Chrysler Pacifica van recall impedes ODP, Castaway plans
- Ruby Hampton, Staff Writer
- Nov 17, 2025
- 2 min read
It’s not just the government shutdown that’s been impacting Willamette’s outdoor clubs this semester. This July, Willamette’s fleet of rental vans, the 2022-2025 Chrysler Pacificas, were recalled nationwide due to improperly-sealed airbag seams, throwing a wrench in the plans of some student clubs.
The recall has affected various clubs and athletic programs on campus, especially the Outdoor Program (ODP) and Castaway Club.
These vans, and other vehicles like trucks, can be rented by any student leader through the approval of Samantha Bruce with the Willamette Student Affairs office. Castaway WU rents a large number of vans from Enterprise, which uses Pacifica vans, as most of their events are off-campus and outdoors. They average about two to four vehicles per event and get stuck with the sedans more often than not.
Eyan Hackney (‘26), the founder and executive director of Castaway, was unable to get the desired vans the club requested for an annual BBQ from Enterprise because of the recall. Instead, they were given five six-seater sedans, which proved to be too small and forced the club to take multiple trips back and forth in order for everyone to participate. Beyond that, Hackney mentioned that the recall wasn’t the first time the van rental system has caused troubles for the organization.
“To be honest with you, the entire system we have set up with Enterprise has some issues in and of itself, outside the recalling of vans,” Hackney said. “For example, because we rent through Enterprise, their systems don’t necessarily know how important our events are and things like that, so you’ll show up sometimes and they won’t even have the vehicle ready for you.”
Now, replacement vans provided by Enterprise are seven- to eight-seater vehicles, which are slightly larger and have more storage space than the Pacificas.
Hackney mentioned that he enjoyed the larger replacement vans more than the standard Pacifica vans, noting, “They aren’t that much bigger, they're just more … spacey.”
Kira Grimes (’26), the head of the Outdoor Program, explained that the day before ODP leaders were supposed to pick up their reserved vans for a backpacking trip, Enterprise called and informed them that they did not have any seven-seater vehicles available.
“We had a backpack trip going out, two minivans reserved, and since they didn’t have those, they said they could offer us three five-seater vans, which ended up working out fine because we happened to have three leaders scheduled for that trip, but we typically only have two leaders scheduled for trips.” Had the trip been scheduled with only two, Grimes explained, ODP would have had to rearrange all of their plans.
Grimes also mentioned that Willamette student leaders often feel less comfortable driving the larger minivans. Enterprise suggested using 15-seater passenger vans, but vans that large are not covered under Willamette’s insurance policy and are also not eligible to be driven by most student leaders because of a 22-and-older age limit.
“We’ve been lucky we have been able to scrape by,” Grimes said. “Everyone’s trying to do the best that they can, and everyone is trying to be flexible.”