Mid life crisis car; Pacifica

[meep]

I have a Pacifica Hybrid Touring L in work truck white. Unfortunately Not the S trim or gray/black wheel combo like pictured(actually wanted to buy one in that gray color but it sold before I got there)

I think it’s a good looking van especially when the paint is waxed and the street lights reflect off of it at night. It’s a really bright white. Has been very practical and comfortable for me. Cheap parts too. Had to replace a VVT solenoid plug for $25 and just did a new passenger door handle for $165 today after the keyless entry sensor went bad. By far one of the easier vehicles to work on. Parts are plentiful and cheap. Compared to my cousins Odyssey my Pacifica is a lot more comfortable to be in. My 2nd row seats are non-stow n go which I believe is what does it. They’re full size captain chairs due to the hybrid battery being underneath.

I always joke around that if I made a million dollars the first thing I’m doing is trading my Touring L in for a Pacifica Pinnacle.

What kind of MPG are you seeing in that hybrid?

 

[avacado11]

What kind of MPG are you seeing in that hybrid?

Hand calculated 29.7 mpg summers when running in hybrid. Never bothered calculating winters but dash shows 18-19 mpg with the gas engine running all the time. It does use a lot more fuel trying to keep the cabin warm.

During the summers I can go weeks riding exclusively off battery power as my commute is 2 miles each way. Weekends I will drive abit more but still usually falls within the 30 or so miles of battery range. This past summer I only filled the tank twice at $45 each.

 

[Bill7]

I am single and don’t have kids but for some odd reason the Chrysler Pacifica looks good to me, especially in this gray with black wheel combo. I have always liked hatchbacks and the minivan is the ultimate hatchback. It has a V6 engine, tons of storage with the seats folding into the floor, it still has a normal looking dash and center stack, no tablet stuck to the dash. It can tow up to 3600 pounds with the available tow package. AWD is available.

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The classic mid life crisis is a 45 year old who suddenly realizes he never sowed his wild oats and he feels he is getting older by the minute.
He goes out and buys some exotic sports car. Buying a minivan (especially if single) is kind of a bizarre crisis to be in.
It's more a crisis of: "Hey I should have gotten married 15 years ago and should have a bunch of kids by now but I don't".

That being said, I rented a Chrysler Pacifica and it was was a very nice van. In my opinoon, it's the perfect vehicle for a long cross country trip. It's a great highway cruiser, and always makes you feel confident. It's gets excellent mpg for a minivan.

The one I rented had about 60k miles on the odometer. The transmission was starting to have sudden jerkiness once in a while.
I researched it and that transmission compensates when it senses wear. Also, those Chrysler 3.6 engines have a bizarre timing chain layout. Kind of like they copied a Toyota Sienna engine, but then wanted to change some things so as to not get caught plagerizing the design LOL. I would say the Pacifica would be an ok choice if you don't keep it past 100k miles.

On the other hand, Honda Odyssey's or Toyota Siennas are the van to have if you want to to reach 200k+ miles.

 

[meep]

I think I mentioned before, my younger brother has an odyssey with the middle seat removed. It’s a great cruiser. Single guy - him and his kayaks…

 

[Stumpalump]

I’m on my second one. Company cars. I can choose from most of the Nissan or Chevy as well. 287 hp with a nine speed in the Pacifica beats the others. I know my 2024 has it corrected but some of the older ones had a choke point where the air snorkel goes to the grill. Pop the plastic off around the hood latch above the radiator so you can get at it and open it up. It’s real easy to make it a really nice cold air ram into the air box to make them run right. People complained about the transmission and I noticed that on my 2020. As soon as I opened up that air snorkel, I think it gave it a better vacuum signal that helped control the transmission shifting because it ran and shifted so good after that. They rip, sip gas and carry a lot of stuff. I use mine as a truck and love it.

 

[meep]

A post like that and there’s another van sold!

 

[Jurgis]

I’m on my second one. Company cars. I can choose from most of the Nissan or Chevy as well. 287 hp with a nine speed in the Pacifica beats the others. I know my 2024 has it corrected but some of the older ones had a choke point where the air snorkel goes to the grill. Pop the plastic off around the hood latch above the radiator so you can get at it and open it up. It’s real easy to make it a really nice cold air ram into the air box to make them run right. People complained about the transmission and I noticed that on my 2020. As soon as I opened up that air snorkel, I think it gave it a better vacuum signal that helped control the transmission shifting because it ran and shifted so good after that. They rip, sip gas and carry a lot of stuff. I use mine as a truck and love it.

Do you have pictures of how much to remove? I cut the first "baffle" about halfway down, but left the second one(closer to the snorkel) alone. I just wonder if both are completely cut out it could cause rain to get in there, maybe I'm overthinking it?

 

[JHZR2]

Get one and van camp in it. I bet you can find an off rental pretty cheap, who cares if it gets humidity inside or whatnot. Have fun!

 

[super20dan]

must be nuts

 

[2002 Maxima SE]

I also like wagons and am the owner of a Taurus wagon. We took a Pacifica on a 2 week trip across country (tent camping along the way). Let me tell you, it's a fantastic vehicle!