1999 DODGE CARAVAN Air Bagsfrontal Problems

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1999 DODGE CARAVAN. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED AND THE ENGINE WAS BEING WARMED UP, THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG DEPLOYED WITHOUT WARNING OR AN IMPACT. SINCE THEN, THE HEATER AND POWER WINDOWS HAVE STOPPED FUNCTIONING. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE HAS NOT BEEN DETERMINED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 150,000. UPDATED 10/06/09. *LJ UPDATED 10/08/09

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1999 DODGE CARAVAN. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ABS LIGHT REMAINS ILLUMINATED AND THE HORN FAILED TO WORK AT THE SAME TIME. SHE BELIEVES THE FAILURES ARE RELATED. INITIALLY, THE ABS LIGHT WOULD GO ON AND OFF, FOLLOWED BY A CHIME TO ALERT THE DRIVER. CURRENTLY, IT IS CONSTANTLY ILLUMINATED AND NO LONGER CHIMES. A DIAGNOSTIC WAS PERFORMED IN APRIL OF 2007 AND THE MECHANIC COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG. THE PURCHASE DATE AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT MILEAGE IS 93,000.

VEHICLE WAS MAKING A LEFT TURN INTO AN INTERSECTION AND WAS HIT IN THE FRONT ON DRIVER'S SIDE QUARTER PANEL. OWNER WAS DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 20 MPH WHILE THE ONCOMING VEHICLE WAS GOING AT APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH. UPON IMPACT, THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. OWNER CONTACTED THE MANUFACTURER, AND WAS INFORMED THAT ONLY IF THE VEHICLE WAS HIT IN A CERTAIN SPOT WILL THE AIR BAGS DEPLOY. OWNER SUSTAINED INJURIES, AND WAS TAKEN FOR EMERGENCY TREATMENT. ALSO, THE VAN WAS TOTALED. *AK

WHILE TRAVELING ABOUT 45 MPH ANOTHER VEHICLE SUDDENLY STOPPED ON THE HIGHWAY CONSUMER APPLIED THE BRAKES BUT PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR. CONSUMER AVOIDED THE OTHER VEHICLE BY SKIDDING INTO A DITCH. UPON IMPACT, BOTH FRONTAL AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. DRIVER SUSTAINED HEAD AND BACK INJURIES,BUT REFUSED TO GO TO THE DOCTOR FOR MEDICAL ATTENTION. VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO CONSUMER'S RESIDENCE.*AK

WHILE TRAVELING AT 60 MPH VEHICLE INVOLVED IN A REAR END COLLISION. UPON IMPACT, AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. CONSUMER WAS CONCERNED SINCE A RECALL LETTER WAS RECEIVED FOR NHTSA RECALL 04V48000. *AK

THE HORN AND THE CRUISE CONTROL FAILED TO OPERATE WHEN THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. UPON HAVING THE AIR BAG CLOCK SPRING RECALL 04V480000 REPAIRS PERFORMED DEALERSHIP INDICATED THAT THE HORN FAILURE WAS NOT RELATED TO THE DEFECTIVE RECALL PART, AND CHARGED THE CONSUMER $100.00 TO HAVE THE PART REPLACED. *AK

WHILE DRIVING, THE AIR BAG DEPLOYED AUTOMATICALLY WITH NO WARNING. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION. THE CONSUMER WAS INJURED. *JB

WHILE DRIVING, THE CONSUMER NOTICED THE AIR BAG INDICATOR LIGHT FLASHING AND THE HORN DID NOT WORK. *AK THE FRONT DRIVER AIR BAG DID NOT WORK. *SC *JB

WHILE DRIVING AT 35 MPH AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT CAME ON ,AND THE HORN FAILED TO WORK. ALSO, CRUISE CONTROL DID NOT WORK. A RECALL WAS ISSUED ON CLOCK SPRING AFFECTING EARLIER MODELS.*AK RECALL CAMPAIGN; NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER : 04V480000. FOR THE AIR BAG. THE CONSUMER STATED THAT SHE WAS IN A CAR ACCIDENT AND THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. THE CONSUMER SUBMITTED PAPERWORK ON A REIMBURSEMENT FOR THE CLOCK SPRING REPAIR. *TC

COLLISION AT 30 PLUS MILES PER HOUR AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. THE FRONT OF THE VAN STRUCK ANOTHER CAR ON THE SIDE TRAVELING AT 30 MILES PER HOUR. CAUSING SEVERE NECK AND BACK INJURIES. *AK .

CLOCKSPRING FAILED TWICE ON CONSUMER'S 1999 DODGE CARAVAN. *LA *JB

AIR BAG LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND THE HORN STOPPED FUNCTIONING. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, WHERE THE MECHANIC DETERMINED THAT AIR BAG CLOCK SPRING CAUSED THE FRONT AIR BAGS TO DEACTIVATE, AND THE HORN TO MALFUNCTION. *AK

WHILE DRIVING AIR BAG LIGHT ILLUMINATED. DEALERSHIP WAS NOTIFIED, BUT DID NOT RESOLVE TGHE PROBLEM. *AK

I HAVE A 1999 DODGE CARAVAN THAT HAS ALREADY HAD ONE CLOCKSPRING REPLACED IN IT. I PAID FOR THIS OUT OF MY POCKET, SINCE IT HADN'T BEEN RECALLED. THAT WAS ABOUT 1 YEAR AGO. NOW, THE AIRBAG LIGHT KEEPS COMING ON AGAIN AND WILL MAKE A RINGING NOISE - JUST AS IT STARTED THE LAST TIME. THIS IS UNDOUBTEDLY A PROBLEM WITH THE PART. WHY HASN'T DODGE RECALLED THE 99 MODELS? *JB

WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED, THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD. CONSUMER WAS INFORMED BY THE DEALERSHIP THAT THE CLOCK SPRING FAILED. *AK WHEN THE CLOCKSPRING FAILED, IT ALSO CAUSED THE CRUISE CONTROL TO BE INOPERATIVE. *JB

AIR BAG FAILURE: (ALLSTATE CLAIM# 4706508639, POLICY# 099082579) BOTH FRONT AIRBAGS FAILED IN MY 1999 DODGE CARAVAN (4 CYC) IN A COLLISION INVOLVING MULTIPLE IMPACTS, REAR AND FRONT. *JB MY EST. SPEED WAS 35. EST. SPEED OF PERSON WHO HIT ME FROM BEHIND WAS 55. THE PERSON WHO HIT ME WAS INATTENTIVE AND NEVER APPLIED BRAKES BEFORE HITTING ME. I HAD 6 TEENAGERS IN MY VEHICLE AT THE TIME. I WAS HIT 3 TIMES FROM BEHIND, WHICH FORCED ME TO HIT THE TRUCK IN FRONT OF ME TWICE. I SUFFERED A CONTUSION IN THE BACK OF MY HEAD AND WHIPLASH. MY DAUGHTER AND 2 OF HER FRIENDS COMPLAINED OF PAINS AT THE BASE OF THEIR SKULLS AS WELL. HER FRIENDS REFUSED TREATMENT. MY DAUGHTER WAS SITTING IN FRONT WITH ME.

AIR BAG WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON, AND WITHIN SECONDS, CRUISE CONTROL AND HORN BECAME INOPERATIVE. RECALL 02V293000 WAS ISSUED ON THIS PROBLEM, BUT THIS VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL DUE TO VIN. *AK

ONE PARTICULAR EVENING MY AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON AND STAYED ON IN MY 1999 DODGE CARAVAN. AFTER COMING TO THE CONCLUSION THAT I NEED TO INVESTIGATE THE PROBLEM. TO MY DISAPPOINTMENT I WAS TOLD THE COST OF REPAIRING THE PROBLEM WOULD BE 280.00 DOLLARS. THIS ALSO LEARNED THAT THIS WAS A COMMON PROBLEM THAT'S HAPPENING IN DODGE CARAVANS. *LA

AIR BAG/CLOCK SPRING EXPERIENCED THE SAME DEFECT AS STATED IN NHTSA RECALL 02V293000, ERRATIC OPERATION OF AIR BAGS. *AK THE CONSUMER STATED THE AIR BAG LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND THE HORN DID NOT WORK. THE CONSUMER HAD ALREADY HAD THE REPAIRS DONE, WHEN HE LEARNED OF THE RECALL. *JB *NM

VEHICLE'S AIR BAG LIGHT INDICATOR IS ON AND THE HORN IS INOPERATIVE. *MR THE CONSUMER FOUND THAT THE AIRBAG ON THE 98' MINIVANS WERE THE SAME AS THIS VEHICLE AND THE PREVIOUS YEARS WERE RECALLED. *SCC *JB

CONSUMER STATES THAT VEHICLE WAS IN A COLLISION HITTING A TREE HEAD ON. UPON IMPACT, BOTH FRONT AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY.DEALER NOTIFIED.*AK

THE CONSUMER STATED THE HORN WAS INOPERATIVE, DUE TO A FAILED CLOCK SPRING. *AK *JB

WHILE DRIVING 50 MPH THE VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A HEAD ON COLLISION BUT THE AIBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. *NLM *TT

THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED THE SAME DEFECT WITH THE CLOCK SPRING AS STATED IN RECALL NUMBER 02V 293 000 BUT THE MODEL YEAR AND VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER WERE NOT INCLUDED. *NLM AN ELECTRICAL SHORT STARTED AND WAS REPLACED PER MECHANIC. THE HORN STOPPED WORKING DUE TO THE AIR BAG. THE CONSUMER WAS INFORMED THE SAME PART MALFUNCTIONED IN THE 1996, 97, AND 98 DODGE CARAVAN'S. *SCC

WHILE AT A COMPLETE STOP ANOTHER VEHICLE HIT COSUMER'S VEHICLE IN REAR AND PUSHED VEHICLE INTO THE ANOTHER VEHICLE HEAD-ON. UPON IMPACT, AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. *AK

MY MINI VAN WAS INVOLVED IN A ACCIDENT AND THE IMPACT WAS WAS HARD AND THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DIPLOY.I AM VERY THANKFULL THAT NO ONE WAS HURT BUT MY CAR IS NOW TOTAL.I AM VERY CONSERNED ABOUT THE AIR BAGS.

CONSUMER WAS INVOLVED IN HEAD-ON COLLISION AT APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH IMPACT WITH $5000 WORTH OF DAMAGE. DUAL AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY, CAUSING INJURIES TO DRIVER, EVEN WITH SEATBELT WORN. *AK

WHILE PULLING VEHICLE INTO DRIVEWAY AND SHIFTING INTO PARK THE DRIVER'S AIR BAG INADVERTENTLY DEPLOYED. THIS CAUSED TEMPORARY LOSS OF HEARING IN HER RIGHT EAR AND MINOR INJURIES AND BRUISES TO CHEST/HEAD AND RIGHT SIDE. DEALER NOTIFIED. *AK *ML *NLM

WHILE TRAVELING ON THE HIGHWAY AT 58 MPH VEHICLE RAN OVER AN ICE PATCH, AND SPUN OUT OF CONTROL OVER THE DIVIDER ONTO CURB. UPON IMPACT, BOTH AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. ALSO, DRIVER'S SIDE SHOULDER BELT FAILED TO LOCK PROPERLY. DRIVER SUSTAINED A MINOR INJURY. DEALER NOTIFIED. *AK *ML

WHILE DRIVING AT 45 MPH REAR ENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE. UPON IMPACT, DRIVER'S SIDE AND THE PASSENGER'S SIDE AIR BAGS DIDN'T DEPLOY. *AK