NHTSA Complaint #10192481 — 2005 CHRYSLER PACIFICA

THE ENGINE LIGHT ON THE DASHBOARD LIT UP ONE DAY. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, I EXPERIENCED A VERY ROUGH IDLE. IT DID NOT STALL HOWEVER, BUT CONTINUED TO IDLE AND RUN VERY ROUGHLY. UPON EXAMINATION, THE DEALERS SERVICE DEPARTMENT DETERMINED THAT THE TSB #09-010-06 HAD DESCRIBED THE ISSUE AND IT'S RECOMMENDED FIX WAS APPLIED. THAT BEING TO REPLACE THE VALVE SPRING RETAINER LOCKS, COMBUSTION CLEAN, AND REPLACE AND TEST THE MAP SENSOR. THIS TSB FIX HAD THE ADVERSE EFFECT OF CAUSING THE ENGINE TO SURGE RATHER ABRUPTLY WHEN STARTING COLD, AND APPLYING LIGHT PRESSURE ON THE ACCELERATOR. IT'S MORE NOTICEABLE WHEN BACKING OUT OF A PARKING SPACE AND HAVING THE WHEEL TURNED AT THE SAME TIME. IT SEEMS THAT HAVING THE STEERING WHEEL TURNED PRESENTS AN ADDITIONAL LOAD ON THE ENGINE THAT THE COMPUTER SENSES AS A NEED FOR ADDITIONAL ENGINE SPEED. THIS SURGING ALSO HAPPENS WHEN PULLING FORWARD INTO A PARKING SPACE WITH THE WHEELS SHARPLY TURNED AS WELL. THREE SUBSEQUENT VISITS TO THE DEALER YIELDED DIFFERENT ANSWERS WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO FIX IT. ON ONE VISIT, THE SERVICE DIRECTOR, CALLED TO TELL ME THAT HE HAD BEEN IN CONTACT WITH CHRYSLER ENGINEERS IN MICHIGAN ABOUT THE ISSUE AND WOULD LIKE TO TRY A COUPLE OF THINGS. NAMELY TO CHECK THE FUEL PRESSURE, ADAPTIVE MEMORY, AND MAP SENSOR. AFTER A TEST DRIVE HE CONCEDED THAT THE PROBLEM REMAINED, BUT NOT TO THE DEGREE THAT I WAS COMPLAINING ABOUT. HE OFFERED NO OTHER ALTERNATIVE FIXES, BUT SAID THAT HE WOULD REMAIN IN CONTACT WITH THE CHRYSLER ENGINEERING WEBSITE THAT ISSUES TSB'S ETC. I GUESS THAT IS SUPPOSED TO SATISFY ME AS HE STATES THAT HE HAS DONE EVERYTHING HE COULD. AS THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE TO ME, I FELT PROMPTED TO FILE A COMPLAINT ON THE WEBSITE AS I FEEL THAT THE SURGING PROBLEM IS A DEFINITE SAFETY ISSUE THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED. MY NEXT STEP IS THE WRITE CHRYSLER DIRECTLY PER THEIR WARRANTY INFORMATION BOOKLET. *TR