2005 Chrysler Pacifica
Complaints about this year name engine cradle far more often than the model's other years — 24% of them, about 60× the usual rate of 0.4%.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 1,244 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 201 |
| Involving a crash | 25 |
| Involving a fire | 13 |
| Recalls | 2 |
| EPA combined | 17 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- cradle — 28% of this year's complaints, against 0% across the model's other years (139.9×). Owners wrote it as: cradle, engine cradle, cradle rusted, cradle rotted.
- rusted — 21.9% of this year's complaints, against 0% across the model's other years (109.7×). Owners wrote it as: rusted, rusted out, rusted through, frame rusted.
- frame — 17% of this year's complaints, against 1.7% across the model's other years (10.1×). Owners wrote it as: frame, sub, sub frame, pass.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
Also unusual this year
- rusted — 22% of complaints, 55× usual
- frame — 16% of complaints, 40× usual
- mechanic — 23% of complaints, 5× usual
What owners wrote
I TOOK MY CAR INTO TO HAVE A SUSPENSION CHECK O REPLACED THE STRURSS WHEN MY MECHANIC CALLED ME AND TOLD MY THAT THE FRAME OR ENGINE CRADLE WAS RUSTED OUT. HE TOOK SOME PICTURES AND THERE ARE HOLES IN THE CRADLE. HE ADVISED ME NOT TO PUT ANYMORE MONEY INTO THI…
WHILE HAVING MAINTENANCE PERFORMED, THE INDEPENDENT MECHANIC NOTIFIED THE CONTACT THAT THE SUB FRAME AND ENGINE CRADLE WAS SEVERELY RUSTED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CONTACT NOTIFIED THE [VIN]. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 05V066000 EXTERIOR LIGHTING Fixed free of charge.
- 06V432000 POWER TRAIN
How this was worked out
Every year of the Chrysler Pacifica was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2005 Chrysler Pacifica? What happened to yours?
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