2005 Dodge Grand Caravan Airbag Problems

Which parts fail

• Frontal › Sensor/control module
  35
• Frontal
  13
• Knee bolster
  4

Components named in complaints (front, side and curtain air bags, sensors and inflators).

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  1112%
• 25k–50k
  2932%
• 50k–75k
  2426%
• 75k–100k
  89%
• 100k–150k
  1314%
• 150k+
  67%

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

I was involved in an accident while in motion at 35 miles per hour in san antonio texas on a dry, 4 lane street, whereas a truck ran a stop on 5/6/2016. My vehicle frontend traveling straight on a level surface, 4 lane street & struck the other vehicle causing my vehicle to be totaled. I was wearing my seatbelt & suffered lower back, neck & left phemur injuries. I went to the hospital for emergency care. Since February 2016 I wrote letters to the car dealership whom dold me this vehicle & no response.

I rear ended a vehicle and no air bags were inflated. I just bought the vehicle from a private owner. I was traveling about 25 MPH when traffic stopped immediately. I hit my brakes but not soon enough. The vehicle I hit had no damage. I have a broken bumper and bent hood.

In the 05 and newer Dodge/Chrysler cars and minivans, there is a "knee blocker" airbag system installed on the driver's side below the steering column, that is defective in design and in it's intended use. The lower dash panel is attached to a metal frame that is hinged at the bottom and behind that is the airbag that deploys at just under 200 MPH. When the airbag inflates in an accident, this hard plastic reinforce panel will slam down on a driver's legs causing injury. But that's not all... When the driver's legs are struck, the first instinct is for the driver to recoil and bring their legs away from the cause of the pain. When they do this, this panel drops in front of the legs and now the driver cannot get their feet back to the brake pedal to stop the vehicle. If their vehicle continues to roll, there is a danger of a further collision with the driver having little control. …

There is a documented defect in the front airbag sensors that resulted in a Chrysler "safety improvement" campaign limited to mainly northern states. My car has this problem but has been in florida for its whole life. Clearly they recognize that there is a defect in this part but will not issue a recall for florida-based cars. Can you make them expand this recall to all 2005 Dodge caravans since it is a clear danger that they are not fully responding to.attached is what I found on the internet. Chrysler referred me to a local dealer who will charge me for the repair if Chrysler doesn't pay for it and they have made no commitment to pay if the defect turns out to be what they have recalled other vehicles of the same year and model for. …

Tl*- the contact stated that while driving the 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan a vehicle hit the contact's vehicle from behind. The contact was sitting at a railroad stop waiting for a train to pass when another vehicle hit her while driving at 55 MPH which caused the contacts vehicle to hit the vehicle that was sitting at the railroad crossing in front of her. The contact stated that she hit the vehicle with a hard force that caused damage to the front end of the vehicle. The crash resulted in all passengers having both back and neck injuries. The contact stated that the she and her 3 passengers sustained injuries which sent them to the hospital. The airbags didn't deploy and the front passenger's seat belt didn't restrain the passengers . The contact stated that she felt that the airbags didn't do anything to protect the front seat passenger or driver . The failure mileage was 34618.

Stopped at the traffic light and proceeded through the intersection. The vehicle was in motion and suddenly accelerated. Tried to slow the vehicle down using the brake pedal which would not engage or press down. Car continued to accelerate faster. Continued to try to break the car and slow down. Brakes did not respond. Tried to change the gear to neutral or park. Car kept accelerating. Pulled off the road into the curb and through a fence. As the car was approaching the building at high speed. Turned the car off and it continued into a concrete block commercial building and bounced back about 15-20 feet and stopped at that point. Front-end damage to the car. Knocked concrete block wall and door down. Blessed to be alive. Car was totaled. Also, the air bag did not deploy. Police said that the throttle must have been stuck open.

In 2013, the airbag sensor light came on as I was driving. I went to the dealership and was told it was the seat belt tensioner, which they replaced. Two years later, the airbag light came on again as I was driving and I took it to a local garage. I was told it was the seat belt tensioner again and they replaced it. The airbag light came on again in 2016 and they cleaned it out. On March 4, 2017, the airbag light came on again and I was told it was the seat belt tensioner again. As of March 5th, the light no longer comes on. I know there was a recall on the 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan on the front crash sensor in 2010 (ntsa campaign id 10V008000). I was told previously that my VIN number was affected. However, I'm beginning to wonder if that's not the case.

Chrysler/Dodge minivans 2005 and newer "knee bolster" airbag system, has a steel plate hinged at the bottom of the dash and is propelled by the deploying airbag into the driver's legs. The driver immediately and instinctively pulls the legs back and the assembly drops in front of the driver's legs preventing the driver from stopping the vehicle. That is if the driver's legs aren't broken by this, and then they can't stop the vehicle if they wanted to. This will lead to secondary and more serious collisions and possibly death for occupants in the vehicle because the driver cannot stop the vehicle.

The knee blocker airbag in my 05 Dodge Grand Caravan opened in a frontal collision. The airbag is behind a steel plate hinged at the bottom of the dash. Attached to this plate is the hard plastic panel. The airbag propelled this plate and panel into my shins, disabling me, and when I brought my legs back from the pain, the hard plastic panel dropped in front of my legs and prevented me from returning my feet to the brake. Had I been suffering from osteoporosis my legs would have been shattered and I could not have stopped my van, had it continued to roll after the initial collision.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 MPH, he lost control of the vehicle in an attempt to avoid a road animal. The contact crashed forcefully into the side of a ditch, went airborne and then crashed into a tree. The air bags failed to deploy with the impact. The contact sustained injuries to the head, wrist and hand. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to a collision center. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 146,500.

Related recalls

NHTSA investigations

Airbag complaints in other Grand Caravan years