We recently purchased a 2014 T&C with v6 Pentastar engine, with just under 87K miles. I didn't notice any issues until the day after we purchased it, after 3 hours of driving.

The check engine light came on with a code reading a misfire on cylinder 5, and the van was obviously missing a bit. It was noticeable at idle and low speeds. I ran a couple cans of seafoam through it, and it didn't help.

I then took it to our mechanic, and he changed all spark plugs, as well as the fuel injector for cylinder 5 and the coil pack. The issue persisted.

Still being under the 100K powertrain warranty, I took it to the dealership in town. They replaced the whole rear cylinder head, and it didn't fix the issue! The check engine light comes on almost immediately after being reset, with the same cylinder 5 misfire code.

Does anybody have any thoughts of where to look next? Thanks!

 

Naturally the dealership would come up with the most expensive repair they could think of and charge it to warranty. Let's get down to basics here. Do you have spark at the #5 cylinder? If you don't have spark, and you have changed the plug and coil, the next thing is to see if you have power to that coil. If the power is good, then check the ground wire back to the ECM. The way spark occurs, is that there should be power to the primary side of the coil at all times the ignition is on. The ECM interrupts the ground at the right time which causes the magnetic field on the primary side of the coil to collapse, which induces a current in the secondary side to send a spark across the plug.
If the spark is good, then the problem must be with the fuel. You had that injector changed. Check to see if the injector is getting an electrical signal.

 

I would hope along the way someone put a scope or capable scanner on it to detect injector and coil signals out of the PCM. If they didn't someone needs to.

...changed ...coil pack...? I thought these Pentastar engines used coil on plug coils.

...changed the cylinder head? Did they say why? Did they see a crack or detect a leak? There is an extended warranty on 2011 -13 3.6 litter engines for bad heads.

If this drags on have the dealer contact a regional office. I think they call it Chrysler Cares. You may have to call yourself.

 

Hi Sind,

Sorry to hear about this! If you decide to revisit your local dealership I'd be happy to follow up with them for you if needed. Just PM our page with your VIN and let me know.

Andrea
Chrysler Social Care Specialist

 

I finally had time to schedule another visit to the shop, but when I started the van today, the check engineer light was off, AND the missing had stopped! I'm intrigued. I did nothing over the past few weeks, the issue just randomly went away. Could the Seafoam have possibly finally cleaned up a bad area, or any other thoughts?