In February 2022, Chrysler issued a recall for approximately 17,000 Pacifica hybrid minivans following reports of fires. Now, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says it has obtained even more reports of fires after the recall was fixed, prompting the federal government to open an investigation into Chrysler’s initial campaign.
Chrysler’s 2022 recall was to address “ignition ‘OFF’ fires that originate at the high voltage (HV) battery pack assembly,” per the NHTSA. There was no publicly known root cause of the fires. All Chrysler shared was that the fires would happen with the car turned off and parked, potentially in someone’s driveway or garage, and could cause injury and property damage.
However, interestingly, 4 more Pacifica Hybrid fires were reported to NHTSA between December 2022 and the same month a year later. After reviewing the incidents and discussing them with Stellantis to the root cause, NHTSA noted that “the rate of court cases over thermal batteries now exceeds pre-recall levels. “
An owner who suffered a fire in December 2023 told Automotive News that the fire started without caution and in his garage. “This happened at the end of the charging cycle. The car was parked in our garage and if the fire department hadn’t come to help, the chimney may have flared up and burned down our entire house. We are very grateful to have it fixed so quickly “.
NHTSA is investigating the effectiveness of the initial recall and whether the pre-recall factor still exists, and the research covers the 16,741 Pacifica hybrids previously involved. Meanwhile, while NHTSA and Stellantis investigate the factor, interim software is being rolled out. installed in the affected cars to help detect battery tracking software of “thermal events. “”In accordance with our usual practice, we offer NHTSA our full cooperation,” a Stellantis spokesperson told Automotive News. “We are aware of a small number of additional reports, but vehicle inspections are not yet complete. “
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