NHTSA Complaint #11361135 — 2017 CHRYSLER PACIFICA

THE CRUISE CONTROL DOWNSHIFTS THE TRANSMISSION WHILE DESCENDING HILLS IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN THE DESIRED SPEED. BUT PRIOR TO DOWNSHIFTING THE ENGINE WILL ACCELERATE 5-10MPH DEPENDING UPON THE INITIAL SPEED AND THE GRADE OF THE HILL. WHILE NOT AN ISSUE ON A STRAIGHT ROAD, IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE ON A 70 MPH HWY WITH A 50 MPH CURVE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE HILL, ESPECIALLY WHEN TRACTION IS REDUCED, OFTEN THE CASE ON HWY 37 BETWEEN LIBBY & EUREKA MT. I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR INTO THE DEALER TWICE CONCERNING THIS ISSUE SINCE IT IS 'NORMAL' FOR THIS CAR, IE, IT DOES THE SAME THING ON EVERY HILL WHILE CRUISE CONTROL IS ENGAGED. THEY SAID IT'S NORMAL FOR THIS CAR ' NOTHING TO BE DONE. THE LAST TIME I TOOK IT IN WAS 9/24/2020 AT WHICH TIME THEY GAVE ME A COPY OF A STAR CASE REPORT (ATTACHED). THIS REPORT RECOMMENDS CRUISE NOT BE USED IN HILLY AREAS. WHILE THEY NOTE THAT SPEED MAY INCREASE, NOT THAT IT WILL INCREASE, THEY DON'T MENTION THE INCREASE IS NOT JUST DUE TO GRAVITY BUT ACTUAL ACCELERATION. NOR HAVE I SEEN ANY MENTION OF THIS ISSUE IN THE USERS' MANUAL. 2017 WAS THE FIRST YEAR OF PRODUCTION FOR THE PACIFICA, BUT YOU WILL NOTE THE STAR IS DATED 2012 SO OTHER MODELS MUST ALSO BE SIMILARLY AFFECTED. WE RECENTLY BOUGHT A 2020 RAM 1500 AND THE CRUISE CONTROL WORKS PERFECTLY IN IT, SO I KNOW CHRYSLER KNOWS HOW TO MAKE A SAFE & EFFECTIVE SPEED CONTROL UNIT.