VehicleVerdict

1997 Dodge Caravan airbags problems

The 1997 Dodge Caravan has 154 airbags complaints filed with NHTSA — 15% of the year's total, and down from the prior model year.

154

Airbags complaints

15%

Share of year

27

Crash-involved

1

Related recalls

Airbags complaints by year

Related recalls

02V293000AirbagsNovember 7, 2002 · 1,500,521 units

Defect

ON CERTAIN MINI VANS, THE CLOCKSPRING ASSEMBLY MAY HAVE BEEN WOUND INCORRECTLY DURING THE VEHICLE ASSEMBLY PROCESS.

Consequence

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.

What owners report

CONSUMER'S VEHICLE WAS HIT HEAD ON BY ANOTHER VEHICLE AT 40 MPH. ONLY THE PASSENGER'S SIDE AIR BAG DEPLOYED. HOWEVER, DRIVER'S SIDE AIR BAG FAILED TO DEPLOY. DRIVER SUSTAINED BRUISES TO BREAST AND STOMACH. RECALL 04V480000 AIR BAG CLOCK SPRING WAS ISSUED. BUT THIS VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE…

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Airbags · July 20, 2004 · crash

Common questions

How many airbags complaints does the 1997 Dodge Caravan have?

NHTSA has 154 complaints about the 1997 Dodge Caravan airbags — 15% of all complaints filed for that model year.

Are there recalls for the 1997 Dodge Caravan airbags?

Yes — 1 NHTSA recall campaign for this model year is tied to the airbags: 02V293000.

Related

Based on NHTSA ODI data through June 2026. Complaints are consumer-reported and unverified. Updated July 5, 2026.

Compiled by Sharon Ben-Moshe, Founder.