Chrysler preliminary evaluation PE25009
Intermittent Loss of Electric Power Steering. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the electric power assist system on 2 model years (2017–2018). Opened Sep 5, 2025 and still open — 14 months so far, against NHTSA’s goal of eight months for a preliminary evaluation. open
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThe Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) is opening this Preliminary Evaluation to assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety consequences of alleged defects related to the electric power steering (EPS) system in model year (MY) 2017–2018 Chrysler Pacifica vehicles. ODI has received 94 Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs) reporting a condition in which the steering system exhibits a sticking sensation during gradual turns, particularly when the steering wheel is positioned near the 11 o'clock or 1 o'clock position. Complainants allege that during these events, increased steering effort is required to return the wheel to center. In many cases, this is followed by a sudden reactivation of EPS assistance, which may result in an oversteer condition. This behavior could increase the risk of a crash, especially at higher speeds. ODI has identified multiple VOQs describing similar symptoms. This investigation will assess the frequency, root cause, and potential safety-related consequences of the alleged EPS malfunction. To review the ODI reports cited in the Opening Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.
A Preliminary Evaluation is the first formal stage: NHTSA has decided the complaints and other information it screened are worth a closer look, and asks the manufacturer for its own data on the condition. The summary is the agency’s own text from its investigation file, unedited; the resumes carrying the full reasoning are linked below.
The paperwork NHTSA filed
Source: every document on this action, at nhtsa.gov- Opening resume — ODI’s own summary of why it opened this — the subject, what prompted it, and the vehicles in scope.
| Document | Code | Filed | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening resume | INOA | 2025 | |
| Information request to the manufacturer | INIM | 2025 | |
| Manufacturer's response — data | INRD | 2025 | 38 files 1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738 |
40 of 704 documents shown; the rest are under this number at nhtsa.gov.
These are NHTSA’s own files, served from the agency’s site — the resumes are what ODI wrote when it opened and closed the action, and the rest is the correspondence behind them, including what the manufacturer sent when the agency asked. They are linked, not copied: where a document names the people who wrote in, that redaction is the agency’s to make and its copy is the one you should read.
What owners had already reported
Source: complaints on file the day it openedWhen NHTSA opened this on Sep 5, 2025, owners had filed 3,322 complaints with the agency about the model years above, of which 238 named the steering NHTSA went on to investigate. Owner complaints are the agency’s main early signal, and more can be filed while an action is open.
This is what the complaint file held on that date, not a claim about which reports prompted the investigation — NHTSA’s complaint records carry no investigation number, so nobody can make that link from the data alone. The opening resume linked above names the reports ODI itself cited. Complaint records on this site begin with 2016.
What this means for an owner
Source: and what happens nextAn investigation is not a finding that a defect exists, and it puts no duty on anyone. NHTSA opens a Preliminary Evaluation when complaints and other reports suggest a condition worth asking the manufacturer about; it upgrades to an Engineering Analysis when the answers warrant testing; it closes either when it recommends a recall, when the manufacturer recalls on its own, or when no defect trend is found. The agency’s own goals are about four months for a petition, eight for a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query and eighteen for an Engineering Analysis; many run longer.
This one is open. Nothing is owed on the vehicle today; if it becomes a recall, owners are written to and the repair is free. The moment to know is the day the campaign number appears — Recall Watch checks each VIN against every new NHTSA campaign and emails you when one lands, or take a free one-line alert by model year.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themA vehicle page’s investigation list carries the same action; a name here is the scope NHTSA opened, not a list of affected VINs.
An investigation is not a recall. Yet.
If NHTSA’s questions become a recall, the campaign lands in the federal file first. Recall Watch checks your VINs against every new campaign the night it is filed.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs PE25009 a recall?
No. A preliminary evaluation is NHTSA asking questions, not a recall. A safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number and a duty to repair for free; this one has not produced one. Whether one particular vehicle has an open recall is a VIN question at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Is PE25009 still open?
Yes, as of NHTSA’s latest file: opened Sep 5, 2025, 14 months ago.
Which vehicles does PE25009 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 2 model years: 2018 Chrysler Pacifica, 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.