What 547 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 Dodge Avenger

Headrest deployed

NHTSA ODI 11722601

Both head rest which is attached to airbags or have airbags in them I don’t know but the exploded open. Headrest could have exploded while someone was in the seat and got head injuries. No problem has not been confirmed by anyone but myself,husband and self employed mechanic, I didn’t know what to do. No, no type of warning before it happen. Passenger one exploded January 2025, driver exploded about May 2025.

NHTSA ODI 11702196

I was driving my car and the active headrests on the driver side and passenger side both deployed prematurely. I wasn't in any collisions and the headrests deployed. It was very unexpected when they went off as i was driving to school it put both my safety and my sisters safety at risk when they deployed. As stated previously i am unsure as to why they went off as i was never involved in any collisions. There were no warning lamps or any messages prior to them deploying.

NHTSA ODI 11618401

Driver side head rest exploded.

NHTSA ODI 11595581

On May 10, 2024 my passenger headrest deployed on its own. I went to work, came back to my car for lunch and heard a pop and saw my passenger headrest deployed. No accident, no one hit my car, just my car parked. I did some research and found a recall for my make and model. I contacted the dealership that I bought the car and was told there's no recall and my problem is mechanical. I contacted another dealership and they couldn't find the recall, but was willing to set up an appointment. I took my car to the dealership and was told, yes there was a recall, but the headrests were fixed. They also stated my car was out of warranty so the repair would be at my expense. The headrests are obviously a continuous problem. I am now concerned that my headrest could pop while I am driving and result in injury to my head and neck. I am concerned that I could end up getting into a accident or even die from an unexpected deployment that possibly cause a blackout or concussion. I zip tied my headrests since dealerships are refusing to fix the problem for free. They even told me to contact you. Please help me.

NHTSA ODI 11588844

The contact owns a 2013 Dodge Avenger. The contact stated that while her son was driving approximately 40 MPH, the front driver's side headrest restraint deployed. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not yet contacted. The contact stated that the same failure had previously occurred on the front passenger’s side headrest restraint. The cause of the previous failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 90,000.

NHTSA ODI 11587161

The contact owns a 2013 Dodge Avenger. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the passenger's side headrest deployed aggressively, striking the passenger in the head. The passenger did not receive medical attention. The contact stated that the plastic inside the headrest bent the bar, causing the headrest to deploy. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 37,600.

NHTSA ODI 11583046

The AHR in the drivers side headrest of my 2013 Dodge Avenger randomly deployed and will not reset. I believe it to have a common defect in that, under normal conditions, the AHR can deploy without any warning and strike the back of the occupant’s head. This condition is caused because the AHR contains a “cheap” plastic bracket that acts as a trigger mechanism and holds the spring loaded release in place, the drivers state. Chrysler used an inferior and inexpensive form of plastic which can crack and break down prematurely. There are hundreds of thousands of Chrysler vehicles equipped with the defective AHR and there is no way of knowing when the AHR in the headrest will spring forward. According to a the Chrysler class action, the following vehicles contain the AHR defect: 2010-2018 Dodge Journey; 2010-2011 Dodge Nitro; 2010-2012 Jeep Liberty; 2010-2017 Jeep Patriot or Compass; 2010-2012 Dodge Caliber; 2010-2018 Dodge Caravan; 2011-2018 Dodge Ram C/V 2011-2018 Dodge Durango; 2011-2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee; 2010-2014 Sebring/Avenger; 2011-2018 Chrysler Town & Country; 2011-2018 Chrysler 200; and 2011-2018 Chrysler 300. The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation in September 2019 called “Active Headrest Inadvertent Deployment,” where the government organization reviews consumer reports of inadvertent deployment of the AHRs, according to the Chrysler class action lawsuit. I maintain that Chrysler has known about the defects since 2010 but did not provide this information to the public. The Larry H Miller dodge in centennial co is telling me after having my car for over a week they aren’t responsible for this and won’t cover the repair.

NHTSA ODI 11557341

The headrest in front passenger side made a loud noise and opened. It's scared me, because I had no clue what the noise was from at the time. It was night time and all I can say is thank God no other cars were near me...I probably would have wrecked. I'm very thankful that my son was not sitting there when it happened. There were no lights or warnings and I never knew that could happen let alone know the headrests could pop open. The vehicle has not been looked at our inspected. I seen there was a recall on this but after entering my Vin, it says this car has no active recalls.

NHTSA ODI 11543514

The contact's cousin owns a 2013 Dodge Avenger. The contact stated while she was sitting in the front passenger’s side seat, the headrest air bag was deployed independently. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact sustained a concussion and a cervical sprain and sought medical attention the following day. No Police report was filed. The contact continued driving to the destination. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11534367

While driving and the headrest airbag exploded.

NHTSA ODI 11500995

The contact owns a 2013 Dodge Avenger. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph, the driver seat headrest restraint was erroneously deployed. The contact indicated that during the incident the vehicle had not crashed or abruptly stopped to cause the headrest restraint to deploy. During the incident, the contact sustained an injured neck. No medical treatment was required. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 133,000.

NHTSA ODI 11491028

Back of the headrest on driver and passenger seats are broke. Back of headrest popped out away from the front of the headrest. Recalls on other dodge avengers for this same issue just not my particular car.

NHTSA ODI 11473230

While the car was parked the driver's seat headrest sprung open and will not click into place again. The car has not had any collisions or impacts recently. I went to check for recalls and realized this is a common problem with 2013 dodge avengers. Luckily, this did not happen while I was driving the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11437267

The Contact owns a 2013 Dodge Avenger. The contact stated while driving approximately 25-30 mph, the driver’s side head restraint was inadvertently deployed. There was no warning light illuminated before or after the deployment of the head restraint. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 50,230.

NHTSA ODI 11426544

MY PASSENGER SIDE HEADREST DEPLOYED WHEN I WAS PARKING MY CAR

NHTSA ODI 11415071

DRIVER HEADREST DEPLOYED WHEN NO ACCIDENT OCCURRED. VERY FRUSTRATED BECAUSE NECK IS STARTING TO HURT WHEN DRIVING BECAUSE THE HEADREST IS FORWARD BUT 50%. THIS HAPPENED 1 MONTH AGO, 10/01/2020. VEHICLE WAS PARKED, NOT OCCUPIED.

NHTSA ODI 11372528

I WAS VACUUMING CAR AT CAR WASH WITH VEHICLE TURNED OFF AND PARKED, I MOVED SEAT FORWARD AND THE HEADREST ON SEAT POPPED OPENED ON IT'S OWN AND WILL NOT CLOSE

NHTSA ODI 11365525

THE HEAD REST POPPED APART WHILE CAR PARKED, WITH ALL THE INTERIOR MECHANICAL PARTS EXPOSES.

NHTSA ODI 11365040

WHILE I WAS DRIVING TO THE STORE ON 10/07/2020 AROUND THE CORNER OF MY HOUSE THE HEADREST DEPLOYED WHILE I WAS DRIVING. NO ACCIDENT, NO SUDDEN STOPS THE HEADREST JUST DEPLOYED. I DID CHECK TO SEE IF THERE WERE ANY RECALLS ON IT BUT NOT RECALLS. I DID FIND SEVERAL PEOPLE HAD THE SAME PROBLEMS AND HAD TAKEN THERE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP TO SEE ABOUT REPAIRS. EVERYONE WAS TOLD THAT THERE WAS NO RECALLS AND THEY COULD FIX IT OR REPLACE THE HEADREST, BUT IT WOULD BE AN OUT OF POCKET EXPENSE TO THE CUSTOMER. I FEEL THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN AN INVESTIGATION DUE TO THE FACT THAT HERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPLE CASE REGARDING THE SAME SITUATION. I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE AN INVESTIGATION STARTED SO THAT IT CAN BE DETERMINED THAT THIS IS A MANUFACTURES DEFECT AND ISSUE A RECALL SO THAT WE CAN GET THIS FIXED WITHOUT COST. THIS IS A DANGER TO SOMEONE DRIVING AND THE FACT THAT IT HAS ALREADY DEPLOYED IF ANY OF THE PEOPLE COMPLAINING ARE IN AN ACCIDENT THEY HAVE NO MEANS OF PROTECTION SINCE THE HEADREST HAS ALREADY DEPLOYED.

NHTSA ODI 11363508

THE PASSENGER HEAD REST DEPLOYED OR OPENED HITTING THE BACK OF MY PASSENGER AS I WAS DRIVING. MY PASSENGER WAS IN PAIN FOR A FEW DAYS. THE SEAT HEAD REST NOW SITS OUT OF PLACE AND IT IS VERY UNCOMFORTABLE AS YOU ARE SITTING FORWARD. I TRIED TO CHECK ON THE AMOUNT TO FIX AND IT IS OVER $1000 TO FIX.

NHTSA ODI 11362425

MY SON BOUGHT A 2013 DODGE AVENGER AND WHILE HE WAS DRIVING THE PASSENGER HEADREST EXPLODED! THIS IS DANGEROUS! I AS A PARENT AM AFRAID IT WILL HAPPEN ON THE DRIVER SIDE WHILE MY SON IS DRIVING AND CAUSE AN ACCIDENT! I TOOK IT TO DODGE AND THEY ARE TRYING TO SAY IT'S NOT A RECALL YET AND IT WOULD BE 800+ TO FIX! THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE AND I FEEL IS A DANGEROUS MALFUNCTIONING PART THAT NEEDS FIXED ON DODGE OR CHRYSLER'S END!!!!

NHTSA ODI 11362257

PASSENGER HEADREST EXPLODED WHILE PARKED IN A PARKING LOT NO DAMAGE FROM OTHER VEHICLES OR DAMAGE FROM OUTSIDE

NHTSA ODI 11354318

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 DODGE AVENGER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AFTER THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN PARKED, SHE NOTICED THAT THE HEADREST HAD INADVERTENTLY DEPLOYED WITHOUT IMPACT. THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO PUT THE HEADREST BACK TOGETHER HOWEVER, SHE NOTICED THAT THE HEADREST WAS FRACTURED AND DETACHED INTERNALLY MAKING IT UNABLE TO BE REATTACHED. THE CONTACT HAD NOT CONTACTED THE DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 47,083.

NHTSA ODI 11349268

THE PATCHES ON THE REAR DRIVER SIDE AND IN MIDDLE DO NOT CONNECT WITH LATCH FOR CAR SEAT

NHTSA ODI 11348805