2023 Chrysler Pacifica Engine Problems

On August 2, while traveling about 75 MPH, the check engine light came on along with the warning "Stop Safely – Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon". The vehicle started immediately losing power. We were driving in the fast lane in traffic so pulling over was difficult and dangerous. After we were to the side of the road, we turned the van off. After 10 minutes or so, we continued on and pulled over at a rest stop. We have an OBD2 and checked the codes. At first, there were no codes even though the check engine light was on. After checking a few times, there were 2 codes. They were P1C65 PD and P0A43. I took the van into the dealership on August 4. They saw one of the codes saved. On August 7 the dealership preformed a software update. They were not able to reproduce the issue. Today, September 19, while driving, the check engine light came on with the warning "Stop Safely – Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon". The vehicle again started immediately losing power. This time it happened when traveling about 45 MPH.

Driving on the highway, all of a sudden, my car dashboard shows a message that " Vehicle will shut off soon" and the accelerator does not work. It was horrifying; there is no median to pull the vehicle out.

I rented this car from Budget on Saturday, May 31, 2025. When I drove it on Sunday, June 1, 2025. The check engine light came on and the car gave a warning that it would shut off. The first time I saw this notification I was stopped at a stopped sign at a 4 way intersection. The car proceeded to shut off after some time (maybe 20 seconds or so, not sure). I was at a full stop and the car was in "Drive". When the car shut off it went into "Park" automatically. I turned the car back on and put it back in "Drive". The car would not move. I check to make sure the parking brake was not turned on and it was not. I put the car in "Park" and back into "Drive" and the car still did not move. I turned the car off a few more times before it switched back into gear normally. I was unable to return the car at that time. About an hour later as I was driving on the interstate in the left lane, the same warning light came on. I had to immediately move from the left lane of a 6 lane interstate all the way to the right shoulder. There was no exit or left shoulder. Once I got there the car idled for a moment and shut off; I am uncertain how long it was before it shut off. I waited a couple of minutes since I was also shaken up at having to move so many lanes on a busy interstate with so many lanes. I got to my destination after about 30 minutes. On the way home about an hour in to the drive, the same thing occurred. I moved onto to the right shoulder of a two lane interstate at this time. This time I shut the car off myself and waited a couple of minutes to turn the car back on. I then drove another 45 minutes home. Then this morning, same warning in my driveway before I left to return it. There were issues with the blind spot warning not working some of the time as well as the display screen would flicker on and off or just become disabled but still visible. I have reported this to the rental company but I want that car off the road.

We were driving on the freeway, 80 MPH, 0% battery life. Warning came on the dashboard stating something like “ Pull over safely, engine will stop”. Engine had already stopped and we luckily avoided impending doom and pulled off to the side of the highway. Turned car off, waited a couple min, and started the car again. Car turned on with check engine light. Able to slowly get to the next exit. Next morning, took to dealer. Say there were not able to see any issues. Van is around 28,000 miles.

We have less than 3K miles currently on this vehicle. We were traveiling to the mountains for a vacation when the check engine light illuminated. Stayed on for 2 days and reset itself. We were in the Smokey Mountains and a warning came up to "Stop Safely Vehicle will shut off soon. Within a few minutes, all power was lost, all lights were inoperational including the 4 way hazards. After just a few minutes, the van restarted and operated as if nothing happened. The check engine light stayed on long enough for a Chrysler dealer to read the codes. Esentially, a problem with the High Voltage System Interlock Circuit A, Drive Motor A Inverter Performance are the major codes. A slew of others all related to this issue. The hybrid mechanic stated it is the same issues that plague the 2017-2021 Pacificas hybrids. Losing all power is not acceptable, especially in the mountains with a vehicle less than 4 months since delivery.

Lost engine power on highway with warning on the dash "Stop Safely, Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon"

Vehicle has an auto start/stop feature which turns off the engine when the brake is applied and the vehicle is at a full stop. When stopped at a traffic light with the engine auto stopped, driver lets foot off brake when light turns green, but engine fails to start. Vehicle remains stopped in an active traffic lane, or potentially in the middle of an intersection. A chime and a display message guides driver to shift to park and manually restart the car. Has happened at least five times in 6,900 miles we have owned the vehicle. Dealer service department could not reproduce or find any log of the event occurring. They told me it needs to happen more frequently so they can reproduce it. I find other reports of this problem online going back to at least 2018.

While driving I got "rear seat alert" followed by "Car Shutting down in 9 secs" message, it happened twice. The first time on Northern State Highway in NY. I was driving with my family, and the car unexpectedly shutdown happened. Nothing worked, I had no power, no steering, no brakes, all gone. Our luck was that I was already on the right lane and just had to let the car stop in the curbside. Because of the messages, we thought the rear door was opened or something. After a few minutes, after several tries, the engine started, and we exit the highway and parked on the local road to try to understand what happened. We decided to continue our trip on the service road. We end up on Ocenside, NY on a two lane, busy street and it happened again, but at this time I was not able to move the car to the curb, the car stop completely on the middle of the road, no steering, nothing. Because of the incoming traffic, our hazard lights alone were not enough to warn the coming traffic. We though that an accident was eminent, for which we called 911 for help. I could not get out of the car because of the speed of the incoming cars. After several attempts, the car turned on again, I parked on the curb and I called the AVIS Rental Roadside Assistance, because I was not going to put my family, including an 87 year old in jeopardy. After we got home from the long, stressful day. I searched internet and for my surprise, there were several posts (links) relating the same issue I had. Including recalls from Chrysler about a short circuit, which could even cause a fire. Chrysler issued a NO PARKING INSIDE note, which is hard to understand. I feel it is my obligation, as a family person, to report this incident, because this car should not be in the ROAD. Avis is currently RENTING this car. Furthermore, for my surprise, I saw a ad on NBC, 5pm yesterday, 07/26/2023. It is just a matter of searching on internet to see the DANGER that families are exposed.

1. Engine Light and the "A" warning light stay on while driving. 2. It's unsafe with family in the car; fear it will shut off on the highway. 3. yes, the dealer has agreed its a defeated part causing the engine to light to come on 4. No warning lights before driving a car for a week.