Frustrating to be joining the group. Just had a head gasket failure in my 2017 Chrysler Pacifica with just over 80,000 miles. What I find the most angering is that this seems to be an identical issue they addressed with Warranty Bulletin X56, which extended coverage for identical 3.6-liter 24-valve variable time engine due to known issues with the left cylinder head. I'm still in talks with Chrysler Cares on Twitter; but reading this forum does not bring me much comfort.

 

Can anyone help me price my 2017 Pacifica Touring L? I have a failed head gasket. Local mechanic recommended replacing the engine. I agree that that's what is necessary. I'd like to try and sell it to a mechanic who wants to fix it and sell it. (The shop I visited doesn't buy/sell cars - so he says.)

132,500 miles on it. New alternator. I just don't know how to price it. Can anyone help me?

 

Can anyone help me price my 2017 Pacifica Touring L? I have a failed head gasket. Local mechanic recommended replacing the engine. I agree that that's what is necessary. I'd like to try and sell it to a mechanic who wants to fix it and sell it. (The shop I visited doesn't buy/sell cars - so he says.)

132,500 miles on it. New alternator. I just don't know how to price it. Can anyone help me?

Try Bars Leaks Head Gasket Sealer first. If it's only a head gasket that could solve the problem. Follow the directions to a t.

 

Adding another bad engine experience to the list on my 2017 Pacifica. At 100,440 miles just over the 100k CPO warranty (which the dealer never activated and pocketed the warranty money), the CEL light came on for cylinder 6 misfire. 1st auto shop tried new spark plugs and coil. Didn't fix it and told me to take to the dealer. Dealer wanted $1000 to do engine tear down after verifying misfires. Took it to a 3rd shop who was pretty confident it was the rocker arms after doing his tests, as he has fixed "a lot" of these engines he said. Well, after replacing the rocker arms and lifters, he now says the head has an internal oil leak and it needs to be replaced. Suggested I should get rid of the van or replace both heads as 85% chance the other head will have the same problem at some point. 2.3k to take it back not fixed, 6k to replace 1 head, or 7.3k to replace both heads are my options. Carvana will give me 11.7k as is. The offer doesn't increase even if I fix it. This engine is already a sunk cost, but does it make sense to dump more money into it? If I fix it, it is only warrantied for 1 year/12k miles. I don't know if it will occur again because I'm still clueless as to what caused this.

 

That's pretty scary that you are not incentivized to fix it. There are going to be thousands of these dumpster fires traded in for exactly this reason and no way of knowing which ones are shot.

 

Throwing my hat in. got at 2019 with 97k miles. Started running rough just in morning at start. by the time i got to look at it later in week i didn't see anything noticeably wrong except coolant was a little low. Added recommended coolant to correct level and let it be for a few days. all the time car was not overheating at all. about week later it was still having the rough start but runs fine issue. changed oil and cleaned the air manifold and checked the air filter. a night later the car wouldn't start. finally checked engine code and found misfire in cylinder two. also noticed coolant was low again. got to cylinder two and found coolant in there and plug was wet. Towed it to mechanic and he said its vapor locked, starter seemed to be out and it wouldn't turn very easily with a tool to turn it over. seems I have a bad engine now.

Ive contacted chrysler cares. Hopefully they can help in some way. Ive had the car less than 60k miles. This sucks.

 

Hi I bought a Pacifica from Carvana in 2020 it had low mileage. Kept up with the oil changes…
So far we have had to replace the battery. It was leaking gas so we had to fix that. Had to replace engine coils. Then the engine went at 70000 miles. We paid to have a used engine put in. We had to send it back 5 times, because the engine light keeps flashing and beeping. Now I smell a burning smell and the van sounds rough. We are about to send it in again but our warranty with this mechanic is only 30 days.
Is there some kind of recall on this van???

 

Chrysler has yet to announce publicly that the problem actually exists. If/when it does, I doubt there will be a recall. There might be a customer service campaign in the form of a part replacement such as the oil cooler, the addition of a low coolant sensor added to the coolant reservoir, and an extended warranty, bit I certainly would not hold my breath!

 

Here I am reading all the things that is happening to me at the moment. 34k miles and no visible coolant leak, engine light came on, checked fluids and coolant VERY low. Filled with appropriate coolant and it’s 3 months past warranty 😑 i did have it in for the recalls in July 2023. Ironically about a month after that is when all this started. Had a P305 error cylinder misfire 5. Had coil and spark plug replaced. Still having issues.
Anyone have success with having Chrysler fix the issues so close out of warranty with so little miles?!?

 

New user, engine blown the same way as everyone else. 2017, 79k miles, cylinder 5 misfire and coolant leak. Anyone get any help from @ChyslerCares? Weighing my options whether I repair, sell, and/or file a lawsuit.

 

Hello Brdhll,

We understand that engine concerns are frustrating to say the least. Our team is committed to exploring the options available to rectify your situation. If you'll have our help, please contact us in a private conversation, and our team will get to work to assist you.

Daniel
Chrysler Cares

 

I apologize in advance if this has already been asked.

Has the below data been recorded on the Pacifica HG failures?
Of the owners that have had this failure, how was the auto off feature used?
01. Did the owners have their engine stop running at a stop.
or
02. Did they leave the engine running while they were stopped.

thanks mike

 

To date there have been over a dozen engine failures reported by forum members (failed head gaskets leading to coolant in the cylinders leading to misfires; some have cracked blocks). It would be nice to know if this is a systemic problem, or if it is related to preventable causes.

It appears most reported failures were caused by overheating. Many overheating events are caused by:

• low coolant level
• faulty thermostat
• faulty radiator fan
• faulty head gasket

None of the reports have said anything about faulty thermostats or radiator fans, so that leaves low coolant level and faulty head gaskets, and sometimes the first leads to the other.

But I'd like to introduce another possibility:
- incorrect coolant added to the system

There are documented cases from 20 years ago of various GM head gaskets failing due to the wrong coolant used to top off the reservoir. The resulting combination of approved and unapproved coolant created a chemical combination that became deadly to head gaskets. Thousands upon thousands failed.

Could that be happening here? The Pacifica owner's manual is very specific about the kind of coolant that is supposed to be used. What happens when unauthorized coolant is used in our Pentastars?

To those who have a pretty good background on the Pentastar V-6, your thoughts and ideas would be most appreciative. Perhaps there are other possible causes of overheating that could be causing these failures.

These engines suck, I used the right coolant and this **** still happened


Beware on this van.
It ran like a top up to 106k then I got a check engine light, thought the plugs were bad, but all the literature that I have on this is that if the van has ANY head gasket problems, it will overheat or the temp will start to rise.
Got the plugs new bought top of the line plugs, and cylinder 6 had a misfire problem so I thought it was the spark plug boot bad and it ran great for the first day
Day 2 no power and a blinking check engine light which is not good, and one is not supposed to drive it if it continues to blink. Well it quit blinking and I took it to another mechanic that tore it aprt again and said that I have a blown head gasket!!! No warning of increased warmth or no smell etc. Does anyone know who I could write or email about this within the CHrysler cooperation to tell them that this engine is crap?? I am not sure what to do with it either I owe probably 13k on it, it was such a nice vehicle???

 

throwing my hat in this ring. 2017 56K miles. Noticed misfire and coolant level dropping. Replaced oil filter cooler, replaced plugs and swapped cylinder #1 coil and injector. Guess what problem persisted, I had my local mechanic confirm collant in the cylinder, luckly the oil has no water or water oil. It's at the mechanic for the next two weeks getting the head gasket replaced. Hopefully this is the only problem. I have always heard the penastar is mechanically sound, what a crockl of you know what that is.

 

Add yet another to this list. Plugs, wires, coil replaced about a month ago. Rough idle not long after. Now being told we have a coolant leak and need a head gasket replacement. 2017 Touring L Plus with 71K miles.

 

Same issue on my 2017 Pacifica - coolant burning through the cylinder. Engine replacement is 10-14k.
70k miles, original owner - what a mess! Coolant was leaking for a while, a few visits to various dealerships - nobody found a root cause.
Chrysler - never again.

 

I have 2018…. Similar. Found it was a cracked cylinder. Not happy

 

2018 Chrysler Pacifica, blown engine. Same issues. What is Chrysler going to do about this? I feel like a class action is the best way to get this addressed.

 

2019 Pacifica Touring L. 55,000 miles. Just got the car 2 weeks ago and have only been able to drive it maybe 5 times. Same story as everyone else, noticed low coolant that needed to be topped off almost daily, rough idle but no codes until now. Misfire in cylinder 5. Took to a shop and just got the call today bad headgaskets and need engine replacement. Absolutely disgusting Chrysler hasn’t put a recall about this. Will never buy a Chrysler again.

 

Where did you purchase this? Some states have laws for implied warranties under 100K miles. I firmly believe the seller may have known this was an issue.

 

I'll add mine to the list. P105D, P0302. Cylinder 2 valve stuck high and misfire. Only misfires at idle or low RPM with no load. Found VVL solenoid was leaking oil so went ahead and changed it. Didn't fix it, so too kit to the shop. Ended up being the mechanism that actuates the rocker air. I think it's the lash adjuster. I've heard oil passages on these can get clogged. Or maybe it just broke.

Never had a car have a failure like this at only 100k miles. But also never owned a FCA product with over 60k miles until now. Don't think i ever buy one again. But I expect they will go bankrupt or merge within 10 years anyway.

I'll be switching to 6 months, 5k miles for oil changes. Should be able to go 7-10k with port injection, naturally aspirated and the lower engine op temps this van runs compared to my other cars, but I think the top end is so poorly engineered that you need to keep the intervals short like it's the 1990s.

Just had the wimpy struts/shock changed since the spherical bearing failed before the shocks were worn out. Just did all 4. Transmission shifts hard into 3rd or 4th, but I guess that's normal anyway for a junk Chrysler tranny. I'll start saving up for that eventual replacement.

 

I'll add mine to the list. P105D, P0302. Cylinder 2 valve stuck high and misfire. Only misfires at idle or low RPM with no load. Found VVL solenoid was leaking oil so went ahead and changed it. Didn't fix it, so too kit to the shop. Ended up being the mechanism that actuates the rocker air. I think it's the lash adjuster. I've heard oil passages on these can get clogged. Or maybe it just broke.

Valve issues are very rare. The issue in this thread that is common is the headgasket failing with a 3 or 5 failure. Your issue does not meet the same criteria.

 

Watch your engine coolant levels, the computer WILL not tell the system to show hot or overheated!! Then stick it to Chrysler with your warranty, these were some of the worst engines put in these vehicles.

 

Yes, absolutely, check coolant level often. And check oil, too. And, yes, it appears from all reports herein this forum that little or no warning is given when the engine overheats and causes a blown head gasket.

Actually, in viewing tons of articles and videos on the Pentastar, I'd have to say it is a marvelous engine, but the best ownership experience goes to owners who read the owner's manual and open the hoods on their Pacificas to check fluid levels and condition at least once a month. Nevertheless, there can be no denying its Achilles Heel: that horrible plastic oil cooler that can break or otherwise leak oil and/or coolant which, when said leaks are not detected, can cause very serious engine damage. Buyers of used Pacificas often don't have a clue that the car they just got was dumped by the previous owner when they found out it needed a new engine.

 

Add me to the list as well. NHTSA number 11634067.
blown head gasket in 2018 Pacifica at 65,000 miles. dealership wants $6,000 to fix it.

 

Add me to the list as well. NHTSA number 11634067.
blown head gasket in 2018 Pacifica at 65,000 miles. dealership wants $6,000 to fix it.

I'm guessing this isn't an engine they are proposing to replace but rather to fix the faulty one you have?

 

Wr ended up replacing the gasket head and paid 3500 - our dealer negotiated covering half the price with Chrysler as "good will". At least this this better than a jew engine for 11k for the 15k car

 

What kind of engine?

 

Ah, T9 - NEW engine!😄