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Case result · Hybrid Powertrain / Inverter

The Minivan That Shut Off on the Freeway – $39,459 Recovered, Loan Paid Off

FCA’s own numbers said this client was owed $13,488. He recovered nearly three times that.

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$39,459recovered for the client
2.93xthe statutory refund
35countable days out of service
2repair visits

The math

What this client actually received

Every figure below comes from the settlement documents in this case. Nothing is rounded up, and nothing is left out.

What the client received

Statutory refundThe formula written into the Song-Beverly Act $13,488.83
Civil penaltiesAwarded where the manufacturer's failure was willful plus$25,970.34
Paid to the client $39,459.17
Loan / lease balance cleared$49,570.49Paid directly to the lender by FCA US, LLC (Stellantis), on top of the figure above
Attorney fees$0Paid by the manufacturer, not the client
Vehicle
2024 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid
VIN
2C4RC1S7XRR••••••
Bought
New
Contract
Finance
Miles at delivery
41
Price
$53,850.00
Manufacturer
FCA US, LLC (Stellantis)
Outcome
Buyback + civil penalties
  • $39,459.17 recovered
  • 2.9× the statutory refund
  • $49,570 loan paid off by FCA
  • 35 days in the shop

The case

Power Inverter Module (PIM) failure – vehicle lost power on the freeway three times

Our client financed a new 2024 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid for his family. On paper, his claim looked thin: he drove over 27,000 miles a year, and after the statutory mileage offset the refund math came out low. Some firms would have passed. Then we looked at what the van was actually doing: shutting off. On the freeway. Three times.

The hybrid's Power Inverter Module, the component that delivers drive power, was failing. The check engine light came on, the engine cut out while driving and would not restart. Chrysler had issued technical service bulletins for the exact failure (TSB 08-209-24 and 08-208-24), which tells you the defect was not unique to this van.

The repair record

35 countable days out of service

The first repair visit lasted 29 consecutive days, the replacement inverter was back-ordered with no delivery date, so the dealer flashed a software update instead and returned the van. It was back in the shop the next day with the same engine cut-off. 35 days in the shop across two visits, every one of them countable.

  1. 0129 days

    11,981 miles

    Check engine light; engine shut off while driving and would not restart

    What the dealer did

    PIM (Power Inverter Module) replacement ordered — part back-ordered with no ETA; HCP module flash-updated per TSB 08-209-24 instead

    • HCP module
    • Inverter module
    Counts toward days out of serviceVerified (2 issues)
  2. 026 days

    12,162 miles

    Engine cut-off returned one day after pickup, check engine light on; EV charging stopped at 20%

    What the dealer did

    PIM failure confirmed; PIM replaced

    • PIM (Power Inverter Module)
    • Charging state
    Counts toward days out of serviceVerified (PIM); charging unsure

The turning point

Why the manufacturer paid

A vehicle that loses power in freeway traffic is a safety defect, and a manufacturer that ships a known failure documented in its own service bulletins faces civil penalty exposure under Song-Beverly. That exposure is leverage, and we used it.

The result

How it ended

FCA repurchased the van and paid off the $49,570 loan in full. On top of the $13,488.83 statutory refund, our client received $25,970.34 in civil penalties, a total of $39,459.17 deposited to him, nearly 3× what the statutory formula alone would have paid. FCA paid our fees separately.

  • 08-209-24
  • 08-208-24

What this case shows

A 'weak case' on paper can be a strong case in fact. High mileage does not disqualify you when the defect is dangerous and the manufacturer knew about it.

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Think you have the same problem?

Has your vehicle ever lost power while driving? That is not an inconvenience – it is a safety defect. Tell us what happened; the review is free.

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  • Attorney fees paid by the manufacturer in every case shown
  • $0 out of pocket
  • No confidentiality clauses, these numbers are real

About these results

Every case is different. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome; results depend on the facts of each case. Results vary by case and are not guaranteed.

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