I brought ours in and told them it already did this once and they replaced it but they claim it's not the actuator this time but something else and they opened a star case. They also claim they were told there were a few star cases opened for the same issue. I am starting to wonder if they just didn't want to replace it under my lifetime warranty(have 3 other things being done as well)
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Another thread that has instructions
2017 Pacifica making noises from inside the dash
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2017 Pacifica making noises from inside the dash
2017 Pacifica making noises from inside the dash
Hello fellow Pacifica owners, I took this video and put it on youtube so you could hear the noises coming from what seems like inside middle of the dash. I was surprised how well my phone picked up the noise because while it is obnoxious in person it sounds really obnoxious in the video...
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I didn't disconnect the battery to stop the noise as I know it will shut off after a few minutes, I disconnected the battery and left it disconnected for awhile to see if it would reset anything, but I just hooked it back up and the noise is still there.
But my question remains - if it is the door actuator, why does it stop once the ignition is on? I might think it was a battery issue if it made the noise when the engine was off and then stopped when the engine was on, thus getting power from the alternator and no longer the battery.
By the way, I was driving around in it today for quite a few errands (9 stops) and at least once it did not happen
Ok. This is just a hunch. When you shut the car off, it automatically tries to move the actuator door to a certain position. This is the same position it tries to move to every time you shut the vehicle off. Let’s just say it’s at the midway point. After so many years the feedback potentiometer develops a bad spot in it in that same midway point area. So when you turn the car off it can not accurately position the door to that spot because of the bad potentiometer. Instead it hunts back and forth to either side of the bad spot trying to find it. It will do this for several minutes until it finally gives up and shuts itself down. Perhaps when you are driving, the door tends to want to position itself closer to one extreme or the other and since the potentiometer is good in those spots you don’t get the back and forth hunting. I am pretty sure this is an issue that is internal to the actuator and not an error created by the control system of the car. My actuator did this same exact thing when the car was about two years old. The actuator was replaced under warranty and, voila! The problem stopped immediately. Now, about two years later the same problem is happening again. I’ve already bought the new actuator but just haven’t had the opportunity to put it in yet.I didn't disconnect the battery to stop the noise as I know it will shut off after a few minutes, I disconnected the battery and left it disconnected for awhile to see if it would reset anything, but I just hooked it back up and the noise is still there.
But my question remains - if it is the door actuator, why does it stop once the ignition is on? I might think it was a battery issue if it made the noise when the engine was off and then stopped when the engine was on, thus getting power from the alternator and no longer the battery.
By the way, I was driving around in it today for quite a few errands (9 stops) and at least once it did not happen
A couple of things. First, the 12v battery in these cars is not charged by an alternator. There is no alternator. It is actually charged from energy that comes from the high voltage motive battery. You may already know this. Second, in my experience there are times when for whatever reason the clicking doesn’t happen. Perhaps the “scratchy” potentiometer settles on a good spot and for some reason it’s satisfied. In my case, when this has happened (now the 2nd time in 4 years) it has happened somewhat gradually. It starts off with gradual rhythmic clicking that only happens once in a great while and the progressively gets worse to the point where it happens nearly every time the van is shut off.I might think it was a battery issue if it made the noise when the engine was off and then stopped when the engine was on, thus getting power from the alternator and no longer the battery.
By the way, I was driving around in it today for quite a few errands (9 stops) and at least once it did not happen
If it weren’t for the fact that this critter is hard to get to, I would try removing it, finding where the potentiometer is, and spraying it with some contact cleaner to see if the problem resolves at least temporarily. But the part is not very expensive and it seems to last for about two years so I just bite the bullet and change it out. It’s an annoyance albeit a fairly minor one and it’s one of just a very few problems I’ve had with the van so it’s tolerable. At least I know exactly what to do when the symptoms occur. No troubleshooting needed. And I’ve read enough about others who’ve had the exact same problem and the resolution always seems to be the replacement of the actuator.
This makes sense, still seems weird that they would design it to go to a middle position though.
I didn't realize I was in the hybrid forum - I have the regular gas Pacifica. But it is still the same issue, and I'm sure it is the actuator but I always troubleshoot easy to difficult rather than most likely to least likely. Like disconnecting the battery for an hour or 2, worth a shot as it took 10 seconds to disconnect and 10 to reconnect.
And since the actuator is only $20 and the difficulty is with removing and installing it, I agree there is no need to try to repair one unless you are trying to find the cause. I had to take the seat adjuster switch out of my '02 Trans Am, take it apart and clean it, which was really fiddly and a PIA, but I had no choice as there weren't any switches to be found at the time.
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