Recalls
| Campaign | Manufacturer | Manufacturing date | Type | # of units affected | Date Owner notified Mfg | Recall Initiated by | Manufacturers of recalled vehicles/products | Report Recieved Date | Record Creation Date | Regulation Part Number | FMVSS Number | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STRUCTURE - BODY - HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE - SUPPORT DEVICE | ||||||||||||||||
| 97V079000 | CHRYSLER CORPORATION | from 07/01/1991 to 06/30/1992 | V (Vehicle) | 436000 | 08/15/1997 | ODI | CHRYSLER GROUP LLC | 05/16/1997 | 05/23/1997 | |||||||
| Defect Summary | The bolts used to attach the strut to the body and the rear liftgate can accumulate fatigue damage if three factors combine. if the bolt is loose, the gas strut is over-pressurized, and the frequency of opening and closing cycles is higher than for the average customer, the bolt can fail. | |||||||||||||||
| Consequence Summary | Personal injury could occur if the bolts break allowing the liftgate to fall suddenly. | |||||||||||||||
| Corrective Summary | Dealers will inspect for loose fasteners, if the fasteners are loose, the strut (and integral bolts) will be replaced. if the bolt shows evidence of torque, the bolt will be removed, larger washers will replace the existing washer and the bolt will be reinstalled and hand tightened to the target torqued. | |||||||||||||||
| Notes | Owner notification began during august 1997. owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact chrysler at 1-800-853-1403.also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-800-424-9393. | |||||||||||||||
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STRUCTURE | ||||||
| EA94005 | CHRYSLER GROUP LLC | 01/31/1994 | 10/25/1995 | LIFTGATE LATCHES | 95I001000 | |
| Liftgate latches in the subject vehicles have failed in low and moderate speed impacts resulting in occupant ejections, injuries, and fatalities.there are two failure modes associated with latch failure: fork bolt-detent lever bypass, and inertial unlatching.nhtsa analyses of chrysler and peer minivans took the form of static and dynamic crash testing, engineering evaluations, complaint and field analyses, and real world data analyses.a technical report discussing these analyses can be found in the engineering analysis technical report in the public viewing file.chrysler has advised nhtsa that it will conduct a campaign to replace the latches on all the subject vehicles.the chrysler campaign will consist of notification letters to all owners; free replacement of all latches with stronger, safer latches regardless of the age of the minivans; national advertising to promote customer awareness of the campaign; quarterly reports regarding campaign completion rates; as well as additional measures to ensure a high completion rate, above and beyond the actions that normally would be taken in a formal safety recall.these include follow up written and telephonic notifications to owners who do not bring their vehicles in for corrective action.nhtsa firmly believes that the crash performance of the latches on these minivans raises serious safety concerns, and that the campaign addresses these concerns.the chrysler corrective action will increase the strength of the liftgate latches and decrease the potential for inertial unlatching, thereby reducing the risk of crash-related openings of the liftgate and possible occupant ejection through the liftgate opening.owners of chrysler minivans will get a stronger, safer latch free of charge at the earliest possible time, without the need for further technical investigation and complex and time-consuming litigation with an uncertain outcome.based on the above, odi is closing this investigation. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| STRUCTURE | |||
| 02/15/2003 | 167000 | ||
| Bad paint its peeling flakeing the wood grain too faiding bad trans i just paid a dealership over 2 grand for a new one warranteed for only 3 years or 36,000 miles. bad power windows cable broke=over $400.= me gettingscrewd bad lug nuts little metal caps over lugnuts come off and then tire tool dosent fit so you end up at the dealership getting them cut off. keeps stalling headliner falling down headlights are totally yellow at night you cant see more than 50 feet on low beams so you have to have high beams on just to get low beam quality. breaks new rotors, mastercillender, hardwear, drums, shoes, pads, fluid, mastercillender caps, weel cillenders,= over $500. to the dealer and me and my fam stranded on the roadside for 4 houres getting recalled parts fitted only takes an act of congress and about three days with out a car unless they give you there "loaner" loaner=car no one would but twelve years ago. james reynolds sharon tenn gooberclese@hotmail.com owner of a 92 dodge grand caravan le | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY | |||
| 01/15/1997 | 1 | 03/01/1997 | |
| Vehicle lacks a safe point for towing, wheel fell off when j hook was placed behind drive wheel during towing. | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY - DOOR | |||
| 09/27/2000 | 2 | 06/01/1992 | |
| Sliding door fell off upon opening -- 2nd time in 2 years. manufacturer states this is acceptable wear and tear. injuries were avoided, but would have been severe had my 3 yr old child been the person opening the door.*ak | |||
| 08/07/2000 | |||
| While a seven year old child was opening the sliding door, the door came completely off and almost fell on the child; dealer notified and repairs being made at consumer cost. please provide any further details: | |||
| 01/02/2000 | 01/01/1999 | ||
| Both driver and passanger front doors have broken. the whole inside casing has broken. you cannot use these doors if possible, they will come apart and you will not be able to open then. the guy at the auto body shop said that this a very week spot on this vehicle. at $500.00 each to fix. that is just the door it does not include removing the dents that when the door sprung it caused with the chipped paint. the braking system makes this clicking sound when you able the brakes. *ak | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY - DOOR - HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS | |||
| 04/15/2003 | 163000 | 09/03/1998 | |
| The front passenger bottom hinge the weld broke from the door and broke the hinge it self. can no longer use the door safely. *nlm | |||
| 08/07/2000 | 1 | ||
| Consumer's daughter went to open the passenger's side sliding door and as she pulled it open, it fell on her, the consumer feels this is a big safety issue, she paid to have the door fixed. *slc | |||
| 10/15/1998 | 11/23/1996 | ||
| Sliding door began sticking in open position/sagging on its hinge. | |||
| 08/01/1997 | 1 | 06/01/1994 | |
| Door hinges broke away from body. | |||
| 01/17/1998 | 1 | 01/01/1993 | |
| Side sliding door fell off. | |||
| 06/01/1992 | |||
| Front passenger door hinge broke away from body frame, resulting in door being blown open by gust of wind, currently, must lift up door to close. manufacturer is only willing to assist by paying 1/3 of $1500.00, the cost for repair. *ak | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY - HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE - HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS | |||
| 07/09/1997 | 312000 | 4 | 06/01/1992 |
| The consumer was involved in past recall 730 by dodge that was poorly handled. the rear hatch attachment bolt was the item on recall. the consumer had taken the vehicle in for repair in july of 1997 because the bolts had broken, and had them replaced. then they broke again in august of 1999. on may 1, 2005 one of them broke again, and almost broke his wife's arm. on 5-3-2005, and the dealer said that the car was too old. they wouldn't fix it unless the consumer paid. the dealers response was inappropriate. the dealer checked with the districts office and validated that it wouldn't do it. also, the consumer was inappropriate. the third issue was the adequacy of the recall itself. the fourth issue was that the dealer just told him that he wouldn't fix both sides. *ak the oil pan leaked and the serpitine belt. recall campaign#97v079000. *sc | |||
| 01/19/2001 | |||
| Hinges on hatchback had been repaired under recall in 1998, consumer had hatchback open, she was under it, and it fell on her. hurt consumer's back, dodge said they would repair free of charge.*ak | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY - HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE - SUPPORT DEVICE | |||
| 12/30/2003 | 150490 | 1 | 04/18/1992 |
| The hatchback support strut on my caravan failed today - the bolt that supports the strut in the car body sheared off, while the vehcile was stopped at a stop sign. the strut expanded inside the cavity in the body as far as it could once the bolt sheared. i brought my car in for the recall (97v079000) in about 1997. i know chrysler performed the recall because the new bigger washers are on the lift supports. as i have no way to examine the bolts for stress cracking, there is no maintenance i can perform to insure the rear liftgate won't fall onto the head of me or someone in my family. was this supposed to be a one-time recall for chrysler? i got the impression that this recall was supposed to fix the shearing bolt problem, but it is surprising to me that it has returned. i think it is very dangerous. | |||
| 1 | |||
| Dealer refused to complete recall 97v079000 for consumer. *slc | |||
| 1 | |||
| One liftgate support washer sheared, causing liftgate to fall down as consumer was loading groceries into the back prior to recall notice. (97v-079) | |||
| 01/18/1998 | |||
| Recall 97v079000; the bolt that holds the air cylinder for the hatchback sheared off, causing the door to fall on top of consumer. *ak | |||
| 11/12/1998 | |||
| The bolts that attach the strut to the cylinder body broke, causing the rear windshield to break and driver suffered injuries. recall 97v079000 on the earlier models, but not for this vehicle. please provide further information. *ak | |||
| 1 | |||
| Liftgate bolts failed causing liftgate to fall on consumers head,prior to recall notice. (attorney for consumer). | |||
| 04/01/1994 | 2 | ||
| Rear liftgate support rod has failed two times prior to recall notice. | |||
| 1 | |||
| Lift gate support rod failed prior to recall notice injuring consumer. | |||
| 09/05/1997 | |||
| The defective right bolt the attaches the strut to the liftgate came off which almost caused injuries to occupant. this problems relates to recall #97v079. *ak | |||
| 10/16/1996 | 1 | 10/30/1991 | |
| Rear hatch door piston pump broke off, causing rear hatch door to collapse. | |||
| 2 | 09/01/1992 | ||
| Rear tailgate hydraulic cylinder support rod pulls out of vehicle body, causing support rod to malfunction and allowing tailgate to fall when up. *ak support has failed two times, the right side hydraulic suuport broke off of vehicle, causing liftgate to crash down, consumer states it is not the hydraulic lift that fails, it is its attachment mechanism to the vehicle that fails. *slc | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY - TAILGATE | |||
| Liftgate came crashing down--support bolt broken. recall--owner wishes to be reimbursed for repairs. | |||
| 03/01/1998 | |||
| Hydraulic strut and or bolt which support the liftgate has sheared off from the vehicle , causing the liftgate to fall when opening the gate. consumer has contacted the dealer, parts were welded. consumer still having problems. please provide any further details. *ak | |||
| 05/17/1995 | |||
| Top bolt of the right lift prop rod broke and upper end of rod extended about 8inches and imbeded in the roof area insulation, applied pressure to force the rod back into black cylinder and also extend the rod further out than the 8 inches. | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY - TAILGATE - HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS | |||
| 03/01/2002 | |||
| Nhtsa# 97-v-079-000/ manufacturer's recall 730 liftgate support bolts popped out after vehicle was serviced for recall. dealer was notified, but will be charged for repairs. *ak | |||
| 03/20/2001 | |||
| Recall 97 v 079 000/liftgate support bracket: tailgate hinges attachment to body, metal is being torn and causes tailgate not to stay open. could cause head injury. dealer notified and informed consumer that part was not covered under a recall. please feel free to provide any further details on this matter. *ak | |||
| 10/10/1997 | 3 | ||
| Rear liftgate latch will not stay up. right rear hatch strut was leaking . dealer replaced liftgate strut on 9/96 and in 4/97. owner is still experiencing the same problem. *ak | |||
| Liftgate support attaching bolts broke, resuling in liftgate falling unexpectedly, replace bolt, related to a recall. | |||
| Vehicle has had three recalls since purchase including, liftgate support bolts repair. | |||
| Liftgate support broke prior to recall letter. | |||
| 09/01/1997 | 06/19/1992 | ||
| Right liftgate support bolt broke as driver's wife was lowering the liftgate. *ak | |||
| STRUCTURE - FRAME AND MEMBERS - UNDERBODY SHIELDS | |||
| 1 | 10/15/1984 | ||
| Consumer driving on the highway, hit an object put a 1 1/2 in hole and ruptured the gas tank, the design did not provide adequate shield protection. *et | |||