[sudssf2014]

Background :
I purchased pacifica hybrid 2018 end of 2018 replacing honda pilot AWD. I was really happy with the car and really enjoyed driving car. my wife was using this car for daily commute to office and kids dropp off/pickup.

with in 3 moths : we felt that breaks are not working as expected. stopping distance for this car is much larger than all my previous honda/VW cars. we complaint to dealer and they said they will look into it.
first service they said nothing is wrong.
same happened for 2nd service.
I was driving car and I almost ended up hitting car infront of me while stopping on red light.
3rd service : I took car to dealer near by and complaint about issue. , they said nothing wrong with the breaks. they did not even wash car when I requested it

soon after 3rd service . my wife was driving to office in bumper to bumper traffic and car in-front of her suddenly stopped. my wife had no other option than to press break all the way down. car did not stop. there was no emergency breaking.
we ended up hitting other car from back. insurance blamed us for accident and hold us responsible. ( which I am ok , we are fortunate that no one got hurt and no injury to kid either)
this was minor fender bender ( car was moving at speed ~ 15mph) , there was not a single scratch on bumper , mostly dent on number plate.

after accident when my wife dropped kid to school car stopped in the middle of street with ( there was some turtle sign appeared on car), car was towed to near by body shop who looked into car and did not know whats wrong, we requested car to moved to chrysler dealership. chrysler customer services tried to help to find dealership but they were unable to talk to service department. I ended up calling to all chrysler service department near by , only few picked up calls ( almost spend ~ 30 min per call on hold , chrysler support told me same that dealers are not respondig) . finally got 1 dealership who had bodyshop. ( at this point car was not even starting , no one knew whats wrong)

meanwhile I opened case with chrysler and they opened special investigation( as I earlier submitted feedback in email about breaking issue) . there investigation team checked break without starting car and downloaded some data. I requested details but they did not give any and told us that my claim has been denied. I requested to talk to case officer but they did not call. finally my case was closed and customer service stopped responding.

dealership told us that they will fix the car and told us it will cost ~8k as radiator was broken. after 2 weeks they said car is not starting and they are talking to chrysler to find out whats wrong. finally they found out issue that inverter was burned and needs replacement. they could not ship inverter to this dealership and had to tow vehicle again to some other dealership.
now after almost 3 moth they said car is fixed but they cant give us car back as they working with insurance to complete paper work. at this point total cost to fix car is ~ 12k. most expensive part was inverter.

questions for @ChryslerCares

• how can I get detailed report of investigation?
• why I my insurance have to pay for inverter if it was burned because car does not have check for this scenario, why it is not covered in car warranty?
• why does it take 3 moths to fix car
• how can car get so badly damaged at 15mph speed
• why dealerships are mediocre and does not respond to customers call , service request how to file complain against dealership. ( there were some good dealership ofcourse but you have to find them)
• have you have any complaint about breaking issues or emergency breaks? can I talk to someone who can give me more details about investigation so that I can drive this car again with confidence?

Conclusion:
IMO I dont think chrysler is serious car company and cars they make are not as reliable as other ( honda, VW, toyota) I wish I knew this before buying this car.
extended warranty seems useless as mostly claims will be denied without proper information given to you.
I request all pacifica owner to drive super carefully and keep almost 2 times distance as i am 100% sure others have seen breaking issues.
this car is very fragile how can I drive with kids in this car

I am still lost and I will try to get rid of this car once I recover my investment but I wish car companies are more serious about these issues and take customers seriously.

 

[Chris]

I have had no issues with my pachy over a 2-year 20,000 mile period.
Your complaints do not sound related to the hybrid configuration and but are somewhat similar to the Toyota issues of a few years ago experienced by many.
It sounds like you expect fully autonomous driving experience!

 

[sudssf2014]

I have had no issues with my pachy over a 2-year 20,000 mile period.
Your complaints do not sound related to the hybrid configuration and but are somewhat similar to the Toyota issues of a few years ago experienced by many.
It sounds like you expect fully autonomous driving experience!

Chris I am not sure how you concluded I am looking for autonomous driving experience!
I am expecting breaks to work when I hit breaks. if you had no issues good for you.
there is one more thread about breaking issue in hybrid in this forum. I created separate post to highlight fixing cost of the car and how small fender bender will give you $12k bill.

 

[jw33]

“Brakes” fyi

 

[sudssf2014]

Brakes

thanks!

 

[Frig]

A crash at 15mph packs quite a jolt, it ain't insignificant.

 

[1tg1]

It sounds like there is an issue with the transfer of the energy capture resistance braking to the friction braking.
I've had the odd blip where it seems like the vehicle was confused what to use but a good press of the pedal brings on the friction.

 

[CANADAHYBRIDGUY]

I’ve had my car and of course they are not Brembo or carbon ceramic brakes but the Pacifica is a big and heavy vehicle . Curious did you not have emergency brake feature working or active . If you come up upon something and don’t press brakes the van will brake for you . Also, the speed associated with the collision will puncture the rad. People always have to remember a that braking is about speed yes and weight transfer also .

 

[ThisSuckersElectrical]

0 issues with my brakes.

 

[RC Mike]

It’s a 5,000lbs vehicle. If you don’t give yourself adequate stopping distance, yeah, you’ll have some repairs ahead. How much damage do you think is reasonable for a 2.5 ton mass moving at 15mph?

 

[sudssf2014]

A crash at 15mph packs quite a jolt, it ain't insignificant.

I agree if no brakes are applied. but I dont expect this when brakes are applied.

 

[sudssf2014]

I’ve had my car and of course they are not Brembo or carbon ceramic brakes but the Pacifica is a big and heavy vehicle . Curious did you not have emergency brake feature working or active . If you come up upon something and don’t press brakes the van will brake for you . Also, the speed associated with the collision will puncture the rad. People always have to remember a that braking is about speed yes and weight transfer also .

not sure what is emergency brake feature, most probably its not active.
this was stop and go traffic so there was not much movmentum from weight transfer.

 

[sudssf2014]

It’s a 5,000lbs vehicle. If you don’t give yourself adequate stopping distance, yeah, you’ll have some repairs ahead. How much damage do you think is reasonable for a 2.5 ton mass moving at 15mph?

15mph with brakes? what do you think adequate stopping distance should be. for me it seems to be much more for pacifica than honda pilot.

 

[sudssf2014]

0 issues with my brakes.

good to hear. if my car is the only one with the issue thats great. I dont wish this to happen to anyone else's car with kids

 

[RC Mike]

15mph with brakes? what do you think adequate stopping distance should be. for me it seems to be much more for pacifica than honda pilot.

More than your wife allowed for, certainly. You’d had the van for three months. The brakes didn’t fail—your wife failed to adapt to driving a different vehicle. Take responsibility.

 

[sudssf2014]

More than your wife allowed for, certainly. You’d had the van for three months. The brakes didn’t fail—your wife failed to adapt to driving a different vehicle. Take responsibility.

of-course , I create this thread for creating awareness and not blame this on chrysler.
but in cases like this I wish car companies are more supportive and educate new drivers by sharing result of investigation. accidents happens but at the end customer service is whats makes difference.

 

[sudssf2014]

I saw some reports online but I can't trust them http://m.carcomplaints.com/Chrysler/Pacifica_Hybrid/2018/brakes/service_brakes.shtml , I think this forum is more credible and its good to hear that everyone had good experience with car so far. I would I replied the same 3 months back as this was my favorite car so far.

 

[Frig]

I agree if no brakes are applied. but I dont expect this when brakes are applied.

15mph is 15mph. ¯\(ツ)/¯

Are you saying it was slowing down from a speed of 15mph? For instance, was it actually going 4mph when it contacted the car in front?

 

[Frig]

Here's some IIHS crash tests comparing 12mph vs 25mph in a mercedes. Watch the test dummies heads at 12mph:

 

[CANADAHYBRIDGUY]

Sorry my bad, active braking and brake assist . Seems you are trying to point fingers at Fca and the van when the driver is the one that is at fault . The van only responds to input by the driver and I’m assuming you’ve never heard the drive to the conditions of the road or traffic ideology . I’ve never truly been on a site where people are so quick to point to say “ wasn’t my fault “ . People have to understand that tires, brakes and weather/ road conditions play a part in stopping distance , let’s not even get into weight transfer , load transfer inside van and attention to driving in-front , beside and behind.