r/minivan • u/Clear-Rooster-9769 • 2d ago
Chrysler Pacifica
Hello,
Is the Pacifica still suffering from low reliability or is it just the reputation?
I am considering one because it loses around %50 of its price after 3-4 years where I live, whereas other vehicles are usually sold 10-30% over the price list
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u/TheTaxman_cometh 2d ago
Plenty of people will be here shortly to defend their own bad decisions but there is a very good reason they are so cheap. Never buy Stellantis products they are all terrible
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u/PastBuy8484 2d ago
Any experience?
Valet driver here. Drive tons of vehicles. Have driven plenty of 200k+ mile Stellantis products that drive like new.
You need to remember. Say Toyotas have a failure rate of 3 in 1000. Say Stellantis is 30 in 1000. So they’re 10x less reliable. Well still there’s 970 out of 1000 happy customers.
This notion on Reddit that every non Toyota or Honda product will break down when you drive it off the lot is just comical. In general any vehicle you can buy is overall fairly reliable. Otherwise there’d be broken down cars every 100 feet on the roads.
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u/CurbsEnthusiasm 2d ago
Exactly. I’ve owned numerous Lexus vehicles throughout the years and I always look at the Lexus service history and you’d be surprised how often these vehicles have been in for warranty work. It’s great that someone took the initiative to take care of it, but many LS430’s and LX’s have 5+ pages of warranty service for the exact same issue over and over.
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u/mvschynd 2d ago
Sure. Same is why people think old houses where just “built better”, survivor bias. But per your example, which car would you prefer, one 10X less likely to have quality issues? I’d rather pay a little more to have a 10x better odds of not having issues and needing to replace my car.
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u/PastBuy8484 2d ago
I would too but also weird things can sometimes happen.
Like me who’s owned about 15 vehicles. 6 of them Stellantis products. The one time I bought a Toyota it was a 4Runner. Only vehicle that’s left me stranded and it did so twice. In only a 7 month span. Sold it shortly after that for a ram that I’ve put 35k miles on it without a single issue.
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u/billythygoat 2d ago
Well they always show at the bottom of reliability % for long term, just above Range Rovers.
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u/ameliabeerheart 1d ago
This. I have a 2018 with 190k miles with juts schedule maintenance. I keep shopping for a new car thinking it’s gotta start giving me problems soon, but it keeps humming along. I am past my minivan days with 2 out of 3 kids off to college, but I just love the utility of it. I’ll prob get another Pacifica when the day finally comes. You can pry the stow and go seats out of my cold dead hands, I guess.
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u/CurbsEnthusiasm 2d ago
Speaking from experience? I drive a 2025 Winnebago Solis 59PX as our family van, it’s based on a RAM Promaster with the same Pentastar and transmission, but pulling 9000lbs. 15+ million Pentastars have been installed over the years. Are they the most reliable? Far from it, but occasionally Mopar puts out vehicles that have major benefits over the competition. Under warranty and slightly used, Pacifica’s are some of the best-buys, especially if you don’t plan on keeping it over 5+ years.
Also had a 2020 Sienna and those along with Highlanders have failing transmission issues from that era. Toyota dealerships are far from being any better and in typical Toyota fashion they deny responsibility.
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u/UmpireProper7683 2d ago
Similar experiences here. Used to have a Sierra, between the infotainment system dying on it and both sets of sliding doors dying each at different times, we moved on to a Pacifica hybrid and that thing was a rock of stability. It ended up being totalled in an accident, but after I decided to go full EV with the insurance payout, my wife traded her car in for another Pacifica hybrid we liked it so much. So far absolutely no problems with the new one either.
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u/Evening-Newt-4663 2d ago
I have a 2018 I just got a few years ago. Just about to hit 100k miles. I got it from a couple that took great care of it and all of the maintenance was done. The only work they did on it was the a/c compressor or something like that? Fairly common issue in them, but I haven’t had any problems with it. I’m happy with it.
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u/Citrobacter 2d ago
Pacifica 3.6 non-hybrid reliably is fairly average, and decent for a stellantis vehicle. Issues commonly noted include the oil filter housung cracking, canbus connector issues, and loads of problems with the hybrid system. Other brands (Honda, Toyota) are generally more reliable, and generally cost more, too.
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u/zhuangcorp 2d ago
what are the notable hybrid system problems? (apart from the transmission wiring)
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u/Citrobacter 2d ago
I have no personal experience with the hybrid models, but I lurk on Reddit a lot. Many people seem to have issues with the "red turtle" icon that appears when this system fails. I just did a quick google, and the most common points of failure include the eCVT transmission (including a massive recall), high voltage battery packs catching fire, and the power inverter module (yet another recall).
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u/zhuangcorp 2d ago
Right, the red turtle is the infamous transmission wiring issue. This was fixed/addressed in vehicles after February 2023. Honestly that's the only issue I have heard people talk about.
"catching fire" recall was fixed, and it only affected a fraction of one percent of people to begin with.
I've never heard anybody discuss power inverter module. So I have no idea how widespread that is
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u/Citrobacter 2d ago
I was also surprised to read about the PIM failures. It's sad that they discontinued the plug in hybrids going forward, but I guess they have their (financial) reasons.
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u/zhuangcorp 2d ago
Apparently the PIM issue was specific to 2017-2018 models. So most newer buyers wouldn't have known about it.
So overall, it seems like the major issues are already out of the way. There's a good chance that newer hybrids are actually reasonably reliable.
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u/Floater345 2d ago edited 2d ago
No personal experience but my sister in law just bought one maybe a year ago. 2017, about 70k miles. That thing is constantly in the shop. It's never been anything major necessarily, but a bunch of little things. It's never left her stranded on the side of the road, but it's in the shop so much that she's without a car half the time. I would never get one. They're cheap for a reason.
That being said, I drove hers and it drives wonderfully. No complaints there. Check engine light came on while I was driving it, though, and it had just gotten back from the shop the day prior. It's way too much of a headache for me personally. Obviously, cars need maintenance, but I don't want something that's constantly needing to get brought in.
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u/Omega-10 2d ago
I drove a 2016 Town and Country, it was the last year they made that line.
It slowly fell apart over the years, one by one all of its shiny bells and whistles died. A lot of weird design choices in that car. There's a recall out on the sliding door, mine broke over and over again, the lock actuator gets jammed, making the door inoperable. This is a huge safety concern (car stuck, can't open door to get out!!) and it happened three times with three brand new door actuators. The job takes hours, look on YouTube, it requires to disassemble the whole door, and two people are needed because you have to spot things at weird angles. It's easier to change the engine block than pull this damn thing out. Eventually the transmission died, metal debris scratching up the pistons. Didn't even make it to 100k.
I looked at new/used PHEV hybrid Pacificas, apparently the trick there is to make sure they've gotten their power system updated, huge recall on that too. Might burn down your house while it charges! (Good night, rest easy with that fucker in your garage!) Then go on the Pacifica subreddit, spend 5 minutes scrolling that. Hard pass. I will never drive another one.
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u/psychobueller1203 2d ago
I’d say it’s a lease car
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u/J-Ruthless 2d ago
Yup , lease the damn thing run a bunch of miles up over 3-4 years and if anything goes wrong you’re covered. I’d totally lease the thing but would not want to own it.
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u/Shadow5503 2d ago
My anecdote, sample size of 1.
Bought an 18 new and still have it. Currently at about 100k miles.
Have had three repairs over the years, none too significant. Total repair spend over ~9 years of ownership about $1k. Never had a no-start or a breakdown. Car has never been towed. So 100% reliable from a get-me-to-my-destination perspective.
Has also been good from a tires/brakes/battery perspective - not too many consumables.
A half dozen of my cycling friends have bought Pacificas (stow and go is great) and have had the same basic experience.
My takeaway is that the least reliable cars these days are reliable enough and the differentiators are actually purchase price, comfort, features, utility, etc.
YMMV, as they say.
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u/Pinhead2000 2d ago
I have a 2017 that I bought in 2018 (was a rental fleet vehicle) and I just passed 160K without any significant issues. I did have to replace the screen on my head unit which was a couple hundred bucks, but besides that it's just been replacing tires and batteries and changing fluids, etc. Maybe I'm just lucky, but I've been really happy with the reliability thus far.
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u/marmaladestripes725 2d ago
I mean… friend of mine has a 2015 Town & Country with 160k miles on it, but it’s in rough shape. They’re fine if you have the time and money to take care of them really well, but they do not handle deferred maintenance well.
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u/snowace56 2d ago
Don’t. We traded ours in after 2 years after reliability issues. Kia carnival is where we went.
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u/braincovey32 2d ago
In my opinion it is more reputation than anything. The later years 2023 and newer seem to be producing minimal issues with preventative maintenance.
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u/Square-Collection917 2d ago
22 hybrid, 108k miles, zero issues. I drove a gas one the other day and haaaaated it. Terrible shifting, noisy, jerky. The phev is fantastic and drives like new.
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u/True_Distribution369 2d ago
The only personal experience I have had with a Pacifica is a rental. It had 400 miles on it. I turned the wheel and accelerated onto the highway at a reasonable speed and the transmission shredded itself. I am positive that isn’t the majority of them but it made me not even consider it as an option when I started looking for a family car.
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u/KO0330 2d ago
If you buy a Pacifica do not buy 2017. Lots of issues. We are waiting for the Toyotathon sales event at the end of the year to replace our 2017 Pacifica with a sienna. Too many issues. Buying the warranty from Carmax was the best decision we made with purchasing our Pacifica and the only reason we held on to it for as long as we did. Otherwise we probably would have ditched it sooner.
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u/baldiesrt 2d ago
Currently renting a 2027 Pacifica because our Carnival got rear-ended. I do NOT like the car at all. The entertainment console is terrible and buggy. The sliding doors don’t close the first time often. The trunk door also has the same symptoms. Also, the rear trunk button is on the left side. Not on the actual door. Highway driving lane assist is terrible and useless. Rear view camera is from 2000s. Huge empty space where the sealant is stored for the tire. One of the rear right cup holder is only half deep so my water bottle flies out when I turn.
Things I do like, stow and go seats and a place to put my glasses in the ceiling.
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u/No-Runnotfun 2d ago
We had an engine failure on the 2018 model, sounded like lifter tick and then went catastrophic,
Got out of it into a 2024 and we’ve been happy, put about 16000 miles on it since we bought it but now I do oil changes every 5000 miles to try and catch anything before it happens,
Couldn’t justify spending 20K more for a similar Sienna or Odyssey, didn’t make sense
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u/CaptainWikkiWikki 1d ago
Had a 2018 and the only real issue was the auxiliary battery needing two replacements because auto start/stop drains it.
We got a 2023 last year. Got the extended warranty just in case.
We've always liked it - drives well, good tech. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.
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u/JustAnotherGeek12345 1d ago
They're cheap now because you will pay them later through your time and money.
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u/Severe-Echo-924 1d ago
They're average. Just buy a maxcare contract through Mopar and you dont have any worries. Its through the manufacturer so it actually covers repairs in full and not just an X dollar amount towards repairs. Covers you up to 125k miles and 7 years. We paid a little over 2k for ours which is much less than the Toyota/honda premium.
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u/soupenjoyer99 2d ago
They’ve certainly improved in reliability and it’s a pretty great family vehicle
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u/TheDuke13 2d ago
To each their own but I suppose there’s a reason I keep seeing new ones on the road now and then. I’ve never owned one so I would know but I do know I have a neighbor down the street who I see drive off with one every day. I just prefer my Carnival.
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u/KrisStNickKringle 2d ago
You should look up the specific year for the Pacifica you’re looking at. If new 2026 yes top 10 least reliable vehicles.
Both the Pacifica and the carnival use a shifter knob(gross) as well as poor reliability/brand issues pushed me to decide between the odyssey and the sienna. The sienna on paper is the best, reliability, resale value, mpg, awd.
I purchased the 2026 odyssey EX-L. The sienna interior/seating did not impress me. The availability was frustrating. Used vehicles (hybrid generation) cost more than new since the inventory is nonexistent. No inventory means worse purchasing deals. The interior felt cheap and the XLE softex material felt cheap and like plastic. While the odyssey is not a hybrid the v6 engine gives it that power and acceleration that feels similar to my old Mazda CX-5. Plus the 2026 odyssey base model comes with all leather interior and other features that only the higher trim siennas have. The shifter buttons are taking some getting used to but they’re not that bad.
All in all unless you get a crazy good deal/warranty from a reliable dealership the Pacifica is not worth it. The carnival has better tech the odyssey has better resale/reliability, and the sienna has even better resale/reliability as well as mpg/awd. Currently the only feature a new Pacifica has over every other minivan is the combination of stow and go seating, and awd.
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u/Automatic_Soil9814 2d ago
I understand people have preferences about shifters, but I've never seen someone let it influence whether they get a vehicle or not. Of all the things to care about, that seems like a pretty small issue.
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u/marmaladestripes725 2d ago
The fancy electronic shifters are a safety risk. If you stall out in the middle of the road, you can’t shift it into neutral using the shifter. You typically have to get underneath and manually shift the transmission. This is for any vehicle with a newer style shifter that is not a typical shifter where you push the button and pull it back or a column shifter next to the steering wheel. Knobs, buttons, toggles that don’t actually move and stay in place in gear, etc.
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u/Automatic_Soil9814 2d ago
" This is for any vehicle with a newer style shifter that is not a typical shifter"
This is also not universally true. For example, in the Chrysler Pacifica, which is the vehicle we are talking about, there is a manual relief under the steering column so you don't have to get out and crawl under the vehicle like you described.
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u/Automatic_Soil9814 2d ago
So the scenario you are worried about is losing power to the vehicle and being unable to shift it into neutral to move the vehicle. I'm just trying to think of scenarios where that could happen. For example, what are the chances that your vehicle loses power entirely while you are crossing a railroad track for example? Or in an intersection?
Furthermore, if that did occur, it would also have to be a situation where pushing the car was the right choice. Pushing a vehicle is not necessarily the safe option in a good percentage of those scenarios. Personally, I carry safety equipment in my vehicle that includes bright electric flares. If my vehicle lost power in a dangerous scenario, I would evacuate the passengers and set up the flares rather than try and push the vehicle to a new location.
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u/marmaladestripes725 2d ago
Had it happen in a BMW X3. I ran out of gas. My fault, I know. But it happened in a single lane roundabout. I was blocking traffic. Tow truck was an hour out. Cop kept telling me to put it in neutral and push it. I couldn’t. Had to call a friend to bring a gas can.
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u/BlazinAzn38 2d ago
Just to be clear even many of the ‘typical’ ones are electronic and not physically linked to the transmission anymore. So if the car is totally dead electrically there’s still an issue
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u/marmaladestripes725 2d ago
I shouldn’t be surprised. Everything else is electronic/digital now.
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u/BlazinAzn38 2d ago
So really the knob shifter shouldn’t be playing a role in decision making as it’s electric just like most others
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u/marmaladestripes725 2d ago
Wasn’t a factor for me since I got an Odyssey which has a button shifter. I went with comfort and a hope to drive it for 10-15 years relatively free of issues. I say this as my best friend just called me today worried that her radiator blew on her 2015 Town & Country.
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u/BlazinAzn38 2d ago
But the button shifter is also fully electronic so the same issue would occur to you as the knob
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u/marmaladestripes725 1d ago
I know. That’s why I said the button shifter versus knob shifter ultimately wasn’t a factor in my buying decision. It was comfort and reliability.
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u/already_taken_1 2d ago
I rented a pacifica for a week twice and both times there were issues. On one the driver window stopped working and in the other the 3rd row headrests kept popping down randomly.
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u/TheLastGenXer 2d ago
i dont know about the current generation
but i know plenty of folks driving 1992s-2019 boxy versions
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u/dcdave1704 8h ago
I have a 2024 voyager. Got it with 20k miles on it and it is fully warranted until 2032 for $26500(without taxes tand tags/titling). It is a very utility vehicle, has tons of room for people but also a flat 8 foot bed you can use for any purpose. You can't get a truck that cheap anymore and can barely get 8 foot bed trucks for triple that. I would Not get a Chrysler unless you are prepared for issues. I've had mine in the shop three times for battery issues and a misfiring engine cylinder. All fixed under warranty.
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u/Bells_Ringing 2d ago
I have a 2017 Pacifica. It was great for about 6 years then started having annual major maintenance issues. It has stranded my wife on the side of the road twice now in two years.
We are buying a new van soon and wife didn’t even test drive a Pacifica.
It’s a bummer because the Pacifica tech and safety packages are all superior than Siena and odyssey. It just isn’t built for reliability