[KYTeacher]

My 2018 Chrysler Pacifica started acting up just over 100,000 miles. Engine started running hot, and engine stop start warning came on and stayed on. Immediately took to dealership where it was purchased they told me radiator was bad. Had extended warranty so they replaced radiator and I had to pay for the hose and some labor. Next day check engine light comes on and engine stop start still on. Take back to same dealership and they tell me it’s a solenoid. They order and replace. At this point I’m three weeks in the shop. Next day check engine light comes back on and stop start engine light. Husband arranged to take to a different dealership in a large city. Took it in yesterday. They called today to say head gasket warped and they weren’t sure if it could go to a machine shop for retooling or must be replaced. They are in contact with warranty company . This is the only time I purchased an extended warranty on a car and I have never been so glad! This seems to be a consistent Chrysler Pacifica problem. I am hoping it’s fixed when I get it back.

 

[April4283]

Just now having theese same issues with our 2017
Check engine light came one rough idle then low coolant and engine got hot one day. Took it to the dealer and just got our 2500 quote on new head gasket as long as nothings warped when they take it apart. We are furious we bought this used one year ago when our older town and country's transmission went out. So still going to be out the same repair cost and have added a car payment now. Will never buy chrysler again.

 

[NWChryslerDad]

Same story here -- 2018 Pacifica, just under 62K miles. Have had a misfire code on cylinder 3 for a couple months, dealer service tech kept saying "nothing to find" and resetting it. Vehicle overheated recently and found it as 3/4 gallon low on coolant. Took it in insisting on coolant pressure test and voila, head gasket problem or cracked head. Based on this thread it seems that there's a pretty consistent 60K failure - Chrysler, stellantis, or whomever it is now needs to own this and cover these costs even if outside of regular factory warranty. Even if we leave it there to have the work done, we're out a car for a month.

 

[Peabody]

Same EXACT story here. 2018 pacifica. Misfire on cylinder 3 with a rough idle. We actually put in a coil pack and the idle fixed for a few weeks. Couple of months later, it started running hot on an incline and when I checked: coolant was GONE all of a sudden. Misfire on cylinder 3 error code is back and car wouldn't try to turn over. Would just go to "running". Finally found a blown 500 amp fuse on the block above the battery terminal. Starts, but now white smoke from exhaust and all signs point to warped head gasket. This is insane for a car with less than 85k miles on it. Really regret not just overpaying for a Sienna.

 

[BNBott]

Just to add to this conversation, dealing with the exact same issue currently. My wife has a 2017 Limited with about 110k of mostly highway driving. She's great about taking it in for routine maintenance. Started idling rough. No shop could look at it for 2-3 weeks. Ran the code and got cylinder 3 misfire. Replaced spark plug and seemed to be better initially. Same issue the next day and then wouldn't start so had it towed to the only shop that wasn't backed up and there's coolant leaking into cylinder 3. Coolant was about 1/2 gallon low. The engine never overheated. Getting it towed to the Chrysler dealer now. Even if its just a repair on the head gasket, not sure I want to sink that into a car that seems to have a known issue with this (and 5 cylinders left that could do the same thing at any point).

 

[king4trav]

2017 we are having an issue with our van as well. Cyl 3 is pulling in coolant and we found out we are 14k over our warranty...yeah. Had the oil changed and all fluids checked less than a week before the issues started "valvoline" and my wife pulled over and shut it off when the light came on. We are at roughly 132k mostly highway miles. But now nobody has parts to fix it. We found a good local shop to repair it but they cant start the job until they have the parts, our van has been sitting about a month so far. Anyone have some pointers to get parts? Or atleast a full parts list I need so I can order them individually

 

[Hope]

Ouch, painful to hear all of this, is this what I have to look forward, if CEL, comes on at 2400 miles, what could that be? Will find out next day or so…

Hubby, thinks he broke his hip, so I have to deal with that first, broken Hubby, broken car…what’s next..?

 

[NWChryslerDad]

Same story here -- 2018 Pacifica, just under 62K miles. Have had a misfire code on cylinder 3 for a couple months, dealer service tech kept saying "nothing to find" and resetting it. Vehicle overheated recently and found it as 3/4 gallon low on coolant. Took it in insisting on coolant pressure test and voila, head gasket problem or cracked head. Based on this thread it seems that there's a pretty consistent 60K failure - Chrysler, stellantis, or whomever it is now needs to own this and cover these costs even if outside of regular factory warranty. Even if we leave it there to have the work done, we're out a car for a month.

Update: service has had the van now for over 2 months. Expecting not to have parts for another few weeks. Hoping for July?
Again, Chrysler needs to own this- way too many vehicles crapping out with the same problems.
Dealer gave us a creaky loaner caravan which is something, I guess.

 

[pacificalife2022]

Owner of a 2017 Pacifica Minivan with 72,300 miles here. A few weeks ago check engine light came on with a P0305 code. Independent mechanic assumed spark plug or coil issue, moved spark plugs around, then after similar code found that the head gasket is leaking. Van is at the dealership and we're waiting to hear if it is "just" the head gasket or a warped engine block. We've been quoted 4,200 for the head gasket repair and $12,000 + change for an engine replacement (if needed). We are in the same boat as others being out of warranty.

We are considering asking for a trade-in rather than dealing with the repair. Anybody have any success trading in their van and getting a good deal on a new one?

 

[peterweb]

It would be interesting to see just how much a dealer would give for a vehicle they know might need the engine replaced. With the wide variance of fix options between just changing head gasket and changing the whole engine, they would likely offer you a trade based on the worst case scenario. You could win, or the dealer could win.

 

[pacificalife2022]

It would be interesting to see just how much a dealer would give for a vehicle they know might need the engine replaced. With the wide variance of fix options between just changing head gasket and changing the whole engine, they would likely offer you a trade based on the worst case scenario. You could win, or the dealer could win.

We haven't gotten the final word from the dealer on whether the engine is going to need replaced. If engine replacement is needed, I plan to ask about a trade-in, I am curious to see if they are willing to deal.

 

[Meeks306]

I am going threw this now. took my 2017 Pacifica limited in 105k miles for its oil change etc. they said i had a cylinder 3 misfire and wanted $800 to do it. they also fixed the oil cooler under ext. warr. drove it 8 days and the car overheated on us, when it did we pulled over right away and started looking for leaks. come to find out i had no leaks and was 1.5gal low on coolant and 1qt low on oil. toped everything off and away we went. dealer was closed so had to wait till Monday. go back to dealer om Monday and they found coolant in cylinder 3 spark plug and said it needed to be torn down more. ext warr would cover this. so tore it down and found a crack between cyl 3 and 5. well ext. warr will not pay now because it overheated and they clearly stat that in the contract. the dealership kept saying they are not at fault for any of this and i needed a new motor. $10.5k so i got ahold of the area Chrysler rep and got a good faith and they are paying 80% and i have to pay the 20%. but told me that the dealership should be paying that since they were in the cooling system last (Oil Cooler have to drain and fill coolant to replace it). well after weeks of fighting they wont do anything and told me it would be 2-3mons before they got a new motor for it. so i called Chrysler and it was there within a week. The dealership also said it has 2 others in there with the same issue but they are cracked between cyl 1&3. now i am picking the car up 7-19-2022 with a new motor 3yr 100,000 warr on motor. I think Chrysler needs to step in and figure something out about these.

 

[pacificalife2022]

I am going threw this now. took my 2017 Pacifica limited in 105k miles for its oil change etc. they said i had a cylinder 3 misfire and wanted $800 to do it. they also fixed the oil cooler under ext. warr. drove it 8 days and the car overheated on us, when it did we pulled over right away and started looking for leaks. come to find out i had no leaks and was 1.5gal low on coolant and 1qt low on oil. toped everything off and away we went. dealer was closed so had to wait till Monday. go back to dealer om Monday and they found coolant in cylinder 3 spark plug and said it needed to be torn down more. ext warr would cover this. so tore it down and found a crack between cyl 3 and 5. well ext. warr will not pay now because it overheated and they clearly stat that in the contract. the dealership kept saying they are not at fault for any of this and i needed a new motor. $10.5k so i got ahold of the area Chrysler rep and got a good faith and they are paying 80% and i have to pay the 20%. but told me that the dealership should be paying that since they were in the cooling system last (Oil Cooler have to drain and fill coolant to replace it). well after weeks of fighting they wont do anything and told me it would be 2-3mons before they got a new motor for it. so i called Chrysler and it was there within a week. The dealership also said it has 2 others in there with the same issue but they are cracked between cyl 1&3. now i am picking the car up 7-19-2022 with a new motor 3yr 100,000 warr on motor. I think Chrysler needs to step in and figure something out about these.

I'm sorry you had this experience, and I can imagine your frustration with having an extended warranty, and it not being fully covered. That is horrible customer service!

My 2017 van with 72,300 miles ended up "just" needing a head gasket repair ($4,100). For others following this thread, if your pacifica is showing a misfire on any cylinder I encourage folks to ask the dealer or your independent mechanic to look for a coolant leak. We have spent almost a month trying to get this diagnosed (and fixed) and a lot of $ on rental cars while waiting for service appointments and parts to come in. The sooner you know the less damage it will have done.

 

[mm574]

Owner of a 2017 Pacifica Minivan with 72,300 miles here. A few weeks ago check engine light came on with a P0305 code. Independent mechanic assumed spark plug or coil issue, moved spark plugs around, then after similar code found that the head gasket is leaking. Van is at the dealership and we're waiting to hear if it is "just" the head gasket or a warped engine block. We've been quoted 4,200 for the head gasket repair and $12,000 + change for an engine replacement (if needed). We are in the same boat as others being out of warranty.

We are considering asking for a trade-in rather than dealing with the repair. Anybody have any success trading in their van and getting a good deal on a new one?

I, too, am having that exact same problem. I have a 2017 Touring L Plus with 71,000 miles and got P0305 as well. It's been in the shop for 3 weeks now, they used a bore scope and found coolant on the valves on #5. Bad head gasket. Had a heck of a time finding a new one. They sent the cylinder head in to get machined and pressure tested and that passed. They say it's running smooth but now waiting on our extended warranty to do their part.... We love our van but man, this makes me not want to buy another MOPAR product.

 

[Tomek1962]

Reading about the cylinder head gaskets is not pretty. It would be interesting to know when the defective vehicles were built, it could be that a batch of gaskets was installed, which may already have had manufacturing defects.

On the other hand, it has to be said that the engine compartment of the PAC is extremely warm after a drive. With my Audi, the radiator fan is then started, even if the ignition was off to reduce the heat buildup. Does the Pac also do this? The problem for engines is the thermal load after e.g. highway driving, or high outside temperatures. The heat buildup can cause stress cracks in the engine. Some relief can be achieved by opening the hood and running the engine for a few minutes. Turning on the heater to the highest level also takes some temperature out of the cooling system. Running the engine and heating to the highest setting should also be done when overheating of the coolant is imminent! Do not turn off the engine, otherwise we get problems with the thermal load again.

Update
just found in the instruction manual
When working near the radiator cooling fan, discon-
nect the fan motor lead or turn the ignition to the
OFF mode. The fan is temperature controlled and can
start at any time the ignition is in the ON mode.

It would be much more important that this feature would work with the ignition off!

 

[M0Par]

I've been reading these posts with great concern. I've also had enough exposure to BMWs to recognize German parts and their infamous love affair with plastic in their cooling systems which causes catastrophic failure.

Has anyone yet diagnosed exactly what is happening with all these cooling related failures causing blown head gaskets?

 

[PacificaMinivanFan]

It appears Chrysler is keeping this under wrap. For now it's still guess work.

 

[Tomek1962]

Perhaps you could try sealing the cylinder head gasket with this agent.

Steel Seal Blown Head Gasket Fix Repair Sealer - 8 Cylinder https://a.co/d/hV0s0fb

 

[peterweb]

Perhaps you could try sealing the cylinder head gasket with this agent.

Steel Seal Blown Head Gasket Fix Repair Sealer - 8 Cylinder https://a.co/d/hV0s0fb

Not sure this would be a good idea. Better to bite the bullet and get if fixed properly. Then report it to NHTSA Home | NHTSA so that there can be some pressure put on Chrylser to make this good.

And if the head gasket has been failed for some time, the block may also have been affected/cracked. A bottle of quick fix will never find that.

 

[Tomek1962]

Not sure this would be a good idea. Better to bite the bullet and get if fixed properly. Then report it to NHTSA Home | NHTSA so that there can be some pressure put on Chrylser to make this good.

And if the head gasket has been failed for some time, the block may also have been affected/cracked. A bottle of quick fix will never find that.

You will be right, that a major damage can not be repaired with it. But it might help in the early stages of creeping coolant loss.

It is also strange that this problem occurs almost exclusively at the rear head gasket of cylinders 1-3-5. This strengthens my assumption that the heat accumulation in the rear part of the engine towards the cabin causes a thermal overload. With cylinders 2-4-6, part of the heat can probably escape through the radiator grille.