What 635 owners told NHTSA about the 2014 Chrysler Town And Country

Driving home from work, went over train tracks and heard a pop from the passenger air bag. It did not deploy all the way, just came open. I looked online for a recall and although its very common, there wasn't one. It's a plastic peice that let go and it needs complete replacement.

NHTSA ODI 11745788

2014 Chrysler Town & Country – VIN [XXX] Both front active head restraints (driver and passenger) have self-deployed without any crash or impact, on two separate occasions about 3–4 years apart. The first occurred around 2019. Each time we were driving normally with occupants seated. We heard a sudden “pop” and the head restraint opened, exposing the internal mechanism. No one was struck or injured, but the unexpected deployment was distracting and occurred close to an occupant. After each event, the head restraint could not be reset or closed and remains deployed. The vehicle now has an airbag/SRS warning light that stays on, suggesting the restraint system may not function properly in a crash. There were no warning lights or symptoms before deployment. The deployed head restraints are still installed and available for inspection. A Chrysler dealer previously acknowledged the issue and ordered a replacement head restraint, but the repair was not completed due to relocation during the COVID period. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11711822

We were getting in to the vehicle, the vehicle was parked, and when we were getting in, the side aire bag exploded, hitting my daughter on the face, the car never was in a accident, it wasn’t hit by nothing, the car wasn’t moving, when they exploded, smoke was coming from there

NHTSA ODI 11700223

Left Rear sliding door shut door stuck in locked position and will not unlock manually or by powering. Air bag light stays on.

NHTSA ODI 11682226

Vehicle engine exploded in the middle of the night. Car would remote start on its own as I would lock the doors and walk away prior to the incident. Also the airbag light would come off and on. Notice the day of the incident that the dimmer would disappear and reappear. Very strange I thought. The house could've burned down while we were sleeping. If it wasn't for our neighbors and the quick response of those firefighters it could've possibly burned the house down while we were in there sleeping. The van was picked up by the insurance company two days ago. Not sure what happened as far as it being inspected yet. They have given me the silent treatment. Went to a Chrysler dealership, not where I bought it. This van has had one recall done in 2015. Rear quarter vent window switch.

NHTSA ODI 11676100

The driver's side active restraint headrest deployed unexpectedly while parked. The vehicle has never been in an accident. Upon inspection, I can see where there are plastic retaining holes that that had a metal retaining pin in it cracked. The metal pin was still in its clip. The vehicle is drivable and available for inspection. The vehicle was parked and unoccupied when the head restraint went off. No injuries were incurred. However in order to drive the vehicle now, the seat back must be adjusted back making the driving position awkward. Neither the vehicle nor the component has been inspected by anyone at this time. There were no warning lamps or messages presented prior to the issue. I did recently notice that the back plastic cover on the headrest was askew and figured it had been bumped loose by a rear rider at some time. However, it now seems that this was showing the weakening and deformation of the plastic retaining parts that were holding the metal pin.

NHTSA ODI 11676104

I was adjusting the headrest and the active headrest Broke Free and released. No excessive pressure just a standard adjustment.

NHTSA ODI 11674093

The contact owns a 2014 Chrysler Town and Country. The contact stated that while driving at 45 MPH, she crashed into the rear of a stopped Tesla, which crashed into another unknown vehicle. The floor air bag deployed and struck her knees. The driver's side air bag deployed. The passenger-side airbag deployed backward and struck the front windshield. No warning lights illuminated. The driver's side seat belt fractured. The passenger side seat belt was locked in its original position. The contact was able to continue to drive. A police report was filed. There were no reported fires. The contact sustained bruises to her chest and knees, but medical attention was not provided. The local dealer was not contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 84,135.

NHTSA ODI 11668520

Wife was driving down the road and side airbags deployed without cause.

NHTSA ODI 11654981

I was driving in normal conditions and as i went over railroad tracks, which were not overly bumpy, the driverside headrest hit me in the back of my head while driving. It appereared to be popped out. Took it to our mechanic and the plastic that holds the retainer pin is broken, which caused the headrest to spring forward.

NHTSA ODI 11648921

The steering wheel controls stopped working. Had a mechanic look at it and said it was the clock spring contacts were compromised.

NHTSA ODI 11627976

Drivers Headrest Airbag went off unexpectedly causing minor whiplash to myself, the driver and causing uncomfortable head placement and high repair costs.

NHTSA ODI 11605935

The front passenger headrest activated with no cause. It exploded out luckily no one was in the seat. It is a known problem with chrysler. When I contacted the company as for as the safety warranty goes, they said I missed it by two weeks. It exploded due to faulty equipment. It is literally a time bomb waiting to go off. The driver side has not gone off, but I am afraid it will deploy when driving down the road and hit me in the back of the head. I followed up with the manufacturer but never head anything back. I purchased part out of pocket to replace.

NHTSA ODI 11602016

Active head rest deployed without collision (or even being hit slightly).

NHTSA ODI 11559600

The passenger side head rest basically exploded it felt as if we had been rear ended but were not. It threw my head forward my seatbelt locked around my chest and neck we were in stop and go traffic so moving very slowly. My husband was driving he and I had no idea what happened we pulled over and examined it then i used my phone to look it up online. The head rest is supposed to have a safety mechanism similar to an air bag so that on impact it is supposed to release with a spring and bounce back to help prevent neck injury. However I found that Chrysler among other manufacturers opted to use a plastic and aluminum pin system which has been proven to just "let go" for no reason thankfully it was not the driver's side because we would have gone off the road or struck the vehicle in front of us. I had a headache and neck and upper neck pain for a few days but without health insurance i didn't get seen. We are only looking at getting this repaired i have attempted to contact a local dealership to fix it as it is still separated and looks awful. This is a safety issue and we should not have to pay for this repair. We financed the van in June and will be paying for it for the next few years. Thankfully nothing more serious did not happen when it malfunctioned

NHTSA ODI 11549360

I drive for Lyft and Uber and have had this vehicle spontaneously shut down while I am driving. I have had three places check it and it is NOT the starter, battery, or alternator. I have replaced the ECU and other items and the mechanics cannot tell me what's wrong. Furthermore, there are NO codes that show on the vehicle. The vehicle on the way to the mechanic shut down in traffic and as per usual, started back up and the traction control light came on. When the mechanic disconnected the positive cable on the battery to check the alternator, battery, and starter the code disappeared and the car drove fine on the way home. I have lost a lot of wages due to this issue and now I am afraid to drive the car. I have seen on several forums that this was an issue in the 2011 recall and now it is happening yet again. My car is a 2014 and others are both older and younger, all suffering from this same very scary detail. I hope I am not injured, nor anyone else will be injured, due to this issue. Mechanics are stumped with the problem. I have contacted an attorney and my next step is to call Chrysler but I do not expect them to address this issue unless or until many people die, are injured and then they get sued. Please let me know what, if anything, else I should do. I am putting you on notice of the issue and it's being widespread. In order to make sure I cover all my bases, this issue has happened now about 4x a week, it is not predictable, nor is it consistent with how fast or how slow I may be driving. I have had plenty of gas in the engine.

NHTSA ODI 11540160

Passenger Side Headrest literally exploded open due to a broken plastic tab. I was only mildly injured but definitely felt the after effects in my neck and back. Definite Safety concern. I'm worried the driver side headrest will do the same thing as we are driving. Absolutely should be a safety recall.

NHTSA ODI 11526578

Active headrest deployed without collision

NHTSA ODI 11521798

Passenger headrest violently exploded forward without warning while car was parked and running with no passenger seated. Should be recalled!!!!!!!

NHTSA ODI 11519398

Driver captain seat head rest deployed on it’s own without an accident. Fortunately, I was sitting in the parked when it deployed….no injury just scared me. Electrical: I’ve been dealing with a parasitic drain no my battery. I have these amber lights around my light switch, around my overhead console, around my inverter power outlets in the rear and around other dash controls. You can only see it at night. Dodge said it was because of a failing radio. I disconnected the radio, waited until it got dark, and the lights were still on. Pulling the M12 fuse (30 amp) the power drain stopped and the amber lights go out. I’m unclear what’s causing the additional drain. On the internet I keep running a cross bad TIPM’s for sporadic electrical issues and power drains that happen. May trade it.

NHTSA ODI 11515055

Since I bought this vehicle from A from a used dealer as is, the passenger restraint indicator on the dashboard comes on and off, the tire pressure warning indicator, even after proper inflation will not turn off and the passenger head restraint popped out forward almost a year ago.

NHTSA ODI 11507725

The safety feature of the front row headrest released during transit. Upon inspection it was found that the plastic retaining arms failed releasing the tension arm which controls the safety feature of the part. No one was injured in this instance but it represents a substantial safety issue particularly because it occurred as part of the safety features of a large capacity family vehicle. The failed piece could easily lead to death or injury. The premature release of the headrest tension was very loud and constituted a major distraction. In the event of this happening to the driver while in motion it could cause injury to the driver which may, in turn, result in injury to other passengers if a wreck occurs.

NHTSA ODI 11504583

Airbag light keeps turning on and off all the time. This is a very serious issue. It is also happening on my other vehicle which happens to be the same year and also made by Chrysler (Jeep) I need help. I already contacted dealership about but didn’t get any help.

NHTSA ODI 11494518

Airbag light is on as well as periodic sound alert. Safety aspect I am unsure as I do not see any recall on the vehicle. Dealer wants too much money to inspect but says the car is fine to drive. Online reports contradict this information. No other issues present with vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11492387

While driving at highway speed the front passenger side headrest deployed into its crash position. There was no collision, the vehicle was at was at highway speed. The front passenger’s head was whipped forward, causing neck pain.

NHTSA ODI 11473055