In February 2022, the folks at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles issued a recall for 19,808 units of the 2017 – 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid to address a fire risk. At the time, FCA was aware of 12 fires that occurred when the vehicles were turned off.
The press release published on the automaker's website was followed by a safety recall report on the NHTSA's website, which reads 16,741 units rather than the aforementioned population. The report further states that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles had not identified the root cause of these fires. The latest update, which was published by the NHTSA in September 2022, features the same information.
Even so, dealers were required to perform two operations. First and foremost, service techs updated the high-voltage battery pack control module with new software. If necessary, dealers were further instructed to replace the HV battery.
In October 2023, the Auburn Hills-based automaker informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that 11,857 plug-in hybrid minivans had received the remedy detailed above. An additional 1,022 were removed, which should be read as scrapped, stolen, or exported. What's more, 230 vehicles were deemed unreachable.
Of those 11,857 remedied vehicles, at least four experienced a high-voltage battery fire while parked and turned off. This prompted the NHTSA to investigate the effectiveness of the remedy. Headed by investigator Daniel Pinero, recall query RQ24-000 lists four report reference numbers.
Photo: Chrysler
Complaint 11496917 reads that – one week after the vehicle had the remedy performed – the high-voltage battery caught fire while parked in the owner's garage. "The fire department soaked the car with water, but it continued to reignite for approximately two hours despite the fire department’s best efforts to extinguish the fire." As if that wasn't bad enough, the owner claims that two members of the family had experienced adverse health consequences due to smoke exposure.
Complaint 11553283 states that the vehicle had been plugged in at 4:30 PM and caught fire at 8:20 PM. The owner saw a small fire originating from the middle part of the vehicle's underside. As it's often the case with lithium-ion battery fires, it quickly spread and consumed the minivan.
The owner behind complaint 11555014 told the NHTSA that their Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid caught fire in the garage on November 5, 2023. The complaint's summary lists four injuries. Complaint 11558139 reads that another Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid caught fire in the garage. "No warnings or issues were apparent with the vehicle when it was parked and put on the charger," said the owner.
It goes without saying that Fiat Chrysler's remedy for the Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid leaves much to be desired, more so if you remember that FCA still hasn't determined what causes the lithium-ion battery to catch fire. To whom it may concern, the battery in question features LG-supplied cells.
On a slight tangent, remember the Chevrolet Bolt EV and Bolt EUV battery recall? Those cars also feature LG Energy Solution cells. The South Korean supplier was required to pony up $1.9 billion of the recall's total estimated cost of $2 billion.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News