Should I get a Pacifica?
 

We have a Yukon right now and although I love it the payments are killing us and we happened to see a 2004 Pacifica and am really liking it. Tell me what you like/don't like. We never used our 3rd seat in our Yukon so that space issue isn't a problem. We would definately look at one that has the bucket seats in the second row. My husband is 6'2, any problems with comfort?

RE: Should I get a Pacifica?
 

Hi jennmw,

Ihave a 2004 Pacifica AWD and my wife & I both love it. Its a great vehicle. Here are some of the pros and cons from our point of view:

Pros:
[ol][*]Nifty crossover with plenty of internal space.[*]Its a Goldilocks car- "just right"
[ul][*]Not too high off the road like the big SUVs but not too low like a sedan.[*]Three rows of seats, but not cramped like a baby SUV and not as humungous as a giant Suburban or Navigator.[*]Decent mileage - if you move the roof rack back to the end and use cruise to stay at 60 or 65mph, like we do, you'll get around 22-23mpg on the highway.[*]Takes mid-grade 89 octane fuel, not expensive premium. You can even use regular unleaded without any complaints from the engine.[/ul][*]The 2004 models were the launch models, and they are usually superbly equipped, even the base models. Be sure to get yours with built-in navigation, DVD, changer, and leather heated seats.[*]The navigation unit is splendid, it is located right in the speedometer, best possible location. Don't have to take your eyes off the road.[*]Full time AWD (if you get AWD), handles well in rain and snow. I live in CT, and mine handles the snow very well.[*]Plenty of headroom and legroom; my brother-in-law is 6' 1" and he fits in fine in the second row.[*]Nice to drive, has manumatic Auto-Stick if you want toshift gears manually.[*]Decent towing capability, although not like your Yukon.[*]Extremely comfortable leather power seats, heated. Very nice for long trips. If its just you and your husband, you can fold the 2nd and 3rd rows, put in an airbed, and its very comfortable for camping.[*]Very little road noise while driving, quiet interior.[/ol]
Cons:
[ol][*]Chrysler build quality isn't consistent. Theyapparently made 1 lemon forevery X number of Pacificas. Some Pacifica owners have reported all sorts of infuriating issues, as you can see if you troll through this forum. But mostly people love the car.[*]The battery tends to run down quickly because the car has a great deal of electronic equipment - even base model 2004 Pacificas came with a power liftgate. Once you add the auto lights, power seats, power windows, and what not, you can see how much load there is on the battery.[*]There are a lot of TSBs for various clunks and thumps that you should ensure have been applied.[*]If you have the AWD model, you'll have to replace all 4 tyres at a time, not in pairs.[*]Rearward visibility is terrible, especially while backing up. Try to get yours with the ParkSense fitted.[*]Wind buffeting can be severe with certain window/sunroof open positions.[*]Chrysler is going to stop Pacifica production in 2009; the 08 is reportedly the last model.[*]The spare tyre is under the rear seat shelf and getting it out is a complicated and tiresome process. However, it does give you more interior room by keeping the tyre there.[*]The car is wide enough to be a ding magnet in narrow parking lots. Curse all morons who open their doors in a hurry and ding one's shiny Pacifica doing so.[/ol]
On the whole I would recommend an 04 Pacifica. You can get a well-equipped one with low miles for a terrific price these days. Most of them still have warranty on them.

Hope this helped.

Thanks and regards,
Jagan.

RE: Should I get a Pacifica?
 

I would rethink that the 2007 or 08 might be a better buy. The new ones come with a lifetime power train warranty, and if you get a Chrysler Service contract it too will be LIFETIME. There are some very high rebates on the 07's and the 08 have some good buys out there as well. The 07 and 08 do get better mpg as well, and more features that we really enjoy.
Either way the Pacifica is a great vehicle. But, the Yukon is a different vehicle and is much more suitable for rough off road, and trailer houling.
We live on a rural area and drive off road to get to our house on a good up hill road. For us it is just waht we wanted. Our 2005 Jeep Liberty did not do any better.



farout

RE: Should I get a Pacifica?
 

I 2nd some ofJagan and farout's comments.

My bad experiences:

4 batteries in 4 years, a front-end clunk that can't be resolved, a now a new one - water dripping through the Apillar on the driver's side.

The pluses:

comfortable, quiet, I get 22 mpg (2004 AWD) on the highway going 75-80 mph on regular gas.

Would I buy another one? No way!!!

RE: Should I get a Pacifica?
 

I love mine!

I have a 2004 AWD model

I've not had any major problems with mine. The last problemI had was the fuel gage when "not" on empty would just drop to E giveing a low fuel warning then a sec later pop back up to the right level. then it would repeat this off and on while driveing.

Thegood thing was it only neededsofware update to the Pacifica's computer to fix it!

I also have notice that whencleaningthe insideof the car "leaveing the doors open" for along time it kills the battery!

I just replaced it with a Autocraft Ti, this is onlythe 2nd Batterysince the car was new.
I hope I made a good choice, and it lasts longer than the Mopar Battery.

All in all it's been a good ride. Also the leather seats are sweet! can't speak for the cloth ones.

RE: Should I get a Pacifica?
 

loose front tie rod ends are one of the many problems with the pacifica that produce clunking.

RE: Should I get a Pacifica?
 

If your hubby is 6'2" Make sure he can get in and out ok. I am 6' and if the wife has the driver set to her (she is 5'8") I can't get in until I hit the memory seat button for my setting (setting 2) The roof slants back quite a bit on this car and you have to duck your head way down to get in if the seat is up too close to the dash. I guess I have gotten used to it on the passenger side but it used to anoy me.

Ours is an 04 w/ 30k. we have had minor problmes but nothign major. The 04's are loaded as people say. Our still looks lime new. We tried to trade it over new years for a new Town and Country. Dealer wanted to give us $9k for a car I spent $33k on 3.5 years ago. We walked. Now thatthey will be discontinued, we may keep it since it will be a collector!

Later models have nicer gadgets than earlier models. The Park sense is one that comes to mind.
Fixit

RE: Should I get a Pacifica?
 

My son is 6'4". I bought this car specifically because in my sedan he couldn't sit comfortably and I wasn't ready to go back to a minivan. I love my Pacifica. Mine has all the bells and whistles. I just got it out of the shop (my fault -- accident) and I missed my navigation system and 6CD changer! My rental SUV couldn't compare.

One warning is always that the first model year of any car may havesome problems. I'vehad minor issues withmine that were covered under warranty. Yeah, the blind spots are bad, but you use your mirrors.

RE: Should I get a Pacifica?
 

The clunking one of the members mentioned is the U joints. Had mine replaced.

No more noise