NHTSA Complaint #11669649 — 2022 CHRYSLER PACIFICA

Part 68324912AC Latch Release Cable failed on both middle seats within one week of one another and approximately three weeks after the manufacturers warranty expired on the vehicle. The result is that both seat backs do not latch into place vertically and the entire seat freely slides forward and backward, slamming backward on acceleration and forward on braking. We have read on Internet forums that this is a very common problem. The left side seat failed while my daughter was riding in it and the seat back released. If this had happened during a collision, it could’ve been catastrophic. Upon stopping the vehicle and exiting, we found that it slid freely forward and back as well. The other side failed while the vehicle is parked, and we released the seat back lever. The seats are unusable as a result. If the failure had happened while driving or impact, it could have been devastating as the seat would have slid independent of the seatbelt and the back slammed forward driving the passenger’s head into the back of the front seat. A Chrysler dealer diagnosed the problem charging us $250 for the diagnostic fee and quoted another $750 for the repair. Parts cost about $30 each. There were no warning indicators prior to the failure.