10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
4,032 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

1996 Dodge Grand Caravan seat belts / air bags problems

seat belts / air bags problem

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1996 Dodge Grand Caravan Owner Comments (Page 2 of 10)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #161

Sep 022002

Grand Caravan

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Consumer states that the clock spring is defective and now the air bag light has come on and also the horn stopped working and cruise control stopped working. Contacted dealer and the dealer is not willing to do anything. Nlm

- Genefeo, NY, USA

problem #160

May 252002

Grand Caravan

  • miles
Airbag clockspring located in steering colum has gone bad causing horn and cruse control as well as air bag not to work. Nlm

- Collinsville, AL, USA

problem #159

Sep 052002

Grand Caravan

  • miles
Air bag light was on all the time. Cruise control and horn were not fuctioning correctly.dealer was contacted.

- San Bernardino, CA, USA

problem #158

Aug 032002

Grand Caravan

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The clockspring in the steering column failed. This causes the horn, cruise control and airbag system to fail. There is no indication that the horn is out. Only the airbag light on the dash comes on. You don't know the horn is out until you need it! I had the same problem on my personal van and on my company van. They were bought from different dealers at different times. It is very hard to believe that a single driver can have the same problem on two different cars without there being an inherent design defect in this part. Please investigate this problem before lives are lost through the loss of the horn or airbags that don't work when needed. The conductors that feed the explosive charge to the airbag are open during this continuous fault and the airbag will not deploy in an accident.

- Enfield, CT, USA

problem #157

Jun 032000

Grand Caravan

  • miles
The clockspring failed on the date indicated. The air-bag, horn and cruise control were non-functional during the failure. I replaced the unit with a new one. I investigated why the unit failed by disassembling it. The flat ribbon cable in the unit failed from inadequate strain relief at the point of connection. All 5 conductors were broken due to repeated hard bending without adequate support at the connection point.

- East Longmeadow, MA, USA

problem #156

Aug 032002

Grand Caravan

  • miles
Airbag indicator light came on and noted horn and cruise control were inoperable. Research indicates airbag clock spring failure located in steering wheel. Intend to report to dealer.

- Columbia, MD, USA

problem #155

Sep 302001

Grand Caravan

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Horn, cruise control, windshield wipers stopped working same time air bag light illuminated.

- Spring Valley, CA, USA

problem #154

Aug 252002

Grand Caravan

  • miles
Airbag warning light will not go out.

- Metamora, MI, USA

problem #153

Dec 152000

Grand Caravan

  • miles
I repored this clock spring issue a long time ago, never heard back, I see there are other people that have reported this safety issue and wonder where it stands.

- Stormville, NY, USA

problem #152

Aug 202002

(reported on)

Grand Caravan

  • miles
The air bag light is on and the horn will no longer work. I understand that this is a common problem among Caravan owners.

- Lancaster, CA, USA

problem #151

Jan 102002

Grand Caravan

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The airbag-indicator light started lighting up intermittently, at first, but now stays lit all the time. I soon discovered that the horn, another safety feature, is also disabled/nonfunctional, as is the cruise control. These three features, two of them being important safety features (airbag and horn), are all apparently wired together into one circuit. I took my van to a mechanic who checked fuses= ok; problem is "airbag clockspring." He contacted 3 other mechanics and a Dodge dealer, and all said they were familiar with this problem with Dodge Caravan, and the problem is with the airbag clockspring. The mechanic explained the clockspring needs to be reset, but he and other mechanics won't attempt to fix, as they're worried about deploying airbag. The 2 dealers said the airbag may deploy on its own, or not deploy at all -- and that repair involves replacing the airbag clockspring. I'm upset and want Chrysler to pay for this repair -- this is not a maintenance item/issue -- this is a safety issue -- when the airbag light comes on, indicating failure (clockspring), the horn also is disabled. You cannot pass inspection w/out the horn working. I'm afraid airbag will deploy accidentally while I'm driving. I cannot afford this repair -- est. $95/clockspring + $200/labor = $300 or more! the mechanic knew of at least 1 other person who had exact same problem with Caravan; also, the two Dodge dealers in my area also stated they very familiar with this problem occuring in the Dodge Caravan! many of these failures are occurring, & most people are not reporting them!! in addition, mechanic said horn could be rewired to bypass the airbag/cruise con. Circuit, for ~ $50 -- but still have to worry about airbag deploying at wrong time/not at all + still have no cruise control. Also in steering, there's a loud whiney noise when steering wheel is turned;other times loss of power steering=difficulttosteer! +serpentinebelt broke off at ~32,000 mi!$700torepair!!

- Virginia Beach, VA, USA

problem #150

Mar 012000

Grand Caravan

  • miles
Horn will not work, airbag light is on and no electrical components on the steering column function. Dodge is aware of the problem but will not replace the clock.

- Valrico, FL, USA

problem #149

Aug 012002

Grand Caravan

  • miles
Failure of the clockspring that controls three safety devices, the air bag.the horn and the speed control.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

problem #148

Aug 112002

(reported on)

Grand Caravan

  • miles
Air bag light came on, and horn and cruise control failed simultaneously. Many other 1996 Grand Caravan owners have reported this same failure, and have been told the clock spring has failed. Given the number of identical complaints, this should be a recall item. I'm certain many more owners would report this if they were aware of so many others experiencing this problem, but give the modest cost of repair ($250 est.), most people have probably paid for this repair without reporting it since the potential safety problems are so serious (no horn or air bag!!) given the modest cost of repair and the serious injury that could result from not correcting this, Dodge should pay for this repair before someone is injured or killed. Isn't this what NHTSA is for? please help force Dodge to be responsible. Similar models and other model years have had problems with the same part, as well. Please respond, and let me know what I can do to encourage Dodge to correct this situation.

- Beavercreek, OH, USA

problem #147

Jan 152002

Grand Caravan

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
Airbag indicator light has come on/ horn, and cruise control stopped working. Dealer stated clockspring assembly needed to be replaced. The consumer stated that the air bag was inoperable until it was fixed.

- Knoxville, TN, USA

problem #146

Apr 202002

Grand Caravan

  • miles
No horn, no cruise control, clicking in column. And air bag light is on.

- Riverside, CT, USA

problem #145

Apr 232002

Grand Caravan

  • miles
The three components have ceased to work, apparently due to the clockspring. From information on the internet this is a frequent problem with theses vehicles.

- Virginia Beach, VA, USA

problem #144

Feb 012002

Grand Caravan

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
Airbag light was on, horn and cruise control stopped working, as well. Dealer has not been contacted.

- Columbia, TN, USA

problem #143

May 012002

Grand Caravan

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
Ea 01007; airbag light illuminates and stays on. Horn and cruise control are not operating as well. Dealer was notified, and a apppoiontment was made.

- Madison, WI, USA

problem #142

Jun 282002

Grand Caravan

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
Airbag light is on, horn and cruise control stopped working.

- Fruit Heights, UT, USA

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