2017 Chrysler Pacifica

Steering is loose and fails at times resulting in very hard turning. When making a left turn into oncoming traffic, lost steering entirely for a few seconds. Symptoms point to failing steering rack which is very dangerous

My electric steering has been making noises for a long time. The dealership failed to find the noise the first three visits. On the fourth visit it was verified but they told me that Chryler's flex care warranty denied it. I hear it is a very common problem and Chrysler does not want to address it.

SMOke reported in the Vehicle while parked and it starting automatically called fire department to clear the smoke and they noticed it high voltage battery was triggered about this

My Pacifica Hybrid suffered a catastrophic high-voltage system failure, leaving the vehicle completely disabled and undrivable. In addition, there is an open recall that has not been addressed that means the vehicle should not be parked next a a building due to fire risk. The vehicle has been sitting at the dealer for a month, and the dealer has confirmed that the high voltage battery has failed. The dealer has informed me that Stellantis engineers will not release a new hybrid battery because it is not covered under the warranty. There are two manufacture warranties that should apply here, but Stellantis will still not approve the release of the batter. Chrysler is using software-level diagnostic constraints to evade a safety-related powertrain warranty extension. In the meantime, I am left without a vehicle.

Made a right hand turn onto residential street and van immediately parked itself mid turn which would have resulted in accident had someone been behind me. Vehicle was able to restart and reach destination but now P1B14 code is thrown. This is unacceptable for a car to shift into park while in motion. Code is related to known earlier issue with van that was supposedly repaired. 2 weeks ago while inching into a parking spot the van seemed to have lost power for a split second but resumed as I finished parking. I feel very unsafe in vehicle.

Steering sticks mostly when at 11 and 1 o'clock position. Need to give extra pressure causing over steering.

Intermittent loss of power steering when on the highway going around curve to another highway. Steering while locks while turning right and does not naturally turn back left. Making it difficult to correct. Also noticed at low speed steering wheel becomes heavy and hard to turn.

When driving vehicle it would severely buck and not accelerate. Have almost had cars rear end me as a result. There are no warning lights regarding this. Car is at an auto repair shop and they are saying it has no transmission fault codes but it needs a new transmission. I have barely been able to drive this car since about a month after I purchased in november 2025. When purchasing the car it ran completely fine and had no issues until december of 2025 which was a coolant leak. I discontinued driving the vehicle until may of 2026 when I was able to pay a mechanic to replace water pump and radiator. with in a week of replacing the water pump and radiator the vehicle began severely jerking and bucking particularly when accelerating from a full stop. then while driving down the road it intermittently starts bucking. I attempted to contact a local dealer however they do not have any sufficient financing programs to cover the cost of repairs and diagnosis charge. I spend 8000 on a vehicle that has barely ran and showed no symptoms or warning lights of a catastrophic failure.

My van died suddenly and completely while I was driving in the center lane of a 5 lane urban freeway on July 8, 2026. Would not re-start. I did not exit the vehicle. Traffic was heavy. The situation was dangerous and scary. Called 911: CHP and AAA both arrived with tow trucks after about 10 minutes. I was relieved to not have been rear ended. CHP and AAA men had to take apart something on the dashboard in order to get van into neutral and manually push the van to the side of the road, while shutting down the right 3 lanes of the freeway. All of us were in danger of being hit by traffic. Van was towed to AAA service station nearby. Batteries both 98-100%. Plenty of gas at the time of the incident. AAA service station replaced the starter, but their diagnostic did not show any other problems. This did not make sense to me or to anyone else I spoke with. When I picked up van Aug 19 after being out of the state, the AAA shop recommended that I drive it, and see if further problems. I felt unsafe, not sure what to do. Decided to drive near home on neighborhood streets. Van worked ok on suburban streets for about 6 weeks, then radio died one night (worked after turning off van, opening and closing door and restarting) and interior cabin light came on repeatedly without me turning it on, on another occasion, even after I turned it off. I am taking to Chrysler dealer for additional diagnostic on Friday. Part of my delay is affordability, as the dealer will also do a diagnostic (over $300) which they say is better than non-dealer ones.

This occurred on [XXX]. I was driving with two passengers heading west bound on [XXX] in Ohio and starting to go off an exit ramp. The passenger side power window went down without anyone pressing a button. I pulled up on the driver-controlled passenger window switch to correct the window, and it went up. But, either immediately upon going up or shortly after (I don't remember), the van experienced a series of electrical faults. The CEL came on, I start hearing warning chimes, the infotainment screen rebooted. I heard a clicking noise from under the hood, which I later learned was the parking pawl trying to engage. Dash screen said something about "speed too high to shift to park." Momentarily the wheel jerked hard - I think I lost power steering (if the car fully shut off I think that's what happened). I gained control and directed the car to the side of the road. I don't know what state the car was in at this point - either fully off or electrically on but no engine power. In any case, I shifted to park, pressed the on/off button and the car fully shut down. After a couple of minutes I attempted to start the car again, and it started right up with no issues. The CEL was lit, but the car drove fine. When I got to my destination about 20 miles away, I checked the battery terminals. I found that the negative terminal could be turned about a quarter turn if I used some force, but it was not what I would consider 'loose'. I still tightened the connection as much as I could, to the point that the connection was now immovable. The CEL cleared after a few cycles of turning the car on and off. A scan later showed that code P1B14 was stored. I called multiple Chrysler dealerships and each told me that they could not diagnose the problem unless it was actively acting up. The car has not malfunctioned since the incident four days ago. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Intermittent loss of EPS assist during gradual turns, especially when the steering wheel is near the 11 o’clock or 1 o’clock position. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Not being able to control the steering wheel puts my safety and others at risk. No, the problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center. No, the vehicle or component has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others. No, there weren't any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and it occurs when the steering wheel is at 11 or 1 o'clock at speed.

There was no accident, my power steering on the messenger screen says service power steering and it just started it comes on and off Periodically while I am driving I don't know about anybody else but I see this as a very serious safety issue I would like to report it.

Recently, in the last 2 weeks since the writing of this post, I've noticed a sensation when doing a gradual turn anywhere between 20-60 MPH, and the steering wheel is at the 11 or 1 o clock position, the vehicle "sticks". I then have to put force on the steering wheel to get it back to center and straighten out the driving path. This puts me and other drivers on the road in danger because it's extremely easy to oversteer and swerve off the road or into another driver, injuring or killing passengers. Although I have not taken this to a dealer yet, there are numerous articles online clearly stating this is a very dangerous issue-specifically with my 2017 model year. I see no warning lights that accompany this behavior. And that makes it all the more dangerous. Without any awareness of the issue, it's a lot more probable to experience the behavior and cause an accident.

Our 2017 Chrysler Pacifica has been experiencing a steering malfunction that appears to be identical to the condition currently under investigation by NHTSA under Action Number PE25009. For the past few months, the steering wheel has intermittently exhibited a sticking or binding sensation while driving through gradual curves. When this occurs, the steering wheel becomes temporarily resistant to movement, requiring the driver to apply additional force to overcome the resistance and continue steering through the curve. When the steering wheel releases from the sticking position, the sudden change in resistance can make it difficult to maintain smooth, controlled steering. The problem has become noticeably worse and more frequent over the past few weeks. We had the vehicle inspected by an independent mechanic, who advised that the power steering motor needs to be replaced and recommended that we take the vehicle to an authorized Chrysler dealership. The Chrysler dealership (Lewis Chrysler Dodge in Fayetteville, AR) inspected the vehicle and informed us the steering rack and pinion assembly and both tie rod ends need to be replaced and quoted us a cost of $4,450 for parts and labor. After researching the problem, we discovered NHTSA Preliminary Evaluation PE25009 involving 2017–2018 Chrysler Pacifica vehicles. The symptoms described in the investigation closely match what we have been experiencing, including intermittent steering resistance during gradual turns and the need to apply additional steering force to overcome the resistance. Because the condition has been getting worse, we are concerned about the possibility of a total loss of power steering while driving. We cannot afford the quoted repair cost, and because of our safety concerns, we have stopped driving the vehicle. We are submitting this complaint so that our experience can be documented and considered part of NHTSA's ongoing PE25009 investigation.

The stick steering sticks around long curves and turns and it takes force to correct the wheel which feels very unsafe while driving.

When going around curves or turning the steering wheel is returning back to center it acts like something in the steering system hangs up like it sticks. This may result in oversteering causing a wreck. Its when the steering wheel is in the 11 o'clock and 1 o'clock position. It can catch you off guard and be very dangerous.

Under safety recall 73B, for which I had the software update done last year (nothing noted by the dealer). I have since had intermittent check engine light issues, and even had the vehicle completely shut off last winter for 10 minutes in the middle of the road. It subsequently turned on, and when brought in I was told there were no "current codes" in the system to investigate. I've now had check engine light on steady for a couple months. There are historical codes U029A-00 (lost communication with hybrid battery pack sensor module), U0412-00 (invalid data received from battery energy control module A), and current code P1D43-00 (internal control module shut off test monitoring time error). With these relating to the battery pack control module ("BPCM") and hybrid control processor, it is quite apparent that there is an issue with the BPCM and that the lack of communication and errors on the shut off test monitoring that the BPCM is malfunctioning which could cause a number of issues, such as a fire per safety recall 73B. I was told by the manufacturer that there is a 2-year period to remedy safety recall work. As this was a software update, it would appear that the software is now identifying a potential danger with the BPCM. Per that recall "...A folded or torn anode tab may result in the generation of lithium by-product over time. This defect, along with a second unidentified factor, may lead to an internal short within the pack and may result in a vehicle fire. A vehicle fire may increase the risk of injury to occupants and persons outside of the vehicle, as well as property damage. " Without proper communication (as stated earlier), I expect that my vehicle is still at significant risk. However, the dealership I've brought it to is requiring me to pay for battery pack replacement and has charged me a diagnostic fee. This while they have labeled the issue a "failed high voltage battery". My request for recall coverage was dismissed.

On 8/16/26, my 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid would not start after being parked for several hours in an underground parking structure in downtown Detroit during a baseball game. There were no warnings before the failure. The vehicle was towed to Serra Lake Orion at a cost of about $700. The dealer found diagnostic trouble code P0AA1 (hybrid/EV battery positive contactor circuit). The high-voltage system is locked down and the vehicle cannot be started or driven. The vehicle has been at the dealer since August 18, 2026, and as of 10/1/26 has been out of service for about 6 weeks. The dealer has an open Chrysler STAR technical support case (102974656) seeking approval to replace the high-voltage battery, and the process has involved repeated requests for additional testing. I have been given loaner vehicles during this time but am approaching the mileage limit on the second. The vehicle has about 220,000 miles and I have owned it since August 2017. It has no open recalls. It previously received recall repair work on the hybrid system, including the power inverter module recall (Chrysler T34 / NHTSA 17V-371), which included reprogramming of the battery pack control module. I understand this model has also been subject to other high-voltage battery recalls. I am reporting this because a high-voltage contactor failure that leaves the vehicle unable to start or move can strand occupants, in this case in an underground parking structure, and because the repair has been delayed for more than 6 weeks. The root cause has not yet been determined by the dealer or manufacturer. I would appreciate NHTSA tracking this failure alongside other Pacifica Hybrid high-voltage battery complaints.

The steering wheel has a catch when turning from the right back to center. It feels like the power steering is cutting out and then kicks back in when turning. It is possible to leave the steering wheel turned and when you take your hands off the wheel it will stay in that position. You have to hold the wheel with both hands when turning due to the jerky turning experience. No mechanic dealer or insurance reps have looked at the vehicle. There have been no warnings, lights or messages notifying a problem.

Steering sticks during a gradual turn. It will catch up but then causes over correction. This has happened multiple times and based on my research, this is a model-wide problem. See campaign PE25009 for more details.