1,050 complaints and fifteen recalls, including one where the fix is a whole new transmission and another where the front halfshaft can come out of the joint. The second year is quieter than the first, which is not the same as quiet.

Two separate front-end assembly defects, both specific to this model year, both with consequences you would notice at speed. Recall 18V-493, Chrysler code U80, covers 2018 Pacificas where 'the front axle halfshafts may have been incorrectly assembled, preventing the shaft from being properly secured to the constant-velocity (CV) joint.' NHTSA spells out both failure modes: 'If the axle shaft disengages from the CV joint, the vehicle will have a loss of drive or allow the vehicle to move while in the Park position.' A van that rolls while in Park is a real hazard on a driveway with children about. Dealers replace the left or right halfshaft assembly, free. Recall 19V-143, Chrysler code V15, covers 2018 Pacifica and Pacifica hybrid vans where 'the right front lower control arm may separate from the steering knuckle', which NHTSA notes 'could increase the risk of a crash.' Dealers inspect the knuckle and arm, replace what is damaged, and fit a larger-diameter pinch bolt, free. Both are one-time fixes with no ongoing cost, but both need confirming by VIN rather than assuming a previous owner dealt with them.

The 2017's signature failure carries straight into the 2018, and STEERING remains the biggest single component cluster in this year's federal file. The description is consistent across both years: the electric power steering, the electric motor that assists the wheel instead of a hydraulic pump, catches and sticks as you turn, most often around the eleven or one o'clock position on a gentle curve at highway speed, then releases so the driver overcorrects. There is no recall covering it and no Chrysler warranty extension in the published bulletins that names it. Owners on the 2017 have been filing in support of an open federal investigation, NHTSA Preliminary Evaluation PE25009, which concerns the electric power steering gear rack. An investigation is not a recall: nothing has been ordered fixed and nobody has agreed to pay. Treat this as a mandatory part of the test drive rather than a footnote. Get to sustained highway speed, find a curve, and make small corrections in both directions, feeling for a catch followed by a sudden release.

Applies only if the van is the plug-in hybrid, meaning it has a battery you charge from a socket alongside the petrol engine. Recall 22V-077, Chrysler code Z11, covers 16,741 2017 and 2018 plug-in hybrids, and NHTSA's summary is a single sentence: 'A vehicle fire can occur when parked, even with the ignition in the Off position.' The instruction to owners came before any fix existed: 'Owners are advised not to recharge their vehicles, and to park outside and away from structures, until they are repaired.' Dealers update the battery pack control module software, the computer that supervises the big battery, and inspect and replace the battery pack where necessary, free. Interim warning letters went out on 25 February 2022 and final letters on 6 October 2022. The line that a used buyer needs to read is the last one in NHTSA's record: 'This recall is superseded by NHTSA recall 24V-538.' That later campaign describes itself as 'an expansion of NHTSA recall number 22V-077' and applies the same remedy to 2019 to 2021 vans. Chrysler has been back to this battery repeatedly. Verify completion documentarily, not verbally.

The defining plug-in hybrid failure across the entire 2017 to 2023 run, and the 2018 sits inside it. Recall 23V-010, Chrysler code 03A, covers 2017 to 2023 Pacifica plug-in hybrids where 'an internal transmission wiring connector may short circuit, resulting in an unexpected engine shutdown', which 'can cause a loss of drive power'. The remedy is software: dealers update the Power Inverter Module, the box that converts battery power into drive, and the instrument cluster and engine control module if needed, free. A mechanic explains what that software actually buys you, and it is worth understanding before you assume the recall is a cure: the update 'will help your Chrysler avoid stalling in the middle of the road. Instead, the vehicle will go into limp mode and limit speed and power to let you safely park.' The repair for a van that has actually failed sits in two Chrysler warranty extensions rather than the recall. XE1 covers 2017 to 2023 plug-in hybrids and states 'this bulletin involves servicing the transmission'. XN1 covers the same span and states 'this bulletin involves replacing the transmission'. Both require the fault codes P0A3F, P0A43, P0A45 or P0C1A to be set, and both note that the customer 'may also comment on the following: vehicle is in limp mode'. Neither bulletin summary states a mileage or year limit, so ask a dealer to confirm the terms against the VIN rather than trusting any figure quoted online.

The 2018 inherits three campaigns from the launch year and adds one of its own. 18V-524, Chrysler code U87, is the 2018-specific one: the powertrain control module 'may be equipped with a voltage regulator chip in the circuit board that may fail, causing a stall or a no start condition', and dealers replace the whole module, free. 19V-348, Chrysler code V53, covers 2017 to 2019 vans with engine stop/start, where 'a loose battery ground connection may result in an intermittent loss of power steering assist and/or a stall'; the fix installs no new parts, just cleaning and correct reassembly of the ground point. 18V-332 is the fleet-wide cruise control campaign, covering 4,815,661 Stellantis vehicles of which the Pacifica's share is 2017 and 2018 only, where a wiring short may mean 'the driver may not be able to shut off the cruise control either by depressing the brake pedal or manually turning the system off', so the van holds speed or accelerates. NHTSA's advice on that one: 'Owners are advised to stop using cruise control until the software update has been performed.' And 18V-395, Chrysler code U50, covers the Manual Park Release plug, the emergency lever for moving a van stuck in Park, which could be pulled out without a tool and let the van roll away.

Chrysler published a warranty extension coded XA7, titled 'Loss of Power Brake Assist', covering the 2018, 2019 and 2020 model years. A warranty extension is the manufacturer quietly agreeing to pay for a repair after the normal warranty has run out, and unlike a recall you will not receive a letter about it. The bulletin in the federal manufacturer-communications index carries only that subject line and no description of the symptom or the repair, so we will not invent one, and no coverage limit in years or miles is stated anywhere in it. What we can tell you is what to do with it. The 2019 model year's complaint file shows a visible cluster under SERVICE BRAKES and SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC, which is consistent with the subject of this extension. On the test drive, brake firmly from speed at least once and note whether the pedal feels harder than it should or the assist seems to drop away. If it does, or if the seller mentions any brake work, ask a Chrysler dealer to check XA7 against the VIN before you agree a price.

The best-documented wear item on the petrol van, and the source we have for it is a 2018 owner. He found his leaking at just 26,000 miles: 'my car is a 2018 with only 26,000 mile and a couple months ago I already saw there's a leaking.' The oil filter housing, which mechanics also call the oil cooler, weeps where it joins the block. His figures, and they are his rather than a national average: the housing part 'is cost about 200'; the dealer's estimate 'just for looking at it is 558'; and out of warranty 'it probably cost you more than a thousand dollars just to replace' at a dealer. He got his done with one month of powertrain warranty left, which is the whole point of the story. His case for acting early is a warning about neglect rather than a repair quote: let it leak until the engine runs low on oil and 'the engine itself is going to cost five six thousand dollars, so you rather waste 200 than six thousand dollars.' Not every van does it. A separate owner at 200,000 miles reports 'we have not had to do the oil cooler on this yet.' Get underneath with a torch and look for oil residue below the filter housing.

Petrol vans with engine stop/start carry a small second battery in addition to the main one, and it is a known repeat failure. The symptom is a 'Stop/Start Service Required' or 'Service Auto Start/Stop' message and the system disabling itself. Chrysler published Y65, filed both as an Engine Stop/Start Auxiliary Battery Goodwill Initiative and as a customer satisfaction notification, covering 2017 and 2018 vans with the 3.6L engine and stop/start. A customer satisfaction notification is a free fix for something that is not a safety defect, which means no letter arrives and you must ask by VIN. Note carefully what Y65 is: a software update, with no parts changed, so it will not revive a battery that has simply worn out. For a worn one, an owner-mechanic who did his own reports the battery sits 'right under this little airbox assembly', needs a 10 mm socket, and cost 'right around 100 bucks'. His warning sign is distinctive and worth knowing: 'a really really strong sulfur type smell' coming off the failing battery, strong enough that 'we actually had to open our garage door and let it air out'. A high-mileage owner reports having replaced this battery 'like five times' and attributes it to a parasitic drain that keeps the van's electronics cycling.

Recall 19V-886, Chrysler code VE2, covers 2018 and 2019 Pacificas 'equipped with an 8.4 inch radio display, 360 degree surround view camera system, and seat back video screens', where 'a software error can cause the rearview camera image to remain displayed on the radio after the vehicle has been shifted out of reverse'. That failure puts the van outside Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 111 on rear visibility, and NHTSA's concern is that 'the lingering rearview image can distract the driver'. The remedy is a free radio software update. Worth knowing in context: this is the first of five separate rearview camera campaigns the Pacifica has collected across seven model years, and the later ones came with long parts delays. On this year the fix is only software, so it should be quick. Confirm it is closed, then check the camera works properly by shifting in and out of reverse a few times and watching the screen clear.

Petrol vans use the ZF 948TE nine-speed automatic, built by German supplier ZF rather than by Chrysler, and its reputation is for rough shifting rather than for failure. The best account we have is a mechanic diagnosing his own van at 65,000 miles. He notes the same gearbox 'is used in the pacifica, the jeep cherokee, the front wheel drive version, honda odyssey uses this same transmission and all of those vehicles have had kind of similar issue with rough shifts', and his conclusion is that 'the transmission is mechanically sound, it is not a mechanical problem with the transmission, it is simply a software control.' The control module learns and adapts clutch pressures and shift timing over time, and in his diagnosis that learning drifts badly; his own answer is resetting the transmission control module about once a month, which he calls 'very easy to do, not much of a burden'. Two hard checks support him. Draining the fluid at 50,000 and 60,000 miles produced 'no metal'. And a separate owner at 200,000 miles reports the van 'hard shifted between second' from new, had it reflashed under a recall, still does it, and concludes 'it's not an issue.' Expect an abrupt shift around 14 mph on the test drive. Note this is a different unit entirely from the plug-in hybrid's eCVT, which is where the genuinely expensive transmission story lives.