Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (front, side and curtain air bags, sensors and inflators).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2002 Dodge Caravan owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I had purchased a 2002 Dodge Caravan se and immediately after it was back in the shop for repairs. I heard a noise in the window and the Dodge place told me it was nothing not to worry about it. Also I have made several trips to the Dodge place for the brakes (replaced 6 times ) , sliding door doesn't stay latched and always slides and hits my children while getting in or out of the vehicle, the drivers side seat belt comes undone for no reason (it wont stay latched), I had a flat and the tire jack broke while jacking up the van, I was stopped at a red light and all of a sudden my van just proceeded to go and I no control other than running in a ditch to stop, the van always drifts to the right when driving and dealer said it not faulty that's how its made to do, I had 7 sets of tires and the dealership said they couldn't find anything wrong with this vehicle , I had an alignment done 4 …
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.
Tl* 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
Dt: the consumer's vehicle hit a semi trailer at about 20 MPH and the frontal airbags did not deploy. The driver tried to brake, and the impact was in the front of the vehicle. The bumper was moved back 8 inches, the transmission, the cooler and radiator were bent over the motor. Consumer has filed a complaint with Chrysler, and they sent an investigator to see the damage and take pictures. The van was totaled. There was 1 injury, the injury would not had been as bad if the airbags would have deployed. The passenger suffered internal injuries, bleeding, and bruising due to seat belt failure.
Tl 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.
Tl* 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
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. …
I bought a Dodge Caravan 2002. Out of nowhere the airbag light comes on when I turn the steering wheel. I took it to a Dodge dealership to have it checked but because my Caravan didn't fall into the category of that recall it was not taken care of. The person at the service desk did say that many caravans have had that problem. So I called Chrysler corporation and they stated that because the car has 80,000+ miles on it they will not do anything because it is out of warranty. Even though the defect was there before. This isn't fair and I think that it should be taken care of by Chrysler because they sold the defective van to begin with.
Tl* 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.
Dt*: 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.
Airbag complaints in other Caravan years
Frequently asked questions
How common are airbag problems on the 2002 Dodge Caravan?
NHTSA has 59 complaints about the air bags of the 2002 Dodge Caravan, 24% of the model year's 245 complaints. The component named most often is frontal (13 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2002 Dodge Caravan airbag problems?
No. NHTSA lists no air bags recall for the 2002 Dodge Caravan, though it has 4 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2002 Dodge Caravan airbag problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 50,000 miles, and 19% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 7 crashes, 1 fire and 2 injuries and 1 death to air bags 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.