10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 4 / 1
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 1 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 42,951 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
The contact owns a 2002 Dodge Caravan. While driving 25 mph, the passenger side air bag deployed without warning. There were no injuries. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the air bag was defective. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 152,000. Updated 8/10/15
- Corona , CA, USA
On 6/5/14 while driving down the hwy at 65mph a deer had bolted out in front of my 02 Caravan. I had reaction time with hitting my brakes until my brake light illuminated & my van continues sliding on dry pavement, I attempted hitting my horn but noticed the section of the steering wheel that the horn iss located was rock hard & could not be pushed in even the slightest. I ended up hitting the deer dead center of the front of my van, crumpled my hood, cracking my radiator, headlight assemlies, grill & cooling fans. My airbags never deployed. Since this incident my brake light illuminated just about every time I press on the brakes & come to a rest lasting 30 second or longer & will go off moments after releasing the pedal. Approx mileage 165, 000 road conditions were dry, daylight & 100% visibility.
- Eveleth, MN, USA
I cannot believe a recall on the intermittent air light coming on has not occurred on the 2002 Caravan. Mine goes on and off usually when making a turn-a clear indication that the wire in the clockspring has failed. The problem is when the light is on the airbags will not function making the car unsafe should an accident occur. Dodge wants almost $300 to replace a part that has been failing on previous model years and were recalled. This will be my 2nd time fixing the issue.
- Naperville, IL, USA
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. Updated 12/19/12..updated 01/04/13
- Bay City , TX, USA
The contact owns a 2002 Dodge Caravan. The contact stated the air bag service light would intermittently illuminate on the dashboard either while driving at any speed or upon starting the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed because the cause of the failure was unknown, there would be several repair attempts to determine the cause of the illumined warning light. The contact was not comfortable with the dealer not being able to determine the failure and declined. The failure persisted intermittently. The failure mileage was 60,000 and the current mileage was 80,000.
- Greendale, WI, USA
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.
- Greenbay, WI, USA
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.
- Foxboro, MA, USA
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.
- Saint Petersburg, FL, USA
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 to fix.
- Stockton, CA, USA
Air bag indicator light, that the air bag will not work.
- Shelby Twp., MI, USA
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.
- New Egypt, NJ, USA
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.
- Skokie, IL, USA
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?
- Silver Spring, MD, USA
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.
- Chicago, IL, USA
Air bag light intermittently comes on.
- Va, VA, USA
: 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.
- Martinez, CA, USA
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.
- Phil Campbel, AL, USA
: 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
- Eatontown, NJ, USA
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"
- York, SC, USA
- Maple Grove, MN, USA