We proved our initial theory – that even decades after their introduction, the minivan is still a superior road-tripper than any large sport utility vehicle. I was the driver; four friends were with me in a 2024 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid heading home from Fire Island Pines. Though several brands still offer (good! competitive!) minivans, Chrysler is the O.G. and thus, I reached out to them first to sample their plug-in hybrid Pacifica for our journey.
Our travels had covered just over 400 miles, from Washington D.C. to Philadelphia to Sayville, New York, and partially home again. Approaching Philadelphia, we had a few hundred miles left in our trip, and the Pacifica had been a fabulous travel partner. Until it wasn’t.
Stop Safely
The first signs of failure came as I exited I-95 toward a rest stop. As if the van knew, the dashboard chimed, the check engine light made an appearance, and the screen in my gauge cluster showed a large warning message. “Stop Safely, Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon.” I prodded the throttle and quickly realized the V6 had left the party, though we seemed to have electric propulsion. I kept my foot in it and guided the Pacifica Hybrid through the off-ramp and into the rest stop’s parking lot. We all needed a restroom break, water, and snacks as it was, and I figured giving the van a break and an ignition cycle might reset everything.
As a matter of fact, the ignition cycle worked. We all piled in and took off, dismissing the issue as a quirky one-off.
Nearing Philly, I exited I-95 onto Route 90, a smaller highway that features a bridge with no real shoulder to speak of. Naturally, as we neared the crest of the Betsy Ross Bridge, I was told to Stop Safely once more. I threw the hazards on, came to a stop in the right-most lane of travel, and cycled the ignition a few times. We were again on the move, the V6 and electric motors working in harmony to get us to Evan and Sean’s house.
Chrysler uses a Prius-esque hybrid setup on the Pacifica Hybrid, in that the slightly-modified Pentastar V6 gasoline engine is assisted by two electric motors and a “eCVT.” One electric motor is able to “clutch up” to the differential and drive the wheels directly, where the other is used more as a generator to charge the battery pack and occasionally steps in to add more power. The larger of the electric motors develops a peak of 112 horsepower, and total system output is listed as 260 horsepower.
Parking at our friends’ house, the three of us continuing on to Washington, D.C. debated what to do. While the couple of hiccups had been annoying, it was easy enough to get the van going again and frankly, we wanted to be home after a week away. Philly to Baltimore is only an hour, and we figured we could re-assess at that point if things got any worse.
And Then They Got Worse
Decision made, I left our friends’ neighborhood and merged onto I-95 South – and things got worse almost immediately. No sooner did we achieve highway speed than the Pacifica chimed and firmly requested that I again Stop Safely. Thankfully, there was a large shoulder for us to cycle the ignition, though I told my travel companions that I didn’t feel great about chancing the rest of the drive home and would rather return to Evan and Sean’s place. The Pacifica agreed with us, and ultimately refused to “self clear” the error as it had before. We were sitting on the side of I-95 with a dead van. Well, mostly dead.
While Garrett looked at a map to find our closest exit, I called Jim. Jim runs the DC region of the fleet company that manages about half of the automotive brands’ press loans. If any of us have an issue with a loaned vehicle – generally, this directive is for crashes or smaller “incidents” – step one is to call Jim. And he deserves a raise, a bonus, a fruit platter, any sort of special recognition for how he handled things from this point on. The guys and I could have figured out how to get home if the directive was “leave the van and the key,” but Jim ultimately went above and beyond.
“Well this is a new one. Are you guys in a safe spot?” I replied that we were, sort of, but that the van seemed to have some power and I’d like to limp it off the interstate. As it turns out, when a Pacifica Hybrid displays this “Stop Safely” message, the V6 will not re-fire, but you do have the 112 HP electric motor on your side. Despite the dashboard showing “<1%” of battery power, I elected to see if I could make it to the next exit.
If you’re curious, a Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid with minimal battery charge and just its 112-horsepower electric motor can achieve 42 miles per hour after quite some time with your foot in the carpet. Hazard flashers blazing, I kept the hammer down in the right lane and had the guys scouting for suitable places to stop once we took our exit. “I am not lifting for this corner, hold on,” I announced as we exited I-95.
With no traffic ahead of me, I took the corner full-throttle (kudos to Chrysler’s suspension tuning) and barreled through the green light, making a full left turn still with my foot planed. Eventually having to slow for other cars, we made it into an Aldi parking lot, parking the van in a well-lit spot. We’d done just over two miles on that little crumb of battery power.
Jim, meanwhile, drove up from Baltimore to pick us up. The Pacifica was put on a flatbed and towed to a Chrysler dealership for diagnosis. I called Stellantis the next day to share the details with the (wonderful) PR team. They were apologetic, glad we were okay, and later offered more time in another Pacifica, which I appreciated but declined as our thesis had been tested.
What’s the Pacifica Hybrid’s Achilles Heel?
Naturally, with all of us who’d experienced this turn of events being car gays, we collectively wondered what had happened. And while Chrysler PR has remained quiet about the Pacifica Hybrid’s diagnosis, this failure is remarkably common. A quick Google search reveals countless Reddit posts and forum threads about Pacifica Hybrids experiencing this failure, the ignition cycle reset that sometimes works, and the ultimate resolution involving a transmission replacement.
Chrysler has acknowledged the problem, issuing a recall notice to Pacifica Hybrid owners in which they state that “an internal transmission wiring connector” may short out. The fix outlined in the recall is to update the Power Inverter Module software and, on earlier vans, to update the Instrument Panel Cluster software to show the Stop Safely message. According to Chrysler, the recall applies to approximately 67,000 vans made throughout the 2017 to 2023 model years. Given our van was a 2024, that recall notice may need to be extended.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), meanwhile, has an open investigation related to the recall, as owners are alleging the software repairs do not actually solve the problem given the defective part within the transmission is not being replaced, and if the transmission itself is replaced, there is no updated part that ultimately fixes the problem for good. Per NHTSA:
Follow up discussions with FCA confirm their remedy does not prevent a loss of motive power, but instead limits torque to the engine and after an unspecified number of miles or period of time, the engine will shut down. When this occurs, FCA relies on the owner to transport the vehicle to a dealership after they experience a loss of motive power condition, at which time the defective hardware is replaced.
Chrysler has issued a warranty extension to owners, stating that their transmission is now covered for 10 years and unlimited mileage. While owners appear to be happy with the coverage, there’s no guarantee that the same failure won’t rear its head once more, assuming the new transmissions being installed use the same internals as those that are failing. My requests to Chrysler regarding revisions to the transmission and its internal components have gone unanswered.
And I get it, cars break. PR teams from every brand understand they’ll get calls and emails occasionally from some journalist or influencer that experienced a failure, and they’ll manage it as best they can. But what I find disappointing is that in the seven years that the Pacifica Hybrid has been on the market, this propulsion failure has persisted with no revisions to physical parts that would, ultimately, solve the problem.
Chrysler has done the math and decided that it’s cheaper to keep replacing transmissions than it is to redesign whatever part, especially given the van is in its seventh year of production. I suspect a new model is on the way soon enough, with new or updated drivetrains that ideally won’t suffer from this sort of issue. While the “replace the part, fix the issue on the next generation” approach may work out on paper, the owners who end up stranded – perhaps repeatedly – generally have little interest in what it says on some line of a spreadsheet.
As for the Pacifica Hybrid itself, it’s a lovely van. All five of us on the trip agreed that provided a superior ride and better fuel economy than a large body-on-frame SUV offering similar interior space. Its electric-only range of 32ish miles is great for local driving, and beyond that it becomes a 30ish-mile-per-gallon hybrid. From behind the wheel, I enjoyed the driving experience with only small critiques to the blending of regenerative and physical braking forces. Otherwise? The Pacifica is great.
We took this trip in early September. Despite the breakdown and subsequent delay getting home, I’m still thinking about how well-packaged the Pacifica was and how nice it was as a people-hauler. Thirty-some years after begging my mom to buy one (which we did not need as a family of three) I can finally admit that kid-me was right. Minivans are cool.