Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Chrysler Pacifica: Problems & Solutions
This discussion has been closed.
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
==========
OH btw the snow tires are great :-) (love these Pirellis) work great on ice too. well as good as anything can be on ice. It pulled me up my icy driveway last night. I couldnt even walk on the driveway it was that icy (and its sloped 40 degrees upward)
When I'm moving and take my foot off the accelerator, as expected, the tach shows the RPMs decreasing. Without allowing the vehicle to lose any speed, I then return my foot to the pedal and hold it steady. At this point, the RPMs begin at a higher point than they were previously, then almost immediately drop back down to where they should be. I can even get it to happen while accelerating slightly.
This is annoying to say the least, but it also gives the feeling of power loss while driving. As with every car I've ever driven before, I expect the RPMs to go right to where the pedal position would suggest, and stay there, unless I'm intentionally trying to accelerate.
I have the car in the shop right now for an unreleated issue, but when I asked the tech about it and took him for a drive, he said it was because the transmission was changing to a higher gear than needed initially, and was normal. Another tech suggested that it can take up to 6000 miles before the transmission "learns" my driving habits, so it should change.
Has anyone else felt this in their car? And if you have, did it "adjust" as it broke in?
You shouldn't inflate the Pacifica tires to more than 35#, cold.
You don't say where you live, but tire pressure drops 1# for each 10 deg. drop in ambient temperature. We had a bout of 0 deg. temp. (Buffalo, NY area) and my tires dropped to 28#, resulting in the warning light coming on.
Raising the cold pressure to 34# solved the problem.
Also, if you had the tires rotated, be sure thr dealer "retrained" the wheel sensors.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
i'm hoping this is just a red herring, because i'd really like to buy one.
thanks for your feedback!
thanks
Jim
All of the information I learned about the Pac before I bought it said that the engine and tranny used are the same as the 300M (also the same combo in my husband's 2000 LHS). I learned that when first introduced (back in '98 or '99, I think) there were problems but that by 2000 all the kinks were worked out.
I can say that my husband's LHS has 70K trouble-free miles with his engine/tranny. 7K miles on my Pac and no problems at all. If anything, to echo other comments on the board, mine is running even better than ever now that the engine is broken in and has 'learned' my driving habits.
However there was an issue with the engine speed sensor that needed to be replaced (1 hour at the dealer, cheap fix, the part is $25, but it is under warranty anyway). When that engine speed sensor went bad, the tranny restricted itself to only using 1st and 2nd gears (limp mode). It may be worth just buying the engine speed sensor and learning how to change it yourself.
Compare that to the complete tranny replacement I had to experience after 6,100 miles of driving my brand new 2002 Acura TL-S (which replaced the 300M). That took only 10 days to replace it.
Also, i'm not sure if thr training "magnet" can be purchased.
I am going to check on both with my 5*.
I am not sure if mine is even working, as I never retrained it and have had the tires rotated at Firestone and also replace with snow tires now, sensor has not gone off once ...
as far as retraining. do a search on this board, someone posted a great link with pictures and everything on how it works on a jeep. same thing though.
I traded in my 2002 Acura MDX for the Pacifica I'm currently driving. The MDX is way overpriced (in my opinion....) and it was one of the most boring vehicles I've ever driven.
I think there will always be quirks to encounter with any vehicle, including the Pacifica. Some folks seem to end up with some vehicles that are more problematic than others while some have the same vehicle for years and never have one single issue with it.
Forums like this are a great place to share information with fellow owners but, for all the "problems" you read about, there are generally way more people that may not have any problems whatsoever and never seek out forums like this.
I love my Pacifica and don't regret my purchase at all. Good luck with your decision!
Not once have I seen another vehicle and thought, "I should have bought that instead". The Pacifica is just the right size for me. The Mirrano and RX-330 are too small and SUV's are...SUV's. The Pacifica gives you more for your money than anything on the market.
I saw in one of the messages that a person got a passenger door panel with a button even though they did not have the heated seat option.
Somebody please tell me where it is at, so I don't have to go to the dealer and tell them I have the wrong door panel. I feel so good about the car, I don't want to be dissapointed.
Thanks,
Alisa
http://www.chrysler.com/pacifica/features/seats_storage/memory.ht- ml?context=pacifica-features-seats_storage-index&type=modelsu- b
Thats the drivers side door.
The salesman said that the dealership had just changed out another door panel.
This does not make me feel comfortable about the quality of the car.
I'm an owner and I haven't had any problems with my Pacifica. It's the perfect vehicle for my family.
I think the problems you are reading about in these forums are very much in the minority, less than 1% of the owners. You're going to see more owners complain when they have a problem so that they can find out if the problems are common, or if other owners have solutions. The satisfied customers rarely speak out. If you scan the other forums, you'll find customers complaining about Hondas and Toyotas which are supposed to be very high on the reliability scale, but if you based your reliability opinion on the forums, you would never buy anything.
I own a Pacifica with 'leather' seating. Recently when I was cleaning the seats, upon close observation, I noticed that only the portion at the center of the seat is leather and the rest is man made material, but certainly not leather. I think this is plain deception! Has anyone noticed this?
Regards,
Prasanna
Came back from the dealer yesterday and had the following activities aside from the oil change.... The battery was replaced because it was failing (after only 13K miles and 6 months). The information display under the temp gauge has failed. It has been ordered. Now that they were in there doing stuff the NAV system doesn't work either.
At least they said they would have a loaner for me when the parts come in. We'll see! Hope I don't end up with the '87 Acclaim I got last time!
Almost all cars with leather seats only have leather in the center seating area, the rest is man-made (vinyl), even in the very expensive cars. Some do a better job of matching the leather and vinyl than others.
Thanks Again.
As far as loaners I get what ever enterprise has around. usually a Pontiac 4 door of some sort or sometimes a Pickup 4X4 if they have one (got a nice new Dodge Ram pickup before...
Now if I can only get DCX to release the software that increases horse power, improves FM reception, removes the intermittent rattle in the dash and produces speed sensitive steering I'll be a happy camper ;-)
Looks like I all of the software patches you are looking for except for the horse power or gas mileage patch. All other items functioning well (if you don't count my information display and now NAV system not functioning! Parts are on the way.).
Regards.
Any feedback is appreciated
Love my AWD Pacifica, love it!
however I am in the middle of something wierd,
and this is the second time it has happened.
The memory seats, both of them, don't respond to
the controls!
I hear the motors clicking, but no motion on the seats.
This happened once before, with the seat tilted all the way back, and I determined at the time,
(probably incorrectly) that it might have something
to do with the keys (???). like my wife locked or unlocked the car with her key, while my key was in the ignition.
Has anyone had a similiar experience?
and more importantly, know how to solve it?
Chrysler has no records in their database of this problem, and I'd like to avoid wasting days at the dealer.
thanks gang!
Some of the problems stated here are copies of my same annoyances.
1. Since Delivery (Nov.'03), steering wheel is off center (no pull though) to the left. Dealer is saying "an inch or two off-center is normal". Yeah, riiiight. How come I took the PAC to Midas & they centered the wheel & said it was NOT normal to be off center,just lazy assemblers at the factory? Cost $59 bucks to be "normal".
2. Outside left mirror doesn't go back to correct position when 1 or 2 buttons are pressed. Mirror moves but stops before correct spot. Dealer says "close to position is fine for system." I think that's a cop-out but I'm not about to tear it apart myself.
The answer to the DVD monitor playing if closed is "yes". It does play while closed. Look at it at night,in the garage w/a movie in the player,you'll see a glow around the closed screen.
3. Buffetting from open rear windows does happen but I crack the sunroof to alleviate the noise. I've had similar noise from other wagons. It is simply the 60+mph airflow being redirected into the car instead of around it. The noise happens more in wagons/suv's due to the longer interior for the air to flow into. Not a good thing in a 38K+ truck but a little understandable by design.
Can anyone tell me why the trip computer tells me I only have 225miles till empty when I fill the tank?? I bought the car & I used to show 363miles till empty.I've tried hitting the Reset button on the r.side but no success.
Thanks everbody! :-)
Kelly/Almond Pac loaded.
So at 150 miles (alternating speeds as it says in the breakin section of the manual), I am calling my folks on the cell phone to tell them I bought a good looking Pac. Suddenly, off goes the chime and on goes the yellow engine light and I lose power and the engine starts bucking. We slow down and cross our fingers and look for a turnoff from I-95. I called Chysler Road Assistance, they say if it driveable go to the Jeep dealer in Aberdeen, MD. I get them on the phone at 12 Noon on Saturday and they say "don't come to us, go to the Chrysler dealer in town". I say thanks and get the number from them and we head that way and call ahead to get our loaner car. I stopped and the car dies and I try to restart the car...no luck...10 minutes later it does fire off. I get ahold of the Chrysler dealer and tell him I am coming and inform him I need the loaner car based on the premium care. He informs me that the Enterprise Car Rental is closed and they can't get one but we can drop the car off and rent a car from across the street from the Shell Dealer and pay for it ourselves.
So I stumble into the delaer and I give the Roadside assistance a call to be sure that the rental is covered by Chysler, they say they have nothing to do with rentals. They give me the Chrysler 1-800 number for customer assistance....which is only open from 8 to 5 Fri through Mon. The service manager is surprised that the Roadside Assistance told me to drive it into the dealer (now 160 miles). So then I call my original salesman and he gives me a Chysler 1-800 number that is disconnected. I calll back roadside assitance and get the same answer as before...
We get in the rental car from the Shell dealer and get to the Hockey tournament late, without our Pac. I question what is wrong with the engine and what other things are going to pop up with this vehicle. I am going through the lemaon law papers that I have.
Here I sit with expensive dead Pac with 160 miles on it, what would you do?
The Chrysler Premium Care Plan loaner car program is available for SCHEDULED service appointments only. This is exactly the same as the plans offered by BMW, Mercedes, Lexus etc.)
It is always a good idea to give any vehicle a thorough going over prior to signing any paperwork so that you can identify any obvious problems ie missing remotes, missing heater switch button etc. This way you can include these mssing items in your negotiation. As an example, when I picked up my Pacifica, I noticed while inspecting the vehicle that one of the rear floor mats had a bad snag & tear in it. As part of my negotiation, I had them add it to the "Due Bill" and also had them include that they would FedEx the new floor mat to me within a week, or the deal would be void and I would be fully reimbursed with no penalty. Guess what? the mat showed up 3 days later as promised.
Remember up until you sign the deal for a new vehicle, you have all the power. After the deal is done, you give up much of the power position.
Good Luck and I hope you have better experiences with your Pacifica from here on out.
VEHICLE HAS LESS THEN 4000 MILES. MULTIPLE ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS (FIRST TOW AT 120MILES). DEFECTIVE ENGINE WIRING @ FUEL INJECTORS CAUSING SEVERE BUCKING AND AND STALLING. ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS WITH TRANSMISSION CONTROL SYSTEM CAUSING VEHICLE TO STAY IN 1ST GEAR AND SHOW CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. VEHICLE HAS BEEN TOWED 4 TIMES AND SPENT OVER 20 DAYS AT THE DEALER. I HAVE ONLY OWNED IT LESS THEN 4 MONTHS.
WHILE DRIVING AT 70 MPH ENGINE CHECK LIGHT CAME ON, THEN THE VEHICLE STARTED TO JERK AND STALL. DRIVER PULLED OFF THE ROAD. CONSUMER HAS CONTACTED THE DEALERSHIP ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS, BUT THE PROBLEM STILL OCCURS.
WHILE DRIVE THE VEHICLE APPEARS TO SHUT OFF. I HAVE NO OTHER WAY TO DESCRIBE WHAT HAPPENS. IT IS LITERALLY AS THOUGH THE KEY WERE TURNED OFF (I.E. THE ENGINE STOPS, LOSS OF POWER STEER, LOSS OF POWER ASSIST BREAKING, LOSS OF ABS, NO INSTRUMENT PANEL LIGHTS TO EVEN INDICATE THERE WAS PROBLEM). THE ONLY SYSTEMS THAT REMAIN ACTIVE ARE THE ONES THAT WOULD NORMALLY BE ON WHEN THE KEY WERE IN THE ACCESSORY POSITION. THE VEHICLE WILL IMMEDIATELY RESTART AFTER BEING SHIFTED TO NEUTRAL. THIS HAS OCCURRED NUMEROUS TIMES WITH NO CONSISTENCY. (I.E. 70 MPH ON AN INTERSTATE, 15 MPH IN A PARKING LOT, 45 ON A SECONDARY ROAD, 5 MPH BACKING OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY)
Has anybody else seen these problems? I want the dealer to get this thing fixed right the first time....or get me another one that is right.
bossman, I feel your pain! It may be just dumb luck, but we put 130,000 miles on 2 300Ms, and 22,000 miles so far on our Pacifica with almost no problems.
I hope you get everything resolved to your satisfaction, and have nothing but good experiences from now on!