Feds Investigate Chrysler Pacifica PHEV Recall Remedy

Documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revealed that a transmission wiring connector short is the root cause of the motive power loss. The supplier of the low-voltage wiring harness is General Cable Industries Inc. of Nueva Nogales, Mexico. Back then, FCA US LLC was aware of 242 warranty claims, 59 field reports, and 6 customer assistance records in the US alone.

Instead of identifying the root cause of the short, Chrysler instructed retailers nationwide to update the power inverter module and instrument panel cluster software. As expected, the federal agency wasn't impressed by the described remedy. The Office of Defects Investigation has recently opened a recall query into the remedy because said remedy doesn't include the replacement of any hardware.

"The wiring connector short still exists on these vehicles," reads the summary of the recall query, which is headed by US Department of Transportation general engineer Taylor Collins. In addition to the deficient remedy, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is aware of reports alleging a loss of motive power followed by the instrument cluster displaying warning messages. Those messages wouldn't have been displayed had the vehicles not received the instrument panel cluster software update mentioned earlier.

The Office of Defects Investigation is currently aware of 132 reports filed by Pacifica PHEV owners. It gets even worse, though. As per the summary, "follow-up discussions with FCA confirm their remedy does not prevent a loss of motive power." Instead, the power inverter module software update limits torque to the engine. The ODI states that FCA UC LLC has instructed retailers to replace the hardware of vehicles that had received the recall remedy but nevertheless failed.

Given the aforementioned, the Office of Defects Investigation opened recall query RQ24-004 to assess the safety consequences, frequency, and adequacy of the recall remedy. It's hard to understand why the Auburn Hills-based automaker didn't replace the low-voltage wiring harness – or whatever causes the loss of motive power – in the first place. Software that commands the vehicle to enter limp mode isn't a solution to an internal transmission wiring connector prone to shorting.

In regard to safety recalls, the Pacifica is a favorite of the NHTSA. The first model year has been recalled no fewer than five times for the combustion-only version, whereas the plug-in hybrid is listed with five recalls to its name. The number of complaints for the 2017 models currently stands at 1,173 and 56 complaints.

The Pacifica is manufactured exclusively in Canada at the Windsor Assembly Plant. Said facility gears up for STLA Large production this year, beginning with the 2025 Dodge Charger Daytona. The 2025 Jeep Wagoneer S is also based on the STLA Large platform, but it will be made in Toluca, Mexico.

Rather than discontinuing the Pacifica in order to free up Windsor's production capacity for STLA Large-based vehicles, the minivan has been confirmed to receive a significant refresh in 2025. Chrysler intends to bolster its lineup with an electric crossover and an electric sedan, the latter being the zero-emission successor to the Chrysler 300.