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Is your VIN part of 03A

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Recall 03A An unexpected engine shut down resulting in a loss of motive power can cause a vehicle crash without prior warning.

34618 Views 387 Replies 90 Participants Last post by  ChryslerCares
Run your VIN to see if you are part of the recall.

Check for Recalls: Vehicle, Car Seat, Tire, Equipment | NHTSA

Jan 17,2023
Manufacturer Recall Number03A
NHTSA Recall Number23V-010
Recall StatusRecall Incomplete, remedy not yet available
SummaryAn internal transmission wiring connector short could result in an unexpected engine shutdown under certain conditions.

Safety RiskAn unexpected engine shut down resulting in a loss of motive power can cause a vehicle crash without prior warning.

RemedyFCA US will conduct a voluntary safety recall on all affected vehicles to update the Power Inverter Module ("PIM") software and, if necessary, update the instrument panel cluster ("IPC") software.

"Manufacturer's Notes"For more information, visit recalls.mopar.com or call 1-800-853-1403. Please have your VIN ready when calling.

Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2017-2023 Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid Electric vehicles
(PHEVs). An internal transmission wiring connector may short circuit, resulting in an
unexpected engine shutdown.

Number of potentially involved : 67,118

Estimated percentage with defect : 100 %

Vehicle Information :
Vehicle 1 : 2017-2023 Chrysler Pacifica
Vehicle Type :
Body Style : VAN
Power Train : NR
Descriptive Information : Some 2017-2023 MY Chrysler Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles ("PHEVs")
may experience a loss of motive power.
The suspect period began on August 12, 2016, when production of the Chrysler
Pacifica began, and ended on January 9, 2023, when FCA US LLC ("FCA US") began
containing suspect vehicles under plant control. The suspect period was determined
using field data and engineering change records.
Similar vehicles not included in this recall are not PHEVs or were built after the
suspect period.
Production Dates : AUG 12, 2016 - JAN 09, 2023

Description of Defect :
Description of the Defect : An internal transmission wiring connector short could result in an unexpected
engine shutdown under certain conditions.
FMVSS 1 : NR
FMVSS 2 : NR
Description of the Safety Risk : An unexpected engine shut down resulting in a loss of motive power can
cause a vehicle crash without prior warning.
Description of the Cause : NR

Involved Components :
Component Name 1 : Harness Assembly
Component Description : Low Voltage Wiring
Component Part Number : 05062444AI / 05062444AH / 05062444AG / 05062444AF / 05062444AE
Component Name 2 : Harness Assembly
Component Description : Low Voltage Wiring
Component Part Number : 05062444AD / 05062444AC / 05062444AB / 05062444AA

Supplier Identification :
Component Manufacturer
Name : General Cable Industries Inc.
Address : Industrial de las Maquiladoras 11
Nueva Nogales Foreign States 84094
Country : Mexico

Description of Remedy :

Description of Remedy Program : FCA US will conduct a voluntary safety recall on all affected vehicles to
update the Power Inverter Module ("PIM") software and, if necessary,
update the instrument panel cluster ("IPC") software.

FCA US has a longstanding policy and practice of reimbursing owners who
have incurred the cost of repairing a problem that subsequently becomes
the subject of a field action. To ensure consistency, FCA US, as part of the
owner letter, will request that customers send the original receipt and/or
other adequate proof of payment to the company for confirmation of the
expense.

How Remedy Component Differs from Recalled Component : Remedy is a PIM and IPC software update for 2017-2018 model year
vehicles and a PIM software update for 2019-2023 model year vehicles
providing messaging to the customer and sufficient drive time to exit
traffic.

Identify How/When Recall Condition was Corrected in Production : NR

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@PacDave

After reading the available details.......apparently the true and permanent fix is to replace 67,000 PacHy transaxles, since the defective connector is not field repairable. I somehow doubt Chrysler will ever do this, and we'll be permanently stuck with the software "fix".
So there is a connector inside the transmission that fails sometimes and causes the vehicle to shutdown.
You're failing to explain it properly. The connector DOES NOT cause the vehicle to shut down.

The connector is for a SENSOR and it causes the sensor to give bad data. The PIM software sees this bad data and decides to shut down the vehicle immediately.


The immediate fix is to reprogram the PIM to allow it to ignore the bad data and keep the vehicle moving and warn the user to pull over immediately, so people don't get rear-ended on the highway.

Whether or not there are additional fixes is to be determined, but the immediate issue is prevent people from getting into accidents.
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So there is a connector inside the transmission that fails sometimes and causes the vehicle to shutdown. And the fix is to not really fix the problem by replacing a connector that has been known to short out. The fix is for the software to ignore the problem for long enough that you can safely pull the vehicle over. That translates to, the problem is rare enough and difficult enough to fix that we don’t want to do the right thing and fix it properly so we’ll just take away some of the danger involved with the failure and only fix the ones that actually fail.
Right. The failure of the wiring harness is obviously not traceable by looking at build tracking data. It wasn’t just a “bad batch” of harnesses. The failure must not be predictable either. It could be a problem with the harness itself or something that happens to the harness during operation of the vehicle. So FCA is voluntarily planning this recall to fix the immediate safety problem of an unexpected loss of power. And then will just replace any transaxle that have this fault. The fact that it’s currently voluntary doesn’t preclude the regulators ordering more down the road. But the regulators must think that the fault will be rare enough to not warrant a complete recall of all the transaxles.
@PacDave

After reading the available details.......apparently the true and permanent fix is to replace 67,000 PacHy transaxles, since the defective connector is not field repairable. I somehow doubt Chrysler will ever do this, and we'll be permanently stuck with the software "fix".
If you get this fault your transaxle will be replaced. You won’t just be stuck with the software fix. If your transaxle never gets this fault then there is no problem. I wouldn’t be surprised to see either an official or unofficial extended warranty program on this transaxle for this fault.
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Thank you for the great information in this thread! Knowing what's happening makes me feel better. I see how Chrysler might argue that the software change prevents the sudden stall at speed, and mitigates the accident risk. But for ourselves and our families on the road, having a cellphone, flares/lights, and other breakdown safety gear in our PacHy's seems a wise precaution.

Since the software change allows the van to keep running for a short time, I wonder why it can't be programmed to allow a "limp home" mode for a longer time? I've heard some transmissions in other cars provide that. It's not a question of preventing further damage to the transmission, since it's going to get pulled out anyway.
We don’t currently know what it allows. It could allow a more extended run time. Hopefully we will know more when the software update is released.
I think we need to wait for the complete update to be published. I also would argue that if you experience the issue even outside of warranty, you should be able to get the transmission replaced for free as it is a known design issue. Will be interesting what follow-up they do with the issue.
I don't mean to hijack an important thread, but I have to ask...is the transmission (transaxle?) something that could be making this noise: Help Diagnosing Engine Rattle

Mine is affected and a part of the recall
They claim this issue doesn't exist for brand new cars, so I'd assume if you hit it, and have your transmission replaced, it'll actually solve the issue moving forward. Still shitty, but better than what was happening before.

You better hope you don't have to have your transmission replaced. Mine was at about 12k miles. Took about 3 months. These things are special built to order and are not just sitting on shelves.
2018 pachy...can't believe I still love this thing after all the trips to the dealer over the years...

And yes...my battery was replaced...
Hopefully this does fix it, we passed on the hybrid because of it.
Same!
Note that they are NOT planning to fix the actual problem. Here's a paragraph labeled: "How Remedy Component Differs from Recalled Component"
I would think they would at least offer a warranty extension to cover these potentially defective wiring harnesses. These were defective from the factory.
You're failing to explain it properly. The connector DOES NOT cause the vehicle to shut down.

The connector is for a SENSOR and it causes the sensor to give bad data. The PIM software sees this bad data and decides to shut down the vehicle immediately.


The immediate fix is to reprogram the PIM to allow it to ignore the bad data and keep the vehicle moving and warn the user to pull over immediately, so people don't get rear-ended on the highway.

Whether or not there are additional fixes is to be determined, but the immediate issue is prevent people from getting into accidents.
Ok. That sheds a little more light on things. At least I now know that the connector is for a sensor.
You're failing to explain it properly. The connector DOES NOT cause the vehicle to shut down.

The connector is for a SENSOR and it causes the sensor to give bad data. The PIM software sees this bad data and decides to shut down the vehicle immediately.
The connector failure CERTAINLY DOES cause the vehicle to shut down. It just doesn’t directly cause it.
If you get this fault your transaxle will be replaced. You won’t just be stuck with the software fix. If your transaxle never gets this fault then there is no problem. I wouldn’t be surprised to see either an official or unofficial extended warranty program on this transaxle for this fault.
So the worst scenario for us is that the software fix will move the problem from a "safety critical issue" to a "regular failure" and we'll be on our own once the warranty runs out.
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So the worst scenario for us is that the software fix will move the problem from a "safety critical issue" to a "regular failure" and we'll be on our own once the warranty runs out.
That is definitely the big question. It appears the transaxle may be covered under the Hybrid system warranty in the USA. I'm not sure about how it works in Canada. But now that they know there's a potential flaw in the internal connectors of the transaxle I would hope there would be a warranty extension on this fault. I guess you could take them to court if they tried to say it wasn't covered.
I suppose there could still be regulator action on this. FCA is doing this software recall voluntarily. But the investigation into this problem is ongoing at NHTSA so we will see what they conclude.
If the software is changed to not shutdown the vehicle what are the consequences if the car is still driven? I assume they originally thought best option was to shut down the vehicle
If the software is changed to not shutdown the vehicle what are the consequences if the car is still driven? I assume they originally thought best option was to shut down the vehicle
It could also have just not been a contingency that they had planned for when writing the PIM software. It encounters a fault and the default action is to shutdown if there isn't another preprogrammed contingency. It doesn't seem to me like a resolver short is very common. The consequences of continuing to drive could be bad if the short condition persists because the PIM won't know where one of the motors is in its rotation. I guess we don't know if the short is momentary but currently long enough for the PIM to do a shutdown, or if it persists. Most people that have this fault seem to be able to continue driving after turning the van off and on, which would tell me the short is generally a momentary thing. The software fix could be to just have the PIM wait for the signal to recover while telling the driver to pull over when safe. I could also be to switch over to Hybrid mode to keep power available. I guess we will see.
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Can I get clarification here on whether the SI-EVT transmission is covered under the 10 year 150K hybrid component warranty? Or is it just the 5 year/ 60K powertrain?
Can I get clarification here on whether the SI-EVT transmission is covered under the 10 year 150K hybrid component warranty? Or is it just the 5 year/ 60K powertrain?
The best think to do is to look at the warranty book or card that came with your vehicle.
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I merged this thread with the other one discussing the same recall.
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