Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2017 Chrysler Pacifica owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owned a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that while attempting to enter the garage from a stop, the accelerator pedal was depressed and it traveled to the floorboard, causing the vehicle to violently accelerate 7 feet and crash into the garage. The vehicle crashed into the garage, through a wall, garden box, fence, and a mud ground where the vehicle came to a stop. No warning light illuminated prior to the failure. None of the air bags deployed. There was property damage to the garage and walls. No injuries were sustained. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a collision center. The insurance company deemed it a total loss. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 79,828.
The contact owns a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle briefly lost motive power before suddenly accelerating quickly, causing the contact to brake hard and bring the vehicle to a complete stop. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The electronic throttle control warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired, and the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, but the dealer was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The contact was informed that the brake sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. …
The contact owns a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, the vehicle independently jumped forward without the accelerator pedal being depressed. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,329.
I have not gotten into an accident. I have noticed for a long time my van transmission seems to have problems shifting. I will be starting to accelerate, and when i reCh speeds between 25-55 it often feels like I have no power (more often with time) I can hear the van "revving" bur not increasing speed at the rate it should be. Then all of a sudden the transmission feels like it "catches" and it lurches forward. Making it feel like the van us going to literally fall apart, or have the enginefall out. It is a very scary!! And it is getting worse even though when this happens I have started to take my foot off the gas because it I feel something terrible will happen. However taking my foot off the gas, especially when merging is extremely dangerous (people are so agressive driving these days) and I continue to be put in dangerous situations because of this issue. …
My Pacifica suddenly will not start. I ended up jump-starting the van. Then whenever I stopped, it needed a jump start. This whole ordeal is from a single day. Driving back on the high-way, suddenly van acted weird, all electronics going haywire, various instrument "unavailable" messages started coming, and on the highway Van all systems failed, power steering locked, I pulled over and battery icon (red) came on as well. Car died. I re-jump started it and then drove again with seeing the battery fluctuating between 10.2 v to 16v. Then when we exited the highway, this time, the van stalled right in the middle of the road. No warning, nothing. I feel this is a single point of failure that if the battery is having an issue, (though it seems alternator) was charging it, it could have caused two crashes. I am really concerned. …
Hi! This vehicle stopped twice in the middle of a road on its own. Vehicle was driving fine and the next second it slowed down and wouldn't accelerate as I would push the gas pedal. It's as if the engine shut down due to the car signals not transmitting correctly. The screen started blinking on and off giving me warnings and one of them said "Service Shifter!" My safety and my children's safety was put at risk because anyone could've hit us from behind as the car started decelerating on the road with oncoming traffic. I towed the car to a mechanic as the car does not run properly while being driven, and the mechanic said it has multiple electrical issues and multiple leaks. The vehicle was inspected by my own mechanic, as the dealer also inspected it and they tried to connect the scanner to turn off the engine light and get me to drive off. …
I was driving my car and approached at a stop sign. The car stopped and froze. The shifter knob lights were out and I was unable to move the car or shift the gears into neutral . ( The engine turned on ,but I could not move my car.) I had the car towed to my autodealership. Since then, the car has repeatedly started, but the shifter is frozen. My dealership has spent a month telling me they don't know how to fix the car. The dealership has been trying one thing after the other, they tell me, yet within a week my car is not functioning. The dealership installed new programming. a week ago.. A few days afterwards, while I was slowing down in city traffic, the dashboard filled with error messages and the car became extremely bumpy to drive. Today, I just had the car towed again to the dealership. …
This is my 3rd problem to be reported to NHTSA on this 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The "L" gear should typically slow down the vehicle when engaged, especially going downhill, so that you can use the transmission to slow the car down and use less braking. On a recent trip on I-5 the Grapevine, i used the L gear to attempt to slow down the vehicle on a steep and long descent. Instead of slowing the vehicle down immediately upon switching to L, the vehicle actually sped up 10 to 15 mph initially before it starts to slow down the car, creating a very dangerous situation especially when vehicles in front of me were slowing down too on the descent. I took it to the dealer, and they actually replaced the TCM because of another dangerous problem (see Complaint 11405469, March 2021) with the vehicle. I have tried the "L" gear again after, and it still does the same thing. …
The vehicle is available for inspection. At an intersection the vehicle abruptly turned off, while the engine was running and in drive. Children were in the vehicle and I was very scared and in shock when it happened. My car just randomly turned off, while I was sitting in the middle of an intersection and the vehicle was in drive (obviously). I was able to turn it back on, but it was very dangerous and could have killed us if a car had come through the [redacted] intersection while we were stuck there. Safety of other drivers on the road at risk, my life and children's lives were at risk. Could have caused death had our van been stuck in the middle of this busy intersection a few feet more forward.
When driving van will jerk or bang like slipping in gear, feels like possible being hit from behind, we have tried the adaptive learning reset several times, we had just purchased this less than 2 months ago with about 4800 miles in it. Feels dangerous to drive, especially with kids. We are scared to even try the cruise control. We heard and read online many whey same issues, with warranty and having there vans in dealership on several events, having reset in software upgrades, transmission replacement with only the problem to return. Please fix this, this one of my vehicles that unfortunately I have to drive because it's my only vehicle. This problem happens at lest everytime I'm driving daily, it started maybe a few weeks ago from the time this has been written.
Acceleration complaints in other Pacifica years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica?
NHTSA has 89 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica, 6% of the model year's 1,537 complaints. The component named most often is cruise control (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2017 Chrysler Pacifica acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica, though it has 11 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2017 Chrysler Pacifica acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 17,000 miles, and 69% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 15 crashes, 0 fires and 7 injuries to speed control & acceleration problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.