So last month we passed 2 years with our second Pacifica, we have about 16,000 miles on it now. It continues to be WORLDS better than the 2017 Pacifica it replaced, which was easily one of the worst vehicles I've ever had.

We did have the loose front strut assembly that the 2017 had, but knowing exactly what it was it was easily fixed. It also now has the maddening paint bubbling on the leading edge of the front hood which is so common in ALL FCA vehicles that has aluminum hoods (seriously, look at some in a parking lot, its horrible). Amazing that after that being a common issue for years they have never figured out a solution. Right now its very minor, and I won't even bother with it unless it gets way worse. Other than that, the van has been very solid. It feels great to just roll up to a quick lube and get the oil changed vs the 2017 which always had a list of broken stuff that needed attention at the dealer.

The van has held up well to the kids and now the dog inside. It cleans up great, carpeting and materials are all durable and nice quality. Even the white leather always comes out clean and looking like new. The kids are old enough now that they can play the built in games in the entertainment package and they enjoy them. Runs great, gets 24-25 MPG on the highway loaded at 80MPH, not bad. My wife did curb a wheel which I need to have fixed. Stays much nicer now that its garaged indoors too.

Only drivability thing is the shift logic of the transmission is terrible, which is a common complaint with the ZF 9 speed. It really makes the van seem slow and lethargic as it hunts for gears and is incredibly slow to downshift. Makes you have to plan ahead a little bit before you step out into traffic...

All in all, not bad. Its a 42 month lease so we have at least a year left with it. Hopefully the car market will improve some before it comes time to replace it.

Headed to the Pocanos for a week in it next Saturday, I'm sure it will perform great.

So I would say to anybody considering a Pacifica...you can get good ones. I wouldn't buy an early one, get one after the bugs have been worked out.

The wheel:



Wilson is a big van fan:





Every bug from here to Southern WV:




SUV? We don't need no stinking SUV:



Gas mileage, not bad for 80, 4 people a dog and stuff, mountains and some traffic once we got back to the DC area:




Once a month deep steam cleaning to keep it from being a hazmat zone inside:

 

So far so good with my '21 Pacifica Pinnacle PHEV at 5000 miles. About 2/3 of the miles have been on electric at minimal cost. It has some sort of CVT transmission so there been no shifting issues! The extra weight of the battery pack really helps the ride. Keeping fingers crossed that it continues to give good service.

 

Hopefully they have rounded the corner with these issues. The reason I didnt get a 21 was because I was afraid of the new infotainment and the new AWD system given my history with Chrysler. On your hybrid though the only difference is the infotainment. No glitches or anything like that? That was one of the main issues with my 2017, the head unit was replaced 3 times and still froze up all the time.

No sign of paint bubbling at the leading edge of your hood?

 

Seen these vehicles. Nice design. I feel that it is more like a crossover than the a minivan. If there were 4 doors, it would just be a crossover.

 

Nice report.

lol. dogs always sit like they own it.

 

Still looks like a minivan to me, I call it the "least ugly minivan"

 

Nice write-up.

Any sliding-door issues yet? I ask because sliding-door hardware has been a weak point in several minivans over the years.

 

No, no issues with the infotainment although I hate that several functions are inoperative when the vehicle is in motion. Hood is good thus far - it might help that the vehicle is garaged. And - miracle of miracles - it was built at 7 PM on a Friday.

 

No sliding door issues, I did have issues with the doors on the 2017 binding. And, some people have had them fall off!

Garaging it or not doesnt make a difference, its a fault in the way the paint is adhered to the hood itself. I'm convinced that eventually it will happen to all of them. I had the hood repaired on my 2017 and it came back.

 

I don't know what's about this van and I haven't even driven once but this is the vehicle I saw most from our last cross country trip. Every so often I see one or two on the freeway. Is this a common rental van?

 

Oh yeah, they sell a ton of them to rental fleets. They are the low spec Chrysler Voyager version.

 

Great looking van, I can't deny just how useful vans are. Truly the most optimal shape of car, yours looks like a great spec. I really like the blue on white, hood to hear it's been acting well for you!

Good call on the interior cleaning, whenever I buy a new car I pull the seats and most of the interior out and have a mobile cleaner come do the carpet. Usually it makes the car close to new if there wasn't any serious damage....I could only imagine how hard it would be to keep stuff nice with kids etc...

 

I’ve never seen paint bubbling in a newer car, that’s crazy that it’s a “thing” with Chrysler. Got any pics of the bubbling?

 

This carwash is amazing, its the only carwash I have ever used that I actually feel like I got what I paid for. I don't take the S560 there because it never gets that dirty, but $65 monthly gets you unlimited washes inside and out, and they pull it inside on a conveyor belt and do the interior. For $30 extra they will do the interior super clean where they literally take everything out of it, carseats, etc and steam clean the whole interior, and it comes back looking brand new. For $30 5 people spend like 45 minutes on it inside.

I don't have any pictures of it before, but it was rough, and this is just after they were done:

 

No, it's not necessarily just a "thing" with Chrysler. Some recent Ford products have also had a similar problem, particularly on the front of the hood.