Chrysler is conducting a safety improvement campaign involving 312,442 model year 2005-2006 Dodge Caravan, Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country vehicles originally sold in or currently registered in the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Alaska and the District of Columbia.

The front crash sensors may crack under certain environmental conditions and allow water to enter into the sensor. This can cause the sensor to become inoperative and illuminate the airbag warning light. The crash sensor was supplied by Robert Bosch Corporation in Farmington Hills, Michigan. This recall demonstrates yet another problem Chrysler had with its up-front crash sensors, continuing a pattern from prior defective air bag sensors.

These sensors were added to enhance the performance of the airbag system in certain frontal crashes. If the front crash sensors become inoperative, the driver is immediately alerted by illumination of the airbag warning light and the vehicle should be promptly serviced. Until the vehicle is repaired, the airbags may not provide the enhanced protection in the event of a crash. Chrysler will replace the front airbag sensors with a new design. This service will be performed free of charge. The safety improvement campaign will begin during June 2010. Chrysler’s campaign number is J38. 10V-008.

Daimler Chrysler is recalling 270,958 model year 2005 Chrysler Town and Country and 2005 Dodge Caravan minivans originally sold in or currently registered in the 27 states plus the District of Columbia that use greater amounts of salt for winter road deicing.

The up-front (UF) air bag sensors that contain brass bushings installed in these vehicles may corrode and crack allowing water to enter the sensor. These sensors provide enhanced air bag performance in certain types of frontal crashes. In one of these crashes, with one or both of the vehicle’s UF sensors inoperative, the occupants will not benefit from the enhanced air bag protection that these sensors would provide.

For vehicles registered in the recall states, dealers will replace the original UF air bag sensors with ones with greater corrosion resistance. Vehicles registered in other states will obtain a lifetime free replacement of any UF sensor that fails. The campaign is expected to begin during July 2007.

DaimlerChrysler has not decided that this is a defect related to motor vehicle safety. However, it has informed NHTSA that it will provide the modifications described above. This recall was the subject of a Preliminary Evaluation, PE06-003, conducted by the Office of Defects Investigation. 07V-192.

In my opinion, Chrysler’s claim that the acknowledged cracking and leakage into its front air bag sensors is not a safety defect is ridiculous.  Surely, their engineers did not design those sensor to crack and leak intentionally.  And, if the sensors were not needed, why were they used in the first place?  To me, this sounds like a company trying to avoid responsibility for its defective products.

Our client was driving a 1997 Dodge Intrepid in Florida when it was involved in an offset frontal collision.  Despite the head-on crash, the airbags failed to deploy.  This caused the driver to suffer multiple, severe blunt force trauma injuries.  These injuries, resulting from the air bag not deploying, included traumatic brain injury (TBI), chest injuries and internal injuries.  Tragically, these injuries resulted in a wrongful death.

Dodge Airbag Failed to Deploy

Our investigation revealed that the front airbag crash sensors used by Chrysler in this 1997 Dodge Intrepid were enclosed inside a plastic shell, instead of a steel casing.  This caused the crash sensor to be severely damaged early during the crash, before it could send the deployment signal to the airbag.  Also, the vehicle’s structure was designed in such a way that that many crashes outside the vehicle’s frame rails (such as when two cars collide head-on but don’t perfectly overlap) would not trigger those sensors.