Chrysler Recalls 240,000 Pacifica Minivans
Ryan Bradley | June 27, 2018 | Product Defect
Many people choose the Chrysler Pacifica as their daily driver for its reputation as one of the safest and most convenient minivans. This is the reason this brand has become popular for parents looking for a dependable and affordable vehicle for the family. However, the 2017-2018 Chrysler Pacifica has issued a recall for over 240,000 of the vehicles that have been manufactured. There’s a defect fault in the manual park release which may go off by itself and cause the vehicle to roll away – in addition, the cruise control may remain engaged when the driver tries to shut it off.
In March of 2018, Chrysler became aware of a potential issue with the manual park release plugs after receiving a complaint from a customer that had experienced issues with the mechanism.
After running some tests, Chrysler discovered that the force needed to remove the plug was below industry specifications. This made it easy to remove the plug without the use of any tools, which put them in noncompliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) for Theft Protection. The company said that the plug failure may be triggered when cruise control is engaged and the car accelerates (such as when it goes uphill). If this happens, the Pacifica could be locked in cruise control mode.
The minivans affected were assembled between June 15, 2016, and April 6, 2018. Chrysler has since been using a plug that requires more force to pull it out, mitigating the risk for unintentional rolling of the vehicle. If your Chrysler Pacifica was assembled after April 6, 2018, it is not part of the recall.
The maker of Chrysler, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, will begin notifying owners on August 3rd. If you believe that your vehicle may be part of the recall, you can call the automaker at (800) 853-1403 and reference recall number U50., or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at (888)327-4236. Additionally, you can check your Vehicle identification number against a list of the recalled vehicles.
Chrysler dealers will repair the vehicle for free, by replacing the manual park release plug. Simply contact your local dealership and schedule an appointment for the repair and let them know that your vehicle has been part of the recent recall.
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