2005 Chrysler Pacifica recalls and problems

The 2005 Chrysler Pacifica has 2 recalls and 1,244 owner complaints on file with NHTSA; the most reported problem area is engine.

2005 Chrysler Pacifica
Photo: 2005 Chrysler Pacifica by Cutlass, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
How the 2005 compares
Fewest complaintsMost complaints

Highest complaint count among 18 Pacifica model years — 2nd most.

2recalls
1,244complaints
25crashes
13fires
19injuries
97,000median miles

Owner complaints filed with NHTSA, not verified and not adjusted for sales. Ranking compares this model's own years only.

Does your car have an open recall?
Recalls apply to specific vehicles. Only a VIN lookup on NHTSA's official site shows whether yours is affected and still unrepaired.
Check your VIN →

2 recalls

Power Train

Nov 9, 2006 · NHTSA campaign 06V432000 · 127,928 vehicles

Problem: On certain passenger vehicles, the fuel pump module and the power train control module (PCM) software May allow the engine to stall under certain operating conditions.

Original NHTSA wording

ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, THE FUEL PUMP MODULE AND THE POWER TRAIN CONTROL MODULE (PCM) SOFTWARE MAY ALLOW THE ENGINE TO STALL UNDER CERTAIN OPERATING CONDITIONS.

Risk: This could cause a crash to occur without prior warning.

Original NHTSA wording

THIS COULD CAUSE A CRASH TO OCCUR WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING.

Remedy & notes

Dealers will reprogram the power train control module. The fuel pump module will also be replaced on vehicles built from August 1, 2004 through September 30, 2004. The recall began on November 21, 2006. Owners May contact daimlerchrysler at 1-800-853-1403.

Daimlerchrysler recall no. F44.customers May also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov.

Exterior Lighting

Mar 1, 2005 · NHTSA campaign 05V066000 · 43,180 vehicles

Problem: Certain sport utility vehicles equipped with halogen headlamps May experience an intermittent and eventual total loss of headlamp function.

Original NHTSA wording

CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH HALOGEN HEADLAMPS MAY EXPERIENCE AN INTERMITTENT AND EVENTUAL TOTAL LOSS OF HEADLAMP FUNCTION.

Risk: The head lights May not operate properly which could result in intermittent or no headlight function. This could impair a driver's visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.

Original NHTSA wording

THE HEAD LIGHTS MAY NOT OPERATE PROPERLY WHICH COULD RESULT IN INTERMITTENT OR NO HEADLIGHT FUNCTION. THIS COULD IMPAIR A DRIVER'S VISIBILITY, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

Remedy & notes

Dealers will inspect, and replace if necessary, the wiring harness and low beam bulb on both headlamp assemblies free of charge. The recall began on March 28, 2005. Owners May contact daimlerchrysler at 1-800-853-1403.

Daimlerchrysler recall no. E04.customers May also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov.

Recall text as published by NHTSA and the manufacturer.

What owners complain about

Owner complaints filed with NHTSA; one complaint can name several areas. Not verified by NHTSA.

Complaints by year filed

2004: 3 complaints20042005: 69 complaints2006: 111 complaints20062007: 56 complaints2008: 37 complaints20082009: 51 complaints2010: 65 complaints20102011: 64 complaints2012: 60 complaints20122013: 91 complaints2014: 220 complaints20142202015: 159 complaints2016: 93 complaints20162017: 66 complaints2018: 47 complaints20182019: 29 complaints2020: 9 complaints20202021: 5 complaints2022: 3 complaints20222023: 5 complaints2026: 1 complaints20261

NHTSA investigations

Fleet Vehicle Recall Completion Audit

AQ10001 · opened Nov 18, 2010 · closed Dec 28, 2015
Summary

On November 18, 2010, NHTSA's Recall Management Division (RMD) opened an audit query (AQ10-001) to investigate recall remedy completion by rental car companies on safety recall campaigns.It was expected to provide the agency an indication of how completely and how quickly rental car fleets perform necessary recall-related remedies on the vehicles owned and then rented/leased for use on the roadways.RMD queried three (3) major motor vehicle manufacturers (Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors) and requested data regarding completion figures for fifteen (15) discreet safety recalls.Analysis of this data demonstrated that rental car recalls completion was neither complete nor consistent.The rental car companies representing the largest market share in the industry were then queried as to their respective policies for the rental, lease, and sale of vehicles with open recalls.The data and responses from the manufacturers and the rental car companies can be found in the document repository by accessing the ?Associated Documents link above.In December 2015, Congress enacted the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act.One section of the Act prohibits rental car companies from renting, leasing, or selling motor vehicles subject to open safety recalls.With the passage of the FAST Act and its prohibition, there is no continuing need for the agency to investigate rental car recall completions.Accordingly, this investigation is closed.The agency reserves the right to open any futu…

ENGINE STALLING

EA06013 · opened Jun 22, 2006 · closed Nov 29, 2006 · led to recall 06V432000
Summary

IN A NOVEMBER 8, 2006 LETTER, DAIMLERCHRYSLER CORPORATION (DCC) SUBMITTED A DEFECT INFORMATION REPORT TO NHTSA CONCERNING TWO SEPARATE DEFECT CONDITIONS THAT COULD RESULT IN ENGINE STALL WHILE DRIVING IN MODEL YEAR (MY) 2005-2006 CHRYSLER PACIFICA VEHICLES (NHTSA RECALL NO. 06V-432).MY 2005 VEHICLES BUILT IN AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER OF 2004 ARE BEING RECALLED TO CORRECT A DEFECT IN THE SECONDARY FUEL PUMP MODULES, WHICH MAY HAVE AN IMPROPER PRESS FITTING ON THE INLET THAT CAN BECOME DISLODGED AND SHUT-OFF FUEL FLOW.ALL MY 2005-2006 VEHICLES BUILT BETWEEN JULY 8, 2004 AND NOVEMBER 11, 2005 ARE BEING RECALLED TO CORRECT A POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE (PCM) SOFTWARE ISSUE WITH THE EVAPORATIVE EMISSIONS SYSTEM WHICH CAN ALSO CAUSE STALLING.FOR BOTH CONDITIONS, ENGINE STALL INCIDENTS TEND TO OCCUR DURING LEFT TURNS. THERE WERE 17,375 VEHICLES BUILT DURING AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER 2004 THAT WERE AFFECTED BY BOTH THE FUEL PUMP MODULE AND PCM SOFTWARE CONDITIONS.THERE WERE 30 VOQS SUBMITTED TO ODI, 58 CONSUMER COMPLAINTS TO DCC AND 829 FIELD REPORTS RELATING TO VEHICLES PRODUCED DURING THIS PERIOD.WHILE THESE ARE MOSTLY RELATED TO THE FUEL PUMP CONDITION, SOME MAY HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY THE SOFTWARE FAULT.THE RESULTING STALL WHILE DRIVING FAILURE RATE FOR THIS PERIOD IS 5,278 INCIDENTS PER 100,000 VEHICLES.THERE WERE TWO CRASHES ALLEGED TO HAVE RESULTED FROM THESE INCIDENTS.THERE WERE 1,021 WARRANTY CLAIMS FOR FUEL PUMP MODULE REPLACEMENT THAT APPEAR RELATED TO ENGINE STALL (5.9% CLAIM RATE). THE …

FUEL TANK PUNCTURES

EA06010 · opened Jun 15, 2006 · closed Oct 11, 2007
Summary

EA06-010 WAS OPENED BASED ON INFORMATION GATHERED IN PRELIMINARY EVALUATION PE06-009.PE06-009 WAS OPENED BASED ON INFORMATION OBTAINED IN A PEER INFORMATION REQUEST AS PART OF A PRELIMINARY EVALUATION (PE05-050) OF FUEL TANK PUNCTURE IN MODEL YEAR (MY) 2003 THROUGH 2006 NISSAN MURANO VEHICLES.IN JANUARY 2006, NISSAN SUBMITTED A DEFECT INFORMATION REPORT TO ODI THAT IDENTIFIED A DEFECT IN THE FUEL TANK SHIELDING IN APPROXIMATELY 209,000 MY 2003 THROUGH 2006 NISSAN MURANO VEHICLES.TO REMEDY THE PROBLEM, NISSAN INSTALLED SHIELDS ON THE EXPOSED FRONT SURFACES OF THE RECALLED VEHICLES.PEER DATA COLLECTED FOR MY 2004 THROUGH 2005 PACIFICA VEHICLES DURING PE05-050 INCLUDED 120 FIELD REPORTS DOCUMENTING TANK REPLACEMENTS DUE TO PUNCTURE OR DAMAGE BY ROAD DEBRIS AS PART OF A PARTS RESTRICTION PROGRAM CONDUCTED AT THE REQUEST OF THE TANK SUPPLIER (INERGY). ANALYSIS OF THE INFORMATION PROVIDED BY CHRYSLER DURING PE05-050, PE06-009 AND EA06-010 SHOW THAT THE FRONT SURFACE OF THE FUEL TANKS IN THE SUBJECT PACIFICA VEHICLES IS NOT COMPLETELY PROTECTED FROMROAD DEBRIS BY THE FLOOR PAN OR OTHER BODY STRUCTURE.THE TANKS WERE COMPARED WITH PEER VEHICLES, INCLUDING SEVERAL IDENTIFIED BY CHRYSLER AS SHARING SIMILAR DESIGN CHARACTERISTICS (UNSHIELDED HIGH-DENSITY POLYETHYLENE PLASTIC FUEL TANKS IN A SADDLEBAG CONFIGURATION).SOME OF THE PEER DESIGNS REVIEWED BY ODI PACKAGED THE TANKS IN RECESSED CAVITIES IN THE FLOOR PAN OR USED SHIELDS TO PROTECT EXPOSED SURFACES ON THE FRONT OF THE TANK.IN GENER…

ENGINE STALLING

RQ06002 · opened Feb 27, 2006 · closed Jun 22, 2006
Summary

ON FEBRUARY 27, 2006 RQ06-002 WAS OPENED IN RESPONSE TO 60 COMPLAINTS OF ENGINE STALL, MOSTLY DURING LEFT-HAND TURNS, IN MODEL YEAR (MY) 2004 TO 2006 CHRYSLER PACIFICA VEHICLES THAT WERE OUTSIDE THE SCOPE OF RECALL 04V-113.IN MARCH 2004, DAIMLERCHRYSLER INITIATED RECALL 04V-113 ON 34,561 MY 2004 PACIFICA VEHICLES TO CORRECT A CONDITION THAT COULD RESULT IN ENGINE STALL WHILE MAKING A LEFT-HAND TURN AFTER A COLD-START.DURING RQ06-002 IT WAS DETERMINED THAT RECALL 04V-113 DID CORRECT THE SPECIFIC CAUSE OF THE ENGINE STALLING CONDITION FOR THAT SPECIFIC POPULATION.HOWEVER, TWO OTHER CONDITIONS WERE IDENTIFIED THAT COULD ALSO CAUSE ENGINE STALLING DURING TURNING MANEUVERS:(1) AN ISSUE WITH MISBUILT FUEL PUMPS THAT PRIMARILY AFFECTED ABOUT 17,000 MY 2005 PACIFICA VEHICLES BUILT DURING AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER 2004; AND (2) A SOFTWARE CONDITION AFFECTING VAPOR PURGE IN ABOUT 131,000 MY 2005-06 PACIFICA VEHICLES BUILT FROM JULY 2004 THROUGH NOVEMBER 2005. AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS, EA06-013, HAS BEEN OPENED TO FURTHER EXAMINE THE SCOPE, FREQUENCY AND SAFETY CONSEQUENCES ASSOCIATED WITH EACH OF THESE CONDITIONS IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES.

FUEL TANK PUNCTURES

PE06009 · opened Feb 22, 2006 · closed Jun 15, 2006
Summary

ON FEBRUARY 22, 2006, ODI OPENED PE06-009 TO INVESTIGATE REPORTS THAT THE FUEL TANKS ON MODEL YEAR (MY) 2004 TO 2005 CHRYSLER PACIFICA VEHICLES MAY BE PUNCTURED BY CONTACT WITH ROAD DEBRIS.THE NUMBER OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY CHRYSLER WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN THOSE SUBMITTED BY OTHER MANUFACTURERS WHO WERE REQUESTED TO SUBMIT DATA AS PART OF INVESTIGATION PE05-050 INTO MY 2003 TO 2006 NISSAN MURANO VEHICLES THAT MAY HAVE HAD INSUFFICIENT SHIELDING OF THE FUEL TANK TO PREVENT PUNCTURES AFTER CONTACT WITH ROAD DEBRIS.NISSAN ISSUED RECALL 06V-003 INVOLVING INCREASING THE SHIELDING OF THE FUEL TANKS TO REDUCE THE LIKELIHOOD OF TANK PUNCTURES. CHRYSLER HAS NOTED THAT THEY HAD IN PLACE FROM JANUARY 2003 TO JUNE 2005 A PARTS RESTRICTION PROGRAM ON PACIFICA FUEL TANK REPLACEMENTS WHICH MAY HAVE MADE THE NUMBER OF REPORTS ARTIFICIALLY HIGH IN COMPARISON TO MANUFACTURERS WHICH DID NOT HAVE A SIMILAR PROGRAM IN EFFECT.CHRYSLER ALSO QUESTIONED WHETHER MANY OF THE FIELD REPORTS OF FUEL TANKS REPLACED DUE TO DAMAGE FROM UNKNOWN CAUSE WERE ACTUALLY PUNCTURED. THIS INVESTIGATION HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS (EA06-010) TO GATHER ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING THE ALLEGED DEFECT IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES.

2005 vs. other Chrysler Pacifica years

Owner complaints by model year; the darker bar is the 2005. Click a bar to switch year.

Questions

Does the 2005 Chrysler Pacifica have recalls?

Yes — NHTSA lists 2 recall campaigns covering the 2005 Chrysler Pacifica, the latest from Nov 9, 2006 (power train). A recall applies to specific vehicles: enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether yours is affected and still open.

What are the most common problems with the 2005 Chrysler Pacifica?

Owner complaints filed with NHTSA most often mention engine (434), structure (413), suspension (187). Complaints are consumer reports and are not verified by NHTSA.