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Battery dies on Pacifica Hybrid - Rolls out of driveway into street!

21792 Views 53 Replies 28 Participants Last post by  WaileaKid, 
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This morning my 2018 Hybrid Limited was dead. It had been plugged in overnight using the 110 charger that came with the van. It would not start, and briefly flashed some kind of service needed warning on the screen. Then the screen turned off and the vehicle repeatedly made a clicking sound. The screen would not come back on, and the van was completely unresponsive.

We exited the van and went back inside the house to call the dealership. When I looked back out the window, I noticed the windshield wipers were ever so slowly in motion back and forth. I checked the switch but the wiper was set to the “off” position. None of the wiper controls would change the setting. The dealership set me up with a number for Chrysler tow.

I exited the vehicle to make the call, and was standing about 20 feet away from the van. Suddenly the van started rolling backward down the driveway and into the street! Fortunately it came to a stop in the middle of the street without hitting anyone or anything! I ran over and checked it and still everything was unresponsive, the wipers no longer moving however the parking brake button, and shifter buttons, and overhead lights were flashing.

Fortunately no one was behind the van or they could have been seriously hurt or killed! We had the van towed to the dealership. The tow company the Chrysler contracts with lifted the front tires and towed it on its rear wheels (hopefully that didnt damage anything).

This is the third electrical issue with this van. The day I purchased it, the salesman went to pull it around and found the van to be dead. He said someone left a light on. It sounded like they were going to replace the battery, but ended up just jump starting it.

Then on 1/7 I brought the van in for service again because of a speaker static noise when brakes were applied while the blu ray was playing a movie over the speakers. They checked and found no issue. They said they charged the battery.

Now just two days later the van is not only completely dead in my driveway, but it is a MAJOR safety issue, that for any reason it would disengage from park and roll backward! I just don’t feel safe in this vehicle anymore and it has not even been 3 weeks, and less than 650miles on it.

I let my dealership know, and as a member here suggested, I reached out to @ChryslerCares. I expect the dealer to work with Chrysler to get me a vehicle I can feel safe putting my family in. Does anyone have any ideas here on what could cause the van to release all brakes and roll backward?? The hood was raised at the time this happened as well.

https://youtu.be/6_LY7blNJns

https://youtu.be/JFcp0IDbfqI

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Interesting about the hybrid using a pawl to lock gears rather than the friction brake used the gas Pacificas. What then is the mechanism for for transmission "park" -- there is no way should it be the identical mechanism........

On mine, I feel the brake pedal depress when it engages so I know it is the friction brake. Do you hybrid owners NOT get than when the parking brake engages?

I know older transmissions had a parking pawl for the "park" position -- a friend had a transmission messed up when tapped hard while in park (that's why they tell you to set the parking brake, too.)

But yes, if the control systems are deranged -- evidenced by the flashing park light described - then all bets on staying engaged are off. However, on a gas Pacifica, I don't think it can be shifted out of park no matter what the electrical hijinks are.
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Frig
jerry17 said:
Interesting about the hybrid using a pawl to lock gears rather than the friction brake used the gas Pacificas. What then is the mechanism for for transmission "park" -- there is no way should it be the identical mechanism........

On mine, I feel the brake pedal depress when it engages so I know it is the friction brake. Do you hybrid owners NOT get than when the parking brake engages?

I know older transmissions had a parking pawl for the "park" position -- a friend had a transmission messed up when tapped hard while in park (that's why they tell you to set the parking brake, too.)

But yes, if the control systems are deranged -- evidenced by the flashing park light described - then all bets on staying engaged are off. However, on a gas Pacifica, I don't think it can be shifted out of park no matter what the electrical hijinks are.
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I'm pretty sure the gas model has a park lock built into the transmission as well. The parking brake might automatically be engaged as part of putting it in park but they should mechanically be 2 separate systems. There's even an emergency release cord under the steering wheel that puts it into neutral that, as far as I know, has nothing to do with the brakes. I'm sure someone else more knowledgeable than I can correct me.
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jerry17 said:
Interesting about the hybrid using a pawl to lock gears rather than the friction brake used the gas Pacificas. What then is the mechanism for for transmission "park" -- there is no way should it be the identical mechanism........



On mine, I feel the brake pedal depress when it engages so I know it is the friction brake. Do you hybrid owners NOT get than when the parking brake engages?



I know older transmissions had a parking pawl for the "park" position -- a friend had a transmission messed up when tapped hard while in park (that's why they tell you to set the parking brake, too.)



But yes, if the control systems are deranged -- evidenced by the flashing park light described - then all bets on staying engaged are off. However, on a gas Pacifica, I don't think it can be shifted out of park no matter what the electrical hijinks are.
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The parking brake on the hybrid is the same as on the standard model, it uses the brake pads.
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M
Our 2018 Pacifica did have the 12 volt battery die when we left it in the driveway for three days during a cold snap - temps around freezing, below freezing at night. All doors were closed and lights were off, and the big hybrid battery was fully charge.

Chrysler road service jump started it. We have not had a problem since, even in colder weather. But we are taking care to not let it sit more than 36 hours without driving.
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H
Hi PacDave, no, I'm not a pilot. My father was a Naval aviator and flew F8F's and Corsairs. He related some stories to me which included landing with no power. I guess that over dramatizes the issue of pulling off to the side of the road in your car with no power.
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hookshot1 said:
Hi PacDave, no, I'm not a pilot. My father was a Naval aviator and flew F8F's and Corsairs. He related some stories to me which included landing with no power. I guess that over dramatizes the issue of pulling off to the side of the road in your car with no power.
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Nice! Well, I’ve never flown in the military but I did a dead stick landing once a few years back. Nerve wracking but good experience.
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Fortunately I haven't had any issues with our PacHy (knock on wood) but I can share experiences with a bad battery in a VW. During the cold /wet seasons, the car would flash an ABS alert randomly then the transmission would disengage (yes even if I was turning into oncoming traffic). Cycling the ignition would allow the car to run again. I had the battery checked out by load testing at an auto parts store a few times. The VW dealer thought it was a bad ECM and wanted to replace it. Finally I got a code reader for the freeze frame info specific to VW (similar to a crash dump for windows) and saw that the battery voltage was dropping to 10.8 during the error. I pulled the battery and let it sit for a few days then had it load tested again (outside of the car)-- this time it tested bad. My hypothesis was that the battery had one bad cell, which would show good voltage when charged by the alternator even for a few minutes. Under high loads in the cold though, I could see how one bad cell could cause the voltage to drop when otherwise the voltage would be ok. The problem disappeared with a new battery. I doubt any dealer mechanics are pulling the batteries and letting them sit to test them but that was the only way to reproduce the problem I was having. The bad battery was an AGM, top of the line at a chain auto parts store, less than 2 years old when the problem first occurred, with no visible corrosion on the leads. No physical damage, though perhaps it had been discharged once by leaving the lights on overnight. The main grounds for the car were also corroded and I cleaned those. I'm sure that contributed in some way. Not sure if this info helps with the PacHy problems described but I can say that lead acid battery issues can be more difficult to diagnose than I would have thought.
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Just an update. Since I posted on the forum, as well as reached out to ChryslerCares, I was set up with a Chrysler Customer Service agent who made contact with the dealership.

I have made it known to FCA and the dealership that I want a new vehicle or refund since they cannot determine why it rolled. This is the third electrical issue I have reported within two weeks of owning the car, but the first time is not on service record since the battery was first dead at the dealership when I bought it.

They changed the battery, but did all their testing with the new battery. Everything checks out and it’s not rolling at the dealership so according to them, that’s all they can do. FCA as well as the dealership’s position is to bring it back in if it happens again.

I refuse to take it back, since I don’t think my family’s safety should be ignored. I know what happened is super rare, but I do think the same vehicle is a lot more likely to roll if the battery dies again, since they could not determine why.
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Update #2

Originally FCAs position was that there was nothing more they could do, as they can not figure out the rollaway situation. They considered it fixed, but then before I picked it up, FCA agreed to open a STAR case. That’s where they will send out a special Chrysler service tech, as I understand.

Immediately after the STAR case was opened my FCA rep went silent, would not answer calls, never returned my messages, phone always straight to voicemail.

Yesterday a new Chrysler corporate person called me and said they are taking over for my last Chrysler rep. They said there is nothing more that can be done with my case. Apparently a special tech never came to the dealership, and only spoke with my dealership over the phone.

However as of the day yesterday, when this new FCA person called, was the first contact I’ve received from anyone since my star case was opened. As of that day, I have 31 total days in the shop. According to the state of California, this qualifies for lemon law. So I put a request for claim in.

I stopped by the dealership today, to see what will be on my service report. As you can see they made a report look as benign as possible. Even wrote that no codes were thrown. The orange sticky was from the guy today that knew nothing about it, and left a note on it for the service manager to call me. Over the phone I was told by the service manager that something like 60 codes were thrown from the dead battery.

I also would like to show evidence that interior light can’t drain the battery in this car overnight (the same claim that was made by the sales guys as to why the battery was dead when I bought this van), that they will auto turn-off. If anyone knows where something like that can be found in a technical manual, that would be a huge help, as many report lights turning off if left on so as to not drain the battery.

The main issue though, is dead battery or not - the vehicle should not roll with no one in it!

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lnanni08
@ChryslerCares , I had the same issue mentioned in the beginning of this thread occur today. The battery completely died, and the car rolled backwards into the garage door and now has significant damage to the bumper. Thank God it was inside the garage and not parked in the driveway or street, as this obviously could have resulted in something far more serious, like death or significant injury. What is Chrysler doing about this?
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Waldo
You park your vehicle on a slope without setting the brake??? Chrysler can't do much about that.
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lnanni08
Waldo said:
You park your vehicle on a slope without setting the brake??? Chrysler can't do much about that.
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No, it was not parked on a slope of any significance whatsoever. It was in a garage that is nearly flat, turned off, and in park. The battery died, and as other posters have described, this caused the van to release from its parked position--which is completely abnormal-- causing the car to roll backwards. It then hit the metal bar of the garage door, causing significant damage to the bumper.
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ChryslerCares
lnanni08 said:
@ChryslerCares , I had the same issue mentioned in the beginning of this thread occur today. The battery completely died, and the car rolled backwards into the garage door and now has significant damage to the bumper. Thank God it was inside the garage and not parked in the driveway or street, as this obviously could have resulted in something far more serious, like death or significant injury. What is Chrysler doing about this?
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Hello lnanni08,
We recommend having your dealer diagnose this concern if you have not done so already. If additional assistance is needed during this time, we can connect you with a case specialist.

Lamar
ChryslerCares
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WaileaKid
lnanni08 said:
@ChryslerCares , I had the same issue mentioned in the beginning of this thread occur today. The battery completely died, and the car rolled backwards into the garage door and now has significant damage to the bumper. Thank God it was inside the garage and not parked in the driveway or street, as this obviously could have resulted in something far more serious, like death or significant injury. What is Chrysler doing about this?
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So unfortunate. Sorry to hear that. What year and model is your van?
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