Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2021 Chrysler Pacifica owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I stopped my 2021 Chrysler Pacifica, placed the transmission knob into park, opened the driver's door, leaving it opened with the engine running, and walked to the rear of the vehicle. I opened the tail gate and removed some boxes, threw the boxes into a dumpster, which was approximately 20 feet away and forward of the vehicle. I then returned to get two additional boxes from the rear of my vehicle. I retrieved the boxes and as I walked from the rear of the vehicle, it started to back up. I dropped the boxes, jumped out of the vehicle's path and tried to get into the driver's seat to stop the vehicle, but was unsuccessful as the vehicle picked up speed and the driver's door caught me and I fell. My vehicle was stopped after hitting a parked car in our church lot. Just a scratch on my vehicle's rear bumper, but frontend damage to the compact car it hit. No one else was in my vehicle. …
The contact owns a 2021 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle shifted into neutral unintendedly and lost motive power. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact was unable to shift into gear as the gear shifter had seized. The contact veered to the side of the road. The contact stated that the vehicle restarted and responded as needed after several attempts. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while driving. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred while on vacation in Tennessee, and the vehicle was driven to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The vehicle remained in Tennessee while the contact returned to the residence driving a rental. …
While driving above referenced vehicle, I was driving southbound on Hwy 515 when i noticed a vehicle driving northbound began to lose control, so i slowed down and then began to watch the vehicle cross the median and headed straight for me. I pushed the pedal to the floor to accelerate to get out of his way but the vehicle did not respond, i pushed the pedal again on several occasions and the vehicle just bucked and did not accelerate. Unfortunately the vehicle hit me right in the door at a high rate of speed. Unbeknownst to me this vehicle had been in the shop on several occasions for this exact problem: This can all be verified due to the fact i had a Chrysler service manager on the phone as this horrific experience unfolded
The contact owns a 2021 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated that the message "Service Gear Shifter" was displayed, and the gear shifter lights were not illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the ESS system malfunctioned, and the 12-volt battery had failed, which the contact related to the gear shifter failure. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
This vehicle quit driving and you can move it. Confirmed bad transmission. I bought it this way from the insurance company because it bounced off a concrete barrier. I suspect this happened when the transmission failed. Unsure of a police report due to it happening to the previous owner.
While driving our 2021 Chrysler Pacifica PHEV in EV on the highway, at speed of 65 mph, the vehicle lost power and the accelerator pedal became unresponsive. This has occurred on three occassions, each on different days. The dashboard signaled these issues: Shift to P to Start, Service Charging System, and the check engine light indicator. This is a very serious safety issue. The Engine and Power failed while driving at highway speed, this has occurred 3 times in the past few weeks. After losing power, the vehicle can only coast using it's own momentum. The steering and braking functions remained operable, so the driver was able to steer the car to change lanes (while losing speed) to get to the shoulder. This UNSAFE for my family because vehicle is at risk of being rear ended while on the highway. This is unsafe for anyone in the vehicle directly behind my vehicle. …
We have now had two incidences where the vehicle is being driven both on the highway and in the city. The vehicle malfunctions without any indication or warning. While driving the vehicle beeps and the check engine light comes on, you lose all control or ability to accelerate. You still have steering. The screen on the dash in front of the driver flashes and continues to flash and says there is an issue, while saying to move the drive to park. The drive options (park, drive, reverse, etc) flashes on and off but will not move anyways. You are essentially forced to cruise to a stop hopefully in a safe place or emergently braking. The only way to get the vehicle to reset is once completely stopped. To push the ignition off button. Which does not fully turn it off. You then have to open the driver door hopefully safely. And allow the vehicle to completely shut off. …
Check engine light illuminated and there was a warning message on the dash screen that I was not able to capture. This model of van is a plug-in hybrid. With this failure the engine systems are NOT utilizing the hybrid traction battery portion of the system. I have driven many small trips up to about 65 miles, but no drive has yet used the battery capacity. So the vehicle is running 100% on the gas engine, and is not able to function in hybrid or electrical only drive mode. The dealership is unable to tell me if driving the vehicle in this state will cause further damage to the van, therefore I am stuck unable to drive the vehicle for fear of causing even more damage. …
While driving at 70mph on the interstate, the vehicle completely lost power. The check engine light turned on, the message "Service Charging System" came up, and the gear knob blinked. We had to pull over on the side of the interstate. When we pushed the "off/on/acc" button, it would appear that it turned off, but it would go back into on status, but still wouldn't allow you to shift into drive. (You could turn the knob, but it wouldn't do anything). Finally, we had to remove the keys from the car to turn it off. Once we were able to do that, it did turn back on and allowed us to go back into gear as normal. We were able to drive a few miles, and then it did it again. We had the vehicle towed. Chrysler had to put a whole new transmission due to a hybrid part within the transmission that failed. Concerned that this happened with the transmission that only had 17k miles on it. …
On Wed, 11/23/2022, I was driving on I-94 Eastbound headed from Wisconsin to Illinois at about 70 mph. The car suddenly stalled and I lost all ability to accelerate the vehicle. The brakes and steering wheel still worked fine. The dash was displaying a message: "Service charging system. Shift to P to start." Thankfully, I was in the right lane and the shoulder was clear. I was able to pull onto the shoulder and come to a controlled stop. I put the vehicle in PARK and shut off the vehicle. I tried to restart it but was unable to. I then unbuckled my seat belt and opened & closed the driver side door (without getting out). After about a minute I was able to restart the car and continue on my way to Chicago. This happened 2 more times that trip. It also happened 1 time on the way back to Wisconsin for a total of 4 incidents in 1 day trip. This has significant safety implications, esp. …
NHTSA investigations
Transmission fault leading to loss of motive power
On July 22, 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE22008 to investigate allegation of loss of motive power, potentially due to transmission malfunction, in certain Chrysler Pacifica vehicles. In a January 17, 2023 letter to NHTSA, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) submitted recall notice 23V-010 involving a transmission motor wiring defect in 67,118 model year (MY) 2017-2023 Chrysler Pacifica plug-in…
Transmission complaints in other Pacifica years
Frequently asked questions
How common are transmission problems on the 2021 Chrysler Pacifica?
NHTSA has 119 complaints about the transmission & drivetrain of the 2021 Chrysler Pacifica, 32% of the model year's 375 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2021 Chrysler Pacifica transmission problems?
No. NHTSA lists no transmission & drivetrain recall for the 2021 Chrysler Pacifica, though it has 7 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 2021 Chrysler Pacifica transmission problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 9,000 miles, and 75% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 3 crashes, 0 fires and 3 injuries to transmission & drivetrain 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.