A Chrysler Pacifica that first triggered a warning light at 4,000 miles came into a mechanic’s shop three more times in fairly quick succession before a surprising problem for a new car emerged.
The story of the unlucky minivan came from the account of TikTok-popular mechanic shop Dave’s Auto Center (@davesautocenter) in Centerville, Utah. The video, one of many on the page discussing car troubles, generated nearly 290,000 views as of Thursday after going up on Wednesday.
What happened?
Dave, the shop’s namesake mechanic, begins by explaining that the vehicle is “back to the dealership for the fourth time. It’s only got 6,000 miles on it.”
According to Dave, the first visit came when the car’s check engine light came on at 4,000 miles. “[The dealership] replaced the camshaft position sensor. Fair enough,” he said. However, the light came on again soon after. Then, at 6,100 miles, the dealership made a similar repair, Dave said. But, alas, “Then [it] came right back on at 6,200, so it really didn’t get more in about 25 miles. Same thing.”
Dave said that at that point, a dealer mechanic was able to diagnose the real issue: corrosion on a wire. “Then, replaced this wire at the PCM,” Dave said, referring to the car’s power control module, “and look at the corrosion on that right there,” he added, showing off the wire. “Look at that.”
He then reflects, “Thank God there’s good technicians out there, like they’re working in this dealership trying to do a good job. Who in their right mind would ever think to look for corrosion on a 2024 Chrysler Town & Country that’s got less than 6,000 miles on it.”
That’s technically incorrect: The Town & Country is Chrysler’s former minivan model, retired in 2016, according to the Chrysler site. It was replaced by the Pacifica, and at one point in the video, Dave shows a service record that indicates the car in question is indeed a Pacifica.
Dave goes on to talk about how he’d further get at diagnosing what’s causing the corrosion, and then wonders, “My biggest question is, as a new car owner, ‘Why do I have this kind of a problem in a brand new vehicle?’”
@davesautocenter 2024 Chrysler with wiring harness corrosion. How can this happen? #autoshop #autorepair #enginebuild #enginerepair #carrepair ♬ original sound – Davesautocenter
How do consumers see Chrysler?
Chrysler’s parent company, Stellantis, has worked in recent years on its public perception. A Detroit Free Press article from 2021 notes, “Competitors have been left in the dust in the prestigious 2021 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study released Tuesday. No other company, foreign or domestic, had such an impressive showing of customer satisfaction with their 2021 vehicles within the first 90 days of ownership than the company based in Auburn Hills.”
According to David Sargent with J.D. Power, Stellantis vehicles have gone from “well below average” around 2000 to “below average” around 2010 to registering near the top in the past five years. He chalked up a lot of the success to “design quality.”
However, a lot of that came from the strength of other Stellantis brands like Dodge and Jeep. The same article notes problems with vehicle brands per 100 vehicles: Ram was best with only 128, while Chrysler was at the bottom with a whopping 260.
A number of TikTok commenters reflected cynicism over the brand, with one quipping, “I see the problem. It’s a Chrysler.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Dave’s Auto Center via TikTok direct message and online contact form and to Stellantis via email.
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