The Specs and Fatal Flaws of the Chrysler 3.6L Pentastar V6 Engine

My 2016 rubicon hardrock had the rocker arm issue at 63k miles. Oil had been changed w all OEM materials every 4K miles. With Chrysler dealer documents to prove it.
Stellantis refused to fix it. Had to replace the arms and a cam shaft.
Had a transfer case seal go out about the same time. Not an amazing company. And such an easily preventable flaw they should’ve had figured out by 2016 easily. From my understanding the hemi’s suffer from the issue also.

I see the engine as being an upgrade adding machine to finish the motor as the way it should have been built.
Meaning let the consumer fix the sub par parts used by Chrysler to get a good engine. Then come the poor electronics
that make the motor function the way it was designed. having the consumer upgrade the programing it the computer systems
and even replace the computers themselves with Chrysler charging for the programs and flashing of the replacement computers
and electronics needed to keep the engines running and pass emissions. Always chasing the Gremlins to make the engine and electronic systems
work as designed. Everything is made if plastic and certain components need replacement just to keep functioning as the warping for stress needed to be made from aluminum instead of plastic and the engines have become an aftermarket parradice, draining the wallets of the owners.
The t62 transmissions have the same problems.

Had a 2012 Wrangler with the 3.6 Kept blowing cylinder heads with regular service every 3-5k miles.. After it fell out of warranty on my now 4th cylinder head, dealership has the gall to tell me I have to replace the motor at my expense. After fighting with the dealership and Jeep over who is paying for this nightmare for 3 months I had to get the Attorney General's office involved then Jeep caved and replaced my engine. At 20K miles with service every 3-5k miles at the dealership the second engine had the same issue with a blown cylinder head, only this time it happened while I was on vacation with my family. Drove the thing home and traded it in as is and left Jeep forever after being a faithful Jeep owner since the 90's. That engine is garbage!!!!!!!

I'm on my third Jeep Wrangler with the 3.6L Pentastar V6 and never had a single issue with any of them. I just buy new Jeeps when they upgrade the interiors but with regular maintenance they run great.

I have had 2 Jeeps and a Charger with the Pentastar engines and have had zero problems!

The guy reading off these flaw's sounds bored to the max and yes all engines will fail because nothing lasts forever. If every so called " flaw" is corrected does that mean it'll last forever ? Maintenance is the key and when something goes wrong don't ignore it because it's not that bad or pretty soon you'll have several problems and it'll snowball your vehicle into a piece of crap and then you'll be on here telling what a piece of crap these things are and for everyone to stay far away from this junk when the real problem is YOU !

Pentagram, living up to it's name?

Sorry Chrysler Dodge no matter how good the deal is I don't want it

Why all the hate with the Pentastar 3.6 I owned an Auto repair center for 40 years and taught auto tech and I can tell you first hand that if meticulously maintained and rebuilt often I've seen Pentastar engines last up to 40k before their no longer rebuild able and since the rest of the car could be 4 years old and rusted out it's time for a new car.

my 2019 challenger is immaculate to this day, only problem I had was a worn serpentine belt

Its a Chrysler product so of course it has flaws. !!

I think the engine would have fewer problems if Stelantis specified 5W-30 oil instead of 0W-20. A little extra oil film would definitely help.

After 100k spent 6800 from head gaskets to cooling systems. Also evap syatem had a leak prior.

I had the rocker arm issue in my 2012 Grand Cherokee. It was expensive to fix ($2k) but it was really the only issue i had with the engine over 13 years of owning it. The bigger issue i had with it was that in 4x4 configuration it is in the engine bay sideways, which makes it a real pita to work on.

But if you're unlucky like I am 54,000 mi needs rocker arms and oil cooler $50,000 vehicle. Now you have to do all this working 54,000 mi. It's crazy then you have the audacity of the dealer charging you a diagnostic fee on top of the warranty repair. It's like they scare you not to fix it and then you got a lazy technician to guys. I don't want to tear an engine apart so they try to weasel out and say there's nothing wrong with it

I just spent all sunday changing out rockers and cams on the jeep. Luckily its a pretty easy engine to take apart. Only had to dobthe drivers thought. The passenger side looks rough.

I had a 2015 Chrysler 200S with the 3.6 Engine. None of the "problems" discussed in your video ever materialized. I had another issue with the plastic oil cooler leaking after repeated replacements finally resulting in a catastrophic failure of the plastic part. The fix is replacing the oil cooler with a non-Chrysler ALL METAL Oil cooler that solves the problem permanently,

Glad I watched this video. I will stay away from the 3.6, the 3.7 and 4.7, I would rather buy an older vehicle with the 3.3 or 3.8, much easier to work on, and none of these issues!!!😊

62k miles. Good so far.

We tested the thing for over 4,000,000 miles… and nothing went wrong. - GM CEO.

I bought a 2015 grand Cherokee new I now have over 180,000 miles on it The battery lasted 8 yrs replaced wiper blades once with rainX blades original tires lasted 116,000 miles and the ones I put on it still look new never tuned up always used Shell Rotella t6 wix filters balance tires every 5,000 miles have front end alignment every 4 years original brakes shocks and struts absolutely the best vehicle I’ve ever owned

I drive Uber and Lyft. Average 200/500 miles a day. Currently have 286,000 plus. Almost zero maintenance. Just normal maintenance, air filter, new alternator, spark plugs ect. My passengers are amazed that my Pacifica has that high of miles and still runs so smoothly.

The simple fact is you can tell if an engine is bad by how few are produced. the 3.6L Pentastar is in everything. And in applications like the challenger, people beat the crap out of them and they're not failing left and right.
I like the pentastar for not using any cutting edge technology. It's all very well sorted.

Very informative, yet, is there any point where these flaws been covered like a certain year onward ,,, thanks

mine blew up after 71,000 and 100% dealer maintained on time. 2018 Jeep JLU Rubicon. Avoid at all costs

Oil cooler being plastic i thought was the biggest flaw

2019 Ram 1500 3.6L v6 4x4 owner here. Bought the truck used with 51k. Currently at about 56. Took to the shop a few times after I noticed an issue when I get up to speed on highway, truck wouldn’t shift unless I let off gas. Took to dealer twice and they never found an issue. Check engine light came on ran the code and got a cylinder 4 misfire code. Took to dealer and again they found nothing. Got sent overseas recently and had my wife turn it on and sometimes drive it around. She too felt hesitation. Ask my neighbor to take for a spin he also felt it. She took it to dealer and they FINALLY said they found an issue. They replaced the transmission and the catalytic converter, issue was still there. They didn’t know what else to do so they reached out to engineers. About a month goes by and they dug into it more and said the intake camshafts were shot. They had 1 and had to order the other. That’s where I’m currently at. They asked what gas I’ve been using I said 87 from top notch gas stations. Mostly Shell. They asked if I had done anything to it I said no because I haven’t.

Anyone ever heard of these issues?

Has anyone dealt with egr valves building up with carbon and sticking open?

This is an old video my 19 s had a tick started running shell v power went away

Could have been, But.....There Two design problems, first, there is the exhaust manifolds cast as part of the head casting to assist faster warm-up times, all other times that heat works to distort the head, Second is the use of plastic parts that Will degrade with heat and time, like that filter/oil cooler, buried under the center intake manifold....And, having non repairable
parts of the basic engine is the Death Nell of this design, may it RIP....

The takeaway seems to be that so long as Bob wasn't on the assembly line when your engine was manufactured, you're probably fine.

Who the phuck cares

My 2018 Jeep Wrangler JK suffered from the #2 cylinder issue. Thankfully the dealership repaired it no cost.

My grandmas 2013 dodge grand caravan has passed 248,000 miles, doesn’t burn oil, only work done on the engine is the thermostat and alternator, it just developed a upper end tick, but it’s running good and the tick goes away when you give it some gas

Pentastar is a FIAT ENGINE NOT A CHRYSLER BUILT ENGINE!!! I own 3 shops and 1 is solely for dcjr new car warranty and any/all other Chryslers and I’m certified ASE TOP TO BOTTOM AND CHRYSLER AS WELL!! I’m a master certified tech. The 3.6 is dubbed the 1million mile engine. I have been married for almost 20 years and we only own Chrysler my wife’s cars have been 3.6 since the 3.5l which was also an engine we NEVER had issues with due to normal maintenance and replacing ware and tear items and I’ve hand my wife put 100-200k miles on her cars then whenever she buys a new one I use her old one as. A loaner car for customers!! I have 3.5’s all original 300’s awd w/ over 300k miles no lights on the dash same with the 3.6L FIAT PENTASTAR!!!! My highest mileage car has 468,007 miles and all their air, heat heated vented seats, no issues but for wear and tear items and basic maintenance. I can prove it also! Not one of my 6 3,6L vehicles has EVERRRRRRRR HAD HEAD OR ROCKER ARM ISSUES!!!! And we pay cash for pur cars and only DCJR VEHICLES AMD THEYRE ALL BRAND NEW CARS THAT WE ORDER! Plus we pay net net net for all our cars then rebates on top of that and yes I have access to the MSO/BILL OF SALE AND THE REAL INVOIVE THAT GOES IN A FOLDER cheap parts yield cheap results and an untrained tech yields the same! Knowledge is key here people!

Drove a 2013 limited 3.6l from Newburgh NY to Portland oregon and back to newburgh NY engine held strong

I'm on my second 3.6l. I put 130,000 miles on my 2011, and am at 112,000 miles on my 2017. Valvoline full syn at 5000 miles, the manual stated interval. I do 98% highway miles. Both run like new. It's a great engine. If I was city driving, I would change oil at 3000 miles. I get 40+ MPG (imp.) at 75mph. Caveat: These engines will really eat gas in the city if you aren't careful on the pedal.

My 2012 300 camshaft are honing bad and was recommended to get an engine replacement. 153,000 miles

The 3.5L high output was a tank they stop building that one an went with the modern garbage pentastar 3.6

the world is full of bad information beware.

It is good engine only have small problem. I own 2011 ( 179 miles ) and 2016 ( 85 miles ) grand caravan. I keep oil change 5000 mile + a cup of LUCAS oil stabilizer (it keep you less problem) I"m upgrade my 2011 around $700 new part to run ( 300 miles ) 😀😃😃

My 2013 3.6l ram is on the way out I think. misfire in cylinder 2. Sounds like knocking. 276 km on her. Changed the plugs and coil, no luck. Any ideas anyone ?

hi. i am living at russia . i want to buy dodge challanger 3.6 2018 . do you recomend ? are parts expensive ? and is engine for long term ?

never ending issues

It's a great engine purchased a 2012 charger to the wife 130k miles .so far so good very quiet engine. Powerful I remember the old 98 mustang cobras came with 305 hp I use to have one and now this v6 ingenes almost have the same. Well this engine have past the test just make the wife drive it for a couple of years and you'll understand me.😅😅.

So basically another Jeep/MOPAR POS where they sacrificed reliability and durability in the name of profit. I hope Stellantis goes bankrupt.

2018 Jeep. Just replaced my EGR cooler hose, my thermostat and now I’m currently working on replacing my ignition coil for cylinder 3. These issues are accurate and I’ve been arguing with everyone that I don’t drive this thing like a Trackhawk.

Thanks for sharing!