I purchased my 2019 Pacifica hybrid in July 2019. With less than 5000 miles I started getting a "service charging system" error. This error will not allow me to start the van or put in gear. I have had the car serviced from both Stoneridge DCJ in Dublin and Stevens Creek DCJ in San Jose. These are the only bay area dealerships with technicians trained to work on the Pacifica hybrid. Neither dealership was able to root cause the issue. They both sent me home with No Trouble Found. As soon as I got home, the issue reoccurred the following morning.
I have found a way to successfully reproduce the issue. If I drive the van until the hybrid battery is <1% (fully depleted), then leave the van without charging overnight. The issue will occur when I try to start it in the morning.
To recover from the failure I have to reset the van's computer. If you look under the hood and find where the 12V battery should sit, you will find a red 12V terminal. I disconnected this terminal and then connected again. This reset the van's computer, which then allowed me to start the van from the gas engine, since the hybrid battery was still depleted.
I've found that if the 12V battery terminal drops below ~12.5V then I experience the issue. If the 12V battery is above 12.5V then no issues. This is why you need to wait overnight for the issue to occur. The 12V battery will leak down overnight. If you are driving around with a depleted hybrid battery, the 12V battery will be fully charged and above the threshold for when the issue occurs.
I left the van for a few days and the 12V battery terminal dropped below 12V. I had to jump the van with another truck to get it started.
Once the issue occurs, the plugin charger detection is also broken, so you can't charge the hybrid battery once the service message appears.
Another symptom of the issue is that the engine fan (under the hood) will turn on at a very high rate. The van has not started but the fan turns on and is extremely loud.
I also had to have the van towed for the service appointment. They first sent a flat bed, but since the issue will not allow you to put the van in neutral, they had to send the flat bed away and bring a wrecker with dollies.
I have found a way to successfully reproduce the issue. If I drive the van until the hybrid battery is <1% (fully depleted), then leave the van without charging overnight. The issue will occur when I try to start it in the morning.
To recover from the failure I have to reset the van's computer. If you look under the hood and find where the 12V battery should sit, you will find a red 12V terminal. I disconnected this terminal and then connected again. This reset the van's computer, which then allowed me to start the van from the gas engine, since the hybrid battery was still depleted.
I've found that if the 12V battery terminal drops below ~12.5V then I experience the issue. If the 12V battery is above 12.5V then no issues. This is why you need to wait overnight for the issue to occur. The 12V battery will leak down overnight. If you are driving around with a depleted hybrid battery, the 12V battery will be fully charged and above the threshold for when the issue occurs.
I left the van for a few days and the 12V battery terminal dropped below 12V. I had to jump the van with another truck to get it started.
Once the issue occurs, the plugin charger detection is also broken, so you can't charge the hybrid battery once the service message appears.
Another symptom of the issue is that the engine fan (under the hood) will turn on at a very high rate. The van has not started but the fan turns on and is extremely loud.
I also had to have the van towed for the service appointment. They first sent a flat bed, but since the issue will not allow you to put the van in neutral, they had to send the flat bed away and bring a wrecker with dollies.
