2018 Chrysler Pacifica Engine

At just over 100K miles, vehicle had check engine light come on (P303) indicating cylinder #3 mis-fire. After replacing spark plugs did not resolve the issue, further diagnosis from mechanic revealed leaking of coolant into cylinder #3 as the cause of the miss-fire. This is further borne out by the rough starts when cold followed by more smooth operation once the coolant is burned off. Research on-line shows that this failure is common in Chrysler Pacifica rather than a one-off incident. Leaking of coolant into the engine not only puts the engine (and therefore vehicle occupants) at risk but also damages the catalytic converter which can have an impact on the environment.

Cylinder head gasket failure: known to be a common failure in the Pentastar 3.6L engine. Repair in thousands, and may not be a solution as the engine block may warp due to failure preventing a proper seal with the cylinder head. The number of cases of this failure is alarming and should really be considered a proper consumer risk.

I keep getting a check engine light that reads as cylinder 5 misfire. I have replaced the spark plug and coil pack and it still will read as a cylinder 5 misfire. Often times when we start the van, it acts as if it has engine problems. I know this is very common in 2017-2018 Pacifica's and seems very unsafe. Something is wrong with the engines in those years of Pacifica's. I have had this check engine light read 4 times and 2 mechanics looked at it and replaced some parts to success.

There was a rough idle and tje the check engine light came on, idle smoothed out and the the following week the check engine light started blinking and the van started to miss and then drove rough. Then I took the van to dealer and they said it seemed that I have a cracked head after I received engine code for misfire on cylinder 3... sounds like this is a growing issue for this van and engine type.. Thank You for any help with this situation.

74,121 miles head warped on engine. $4300 repair to replace head and head gasket.

The check engine light came on in early May, and I immediately took it to our local mechanic. On [XXX], he told me we had a cracked cylinder head (attached quote). You can imagine my surprise! It’s a fairly new car. I just went on Google, and I found immediately a thread on the Pacifica forum where hundreds of families have had this problem. I just commented without expecting to get help, and I got a DM from Chrysler Cares (correspondence attached). They asked me to take it to a Chrysler dealer to confirm the diagnosis. The dealer reached out to me on May 28th with the bad news below. I said I would pick the car that afternoon. He informed me that if I drove the vehicle it would “catch on fire.” Quote below: Technician has completed diagnosis of vehicle. Found engine is burning coolant, coolant leaking into engine from headgaskets. Need to replace both left and right side headgaskets, cost for repair is $4334 plus tax. With this service also recommended to replace spark plugs additional $437, service throttle body $299, Service fuel injectors/rails $299, flush coolant in radiator and reservoir $299. Sincerely, Tony Pantagis Service Advisor Office 973-744-2000 ext 137 Fax 973-744-248 Email: [email protected] I immediately reached out to Chrysler Cares online. I also called the 800#again. It took MANY days to get anyone to get back to me, but finally I got a Case number. I explained my whole story on the telephone, and Chante said she would reach out to the dealer. After many days of back and forth phone tag, she called me on Friday, June 7 to say this would be referred to a Chrysler supervisor for one final review. I picked up my broken car from the dealer today and it is still not fixed. I still have no answer why a car with 60K miles would have a failed engine with no warning. Chrysler needs to recall these vehicles! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Misfire code on cylinder 1. Pulled the coil and plug and replaced, cleared code. Code returns in a matter of days. Then engine temp hot flashes during a short drive, so I purchase approved OAT coolant and fill it back up. Happens again three weeks later. Then two weeks later. Have local mechanic replace coolant pump and thermostat thinking that might do the trick. It doesn't. Issues return in a week. Mechanic can find no coolant leak and says the only thing that makes sense is a blown head gasket. I browse Chrysler forums and see that this is a common issue. No recall as of yet.

In April of 2022 my dash engine check light went on, as well as my start stop. Van was running rough and coolant missing. Chrysler fixed seals, gaskets. In July of 2024, 3000 before warranty ended, the same thing, Chrysler fixed. As of today October 10, 2024, the same dash lights and coolant missing. Now I am over 100,000 warranty. they just fixed this issue. Looking at Technical Service Bulletins and thousands of Chrysler forum complaints report the same issue. Despite two warranty fixes almost 10,00 in 15 months, the same issue continues. In 2024 this past fix Chrysler said this on the phone, Failed leak and combustion test. Cylinder head gasket has gone. Cylinder itself. Cylinder one. Misfire but not as bad. Checking the cylinder wall. Seems odd. Really inspecting the cylinder wall. Odd it would come back odd a year later. Not sure what he is going to find. They can do it tomorrow unless more. When my husband called today all they said was payment is on us of it is not the same thing but did not day to was we did this 3 months ago. I took my van to auto zone after same dash lights went on and they read the code, misfire cylinder one

2018 Chrysler Pacifica Touring L+ with 59,300 miles on it that we bought new from the dealer with a blown head gasket needing replacement of cylinders 3 and 4. We are outside the powertrain warranty. We got a check engine light [XXX] and found code p-0303 (cylinder 3 misfire). We were fortunate enough to get it to the dealer the very next day. It failed the engine block test and we were informed that the head gasket had blown and needed replacement. They also recommended replacing cylinders 3 and 4. This cannot be the expected lifespan of this engine or car. Searching forums on the internet and unfortunately it is a common problem with pacifica's and other vehicles with the pentastar 3.6L engine. We are averaging <10,000 miles per year, did not drive it aggressively, and got regular maintenance on it. This seems like obvious premature failure of the engine. Chrysler wanted $8200 for the parts and labor to fix it. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I own a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica with just 53k miles. Recently, after starting the vehicle, the dash board displayed a check engine light. When I took it to the dealership, they informed me the code was a P0305, which indicated a misfire in cylinder 5, caused by a blown head gasket and a coolant leak into the cylinder. AT 53,000 MILES! Their quote to repair the engine (which just sets the ticking time-bomb back to zero) is $5,000.

76,115 and my head gasket is blown. After researching, I found that there are more than over 1000 people with the same issue. Dealership says they can do nothing. Chrysler of America says they have no resolution either. This is ridiculous that so many people are having the issues with low miles on their vans. Something has to be done. I'm not sure why there is not a recall already (because Chrysler won't accept the fact that they messed up). People don't have money to replace the head gaskets and/or replace heads or even engines. Please help.

We had a cylinder 6 misfire which caused the engine to stop working. Our car would not start. There were no warning lamps, messages or any other symptom of the problem. We had just had the car serviced and there were no visible issues. We are now told by Chrysler that they have to replace the entire engine. They want to put in the same model of the engine that just randomly stopped working.

Cylinder 5 misfire confirmed coolant leak and head gasket failure by certified mechanic. 103k miles. Always maintained according to recommended schedule. Never overheated. Possible sudden engine failure is absolutely a safety concern leaving me and my family stranded. $6000 repair needed.

Vehicle engine is stalling, smells like burnt makes a lot of knocking sound and has a lot of white smoke coming out the muffler. My safety of my family and me is put at risk because this is a safety hazard that can cause an accident or a fire.

Value cover gasket failed and stated cracked heads. Car didn’t overheat, but engine light came on. Had car towed to dealer. Bought warranty from dealer(powertrain) but dealer says coverage have not been approved yet. Car been in shop about 2 wks

We purchased our 2018 Chrysler Pacifica in October 2023. It had 72,000 miles at the time of purchase. My wife was driving with our kids when the misfiring happened. This is clearly a safety issue as my children and wife don't feel safe in it. About two weeks ago, the check engine light came on and I took it to AutoZone to get the code checked out and then went to a mechanic. Upon inspection and diagnostics. He said the head gasket was blown and that a new engine was needed. We are currently sending the oil out to get tested for coolant. There is currently less than 85k miles on the minivan, and on our first oil change a couple of months ago, we started using a full high mileage synthetic motor oil. We are incredibly disappointed that our minivan has such a huge problem that apparently is fairly common with this year and model.

Check engine light came on. Pulled code, cylinder 1 misfire. Service for spark plugs was already scheduled for 2 days later. Van parked awaiting service. Service performed, CEL off. Van runs as normal for about 1 day. CEL comes back on. Cylinder 1 misfire. Multiple messages display on instrument cluster. Service shifter. Start/Stop unavailable. Some inerior lights turning off then back on later. Similar to a previous issue with a failing battery. Replaced both batteries. Cleared codes. Van drives as normal for 1 afternoon. Next day hard start and rough idle. CEL on. Cylinder 1 misfire. Van operates normally once warm. Schedule follow up service for diagnostic. Next day, CEL off. Van operates as normal in the morning. Hard start in the afternoon with rough idle and CEL back on. Van runs rough tries to stall. Service shifter message returns. Start/Stop unavailable message returns. Parked van at home until service appointment. Day of service battery completely flat. multiple attempts at jumpstart finally get the van started. White smoke coming from exhaust mixed with smell of burning coolant. Notice coolant level has dropped in resevoir. CEL light is on, cylinder 1 misfire. Service messages. Tested battery voltage and alternator appears to be charging. Dropped van off with service. 2 days later report from dealer service department indicates leaking head gasket, and scoring of walls in cylinder 1 seen through endoscope. Recommendation is new motor. Van again requires jump start to relocate to our house. Van idles and drives rough. Using OBDII device and Torque app able to see that van has had over 1k misfires on cylinder 1. occasional misfires in other cylinders. Additional service appointment schedule with independent shop for second opinion on engine replacement. Van is unsafe to drive due to impending engine failure. which may result in crash.

Transmission slipping while changing gears. Engine shutting down while driving. Was put in the shop 5/28, they said they fixed it. did it again on the way home on 6/21/24.

Had engine misfire and low coolant light come on. Towed to dealer. Engine did not overheat. Dealer found cracked head. Head was not made well. Disabled start stop feature and put van into “limp” mode where it would not start on the freeway. Safety concern.

Licensed independent service center diagnosed that I have coolant leaking into cylinder 5 and that the head gasket is compromised and needs to be replaced. My vehicle only has 84k miles. No warning lights illuminated until I started to experience a shudder when starting the vehicle, shaky start and then the check engine light came on with a cylinder 5 misfire code. I noticed coolant was low and topped off. The vehicle has never indicated it was too hot, but I need to refill reservoir each time the vehicle is driven. I no longer feel safe driving my vehicle as a hot engine could cause failure while driving, leave us stranded in a vehicle with small children, or worse cause engine fire, accident, injury or death. I would never expect to have head gasket failure at such low mileage. I should be able to trust that an auto manufacturer can build a car that will last more than 84,000 miles without engine failure. Many people online are experiencing this same issue with large repair bills or engine replacements needed. I sincerely hope that a recall will be issued for this repair as it presents a safety issue.

The contact owns a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle hesitated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, and it was diagnosed and determined that the head gasket needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 71,000.

Car ran fine during morning drop offs with kids to school, approximately 10 miles away. Stopped in parking lot to help with school events, car cooled down for 2 hours and would not start. Tried to jump start the car, it did not work. Car was towed to the dealership where we found out that the engine had seized. Car has 107K miles on it . All maintenance performed at dealership on time.

The contact owns a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the vehicle was shuddering and there was a lot of exhaust and a burning odor. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that there was coolant in the compartment where the spark plug was located, and that the head gasket was fractured. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 47,000.

head gasket was blown.and there were no warning signs or indicator lights my van only has 62,000 miles on it

-service engine light went on 2 weeks ago, intermittently. - escalated when engine began locking/ shuddering while driving and engine light began flashing. - had vehicle towed to the nearby dealership - dealer diagnosed it as a blown head gasket due to manufacturing defects. Dealer offered up that ‘they see this issue all the time’ with the 3.6L Pentastar engine. - dealer quoted $6000 for the repair but forewarned that the other head gaskets would likely fail as well because of the manufacturer defect. Quoted $9500 to replace both - dealer suggested replacing both head gaskets but also refused to confirm integrity of the engine block and all additional cylinders with micrometer measurements and pressure readings. - there is a known and frighteningly frequent breakdown of this engine in the Chrysler Pacifica. - complete engine failure should not be common place for a vehicle with less than 100,000 miles.