178,000 Chrysler Pacifica and Voyager Minivans Recalled Over Faulty Side Curtain Airbags
NHTSA announced a recall of 178,246 Chrysler Pacifica and Voyager minivans after testing revealed side curtain airbags may fail to maintain pressure during deployment — creating a risk of partial or full occupant ejection in crashes.
By 411 Press Newsroom4 min read
178,246 minivans. Five model years of production. One defect: side curtain airbags that inflate but do not hold pressure — meaning they deploy during a crash and then fail at the one thing they exist to do.
NHTSA announced the recall after testing revealed that side curtain airbags in 2022-2026 Chrysler Pacifica and Voyager vehicles do not maintain sufficient pressure to prevent occupant ejection. In a rollover or side-impact crash, a person can pass through the window opening that the airbag was supposed to seal. Some of these vehicles were sold this year.
The Defect
Side curtain airbags are designed to deploy as an inflated barrier along the side windows during side-impact crashes and rollovers. They prevent occupants from being thrown through broken glass.
In the affected Pacifica and Voyager vehicles, the airbags fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 226, the "Ejection Mitigation" standard. That standard requires that a test headform not move more than 100 millimeters past a specified point during crash testing.
The defective airbags do not maintain adequate pressure after deployment. In plain terms: the airbag inflates but does not stay rigid enough to stop a body from passing through the window opening.
Who Is Affected
The recall applies to:
- 2022-2026 Chrysler Pacifica minivans
- 2022-2026 Chrysler Voyager minivans
- Total affected units: 178,246 vehicles
Stellantis (the parent company of Chrysler) formally announced the voluntary safety recall on March 30, 2026. Owner notification letters began going out on May 14.
What Owners Should Do
Stop waiting for a letter. If you own a 2022-2026 Pacifica or Voyager, act now:
- Check your VIN at NHTSA.gov/recalls to confirm whether your vehicle is affected
- Contact your Chrysler dealer to schedule a free airbag replacement
- Call Chrysler customer service at 800-853-1403 with questions
- Call the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 for additional assistance
The fix is a free replacement of the side curtain airbags through authorized dealerships. The recall numbers to reference are 06D, 10D, and 11D.
Why This Matters
The Pacifica is one of the best-selling minivans in the United States. It is a family vehicle. The back seats carry children, often in car seats positioned directly next to the side windows that these airbags are supposed to protect.
A side curtain airbag that deploys but does not hold pressure is arguably worse than no airbag at all — because the occupant and the vehicle's crash sensors both "think" the protection is in place. The safety system reports success while failing at its only job.
This recall also arrives in the shadow of a much larger airbag crisis. NHTSA recently issued a "Do Not Drive" warning for all remaining Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram vehicles with open, unrepaired Takata airbag recalls. Takata inflators have been linked to at least 27 deaths in the United States after their airbag canisters ruptured and sprayed metal fragments into vehicle cabins.
The Pacifica recall involves a different defect — pressure failure, not rupture. But the pattern is the same: airbags that do not perform when they are needed most.
You can search all current NHTSA vehicle recalls in the 411 Press recall database.
The Accountability Angle
Stellantis identified this as a voluntary recall. That means the company found the defect, not NHTSA. Credit where it's due — voluntary recalls are the system working as intended.
But the recall spans five model years. The affected vehicles were manufactured from 2022 through 2026. The question worth asking: how did a safety-critical component fail federal standards across five consecutive production years before anyone caught it?
This is not Stellantis's only safety recall in 2026. The company also faces the ongoing "Do Not Drive" Takata airbag crisis affecting older Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram models. Different defect, same category of failure: airbags that do not perform when they are needed most.
Check your vehicle at NHTSA.gov/recalls or search the 411 Press NHTSA recall tracker.
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