Need Input - Pacifica Minivan
 

I need to employ the brain trust. I am looking for a CPO minivan for my daughter.

She has a 6 yo, 3 yo and 8 mo old twins. I had leased her a '19 Escape and obviously it is no longer viable. I purchased the Escape at a great price and I'm up 3.5 k on trade-in
value.

I am looking at '19-21 CPO Chrysler Pacificas. I wanted a Honda Odyssey but they are about 10k more. I cannot afford to buy a new vehicle, so use it is.

I am looking for opinions on reliability from anyone who may own one here on the BBS.

Please offer opinions if you have any knowledge of these minivans.

Cheers,
Mike

Mike - While I have no direct experience with the Pacificas I can offer my opinion of mini vans. Our history with kid haulers goes like this:

Taurus wagon>Chevy Astro>Pontiac Transport>Honda Odyssey

The Honda was the best of them all. I would recommend you stretch for a slightly older Honda rather than getting a newer Chrysler.

Congrats on the twins, we have twin 16 mo grandsons whose parents refuse to drive mini vans even though they are the best option IMO, for hauling little ones and all their stuff.

I had a Honda Odyssey, loved it ! Comfortable, roomy, good gas mileage, plenty of power with the V6.

What’s the max warranty coverage you can get on a CPO Pacifica?

For the same year of both...wasn't the Pacifica stickered quite a bit higher?

My cousins family has an older Odyssey and with close to 200K miles, he says it's been trouble free.

No expert on the matter but based on some limited research I would buy a slightly older odyssey or sienna. Also if you consider the japanese vans have some resale even when heavily used the overall cost of ownership difference isnt that much.

we have a 13 odyssey ex-L bought with 30k miles in 2018 from carmax for 24k. It has been a pretty good vehicle but not perfect, currently at 120k miles.

Let me think what I have done to it: New alternator recently, new cooling fan recently, serpantine belt tensioner, timing belt tensioner, tie rod ends on one side though my wife may have hit a curb. I also had to do the timing belt service at around 100k.

Did these items myself parts are pretty reasonable and mostly easy to work on. Probably not unreasonable for a 120k mile vehicle that sits and idles a ton in carpool pick up lanes.

Utility and useability have been phenomenal, superbly engineered vehicle from that stand point.

Just bought a 2023 Odyssey. We’ve owned several minivans over the years and this Odyssey is our 4th. Well worth a few extra bucks. Our aging St. Bernard requires a minivan. Won’t repeat all the above, but there’s a reason it’s almost unanimous.

Be aware they make that car (Pacifica) in a hybrid version.
My son just bought one that was 4 states away from his home in SoCal.
(DIL loves it - it replaced her ho-hum Sante Fe)

Yep. If she does all her driving on the battery before it runs out, she'll be getting the equivalent of like 80mpg.

We had a 2018 Pacifica that we leased for - little over 3 years and put 50,000.

The only issue we had with it was an auxiliary battery that caused the auto start/stop to quit working. Some of you may say thats a feature not a flaw but I can’t stand idiot lights so I had it fixed by an independent.

The fit and finish isn’t great, you’ll probably find misaligned trim on every example you look for but it was comfortable, the transmission synced well with the engine such that it never felt sluggish.

The biggest upside to these in my opinion is the fold and stow seats that you can only get with a Chrysler product. We didn’t stow the seats often but the underfloor storage was great for things like tie downs, storage for a blanket or two, extra jackets, etc. the normal things in the trunk of most family vehicles that you end up moving around every time you want to out something back there.


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Maybe Mrs. Noah is hard on cars. Maybe we got one built on an off-day at the factory. But our 2010 Odyssey has just been a ho-hum experience. It's roomy and comfortable. Gas mileage stinks at 16 mpg city, but it is what it is for a 4000+ lb vehicle with a 3.5L V6 and 250 HP. We bought it CPO at about 27K miles, and now it has about 117K miles.

Problems:
1. Alternator has died twice.
2. That little sensor that detects when the rear door is open/closed died, so could not remotely open the door. That sensor is there to detect when the door is open to prevent accidental opening of the fuel filler door while the rear sliding door is open. I just disconnected the sensor.
3. Power steering rack leaks.
4. AC compressor died.

Not horrible experiences, but not trouble-free, either.

It's either Honda or Toyota. No experience with Pacificas although I am told they have more features like TV screens and such.

I have a 2011 Toyota Sienna with 215K mostly trouble-free miles. Alternator finally conked out last month. Drive shaft boots and control arm bushings last year. Other than that, regular maintenance on tires, oil, brakes, etc.

Correct. You’ll get more bells and whistles with the Chrysler vans at the same price point.


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The stow and go are game changers. really.

Also the Pacifica comes in All Wheel Drive.

16 mpg!? Ours is 13 and I think next gen but I think the power trains are very similar. we avg 27-28 on road trips and 23 ish in town. I legit wonder if something is broken or the cylinder deactivation isnt activating.

I have rented a Pacifica 4-5x to drive with my GF and 3 labradoodles to NC and back to Reno over the last few years to take care of step dad and mom.. I love them. They have all the creature comforts , lot's of room. Love the way the seats all fold flat.. The ONLY negative I can say is they are a bit twitchy above say 90 MPH ( when you're driving 2500 miles in 3 days speed limits are only a suggestion :-) Oh and if you're driving the speed limits around 70 mph expect 25-26 MPG on hwy and at 90-95 that will fall to 22 MPG

Going to look at a 2019 Pacifica Touring with 24k for 28k. The car is a CPO off lease. The car looks very clean.
I have a 2019 Escape with 13k miles, they'll give me 21k for it.
There is a CPO '20 Odyssey with 24k miles for 36500. It's out of my budget, too bad.

Cheers

Need Input - Pacifica Minivan
 

As a reference, last August, rather than turn in our lease, we sold it back to the dealer. It was a Touring L with 50k on it and we got $26k for it. Lease buy out was $18.5k.

If i recall correctly, the L trim added power passenger seat, heated rear seats, steering wheel and the rear entertainment center. The rear entertainment went unused as the kids preferred their phones.


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My experience is dated, but my family bought a Chrysler minivan when our kids got too big for our economy car. That van is the reason I now buy Japanese or German cars with no apologies. I will never buy a Chrysler product again. They are cheaper than the equivalent Honda or Toyota for a reason. After the Chrysler imploded on us 3 years and 36,000 miles after we bought it, we made due with Toyota Camrys until we could afford a Honda Odyssey. It's as though the two vans weren't even the same category of vehicle.

Don't bother paying CPO money for a Honda or Toyota. You won't need the extra warranty. If you do buy the Chrysler, pay extra for the CPO and buy the longest extended warranty they'll sell you.

A 5 year old Toyota or Honda will be more reliable than a new Chrysler every time.

Getting her a Chrysler is NOT doing her any favours.

The Chrysler products my wife and I have owned (at least 7 different ones over the past 15 years) have been as reliable or more so than the Japanese and German cars we've owned (at least 25 Audi, Honda, BMW, Porsche, Subaru). I've never noticed build-quality differences or problems, maybe I don't look close enough. Driveability with the base normally aspirated Chrysler 300HP V6 and 8-speed trans is almost always superior to Japanese/German cars that use small displacement buzzy low-torque turbo engines as their standard drivetrain. Or worse yet, normally aspirated 4-cylinder engine like the absolute POS 2022 Toyota Camry I recently rented for a week or the POS Honda CRV we owned. :mad:

That said, I'd do some research on the Pacifica's that have the unique 9-speed transmission. All other Chrysler vehicles use the bulletproof V6/8-speed trans combo as the base drivetrain. These are good for 300,000+ miles. A friend had a Pacifica (maybe a 2019?) and the trans failed - as in stopped dead in its tracks - just beyond warranty last year. Turned out this is somewhat common and a known design issue. He put a salvage trans in it and sold it! He liked it otherwise. :cool: If you can find a Pacifica with the V6/8-speed or maybe they've solved the 9-speed issue, I wouldn't hesitate.

I just put 20k miles on a 2010 Grand Caravan in a year. 190k-210k.

Sto and Go seats are awesome.

Needed one fuel injector and very basic stuff (tires/alignment/battery/oil changes) before I put the miles on.

Just saying the Chrysler minivans are getting way more reliable since the 80's.

And the electric sliding doors worked the entire time. Every time. I cannot say that about the two Odysseys I've owned.

I've had 7 minivans for work. 3 Ford Wind/Free-star, 3 Chrysler/Dodge, 1 Ford Death, er I mean Aerostar. Nearly a 100k on each in Metro Phx and the state.

The Aerostar was the worst, but it was the first and actually a spare and not well maintained.

All others have been fine and I've only ever been stranded due to a flat. Nothing else, nada.

They are standard vans with all the seats. Nothing special at all. I keep the third row stowed almost exclusively.

My 2019 Dodge Caravan was scheduled to be in for regular service and on the way in, the Temp gauge crapped out.
I told them when I dropped it off, but it took a week. It died a week later, then another visit for 2 more days to get it squared away.

Turns out a the battery leaked onto a significant part of a wire harness. They had to splice in a replacement. I was due for a new vehicle and the 2019 went away a week later.

I'm now driving a 2022 Chrysler Voyager. I'll say it...it's sweet. Leather wrapped wheel, climate control, power everything, Remote start, remote door operation.

The engine/transmission are really smooth with plenty of pedal. And I'm getting 24mpg.

YMMV

A guy I know bought a new Dodge Nitro a few years ago.
Right from the beginning, the transmission gave him problems. He found that there were lots of others with the same problems. Dodge didn't agree.

Nitros blow up.

I have some experience in other peoples' Pacificas and they're great vans. If I were buying a minivan, I'd get one. Friend of mine has one for her mom car and they love it, though she's a Chrysler family so it's not like they were going to get anything else. Subjectively even if you posit that they're not as good as an Odyssey or Sienna, they're 95% as good for 75% the price.

I wouldn't put much stock in individual anecdotes about reliability. Go look up Consumer Reports' data for the van and go by that.

Thanks all. Should be going this Sunday to see cars.

Cheers, Mike

No Sto-N-Go with the hybrid though.

We bought a used 2018 Limited a couple years ago as it only had 13k miles on it. Now had 60k and has been good other than the Aux battery which made the regular battery drain and then it wouldn't start. The only other issue is the on board wi-fi hot spot with AT&T has stopped working, but they did give us a credit for 50% longer than we paid for so when it is working again we get a good amount of free time out of it.

Our last trip to the SASP regionals was a 400 mile trip and we averaged over 30mpg for the trip including running around town after the shooting was done. The best we got was 33mpg on one tank.

Seats are comfy. Sto-n-Go is awesome. We can tow 3500# with it. AC and heat are very good. Uconnect is very good. the 3.6l did have some issues with a few early on and there was a recall on them, but it should not affect the Pacifica as those were ironed out pretty early. Hard to beat a minivan for space efficiency. My wife gets volunteered to drive it for her work functions if that tells you anything. My dad and sister are now both looking for one.

We have a 2014 Avenger with the Pentastar and it has 100k miles on it.

We have had more troubles with the Nissan Rogue and the F150. We have spent more on repairs on the Durango as well, but it has 200k miles on it.

Anything else you would like to know?

My mother in laws husband will never buy another Toyota after his last Tundra left him stranded too many times. And the frame issue. All those stories are anecdotal.

Mom and dad both have a Grand Caravan of their own. They are looking at paring down to one because mom is in the early stages of dementia and they have had Caravans since they came out in 1984. One generation did have transmission issues, but so did Toyota. Everyone called the Toy transmissions glass.

Local independent mechanic and body shop only only drives Caravans. Each brand has faults and people that hate them.

I have a 2008 F150 that has yet another coil pack gone bad. I am just going to replace the remaining few and be done with it for a while. It is rust free, but it really is a poorly made vehicle. I would drive the 22 year old Durango any day over that, but we have to get rid of one of the cars and the Durango is the second oldest and has the most miles.

My uncle has switched from Toyota trucks to Ram, so maybe it is just the Toyota trucks people are getting away from.

Anyway, enough rambling about perceived quality. Our has been great. The only feature annoying is in the winter it tells you to was the car because the sensors are dirty. ;)

Pacificas only come with the Pentastar and 9 speed transmission and the 9 speed is the ZF unit built under license.

Probably going to go with a 2020 Pacifica, all in going to be about 12k less than an Odyssey. My daughter drives local only, they have a Traverse for family outings.

Thanks,
Mike

What’s the warranty, Wilber?

Warranty Information
Driving one of our Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles means you're well taken care of, on the road and off.

3-Month/3,000-Mile Maximum Care Warranty(1)
Up to 7-Year/100,000 Mile Powertrain Limited Warranty (2, 3)
Lifetime Certified Upgrade Plans(4)
Towing/Roadside Assistance(5)
24-hour "Sign and Go" (up to $100 per occurrence) includes:
Flat-tire service (with your good spare)
Gas delivery (up to two gallons)
Battery-jump assistance
Lockout service (i.e., keys locked in car, frozen lock, etc.)
Towing service (if vehicle is inoperative)
Car Rental Allowance(6)
If your vehicle requires repairs, is inoperable due to the failure of a covered component; and repairs take overnight
Up to $35 per day ($175 maximum per occurrence)

My Minivan days and the total emasculation made me buy all of the Porsches I have today.

Luckily it's not for me. My daughter had her tubes removed after the twins so I think we're in good shape. ;)

Is there an upgrade to 7/100 on the whole car? That’s from your date of purchase?

Wound up buying a CPO 2019 Pacifica with 20K miles, for 30K plus the state tax, registration, inspection and BS fees. it is an extremely clean car in Jazz Blue with a tan interior. Service history of oil changes and state inspections and a recall taken care of. Truly, the car is like new save for a dinged piece of chrome trim at the bottom window scraper on the driver's side. Warranty for 8 years 125K miles. It truly looks like a new car.

I'm very happy with it, so is my daughter.

Thanks for your input. Cheers, Mike

We put about 170k on an Odyssey. Good vehicle but if I were to do it again i'd go Sienna.

There are no other brands i'd consider. You should consider resale and total cost of ownership in your math.

Good call Mike, they are good vehicles.

Well done.

After our second child, we switched from an SUV to a Mazda MPV 4x4 minivan...this was many, many years ago. The thing was a complete game changer in terms of just being the thing you need with kids.

2019 with 20K miles with that warranty? I'm in regardless of brand.

Enjoy.