were working fine until about halfway through our journey home yesterday. We were driving through a small town which had intermittent street lights. As we were passing through the street lights were causing the high beams to switch on and off, until they switched off and haven't come back on. If we disable the auto high beams then they work fine, but we just can't seem to get the beams to come on at all when they are on the auto setting. Has anyone seen this before or have any suggestions?

The other problem we seem to have is that we don't seem to have the engine auto stop/start in our vehicle. We got the feature "Adaptive Cruise Control with Auto Stop/Start" with the Advance Tech package which I took to mean that we were getting an engine Auto Stop/Start as detailed in the manual on page 102. The button to disable the feature is missing and there are no settings for it. I've been through the build configuration online, but can't see any mention of this feature. I figured I'd call the dealer Monday, but wanted to try here to see if anyone else knows what could be up (most likely me misunderstanding the spec).

Thanks in advance,
~MrBasset

Not to be snarky but this needs to be said to many, many questions. Have you downloaded the manual in PDF form? Are you able to use search, the index and the TOC? I find that it's pretty easy to answer most questions by reading the manual and it will answer other questions you didn't know you had. For example, you will find how to auto headlights work in very good detail and probably better than a forum reply. This is not meant to pick on you Basset but this has been bugging me a while.

 

[Nails1]

+1. Also, if you call Chrysler as the original purchaser, for FREE, they will mail you hard copies of the Owner's & Uconnect manuals!

As a card carrying member of the owner's manual readers club, I believe there is no better way to learn and understand your vehicle. A huge effort goes in to writing these things and modern cars are very complex. It is worth the time to read them.

 

[mtmgtz]

+1. Also, if you call Chrysler as the original purchaser, for FREE, they will mail you hard copies of the Owner's & Uconnect manuals!

As a card carrying member of the owner's manual readers club, I believe there is no better way to learn and understand your vehicle. A huge effort goes in to writing these things and modern cars are very complex. It is worth the time to read them.

I agree.

My dealer already had the Manual in the glove box for us. They probably just get several from Chrysler and throw them in at delivery. Most people want the manual. Not sure why they cheap out on crap like this. It's very helpful and easier to read in paper form than trying to read it on your phone.

 

[generaltso]

My dealer already had the Manual in the glove box for us. They probably just get several from Chrysler and throw them in at delivery.

Are you sure that's the full manual and not just the guide that everyone gets with the vehicle? I wasn't even sure if the full Owner's Manual would fit in the glove compartment. It's pretty thick.