The air bag light is on and the horn will no longer work. I understand that this is a common problem among caravan owners.
1996 Dodge Grand Caravan airbags complaints
Page 3 of 8: complaints 41 to 70 of 211, newest first, as owners wrote them.
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!!
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.
Failure of the clockspring that controls three safety devices, the air bag.the horn and the speed control.
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 the federal safety agency 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.
Airbag indicator light has come on/ horn, and cruise control stopped working. Dealer stated clockspring assembly needed to be replaced.*ak the consumer stated that the air bag was inoperable until it was fixed.
No horn, no cruise control, clicking in column. And air bag light is on.
Airbag light was on, horn and cruise control stopped working, as well. Dealer has not been contacted.
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.
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. Please provide more information.
Front crash at 40 MPH, neither airbag deployed. Consumer suffered minor injuries, damage to vehicle unknown at this time.
Airbag light is on, horn and cruise control stopped working.
Airbag light is on, horn stopped working, and cruise control works intermittently.
Airbag light is on/horn, and cruise control stopped working. Dealer stated clockspring assembly needed to be replaced.*ak driver's side rear wheel cylinder had to be replaced.
At 57k miles, the light came on for the airbag. This caused failure of horn & airbag.the manufacturer said it wasn't their problem. Dealer said they have had multiple cases of this. But each refused to repair it at no cost and charged over $300 for the safety repair. I am deeply concerned that this safety issue is not covered. It can cause financial hardships for not only us, but others as well. This vehicle has never been wrecked and I am the original owner. It appears that chrysler has put a price on safety allowing those who cannot afford to repair their defective airbags to risk injury or death. Please let us know what can be done for the manufacturer to assume responsibility. Thanks, I appreciate your help.
Consumer took vehicle to dealer for service. During service mechanic stated that air bag light was illuminating on dashboard due to clock spring malfunctioning.
Ea 01 007 air bag clockspring: consumer states the air bag light remains on while driving, also the horn and the cruise control works intermittently when turning to the right. The dealer notified. *jb dealer stated it could be a bad wire int he steering column or the clock spring, but could not determine problem unless steering wheel is taken apart.
The clockspring failure caused several components to stop functioning including the driver side airbag, horn and cruise control. I understand this is a fairly common problem among dodge vehicles and am upset that they first charge a sizable diagnostic fee only to determine that this common problem has occurred rather than offering a free part replacement which would render the diagnostic uncessary. The air bag and horn should be considered by dodge to be safety components and if this clockspring assembly is a commonly defective part, it should be replaced as part of a recall program.
Air bag sensor light came on and stayed on all day, indicating a malfunction of air bags/ horn, and cruise control.
Airbag light illuminated; horn inoperative; cruize control inoperative. Dealer replaced the "clockspring" ($297). Turns out every '96 caravan owner I know has had this fail, and I didn't even know the horn wouldn't have worked if I'd needed it until the dealer pointed it out.
Airbag light is on, dealer determined clock spring assembly has to be replaced.
Clock spring failure from dealer diagnosis. Appears to be common problem. Airbag is safety item.
Air bag light will come on and stay on after taking it to the dealer. Dealer noted that clock spring in the vehicle will have to be replaced. *ak horn would not operate.
Horn, cruise control, airbag have stopped working - clock spring problem???
Clockspring problem -- "airbag" light on, no cruise control or horn failed.
Ea 01 007/air bag clockspring: air bag sensor light remains on while driving and horn/cruise control are inoperative, dealer notfied. *ak
No summary listed for above vehicle.
All 3 component failures listed in complaint due to failure of clock spring assembly. Chrysler is well aware of this problem as they have replaced over 124,000 of them but refuses to pay for the repair. My dealer qouted me $250 cost to repair. This is in line with research results for cost of this repair. Hopefully the federal safety agency can exert pressure on chrysler to cover this defect as it is clearly a safety issue. Thanks for listening.
The air-bag warning light flickered as the steering wheel was turned, then, eventually stayed lit. Dodge refused to cover the repair. It has not been repaired due to cost of diagnosis and repair. Also have poor opinion of service department.
1996 dodge caravan has the very common dodge oil leak...airbag light on also..horn does not work.
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