Chrysler Group LLC is pulling about 356,000 Dodge Caravan, Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivans off the road in so-called “salt belt” states due to problems with the airbags.
The Chrysler minivan recall only affects 2005 and 2006 model year minivans sold or registered in 28 states in the Midwest, the East, New England, and the District of Columbia. The affected region is often known as the “salt belt” due to the heavy use of salt on roads during winter. It also affects vehicles in Canada.
The company says that an airbag sensor can crack under certain environmental conditions. Water could enter the sensor and damage it, causing the airbag not to deploy properly when needed. If the sensor fails, the driver would receive a warning light indicating there was an airbag problem, the company stated.
The sensor determines the speed and how the airbag should be deployed in case of an accident. They are not the main sensor that decides that the airbag should be deployed. There have been no injuries or incidents reported in connection to the faulty airbag sensors.
The Chrysler recall affects 355,562 of the 2005-2006 Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge Caravan and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans. Drivers in the U.S. own 259,437 of those vehicles, while the remaining 72,035 are owned by drivers in Canada.
Chrysler is not calling the action a recall, saying that it is a “safety improvement campaign” because the loss of the airbags does not affect the roadworthiness of the cars and that the vehicles would still meet federal crash standards. However, officials in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) say the agency considers the campaign to be a recall.