[mrfreeze]

Hello! My wife and I are considering purchasing a 2018 Pacifica PHEV from a dealer. I looked up the vin and it shows all recall work has been completed.

The price for the model seems to be a good deal (I've been researching and waiting for some time), but I am hesitant due to the Z11 recall and it only being a software update that doesn't really fix the root cause.

The van is low mileage and I hope to get a number of years out of it.

Thoughts on purchasing a 2018 hybrid?

 

[EarthFriendly]

Just as a comparison, I got my used 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid 15 months ago and have driven 12K miles since pruchase. Only recently I had to get one spark plug replaced (check engine light turned on) and the repair was $170. No other costs and have saved bunch of money on fuel as most of my driving is all electric.

 

[prahladj]

I am in the same boat, planning on buying a 2018 Hybrid with high mileage at 100K Kms, test drove it and loved its fuel sipping quality. Some are saying 100k Kms is too much already on pachy. But Inspection report is excellent, everything healthy as per dealership. With Hybrid components under warranty for 160K Kms, I see it as a safe buy. Fingers crossed though

 

[Odyssey045]

Personal opinion. Chrysler cars are peace of mind when purchased new. Again, just a personal opinion.

 

[Podivin]

Of course nobody can guarantee anything about the van you're looking at, but I can tell you that I bought a 2018 PacHy back in May of '22 and it's been just fine.

 

[Space_Cadet]

I bought a certified PacHy Limited about 2 weeks ago, and found all the documentation from the previous owner having to go through recalls, get a rental car, and even found one where she apparently just didn't get warranty work done because she was fed up with all the repairs.

That actually made me feel better about getting a low-mileage certified PacHy; someobody else had to deal with all the teething problems. I think that most of the kinks are either repaired for the 2018's or engineered out for the newer models. So my feeling is to go ahead. I would even say that getting one in the 20-40K range might be preferable, since the important stuff that's going to break has mostly broken. Just don't get one that has a Carfax with multiple instances of "battery/electrical system checked/fixed". That seems like a sure sign of a major problem.

By the way, I LOVE my PacHy. I had driven the wheels off my Mazda3, and my Mazda2 is a crappy car, so it might be a case of low expectations, but dang it is sure nice to own a (used) luxury vehicle for the (new) price of a basic 4-banger compact.

My one complaint is that my electrical provider is making me wait a cycle to get lower rates, so it can be MORE expensive for me to drive on the battery than on gas if I don't charge at the appropriate times!

However, my PacHy allows me to qualify for a lower rate plan, so I'll be saving about 30% on my current electrical bill.

 

[mrfreeze]

Thanks for the reply everyone!

 

[BennyRT]

Good luck with the decision. Update us when you take home one.

 

[Hybridization]

I bought a 2018 PacHy Limited with 62000 miles yesterday. I got the 5year/60000mile extended warranty. Like the van so far.

 

[alansyn]

I have a 2018 Pacifica Hybrid Limited that I bought new at the beginning of 2019. It has been through all of the recalls and an update that killed my radio which also killed the air conditioning. Had to wait 2 months for it to be repaired but it was covered under warranty and I was given a rental. When I complained about all the extra gas I had to buy for the rental, they sent me a check for the extra gas. Currently, I have 66k on it and it won't charge the high voltage battery. It is giving me a service charging system message and the check engine light came on. They say they will cover this under the 100k battery warranty and hopefully it will be fixed but I have to wait 3 weeks for an appointment. The radio dying and charging problems are the only issues I have had with it and I love the vehicle otherwise.

 

[joel123]

Hello! My wife and I are considering purchasing a 2018 Pacifica PHEV from a dealer. I looked up the vin and it shows all recall work has been completed.

The price for the model seems to be a good deal (I've been researching and waiting for some time), but I am hesitant due to the Z11 recall and it only being a software update that doesn't really fix the root cause.

The van is low mileage and I hope to get a number of years out of it.

Thoughts on purchasing a 2018 hybrid?

My Z11 recall involved replacing the battery . Problem all fixed. I did get a service hybrid electronics or something waring about a week later. That was low coolant for the battery.
I like my 2018 a lot. Few problems, but, I bought the extended warranty!

 

[Hybridization]

I have a 2018 Pacifica Hybrid Limited that I bought new at the beginning of 2019. It has been through all of the recalls and an update that killed my radio which also killed the air conditioning. Had to wait 2 months for it to be repaired but it was covered under warranty and I was given a rental. When I complained about all the extra gas I had to buy for the rental, they sent me a check for the extra gas. Currently, I have 66k on it and it won't charge the high voltage battery. It is giving me a service charging system message and the check engine light came on. They say they will cover this under the 100k battery warranty and hopefully it will be fixed but I have to wait 3 weeks for an appointment. The radio dying and charging problems are the only issues I have had with it and I love the vehicle otherwise.

Hope you get it fixed soon. Apart from the big inconvenience, I think hybrid battery warranty should get you a new battery(hopefully!).

 

[Hybridization]

I am curious how much electric miles should I realistically expect for an almost 5 year old van? Everyday it shows as 100% 32 miles when I start driving in the morning. But when I keep track of the miles, it is usually around 20 or less.
I am driving as lightly as possible. Weather was in the 40s and 50s.

How many miles are you getting for the 2018 PacHy?

Did any driving technique work for you to get to 30 miles range on electric only?

Should I get anything checked with the dealer for the battery efficiency?

 

[Podivin]

Temperature is a major factor as to what mileage you get. On colder days you're heating the inside of the van and the van is warming the hybrid battery, and maybe you've got the lights on, and maybe the kids are watching videos in the back - all of that comes out of your mileage. ANY sort of electrical use reduces the mileage, you've just got to keep that in mind. How you drive is part of it, but it's not necessarily the largest part.
Below is part of a reply I made to someone who was asking about what kind of mileage to expect.

I've got a 2018 also.
On days when no, or VERY little, climate control is needed I get the advertised 32 miles on electric.
Running the AC (front only) uses up about 5 of those miles if I'm by myself, closer to 7 if my wife is with me also, because she likes it cooler than I do.
I was driving it recently when the temps were in the 30s and the electric-only mileage dropped to just over 20 miles (or about 12 miles less than 'normal').

I regularly make a trip that is about 160 miles, about 135 of that being interstate, the rest is in town, often in heavy traffic. I usually set the cruise control on 74 on the interstate. I'm fairly light footed when starting from a traffic light (though not 'slow') and coast when I can when coming to a stop.
On no climate control days I consistently get just under 34 miles per gallon on that trip.
On low climate control days I get 32.5 mpg.
When it's hot outside and the AC is turned up more (still front only, we never have passengers in back) and is working harder it gets down around 31mpg.
In the cold temps reference above the mileage took a big drop down to 26.3 mpg.
Apparently the climate control works much harder to make heat that it does to make cool.
So, in 40 to 80 degree temps I expect to get 32 mpg. Below 40 I expect it to drop pretty fast into the 20-something mpg range. In the 90s I expect 31-ish.
You live in Chicago where it gets much colder than where I am (north Florida). Based on my experience you can expect your mileage (and electric range) to take a serious drop on the really cold days.
If you're going to have people in back and the climate control will be running back there also, my GUESS is that you can expect to drop about 2 mpg for that, and to loose 4 or 5 miles electric-only range.

The mileage on the PacHy seems to be much more sensitive to hot or cold temps than the Prius. My assumption is that much of this is due to the heating/cooling of the hybrid battery pack.

 

[Hybridization]

Temperature is a major factor as to what mileage you get. On colder days you're heating the inside of the van and the van is warming the hybrid battery, and maybe you've got the lights on, and maybe the kids are watching videos in the back - all of that comes out of your mileage. ANY sort of electrical use reduces the mileage, you've just got to keep that in mind. How you drive is part of it, but it's not necessarily the largest part.
Below is part of a reply I made to someone who was asking about what kind of mileage to expect.

I've got a 2018 also.
On days when no, or VERY little, climate control is needed I get the advertised 32 miles on electric.
Running the AC (front only) uses up about 5 of those miles if I'm by myself, closer to 7 if my wife is with me also, because she likes it cooler than I do.
I was driving it recently when the temps were in the 30s and the electric-only mileage dropped to just over 20 miles (or about 12 miles less than 'normal').

I regularly make a trip that is about 160 miles, about 135 of that being interstate, the rest is in town, often in heavy traffic. I usually set the cruise control on 74 on the interstate. I'm fairly light footed when starting from a traffic light (though not 'slow') and coast when I can when coming to a stop.
On no climate control days I consistently get just under 34 miles per gallon on that trip.
On low climate control days I get 32.5 mpg.
When it's hot outside and the AC is turned up more (still front only, we never have passengers in back) and is working harder it gets down around 31mpg.
In the cold temps reference above the mileage took a big drop down to 26.3 mpg.
Apparently the climate control works much harder to make heat that it does to make cool.
So, in 40 to 80 degree temps I expect to get 32 mpg. Below 40 I expect it to drop pretty fast into the 20-something mpg range. In the 90s I expect 31-ish.
You live in Chicago where it gets much colder than where I am (north Florida). Based on my experience you can expect your mileage (and electric range) to take a serious drop on the really cold days.
If you're going to have people in back and the climate control will be running back there also, my GUESS is that you can expect to drop about 2 mpg for that, and to loose 4 or 5 miles electric-only range.

The mileage on the PacHy seems to be much more sensitive to hot or cold temps than the Prius. My assumption is that much of this is due to the heating/cooling of the hybrid battery pack.

Thanks! I’ll try using the seat heaters and climate set to off and try today. Here in Virginia temperatures are not usually not that extreme.

 

[Hybridization]

with climate off, I got close to 32 miles. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[mrfreeze]

Thanks all! I found a 2020 limited S hybrid for a great deal so I am going with that one. I should get it next week!

 

[Podivin]

with climate off, I got close to 32 miles. Thanks for the suggestions!

Great. I'm glad it worked out for you!

 

[saunderslogt]

Hello! My wife and I are considering purchasing a 2018 Pacifica PHEV from a dealer. I looked up the vin and it shows all recall work has been completed.

The price for the model seems to be a good deal (I've been researching and waiting for some time), but I am hesitant due to the Z11 recall and it only being a software update that doesn't really fix the root cause.

The van is low mileage and I hope to get a number of years out of it.

Thoughts on purchasing a 2018 hybrid?

Great you tube on this vehicle, I saw it last night new post, I would be sure to watch it before I bought one, especially if you live in a cold area!

 

[vic]

I bought a certified PacHy Limited about 2 weeks ago, and found all the documentation from the previous owner having to go through recalls, get a rental car, and even found one where she apparently just didn't get warranty work done because she was fed up with all the repairs.

That actually made me feel better about getting a low-mileage certified PacHy; someobody else had to deal with all the teething problems. I think that most of the kinks are either repaired for the 2018's or engineered out for the newer models. So my feeling is to go ahead. I would even say that getting one in the 20-40K range might be preferable, since the important stuff that's going to break has mostly broken. Just don't get one that has a Carfax with multiple instances of "battery/electrical system checked/fixed". That seems like a sure sign of a major problem.

but using your teething logic dealer has to fix everything before selling CPO? Almost better than new? IF the stuff has been actually fixed is the big caveat