2023 Chrysler Pacifica Powertrain & Transmission Problems

Lost power. System said to pull over immediately. Error code P0A43.

Several times (6) received a "pull over safely" message while on interstate at 60-75 mph. In addition check engine light comes on. Have taken to dealership for service and after 7 weeks they still have not be able to fix. Vehicle is completely inoperable at this point and am getting no support from Chrysler.

Vehicle went into limp mode three times while driving on the highway, forcing us to pull over to the shoulder. Luckily there was a safe place to pull over but created a major safety concern. It triggered code P0A43-00. The dealer initially couldn't recreate the code on 12/18/25 at which point they cleared the code and returned the car to us. It happened again on 12/30/25 at which point the dealer followed Chrysler instructions to conduct pin drag test but no problem was found. Dealer drove 60 mile test and didn't recreate the fault and returned car to us. The same issue again occurred on 1/9/26 at which point Chrysler authorized invasive transmission repairs. This issue directly aligns with recall 23V-010 and NHTSA ODI investigation RQ24004

While driving at approximately 65 mph on I-35 in moderate traffic, my vehicle experienced a sudden and complete loss of motive power. I was positioned in the far-left passing lane at the time of the incident. A vague notification message appeared on the dashboard screen; however, there was no accompanying audible warning tone to alert me to the severity of the issue before power was lost. The failure was identified as a malfunction in the hybrid drive motor system, specifically triggering Diagnostic Trouble Code P0A43 (Drive Motor "A" Position Sensor Circuit Intermittent). This sensor circuit failure caused the high-voltage system to shut down unexpectedly. This created a severe safety hazard, as the vehicle was rendered unable to accelerate. I was forced to navigate from the far-left lane across multiple lanes of traffic to reach the exit while the vehicle was effectively crippled, moving at speeds under 10 mph amidst highway-speed traffic. The problem has been confirmed via the retrieval of the P0A43 code. There were no warning lamps, messages, or drivability symptoms prior to the immediate failure; the visual notification appeared simultaneously with the loss of power.

Car turns off suddenly while driving on the freeway at freeway speeds.

While driving in the carpool lane on the freeway, the vehicle displayed “Stop Safely. Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon” and lost all power. I am pregnant and had four children (ages [XXX] , [XXX] , [XXX] , and [XXX] ) in the vehicle. The outside temperature was over 100°F, and we were two hours from home. The car was completely disabled in heavy traffic, creating an extreme safety risk for my family. After waiting about 15–20 minutes, the vehicle restarted and we were able to continue. A code scan showed P0A78 – Drive Motor “A” Inverter Performance. This is a serious safety concern, and I am requesting immediate inspection and repair under warranty. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The vehicle has been at the dealership multiple times for transmission issues, and the most recent time slammed into park while driving slowly on a side road. It is a known hybrid transmission issue and the dealership just let me know that the manufacturer will not replace the transmission, only rebuild per TSB 21-025-25. I am concerned based on research of others with this issue that the rebuild will not fix the issue and the transmission will shift to park on the highway with my wife driving.

While driving on interstate, red turtle indicator came on and engine shut down.

The van did not transition from electric to gas engine when driving and battery for the electrical engine was depleted. The dash board displayed a red turtle and said slow on dashboard. But it would not drive forward. I was on a hill and the van backed down the hill in reverse. I did this multiple times - turn off van, restart van and try to go up hill, reverse it down hill again. At some point, there was enough electricity for the electrical engine to kick in and I was able to drive home. After the van set for a while, it restarted and I was able to drive it to my ultimate destination 147 miles away. I researched online and found there is a recall for this very thing, but it does not include my car. Why is my life so hard? Its a new van to me.

Vehicle displayed "stop safely, vehicle will shut off soon" followed by a complete lack of power. We managed to get to the side of the highway safely. Vehicle would not turn back on until about 45 minutes later. Before we turned off the vehicle it said service charge port. Check engine light is on, even after we managed to get it started. Currently at the shop, waiting for information on why.

While exiting an interstate, the van felt like it had popped out of gear and lost power, and the instrument cluster had the message "Stop safely, vehicle will shut off soon." I was in the middle of three lanes on the ramp, and due to traffic and no shoulder I was unable to stop off the side of the road. The van died at the top of the ramp at the traffic light, causing a risk of being rear-ended by approaching traffic. I had my two children in the van at the time. After attempting to cycle the ignition several times and stepping out to wave traffic around as the traffic light cycled several times (causing a traffic backup), the van started and drove normally albeit with the Check Engine Light on. I have not had the time to take the van to a dealership for diagnoses, but looking online this is not an unknown problem and is related to the Pacifica Hybrid's transmission. Just wanting to make NHTSA aware of another event of this fault occurring.

After driving 15miles home from work, stopped at a traffic light to turn left. When attempting to proceed forward van stopped with an error code that indicated "Stop Safely Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon". The van shut down, and could not move even though it was blocking the intersection. Law enforcement had to be called as it was a safety hazard, and a tow truck had to be dispatched to remove the van from the intersection and tow to dealership for warranty service. The dealer provided warranty service as per Chrysler direction, which was a software update and reseating electrical connections. However, as per the notes from the dealer, "possible a loose connection was issue but still could be internal to power inverter module." As the repair was not a definite resolution for the issue, I contact Chrysler corporate to request a more definite repair. Their stance was that they considered the car repaired under warranty, and that they would not authorize any further work. Chrysler stated that they will not do anymore work until the issue happens again. The issue is that the condition that results is that the van shuts down - and it can happen anywhere, the middle of an intersection or on the freeway at highway speeds. Basically Chrysler has told me that even though they are not sure that the fix applied may not have remedied the issue that caused the van to shut off, they will not do what is required to ensure that it does not happen again. Chrysler has put the safety of my family second to their bottom line - by refusing to authorize the expensive work that it would take to remedy the problem, and ensure that my faily does not face a dangerous situation when driving our van.

On June 3, 2025, my 2023 Chrysler Pacific Hybrid gave me a warning message that it was about to shut down. This included a "red turtle" icon that I later learned is called "limp home mode." I was traveling on the interstate at highway speed at the time. I was able to pull over to the shoulder and turn the vehicle off. The risk of a car shutting down on the highway is a huge a safety risk to myself and other vehicles. Stopping on the shoulder of a highway, particularly given that it was early morning and not yet fully light out also felt very risky with other cars passing by. After turning the car back on, the limp home mode turned off, but the engine warning light was still on. I was able to re-enter traffic, which was also a safety issue having to deal with. When the dealership opened, I contacted them. They were familiar with the problem and were able to state over the phone that it was likely a transmission issue. After inspecting it that afternoon, they determined it would need a transmission rebuild. As of June 27, 2025, they still have the vehicle and have not yet made the repairs.

[XXX] First “Red Turtle” Breakdown on Freeway After about an hour of freeway driving, car went into “red turtle mode” (“limp mode”) on the freeway, alerting us that the engine would shut down shortly and that we needed to get to a safe place to stop. The car wouldn’t accelerate fully, putting us in danger on the freeway, where cars were speeding all around us. June 2025: Dealership’s First Attempt to Fix The dealership showed stored error codes P0A43 Drive Mode Code A Position Sensor Intermittent. But, the tech said they were unable to replicate the error. They kept it in the shop for a couple days, then sent the car home with us with no fix. They told us to restart the car a few times and it should go away. [XXX]: Second Breakdown on Freeway On [XXX], with all three kids in the car, we drove the car from Sacramento to San Rafael. On the way there–the first long car trip with the van since the [XXX] incident, the Red Turtle Alert appeared again. We were going uphill and unable to fully accelerate on the freeway, again putting our entire family in danger. We were luckily able to pull off of the freeway, restart the car several times, and continue driving–wondering the entire time whether the vehicle would again lose power, and sure enough it did. [XXX]: Third breakdown on freeway Later that same day, on our way home, the Red Turtle alert appeared again, the vehicle was unable to fully accelerate, and the message warned us that the car was about to shut itself down. This time, we were on the freeway with no exit available to us. We had to pull over onto an unprotected shoulder, with cars speeding by us on both sides. It would have been unsafe for any of us–but especially my toddlers–to exit the vehicle. We sat on the side of the freeway, restarting the car repeatedly, waiting to see if the Alert would clear and the vehicle would become drivable again. Eventually, it did. We brought the car to the dealership again. Spent over a week there INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Driving at highway speed (70 mph) the vehicle repeatedly has flashed a warning : Stop Safely Vehicle Will Shut Off Soon The engine cuts power and the vehicle must be pulled over and turned off and cannot keep driving. It leads to very unsafe conditions at highway speed. The vehicle was repaired once for the defect by Chrysler but it still continues to occur and is now being repaired again.

The vehicle experienced multiple incidents of sudden power loss while driving.

While driving at highway speed the vehicle flashed a vehicle and I’ll shut down sign. A red turtle flashed and the vehicle began to decelerate. Had to pull over to a less than safe sand shoulder. Had highway speed traffic directly behind me. Dealership pulled codes related to the transmission. No previous issues or sign thereof. 25k miles.

The vehicle randomly went into limp mode. The check engine light came on with error code P0A3F. The vehicle was restarted and drove normally with the check engine light (CEL) still on. We immediately made an appointment with the dealership to get it looked at. As we were driving into the dealership parking lot the CEL cleared itself. There is an existing TSB for this exact scenario and symptoms. The dealership and Chrysler corporate (Stellantis) are refusing to fix this issue because there isn’t an “active code.” The code is in the history. Since then the CEL has come on multiple times but cleared itself too quickly to get it to the dealer in time. We took it a second dealership this time with an active code, but the code cleared itself upon restarting the car after leaving it there. This vehicle is not safe to drive since it randomly goes into limp mode with no power. This poses a very dangerous and unsafe situation that can endanger me, my family, and other drivers around me.

On our daily commute the car came to a stop at a light and then the car then turned off and would not start again. We tried everything but the engine would turnover. After 3 hours, the car then started and we drove it to dealership and they detected no faults or codes.

My vehicle suddenly experienced a loss of power while driving, starting at 62000 miles per hour. Sometimes the same problem occurs again after driving for several hundred miles per hour, and sometimes even after driving for tens of miles per hour. When this problem occurs, the vehicle cannot continue to drive and can only rely on inertia to slide. It must be parked on the side of the road, the engine must be turned off for one minute, and the vehicle can start again to drive normally. My car has now driven at 89000 miles per hour, and this problem has occurred countless times. At first, it occurred about once every 2-3 days, but now it occurs twice a day.