Clocksprings are part of the driver airbag system and are located inside your steering column, under your steering wheel. They allow the electrical signal from a detected crash to be sent to the driver airbag, while still allowing you to turn your steering wheel during normal driving without damaging the airbag wires. This way, the crash sensors or airbag control module can send the deployment signal to the airbag, no matter how your steering wheel is turned. If they fail to work properly, the results can be deadly.
Recalls – Unfortunately, many clocksprings have proven to be defective. Although millions of them have been recalled, there are still many of them on the road today. In our experience, defective clocksprings are most commonly found in vehicles made by Chrysler, including those sold under the Chrysler, Plymouth and Dodge nameplates. Millions of the clockspring affected by these safety recall were manufactured by supplier called Methode.
Defects – There have been several common failure modes for clocksprings, each of which can prevent driver airbag deployment. This can, and has, caused significant personal injury and wrongful death during accidents where consumers were deprived of the protection of the airbag. Some of these defects were caused by cost-savings measures that took priority over consumers’ safety. Others were caused by manufacturing and quality control problems. Regardless of their cause, the result is the same: unnecessary injuries and deaths when your driver airbag fails to deploy. An expert can help you determine whether and why your clockspring failed in your accident, and the specific defect causing the failure.
Chrysler says they do not cover a defective clockspring on my 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan that seems to cause the airbag light to stay illuminated.
Does that seem right?
Whether a defective clockspring is covered under warranty depends on the terms of your warranty (i.e, are you still within the time and mileage limits). Either way, I strongly recommend that you get the defective clockspring replaced as soon as possible, as I know consumers have died in crashes involving Chrysler minivans because their clockspring failed when they needed it most. I also recommend you report this issue to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which you can do by following the link from my article on this issue:
http://www.theairbagblog.com/airbag-laws/how-to-report-an-airbag-complaint-to-the-government/
Hope this helps.
I have 2001 sebring for customer with squib error 1 & 2 but no codes and I found your wonderful site. Have not found any info on the squib problem other than a possibility of a bad clockspring . Mileage is low and srs light is on why wasn’t all the chrysler products covered. It makes this car hard to to sell if we don’t know the cost of repairs (trying to sell for my neighbor )
Great site !
Andy – There are other potential causes for squib errors, including squib defects. I recommend the entire air bag system be thoroughly inspected and repaired by a qualified mechanic knowledgeable about Chrysler’s air bag systems. You definitely should not sell the vehicle in its current condition, since it may result in a failure of the air bag to deploy in a crash, and can result in serious personal injury or death. It’s also possible that it deploys unexpectedly and causes injury or death. So, I recommend getting it fixed promptly before selling it.