Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (buckles, retractors, anchors and pretensioners).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1998 Dodge Caravan owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
While driving between 35-45 MPH, going around a curb, the back of the van skidded. This resulted in the vehicle going over a hill, and impacting a tree head on. Upon impact, only passenger's air bag deployed. Also, the seat belt failed to retract. Driver sustained I facial injuries. Vehicle was totaled.
Dt: the contact owns a 1998 Dodge Caravan. The vehicle was involved in a frontal accident at 55 MPH. Upon impact, the air bags did not deploy, and the seat belt did not restrain. The contact's husband was driving the vehicle and he hit the steering wheel, and his coworker was the passenger, and he went into the windshield. Both occupants where wearing their seat belts and where properly restrained. The air bag warning light was on before recall repairs had been done in July 2005, and horn would not work. After the recall repairs were completed the light did not come back on. There was pre-impact braking to both occupants. This caused injuries to both occupants. The dealership and the manufacturer have been contacted, and they told her they would send her file off to special investigations, and she May hear from back from them, and she May not. This accident occurred on October 11, 2005. …
The safety seats in my van have defective latch plates! The latch plates that I'm referring too is the plate that is right at the child's armpit level. This latch plate when pulled on will pull completely apart. I believe that this is unsafe for my son to ride in. I have read a lot on child seat safety and it is very important to me. I velieve that with the knowledge I have in this area that in a car wreak this latch plate would pull apart and my son could be very seriously injured or even killed. He would probably be thrown between the two shoulder belts instead of being held between them. I have reported this to Chrysler and they have replaced my buckles 5 time. They do not consider this to be a defect yet I do! I have had to purchase my son a century car seat. All 5 of the buckles that I was given all had the same problem. I don't know how they think a child would be safe! …
Our middle row seat belts stop working. They don't retrack on their own. This is about the 4th we have to replace them both. We just replaced them in January of 07 and they don't retrack again. According to the dealer the pin or I forget what they called it snapped again. We have not been in an accident since they were replaced in January. We are afraid that even after replacing them that they will not protect or kids if god forbid we are in an accident. They keep breaking with just everyday use. Each seat belt cost around $200.00 just for the parts and they are currently on backorder for a month and now my kids can't sit in the middle rows.
Both rear seat belts have body sealant oozing on them - to the point where one will not budge from the side wall. The other, if you pull hard will release, but it is covered with sticky sealant which one would not want to wear!! I called a Dodge dealership and they told me that they have seen many of these problems, but with my vehicle being over 36,000 miles, they wouldn't repair it unless I paid ~$450.00. Meanwhile, I cannot buckle my children up. I think that this is a manufacturing defect and should be repaired free of charge. They are fixing this problem on most other minivans because they are under 36,000 miles. Thanks - ed
I was forced to brake suddenly and the car seat my 4 year old daughter was buckeled into went flying into the back of the passenger seat. The problem is that the seat belts in the 1998 Dodge Caravan are easily depressed by a game boy, dolls or my older daughter either buckeling or unbuckeling her booster seat. I've found my 4 year olds strap in car seat unbuckeled at least 6 times in the past 4 years. Had we been in a serious accident rather than just a sudden braking my daughter would have been severly injured.
I found out that the 1998 Dodge Caravan that I purchased has two design flaws. One is that the vehicle does not have brake-shift interlock. The other is that the vehicle is equipped with Chrysler gen3 seat belts that, in some vehicles, have unlatched while people were driving. I believe that the government should order a recall of the 1998 Caravan for both of these important safety issues.
While proceeding to make a turn, another vehicle passed the insured on the opposite side of the road and hit the insured's vehicle causing it to spin around, the seat belt did not engage and the passenger was thrown to the floor, the seat belt was still around the passenger when the vehicle came to a rest, there were 3 injuries.(claim#52-2474-339)
The vehicle is equipped with gen3 seat belts which has a release button which protrudes from the rest of the buckle. The button can be accidentally y bumped which causes the buckle to release. The consumer contacted the manufacturer about the buckle but they refused to replace the seat belts.
The guides that the rear seat belts run through are "melting" so the rear seat belts do not go through the guides as they should. We have stopped using them because they would fail in an accident because they will not retract securely on a passenger.
Related recalls
Seat belts › Rear/other
On certain minivans, some trim material can loosen and drop into the rear outboard seat belt assembly, causing the seat belt to become inoperative.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the trim with foam blockers and inspect and replace all 3rd row seat belt assemblies. Owner notification began June 3, 2002.
NHTSA investigations
Rear seat belt malfunction
This investigation was opened January 16, 2002, based on seven reports alleging the third row seat belt retractors failed on certain 1997 and 1998 model year caravan and voyager vehicles.the reports indicated a tar like substance entered the retractor mechanism, thus causing the retractor to jam or bind.in this condition the seat belt is rendered inoperable, as the webbing cannot retract or be withdrawn from the…
Seat Belt complaints in other Caravan years
Frequently asked questions
How common are seat belt problems on the 1998 Dodge Caravan?
NHTSA has 23 complaints about the seat belts of the 1998 Dodge Caravan, 4% of the model year's 629 complaints. The component named most often is front › buckle assembly (5 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1998 Dodge Caravan seat belt problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 02V-076 (rear/other, Mar 8, 2002). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 1998 Dodge Caravan seat belt problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 100,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 5 crashes, 1 fire and 10 injuries to seat belts problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.