Chrysler Pacifica: Problems & Solutions

ub302 · July 2003

RE: #41, #42, #43. I've owned my pacifica for 3 months and have 5100 miles on it. I found that when you close the lift gate manually, it's kind of like closing the trunk on a caddy. The latch mechanism will engage and pull the liftgate tight and latch the gate. Kind of sounds like star wars. There's no pushing required to open the liftgate manually. The only problems I've encountered is the liftgate full open switch went bad which caused the liftgate to open erratically when opened electronically. If you close it manually it will not open electronically...the flashers will flash twice. Replacement of the switch fixed the problem.

kalathiparambi · July 2003

Daytime Running Lights are mandatory in Canada on vehicles manufactured after 1991. Does the American 'version' have them? And if so, does anyone notice that one of these lights goes out when your turn signal is on? Is this normal? At first I thought the light was burned out as I watched my wife signalling and waiting to turn into our driveway... !

cluelesspa · July 2003

nope :-( I wonder why they didnt offer running lights in the US as almost all mfg just offer them anyways for safety and I am guessing easier then having a Canadian and US model. but no the us doesnt have daytime running lights. kept playing with the auto setting then read the manual and found out. sorry cant help you on the turn signal thing but that doesnt sound correct at all !!!

cluelesspa · August 2003

I think it may be the way it is designed because the daytime lights are typically the high beams at low power... so that would put the high beams right next to the front turn signals. so if you were turning during the day the person may not see the turn signal flashing ... being blinded by the running beam on that side ...

jmellon · August 2003

Hello all,

We've had our Pacifica for about two weeks now, and my wife has started hearing a rattling sound coming from the steering column or dash when she drives over bumps like railroad tracks. The sound doesn't happen all the time, but keeps coming back. We will be asking the dealer to look into it, but I wanted to see if anyone else had heard something similar. Otherwise, everything else on the vehicle is great and we are really enjoying it.

mrquisp · August 2003

I got a really stupid question for you... how do you know if you have the Intermezzo stereo system in the car? Is there any discenerable "flag" on the dash?

pfschim · August 2003

I've got the same thing going on. We just picked up our Pacifica Thur and have put 150mi on it over weekend. Pretty much anytime you go over rough pavement or, like we did Sunday, about a mile of moderately rough gravel road (no, not off road), there is a horrible sound like shaking a wooden box of silverware ... very nasty.

I told my salesman and service lead that I was hoping for a good (not great) quality experience from Chrysler ... I'm not real impressed so far, but we'll see what happens when I talk to them about this. I know sound/rattles are tough to track down and cure.

cshore · August 2003

I have had my new Pacifica for less than one week. My children opened the rear windows for the first time, and I thought that I was going to lose my hearing. The pressure created was so intense that my ears still hurt 4 hours later. The vibration was quite significant; causing the rear tailgate to shake erratically. I do not consider this to be acceptable as a "normal occurrence." Has anyone heard back from the manufacturer regarding this problem?

twoof1 · August 2003

This IS a normal occurance in almost any large open vehicle such as an SUV, station wagon or Pacifica. It happened on my '02 Mountaineer,'00 Volvo V70 T5 & '98 Volvo V70 XC. It is NOT exclusive to the Pacifica. The problem is easily solved by opening the drivers or passengers front window a crack. And your right it is a terribly annoying common occurance in all large open vehicles. You can read about it in many of the forums here on Edmunds

ms_mayor · August 2003

There are a few posts at the start of this thread regarding this noise. It's mentioned in the Pacifica owner's manual on p. 119.

It's definitely normal; I've had this happend in almost every car I've owned. Best bet is to just keep the windows closed and let the automatic climate control system keep everyone comfy.

spnteach · August 2003

I have noticed this too - when driving on a bumpy road there is a rattle in the dash - seems more in the middle/right side. I'd be interested in finding out if anyone knows how to resolve it!

rever2 · August 2003

Just a thought, is there any thing in the glove box that is causing it?

cluelesspa · August 2003

other areas beside glove box to check is the ashtray area and also keychain as the keys sometimes rattle against the dash as well due to the placement of ignition ... Also check the panel next to the floor (mine came lose by itself one day) came back to the car and saw this plastic panel on the passenger floor area

kalathiparambi · August 2003

fyi i also noticed a rattle on the driver's side when on the highway. turned out to be a vibrating cap on the plug of the engine block heater.

mrus1 · August 2003

I have had my Pacifica in to the dealer twice for this mysterious rattle and they can not duplicate it when I bring it in for service. Has anyone found any answers? It is driving me crazy.

b25nut · August 2003

All my mysterious noises have been traced back to my keychain, like cluelesspa said, or something my wife has put in her door pocket on the passenger side, like her glasses.

azpacifica · August 2003

A couple months ago patty64 on this discussion board said radio reception on the a new Pacifica was bad. Has Chrysler resolved the issue? My Pacifica is a few weeks old and the FM radio is pathetic. I live in a rural area of northern Arizona with small to moderate mountains. Older cars (95 Eagle TSI, 99 300M and even an 89 Mustang Conv.) are/were capable of running the roads between here and Phoenix without constant station changes. Anyone find a fix yet?

pssimon · August 2003

Prior to my getting my Pacifica, I read the notes regarding the poor radio reception. I was quite concerned that here I would have this really expensive vehicle and the weakest part would be the simplest... the audio reception.

Turns out I was pretty surprised. I can easily pull in Philadelphia radio stations 50+ miles away in Atlantic City, NJ, over 50 miles away. The reception appears to be no different than my previous vehicle, a 1993 Eagle Vision TSi.

Looks like my fears were for nothing. I really don't have a rational answer for why some people have have poor signal reception. It might be a grounding problem... who knows. Make sure you bring it up to your dealer. Let them collect the statistics. Maybe something will come of it.

cluelesspa · August 2003

ditto on no problems here and with the hills in pittsburgh its still avg reception. BTW I have the optional stereo with the subwoofer... maybe its the standard stereo is different ?

tmacklin · August 2003

My Pacifica came with the "Satellite" prep pkg and I added the Inifinity "Intermezzo" sound system. Problem is when I call Sirius to activate, they need some unique ID of the unit. They tell me if I press the "CD Eject" button and the "Time" button simultaneously and hold them for three seconds, this unique ID will pop up on the screen.

Well, it hasn't popped up, and the dealership looks at me cross-eyed when I ask them how to get this unique ID out of the unit. Anyone out there with any experience with activating Sirius?

Thanks in advance!

sgtjim · August 2003

Did you add the dealer installed Sat radio unit?
The Chrysler Accessories page list the radio at $175 plus a $125 template kit.

patty64 · August 2003

I have not brought the car in for service yet. I'm waiting a while so that I can accumulate a few things I notice require attention. I hope this can easily be fixed since it is a real annoyance. One thing I find interesting when discussing audio (and video for that matter) is that many people can't tell the difference between clean reception and poor reception. No offense to the people on this post - I'm speaking in general terms. This area seems to be very subjective. People perceive sound differently. On a similar topic, I have the deluxe 6 channel surround system. I'm not sure what type of surround sound decoding scheme is used because there is no information anywhere on this topic, but certain cd's I play sound distorted in the center channel. The information is out-of-phase. I have a feeling this is going to be hard to resolve. I'm interested if anyone else has experienced this and if they've found a solution.

kalathiparambi · August 2003

went on a long trip recently..
http://www.ontarioparks.com/english/sand.html

during the drive, with the air conditioning cranked and playing a dvd movie, i noticed that the temperature control LEDs above the audio system faded out. gave it a tap and it came back! this doesn't sound normal.

anyone else experience this or similar?

b25nut · August 2003

I mentioned by temperature control display fading out a couple of months ago but no one said they had a simular problem so I thought mine was unique. The ATC display just goes blank for no apparent reason. By pushing either the Auto Hi, the Auto Low and/or the On/Off buttons, sometimes only once or twice but many times six times or more, the display returns. It has been a mild irritation, but is the only real complaint I have had with my Pacifica, which must think I'm about to bring it in to my dealer to check out the ATC display since for the past five days it hasn't fadded out once.

kalathiparambi · August 2003

thanks b25nut

yes, one of the worst kind of problems is an intermittent one. funny thing is that it has'nt happened since.

once i bring it in to my dealer i will post their diagnosis...

brianwalsh · August 2003

I was bothered by a persistent rattle in my wife's Pacifica while on a long trip recently. While driving, I could swear that I heard it come from the glove compartment area. When I was a passenger, I could swear it was coming from the driver's door area. Turns out it was from a pair of sunglasses in the overhead sunglass storage area. Just the glasses rattling around - easily fixed. Hope this helps those of you that have had this pesky rattling noise.

sherik · August 2003

I have experienced the same rattle in the dashboard. The rattle was more in the steering wheel though. Every time I would stop, move forward, turn left or right I would hear it. I took it in when I did the 3,000 mile service not to the same location that I bought it from because this dealer was closer. They took off the steering wheel then some and stated that the entire dash needs to be taken apart because the piece that is making the rattling sound is near the fire wall. They said this would take a week to do!!! But they could not do it because they were too busy and to bring it back to the dealer I purchased the car from so they could deal with it!!! What horrible service. Has anyone else located the problem with the rattling?? Other than the noise and service problems I really like the car. I will let you know what turns up to be the noise--the car is going to the dealer I purchased it from tomorrow.

jmellon · August 2003

Thanks for everyone's response since I asked about the rattle noise in our Pacifica's dash. We have looked into each potential cause that everyone suggested, and have had no luck. We've ruled out the keys, the sunglasses holder, the map pockets, or anything in the glove box. It sounds like there are other cases out there similar to ours. We haven't had time to stop by the dealer to have them look at it, and were hoping that someone had discovered the cause before we take it in. Has anyone had any luck? Thanks again.

hayem · August 2003

I have had my pacifica now for 3 months and have hit the 7000 mile mark, I just started getting a whistle/ hum from my steering column when I anm turning, it happens every now and then, not too often but enough for me to notice. I havent gone to dealer yet for fear of them keeping my car too long and or for the whistle not to show up when I have them test drive it. Any body else have a Whistle!!!!, other than that my car has been great and a real treat to still be driving, I still Love it!!!!

conorsmom · August 2003

I have had my Pacifica 3 months and have had multiple problems with the lift-gate. It works randomly-I can't figure out wait causes it to work sometimes. Also, my horn goes off while I am driving, and stays on for up to 2 minutes. Has anyone had similar problems-particulary with the horn? Also, on four different occasions it would not start and had to be jumped. It has been back to the dealer three times.

cluelesspa · August 2003

wow ... that sounds like an electrical wiring problem... nothing like that EVER has occurred in my first 4000 with the car. Also my inside door edges are painted (in reference to the other thread) I have a Butane Blue Pacifica and the door and the gas cap insides are painted and clear coated....

all so far is the stupid weather strip on the above the rear opening under the top of the rear hatch ... (dumb design) fell off and also had a huge hunka plastic that turned out to be the splash guard protection for the belts fell off and I ran over it pulling into a parking lot....

One Question for everyone at about 80 mph do you hear a kind of rattling (buffeting) of the inside wheel wells in the front of the car? it sounds like a very faint tapping coming from the front wheel wells.

pssimon · August 2003

Yes, I have also heard the buffeting, flapping noise coming from the front at lower speeds (65+). I have no clue what it is. When I take the car in tomorrow morning I plan to mention it to the dealer. We'll see if they know anything about it. I'll pass along what I find out.

cluelesspa · August 2003

hey pssimon : "flapping noise coming from the front at lower speeds (65+). " ....

hehehe umm you don't want to know how fast my Pacifica has gone so far ...

oh the tip = Check your air pressure cold (meaning in the morning after sitting all night) my pressure was 30 psi coming from the factory... putting in recommended max 33 psi (on the driver inside door sticker) added almost 1 mile per gallon... so on highway now got up to almost 18 mpg and city was 15.5 mpg avg 17 all around. I was about 1 mpg less before... the tires are rated at 40-something psi max

olrdv · August 2003

Guys, I hope when you bought your Pacifica you were not looking for a MB at Chrysler's prices!!

pssimon · August 2003

Had the car in today and mentioned the flapping noise. Turns out there is a TSB (didn't give me the number) regarding this. It is a problem inside the wheel well.

Ask your dealer the next time you have your car in.

Whether this fixed it... don't know. I'll have to wait until next week when I get the car out on the AC Expressway!

cluelesspa · August 2003

COOOOOL I will ask about the TSB (I assume that means Tech. Service Bulletin) ... I have to have it in for the replacement of the belt splash shield that fell off anyway next week....

pfschim · August 2003

So here is my rattle follow-up.

A week or so I posted about a significant rattle coming from the center console of our Pacifica. Sounded like a box of silverware being shaken, and appeared on moderately to very rough pavement.

Coincidentally, Chrylser called to do an initial quality satisfaction survey and I mentioned the rattle. They set up an appointment as soon as I was able to bring it in.

Had the 5 star shop foreman ride along. After initially suggesting that "noises are difficult to pin down" he heard the sound immediately and they took the car for 2 days.

Turns out that a major dash assembly attachment to the firewall/frame was never completed (no bolt I think) and that was the cause of the rattle. They fixed it and now all is well.

So all's well that quiets down so well, but what with the rattle problem (albeit fixed) and a few plastic bits falling off here and there, I'm a little leery of the Chrysler quality claims at the moment. I guess we'll see how it goes. The local 5 star shop, Codirolli in Livermore, CA, was very good, so I'll keep the faith a while longer.

Happy Driving to all

pssimon · August 2003

Glad to hear you got your problem solved. At least they figured it out quickly and didn't put you through much grief to get it corrected.

pssimon · August 2003

Got the car out on the highway after the "flapping" was addressed. Well... maybe it wasn't. I think I still heard it this morning. maybe even louder. I'll check tonight on the way home. Admittedly, it is a very minor problem, but still! I didn't really want to go back to the dealer so soon, but...

russklass · August 2003

The Chrysler TSB # for the splash shield rattle is 2301703, dated June 13, 2003.

pssimon · August 2003

Is there anywhere on the web I can look to see all of the TSBs related to my Pacifica, or any other Chrysler vehicle?

Thanks...

twoof1 · August 2003

Edmunds offers some recall and TSB information here:
http://www.edmunds.com/maintenance/MaintenanceServlet?tid=edmunds- .h..directory.safety.4.*

Also ALLDATA.com has some excellent TSB information.

cluelesspa · August 2003

I didn't come up with any TSB info for the Pacifica

twoof1 · August 2003

and there are no 2004's listed on ALLDATA yet either

russklass · August 2003

Here's the link to the NHTSA site:
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/tsb/tsbsearch.cfm

pssimon · August 2003

First, I don't understand why Chrysler decided they needed to put a High Auto and a Low Auto button on their ventilation system. My previous car just had a button marked auto and it covered the extreme from blasting to barely on. What is the need for two buttons?

Second, if you play with the ventilation system, try this. Turn off the system and then put it on Low Auto. It lights. If it is really hot out, it goes into the recirculating air mode for a faster cool down. Press it again, and the light goes out, the recirculating indicator goes out and the fan seems to get faster. Press it again and it changes speed again and the light comes back on. What mode is it in when you press the button the second time?

Any thoughts?

Jaceman · August 2003

For myself, the High auto seems to work best at quicker cooling, but the fan is pretty loud - so if I am on the cell phone, I switch to low auto since it is quite a bit quieter. Can't figure out why there is no mute on the radio either, but that is a different topic. Both button are lit when on and toggle off when you hit them again. When the auto modes are off, you are then in manual fan speed control mode. You then can increase or decrease fan speed using the up and down button to the right of the auto buttons.

Jaceman · August 2003

I also have been hearing an annoying muffled rattle that is seemingly coming from either the dash or the sides of the windshield. After inspecting the outside of the vehicle, I have noticed that the molding that cover the sides of the windshield is not attached very firmly, and can be lifted quite easily. I wonder if that is cause for wind flapping? I also noticed that the trim plate between the top edge of the hood and the bottom of the windshield has a screw on each side. Both were not attached and could also easily flap when driving. I retighted both plastic screws and reseated the trip plate, but it came loose after then next time I drove the car at highway speeds. I have not taken it in yet to see what the dealer has to say, but thought I would see if anyone else thinks this might be the cause of some of the noise folks have been hearing.

joelc · August 2003

Regarding the poor radio reception: Between the two of us we have 2 GM and 2 Chrysler products. An Indianapolis TV station (50 mi.away) broadcasts on 87.7 . We enjoy listening to thier newscasts and other shows like Regis and Kelly where you dont have to see them to enjoy them. However the Mopars dont pick it up. I wrote to the technical advisor at the station and was told Chrysler radios dont have a band in them the GM radios do. Maybe that could also make some FM stations weak too.

An early post on the flapping noise under the wheel well said the dealership taped something in the wheel well that was loose.

I have air noise if I put the rear windows down on my 02 LeSabre Limited too. Was thinking of trading it on a Pacifica, but after reading all the problems I think I will hang on to it. Never have had a problem and on the 700 mi trip the guy got 18.5 mpg with the Pacifica , I would have gotten 29 mpg. Plus, I won't have to give up my DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS and ONSTAR.

The Pacifica is a great looking ,"younger looking" person's car though than the LeSabre.

russklass · August 2003

I previously had '99 & '01 300Ms that had only the one "Auto" button.
I was always switching to manual to talk on the phone, listen to the radio, converse etc.
I LOVE the 2 button feature and use it often.

Chrysler Pacifica: Problems & Solutions

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Chrysler Pacifica: Problems &amp; Solutions

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Chrysler Pacifica: Problems & Solutions