NHTSA Complaint #11104753 — 2018 CHRYSLER PACIFICA

2018 PACIFICA WITH 5450 MILES ON IT. WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY AT 60 MPH WITH ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL ENGAGED, VEHICLE SUDDEN APPEARED TO STOP RUNNING. VEHICLE HAD BEEN OPERATING PERFECTLY NORMAL WITH NO INDICATION OF A PROBLEM UNTIL IT STARTED TO QUICKLY LOSE SPEED AND HAD NO RESPONSE FROM ACCELERATOR PEDAL. MESSAGE ON DASHBOARD SAID TO PLACE VEHICLE IN PARK AND PRESS START BUTTON. I'M NOT SURE IF THE ENGINE WAS ACTUALLY IDLING OR IF IT HAD COMPLETELY STOPPED RUNNING. I DID NOT NOTICE A LOSS OF POWER STEERING OR BRAKES. COASTED OVER TO SHOULDER, PLACED IN PARK AND TRIED TO RESTART. THE ENGINE WOULD START, BUT ONLY IDLE AT ABOUT 600 RPM. ACCELERATOR PEDAL HAD NO EFFECT ON ENGINE RPM AND I COULD NOT SHIFT OUT OF PARK. SHUT THE VEHICLE OFF AND RESTARTED IT SEVERAL TIMES WITH SAME RESULT OVER A 3 MINUTE PERIOD. THEN I SWITCHED THE AUTO START/STOP BUTTON INTO THE OFF (DEFEAT SETTING) AND WAS IMMEDIATELY ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE, WHICH THEN OPERATED AS NORMAL. SINCE THIS INCIDENT YESTERDAY, THE VEHICLE HAS OPERATED AS NORMAL AND HAS REPORTED NO FAULTS THROUGH THE U-CONNECT APPLICATION. CLEAR WEATHER WITH TEMPERATURE NEAR 100 DEGREES WHEN THIS INCIDENT OCCURRED. BOTH KEYLESS REMOTES FOR THE VEHICLE WERE INSIDE THE VEHICLE, MINE IN MY POCKET AND MY WIFE'S IN HER PURSE. BEFORE HEADING OUT ON THIS TRIP I HAD USED THE REMOTE START FUNCTION AND ALLOWED THE VEHICLE TO RUN IN REMOTE START MODE UNTIL IT TIMED OUT. THEN HAD REMOTE STARTED THE VEHICLE A SECOND TIME BEFORE SWITCHING IT TO NORMAL RUN MODE BEFORE LEAVING THE PARKING LOT. THIS WAS ABOUT 40 MINUTES BEFORE THE EVENT HAPPENED. IT OCCURRED TO ME THAT THE MESSAGES THAT WERE DISPLAYED ON THE DASH WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS INOPERABLE WERE SIMILAR, OR POSSIBLY IDENTICAL TO MESSAGES DISPLAYED DURING THE REMOTE START FUNCTION, WHICH IS WHY I THOUGHT OF SWITCHING THE AUTO START/STOP BUTTON TO THE DEFEAT POSITION.