1996 Dodge Caravan problems

What is wrong

On certain mini vans, the clockspring assembly may have been wound incorrectly during the vehicle assembly process.

Risk

This condition will manifest itself through illumination of the air bag warning lamp, and could eventually result in a driver's air bag open circuit, if the part is not replaced in a reasonable amount of time.

Remedy

Dealers will replace the clockspring assembly on all vehicles with 70,000 miles or less. An extended lifetime warranty will also be placed on this component for all affected vehicles, regardless of mileage. Daimlerchrysler will also reimburse owners who have paid to have the clockspring replaced on their vehicles. Owner notification began november 18, 2002. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact daimlerchrysler at 1‑800‑853‑1403.

Recall number 02V293000 · Recall details

What is wrong

Vehicle description: mini vans built with 3.3l and 3.8l engines have fuel rails with nitrole rubber o-ring seals that can degrade over time. Fuel leakage from the underhood fuel injection fuel rail could result, increasing the likelihood of a vehicle fire.

Risk

Fuel leakage in the presence of an ignition source can result in a fire.

Remedy

Dealers will install a seal on the vehicle fuel rails to prevent external leakage of fuel from the fuel rail crossover tube, should the existing o-rings continue to degrade. Owner notification began on january 25, 2002. Due to the large quantity of vehicles involved in this campaign, the owner notification will be phased over the next several months. However, if a vehicle is leaking fuel from the o-rings, the vehicle should be taken into a dealer to have this repaired as soon as possible. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact daimlerchrysler at 1‑800‑853‑1403.

Recall number 00V268000 · Recall details

What is wrong

Vehicle description: minivans. Fuel can leak from the fuel tank at the interface of the fuel pump module attachment.

Risk

If a fuel leak occurs in the presence of an ignition source, a fire could occur.

Remedy

Dealers will replace the fuel pump module attaching nut with a nut that includes tighter design tolerances. The sealing o-ring will also be replaced.

Recall number 99V216000 · Recall details

What is wrong

Vehicle description: mini vans equipped with integrated child seats. The shoulder harness restraint on the integrated child seat can become difficult to extract when the safety belt latch plate becomes contaminated.

Risk

This can cause difficulty in releasing a child from the restraint.

Remedy

Dealers will clean the latch mechanism. An extender will be added to the emergency release anchor for the child seat safety belts so that the release clips are more visible and accessible to the operator in the event that the retractor mechanism can not be unlocked. In addition, an instructional owner's manual supplement card will be provided.

Recall number 98V185000 · Recall details

What is wrong

The bolts which secure the integrated child seat modules to the seat frame can break.

Risk

In the event of a vehicle accident, the child seat may not provide adequate protection to the occupant.

Remedy

Dealers will replace the integrated child seat module bolts.

Recall number 96V136000 · Recall details

What is wrong

A static electric charge can build up on the ungrounded metal section of the fuel filler tube.

Risk

This condition could cause a spark to occur when fueling the vehicle and possibly ignite the fuel vapors.

Remedy

Dealers will install a ground strap for the fuel filler tube.

Recall number 96V002000 · Recall details

What is wrong

In certain vehicles, the engine cylinder head oil galley plug does not seal properly and engine cylinder head oil is not adequately retained.

Risk

Inadequate sealing and retention of the plug can result in oil leakage which could cause a fire in the engine compartment.

Remedy

Dealers will install an expansion plug and retaining bracket over the cylinder head oil galley plug.

Recall number 96V006000 · Recall details

What is wrong

The fuel tank rollover valve can allow fuel to pass into the vapor canister resulting in the potential for fuel leakage.

Risk

Fuel leakage increases the potential for a vehicle fire.

Remedy

Dealers will replace the fuel tank filler tube with a filler tube that has an additional rollover valve. The associated rollover valve vapor hoses will be rerouted.

Recall number 95V236000 · Recall details

What is wrong

The bolts which secure the rear bench seats to the seat risers may be embrittled and fracture.

Risk

In case of an accident, the bolt may fail and can cause the seat to break away from the seat risers, which increases the potentialof injury to its occupants.

Remedy

Dealers will replace the rear bench seat to riser bolts.

Recall number 95V225000 · Recall details

There is no summary currently available

EA01007

There is no summary currently available

PE00032

There is no summary currently available

RQ00008

EA99013

There is no summary currently available

PE99010

This engineering analysis was opened on january 31, 1997 based on information gathered during preliminary evaluation (pe), pe96-051. The pe was opened on august 19, 1996, to investigate allegations of fuel leakage from the area where the fuel pump/sending unit joins the fuel tank.for brevidy, this area will be referred to as the pump/tank interface.these allegations were first received by odi on august 2, 1996 while investigating allegations of chrysler minivan throttle shaft hand-up, and uncontrolled engine speed, in pe96-036.while discussing that issue with a fleet, it was alleged that at least 10(out of 40) 1996 early production chrysler minivans leaked fuel from the pump/tank interface.analysis of the complaint and warranty data indicate fuel tank leakage incidents in the subject vehicles predominatly affected early production vehicles.the data involving confirmed incidents of tank/pump interface leaks suggest that those failures have been declining since july 1996.odi has received no reports of the subject condition involving original equipment pumps and tanks since september, 1997.currently this isssue does not reqresent a continuing field concern.odi will continue to monitor the subject vehicles for fuel leaks of any type.a safety related defect trend has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resoured does not appear to be warranted.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that no safety related defect exists.the agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.

EA97002

This investigation is closed.chrysler corporation has submitted a defect information report identifying a safety defect and outlining the proposed remedy.recall number 98v‑185 has been assigned to this safety recall.

EA97003

Cfas sent a follow-up letter on december 12, 1996, to change the intent of the petition to airbag aggressivity and deployment variability.the federal safety agency received the letter on 12/12/96; accordingly, the petition due day was changed to april 12, 1997.cfas petitioned the agency to conduct an investigation to determine whether the airbag crash sensor and/or deployment systems for the 1991-92 chevrolet corsica/beretta, 1990-92 ford taurus, and 1994-96 chrysler minivans are defective.cfas allege that information on low speed crashes here occupants have suffered fatal injuries suggests [that the above vehicles] have defective airbag crash sensor and/or deployment systems.

DP96014

Analysis of known incidents indicates a declining trend over the last five calendar quarters.extensive testing of incident vehicles has failed to reproduce occurrences of full latch disengagement.no failure mode which could cause a properly latched door to lose full latch engagement while driving has been verified as a causal factor in any of the known incident vehicles during this investigation.a safety-related defect trend has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.however, odi will continue to monitor complaint input for the nexy year and will request updated reports from chrysler during that process.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that no safety-related defect exists.the agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.

EA96025

Odi continues to receive complaints alleging latching/retractor mechanism problems.chrysler's assessment of the problem indicates that owners of the vehicles are not adhering to the cleaning requirements for the seat.the seat appears to malfunction if crumbs of food or beverage residue accumulates on the latching tongue in thewell located between the child's legs.odi has 19 complaints of retract lockup.seven of these complaints report cutting the straps to remove the child.two of the seven consumers allege the child was choking.chrysler reports 60 owner/field reports which indicated 19 harnesses were cut to remove the children.additional information is needed to fully assess the safety consequence of the alleged defect and to evaluate the chrysler corporation's rational for not conducting a safety recall campaign.

SQ96016

Analysis to date indicates that some of the subject vehiclescontinue to experience fuel leaks from the fuel tank at the sending unit interface.most often the leak involves the o-ring seal.

PE96051

Chrysler maintains that the common factor contributing to known sliding door opening incidents is prior incorrect dealer latch adjustment.chrysler attributes this problem to an inaccurate service manual procedure - sliding door latch/lock control, removal and installation.chrysler furnished information showing that six of its complaints, and two of odi's, involved vehicles that had undergone prior repairs to the affected sliding door.chrysler has addressed the problem by issuing two technical service bulletins.tsb 26-06-96, service manual revisions, was issued in june 1996 and includes a service revision (#81-370-6105a) correcting service manual sliding door repair procedures.tsb 23-39-96, sliding door(s) difficult to open from the outside and/or inside, was issued june 28, 1996.chrysler identified three design changes involving the subject components: (1)sliding door latch pawl spring force increased from 5.4 newtons to 8.0 newtons in september 1995 to enhance pawl rotation return to neutral position; (2)adjustable sliding door hinge implemented in november 1995 to reduce variation in sliding door fit; and(3)sliding door striker attachment holes revised in january 1996 to eliminate up/down adjustment of striker to improve installation process and reduce variability of alignment between latch and striker.at present, odi is not aware of any incidents involving vehicles built in or after january 1996.odi has continued to receive complaints of sliding doors opening while the vehicles are in motion, including vehicles with no prior service history to the affected sliding door assembly.owners allege that the doors open anywhere from a few inches to fully open, at speeds ranging from 15 to 60 MPH.odi has also received numberous complaints alleging difficulty in latching the subject sliding doors and/or difficulty in opening one or both sliding doors.

PE96038

There is no summary currently available

PE96008

There is no summary currently available

PE95053