Consumer Complaints


Fail datemilesoccurencesPurchase date
AIR BAGS
06/05/2012125000
 Tl - the contact owns a 2002 dodge caravan. the contact stated that while driving 2 mph, burning fumes started to emit into the vehicle. the contact mentioned that he heard a loud noise and the passenger side air bag deployed without impacting anything. the contact stated that immediately after the failure, the air bag warning lamp illuminated. the vehicle was taken to a dealer who was unable to diagnose the failure. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure who sent an engineer to further inspect the vehicle. the engineer replaced the passenger side air bag, seat belt, dashboard and the wiring harness. the vehicle was repaired. the failure mileage was 125,000 and the current mileage was 133,000. kmj
01/12/201068000
 Tl*the contact owns a 2002 dodge caravan. after starting the vehicle, the contact noticed that the air bag warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership where the air bag wiring was replaced. the failure mileage was approximately 68,000. the current mileage was approximately 71,000.
08/24/2009814131
 Airbag clock spring on 02 dodge caravan had to be replaced for $207. chrysler denied reimbursement saying the car is out of warranty. i maintain the airbag system is a required safety item that should last the life of the car. i should not have to pay more than $200 extra to protect against an air bag deploying accidentally while i am driving or failing to deploy in case of a collision. *tr
02/01/2009864721
 The air bag light stays on all the time the clock spring was replaced then it happened again. this is a major screw up. it is amazing someone has not been hurt or worse killed. unlike many others we still had cruise control and the horn. what is it going to take to make chrysler stand up and take control of this situation. lord knows they got enough of our bail out money to fix all the cars several times over. please do the right thing and recall your product. *tr
05/20/200855000
 The air bag warning light comes on sporadically in the beginning, then it just stayed on as long as the vehicle is running. i took the car to the dealer and they said the clock spring needed to be replaced. it wasn't under the warranty and was informed no recall. i had to pay $301.00 to fix.
06/28/2006500001
 Air bag indicator light, that the air bag will not work. *tr
04/01/200857000108/13/2006
 Vehicle's air bag readiness indicator lamp (air bag light) appears to illuminate during hot/warm weather/intermittent problem. illuminates to indicate potential air bag system failure. *tr
11/08/200673000308/22/2002
 Tl*the contact owns a 2002 dodge caravan. in 2007, the contact broadsided another vehicle and neither front air bags deployed. there were no injuries, but the vehicle sustained $3,800 worth of damage. a police report was filed and the vehicle was repaired. prior to the crash, the horn and cruise control failed, and the air bag light flickered and then remained illuminated. there was a recall from 1998 to 2000 regarding the clock spring. the speed and vin were unknown. the current mileage was 74,000 and failure mileage was 73,000.
09/27/2007312/06/2006
 I purchased a 2002 dodge caravan in december 2006. the airbag light was illuminated. i twice had to bring it in to get it fixed and was told that the seat belt tensioner was defective, and then that the tensioner was loose. the light came back on several months later and was told there was a short in the wiring harness which had to be replaced. is this a manufacturing defect? *jb
03/01/200750000103/01/2003
 The clockspring on my 2002 dodge caravan se has failed, causing the airbag , horn and cruise control to fail. based on what i've read online, this was a cause for a recall in earlier models up to 2000. this recall should be extended to include models manufactured after the year 2000, as it seems quite prevalent. *jb
02/01/2006125000109/01/2004
 Air bag light intermittently comes on. *nm
12/07/200652476105/01/2002
 Dt*: the contact stated while driving various speeds, the airbag light illuminated. the vehicle was inspected by a dealer, who determined the airbag housing mechanisms needed to be replaced. afterwards, the problem persisted. the vehicle was returned to the dealer who determined the front airbag clock springs needed to be replaced. after the replacement, the airbag light illuminated again. the vehicle was inspected by a dealer, who determined while the airbag light was illuminated; the airbags were inoperative, and needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was alerted.
03/10/2006530003003/17/2003
 Air bag light stays on. dealer states clock spring is defective and chrysler does not deem this to be safety hazard,warranty or recall issue. therefore will not pay to fix problem. parts for fix unavailable and repair is expensive. *nm
05/13/20035275802/15/2001
 Dt*: the contact stated while driving 50 mph on normal road conditions the air bag light illuminated as an alert that air bags sensors were not activated. the vehicle has been taken to the dealership eight times. the contact expressed concern that lemon laws do not apply when the purchase transaction was more than two years old eventhough the vehicle has only 50.000 miles
05/09/200633225212/29/2004
 The air bag light on my 2002 dodge caravan went on. then steering wheel started to make clicking noise when turning corners. then directional indicators would not turn off after making a turn. finally, i almost got into an accident because my steering wheel locked and i could not turn a corner. i forced it and it did turn. i will not drive this vehicle again. i called a chrysler dealer and they told me it sounds like the clockspring. the mileage on this vehicle is only 33,000 miles. since it is out of warranty i would have to pay for it because there have not been any recalls for this as of yet. this is the second dodge caravan that i have owned. the first one was recalled for the clockspring also. i know that chrysler has a history of bad clocksprings. are they waiting for enough accidents to happen? i want chrysler to fix this problem for me, free of charge. this is not an abused vehicle. i take care of everything i own. how can they make such poor parts? *jb
07/14/2005500002
 Air bag light remained on all the time. brought van to dealer knowing that their had been large recalls of vans with airbag problems in the past. the clockspring needed to be replaced. company claimed that there was no recall for 2002 models. this seems to be an ongoing problem for dodge and should be covered by them. also not covered under the warranty. also problems with the rear windshield wiper motor breaking. *jb
12/26/200517000601/31/2002
 Airbag malfunction warning light illuminated. *jb
10/22/200547000111/30/2002
 Horn suddenly stopped working. dealer stated clock spring needed to be replaced. this seems to be a incident that happens frequently. i have searched on-line and it appears to be an often occurring problem. *nm
07/01/2005101/01/2002
 2002 dodge grand caravan air bag light illuminated on the dashboard for two days.***no answer required***. *mr six months after the vehicle was purchased a faulty clockspring caused the air bag light to illuminate. *nm
01/01/19011
 Consumer received third recall notice for 2002 dodge caravan. the air bag light illuminates on the dash on and off, and there are problems with the transmission.***no answer required***. *mr the check engine light also illuminated. *nm
02/14/200577778112/15/2001
 Vehicle air bag light would stay illuminated while driving. the vehicle was taken to the dealer. the dealer informed the consumer that the passenger
01/01/19011
 Wrong vin number on recall letter, consumer requested a new letter for clockspring recall. *bf the dealer refused to repair the recall clockspring because the vin number on the recall letter was incorrect. *nm
10/19/20041
 While driving, the srs air bag light illuminated on the dashboard and remained on. the consumer drove it to the dealer for inspection. the mechanic informed the consumer that the clock spring needed replacement. please fill additional information. *jb
10/14/20041
 The consumer received a recall for the clock spring. ( i could not find it in the recall section). they also stated that they have been having problems with their vehicle. the consumer stated that the horn has not blown in 3-4 mos. they also stated that the air bag light stayed on, this has also been happening for the same length of time. they stated also that they took the vehicle to the pvt mechanic, but because of the cost could not afford to have the vehicle checked. *jb
06/20/200441000108/14/2003
 The air bag light would come on and go off intermittently while driving. *jb
08/01/20021201203/23/2002
 I had purchased a 2002 dodge caravan se and immediately after it was back in the shop for repairs. i heard a noise in the window and the dodge place told me it was nothing not to worry about it. also i have made several trips to the dodge place for the brakes (replaced 6 times ) , sliding door doesn't stay latched and always slides and hits my children while getting in or out of the vehicle, the drivers side seat belt comes undone for no reason (it wont stay latched), i had a flat and the tire jack broke while jacking up the van, i was stopped at a red light and all of a sudden my van just proceeded to go and i no control other than running in a ditch to stop, the van always drifts to the right when driving and dealer said it not faulty that's how its made to do, i had 7 sets of tires and the dealership said they couldn't find anything wrong with this vehicle , i had an alignment done 4 times because of the drifting and tires wearing out so often, i have had the ball bearings replaced 2 times, i had the ac recharged with freon 2 times it just wouldn't keep cool, the back defroster sometimes doesn't defrost making it impossible to see while driving, bad smell coming from van it smells like a skunk and it makes it hard to breathe. *nm
12/26/200311500202/19/2003
 My 2002 dodge caravan air bag light is on again! this will be the 2nd time within 10 months! the airbags will be deactivated by spring time if i have to do it myself! i will never buy another new vehicle with a working airbag system either!
05/28/2003160001
 When vehicle was not running, it rolled down a hill at 40 mph and airbags did tot deploy. dealer notified. *ak
02/24/2002570002/20/2003
 2002 dodge caravan 5700 miles, not a typo five thousand seven hundred miles! airbag light is now on and staying on. key chrysler is going to look at van feb 25 2002. from reading other posts i dont have much faith in them fixing the problem. personally i think airbags should be totally optional!
11/20/20024132311/18/2002
 Consumer states battery service light came on indicating highs voltage or low voltage. dealer has inspected the vehicle several time and could not duplicate or correct the problem. ts the consumer stated that the air bag light would come on while making turns and during normal driving. (the battery system failure and fuel tank both had recalls) scc
 Dealership informed consumer that the clock spring needed replacement. please describe details. *mr
04/05/20024
 Consumer states that vehicle has problems with the air bag light coming on the panel all the time.vehicle has been at the shop 4 times and problem still persist. nlm
05/01/2002311/04/2001
 Air bag light illuminated on dashboard. dealer has been notified. however, mechanic can not duplicate the problem. dealer has serviced problem 3 times.*ak consumer adds air bag light is on constantly. occasionally goes off for a few miles. vehicle is leaking power steering fluid. *tt
 Consumer states whiles driving airbag lights comes on radmomly. the dealer they stated that the clock spring comes loose disabiling the airbag. contacted 2 dealer for parts cannot get due to the fact it is on back order. nlm
AIR BAGS - FRONTAL
02/01/2009864721
 The air bag light stays on all the time the clock spring was replaced then it happened again. this is a major screw up. it is amazing someone has not been hurt or worse killed. unlike many others we still had cruise control and the horn. what is it going to take to make chrysler stand up and take control of this situation. lord knows they got enough of our bail out money to fix all the cars several times over. please do the right thing and recall your product. *tr
03/09/20071
 Airbag light staying on for 2002 dodge grand caravan with around 64,000 miles. brought to dodge dealer and told that clock spring needs replacement. did search on web and found that dodge had a recall for 1996-98 and then again for 1998-2000 for this same complaint. should extend the recall to 2002 models. *jb
12/07/200652476105/01/2002
 Dt*: the contact stated while driving various speeds, the airbag light illuminated. the vehicle was inspected by a dealer, who determined the airbag housing mechanisms needed to be replaced. afterwards, the problem persisted. the vehicle was returned to the dealer who determined the front airbag clock springs needed to be replaced. after the replacement, the airbag light illuminated again. the vehicle was inspected by a dealer, who determined while the airbag light was illuminated; the airbags were inoperative, and needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was alerted.
10/16/20061
 Air bag light turned on. took it to chrysler/dodge dealer to be examined, they found the clockspring assembly needed replacing. clockspring assembly was replaced for a cost of $250.00. *nm
07/01/200630803109/07/2005
 Air bag light would come on, go off, come on, when driving. took dodge caravan into dealer service dept. they ran a airbag system diagnosis and determined air bag would not work, they said they had never seen an airbag defect. dealer called dodge representative and representative denied the request to correct (pay for) this problem. this vehicle has never been in an accident. this should be considered as a serious defect as if an accident would have occurred the airbag would not have worked/inflated. *jb
03/20/200681200101/04/2006
 I bought a dodge caravan 2002. out of nowhere the airbag light comes on when i turn the steering wheel. i took it to a dodge dealership to have it checked but because my caravan didn't fall into the category of that recall it was not taken care of. the person at the service desk did say that many caravans have had that problem. so i called chrysler corporation and they stated that because the car has 80,000+ miles on it they will not do anything because it is out of warranty. even though the defect was there before. this isn't fair and i think that it should be taken care of by chrysler because they sold the defective van to begin with. *jb
08/10/20052858220004/04/2002
 The airbag warning light has come on repeatedly for the past 8 months. the dodge service dept was initially unable to determine the cause. they have now determined that the steering wheel clockspring has malfunctioned and must be replaced.*jb
05/11/200570000209/05/2004
 Dt: the consumer's vehicle hit a semi trailer at about 20 mph and the frontal airbags did not deploy. the driver tried to brake, and the impact was in the front of the vehicle. the bumper was moved back 8 inches, the transmission, the cooler and radiator were bent over the motor. consumer has filed a complaint with chrysler, and they sent an investigator to see the damage and take pictures. the van was totaled. there was 1 injury, the injury would not had been as bad if the airbags would have deployed. the passenger suffered internal injuries, bleeding, and bruising due to seat belt failure. *ak
04/07/2004202/18/2002
 Vin # 1b4gp24372b612517. i will bringing my van to ray brandt dodge for at least the 4th time because the airbag light keeps coming on. my clockspring has been changed twice, once under warranty and 2 weeks ago at my expense. yes, i frequently have problems with my horn and my cruise control. i thought it was me not pressing in ther right place. *ak
06/04/2003
 Consumer was involved in a front collision while driving and neither air bag deployed. dealer notified. *ak
08/15/2002
 While driving under 5mph and with no warning air bags deployed for no reason. it could have caused consumer to have injuries. dealer notified.*ak
AIR BAGS - FRONTAL - SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE
05/13/2007663002
 Air bag warning light comes on as soon as weather temperature exceeds 20 centigrade. . did this in 2006 and has done again in may 2007. local dealer said it was a possible sensor problem in front bumper area. had done nothing as problem disappeared when temperature fell to below 20 centigrade. *ak
03/06/20072006008/15/2002
 Air bag lamp remains on. diagnosed at dealer as clockspring failure. cruise control issues as well. like so many other caravan owners. *ak
03/26/200641000106/02/2002
 During normal driving operations the airbag warning light would intermittently come on. now it comes on at the start of the engine, and does not turn off. it appears that this is the same clockspring problem as was recalled earlier. *nm
01/12/200626000111/25/2001
 Dt*: the contact stated the air bag light continued to illuminate without previous problems with the air bags. the vehicle has not been seen by a dealer or repair shop. *ak updated 2/16/2006 - *nm
10/05/200547000203/15/2002
 I have 2002 dodge caravan and have had to replace the airbag sensors for both the passenger and driver bags since the summer of 2005. each failed at a separate time. i have a service contract on the vehicle (roughly 50,000 miles) but had to pay the deductible. *jb
03/16/200539650103/16/2002
 Driver's side airbag light stayed on. dealer made a diagnostic check and concluded that the airbag system in the car would be inoperable unless the airbag was replaced at a cost of $900.00. when i protested i was informed that the manufacturer would pay for the airbag, but not the labor, $400.00. since this was a clear violation of vehicle safety on a 3 year old car, it would appear to be recognized by the manufacturer as such, then i appeal for a recall on the grounds of manufacturer's negligence. *ak
01/10/2005450001
 Consumer's air bag light came on and stayed on. consumer took the vehicle to the dealer and the clock spring was replaced. this vehicle was not included in the clock spring nhtsa recall 04v480000 due to vin. *ak
06/21/2004360002
 The air bag light stayed on after the clock spring was replaced some time ago.*ak
AIR BAGS - SIDE/WINDOW
04/14/200540684201/30/2002
 Air bag light flashed while driving. dealer fixed problem by replacing clock spring. this problem occurred twice around 5,000 and 40,600 miles. this is a recall for older model year, but not 2002 model year. *ak