“This is their top of the line, you can’t go any higher than this,” Jeff Gagliano out of Tierrasanta said while showing Consumer Bob his 2017 Chrysler Pacifica van.
Jeff said he fell in love with his new car and after signing a lease, he was looking forward to a cross-country road trip with his wife, two children and father-in-law.
Driving back from Chicago, the family entered a long tunnel on the I-70 in Colorado when he said his car’s engine died.
“We were all in panic mode,” Jeff said, “What’s going on? And I just basically said the car just shut off.”
Jeff said he lost power steering and had no brakes as cars swerved past him.
“I was surrounded by madness,” Jeff said.
Luckily, Jeff was able to coast the minivan to a stop on the side of the freeway when he got out to check the car. He said there were no signs of the minivan overheating. Jeff said the van started back up again and he drove to Grand Junction.
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Mechanics in Grand Junction couldn’t determine what the problem was for the car suddenly turning off, neither could mechanics in San Diego. Feeling unsafe driving the minivan, Jeff asked Chrysler to let him out of his lease and buy back the car but the automaker wouldn’t do it.
Then Jeff said he saw an NBC 7 Responds report on other Chrysler Pacifica drivers who said they experienced situations with the van turning off, similar to Jeff’s story.
“Exactly describing it to a T of what happened to us,” Jeff said.
Jeff and his family contacted NBC 7 Responds for help. Less than a week after we reached out to Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles, the maker of the Pacifica, a representative called Jeff and offered to buy back the van and let him out of his lease.
In an email, a spokesperson for FCA-U.S. said, “The Chrysler Pacifica is the most acclaimed vehicle in its segment, having received more than 70 awards for safety, quality and design from news organizations and consumer advocacy groups. FCA US regrets this customer’s experience. The resolution was solely intended to satisfy a customer preference.”
Earlier this month, NBC 7 Responds reported Fiat-Chrysler issued a voluntary recall on all 2017 Chrysler Pacifica models except for the Hybrid. The recall centers around repairing the van's engine control software, which relates to the engine stalling problem.
An FCA-U.S. spokesperson told us the stalling events with Pacifica models have accounted for less than 1% of the vehicles subject to the recall.
