What 548 owners told NHTSA about the 2015 Dodge Journey

[XXX]: Driving down a city street, had not braked or slowed down when I heard a loud bang behind me and something hit me in the back of the head. My son was in the car with me and said the headrest had exploded. I had nausea and a headache for a couple of days, which indicates a slight concussion. Saw my doctor the next day and he said to let him know if it got worse, which it didn't. Took the car to my dealership where I purchased the car, Bill Luke Dodge, Phoenix, AZ and they said the headrests were added to my cars warranty, but since my warranty had expired a little over a year ago it wasn't able to be replaced free of charge. I also need to get the passenger headrest replaced before it injures a passenger. It's almost $800 to replace each headrest. I had multiple items fixed under my warranty just before it expired and feel the headrests should have been replaced also. I would have requested they be replaced if I had been notified there was a problem with them. I was driving down a mountain with sharp curves approximately 2 hours before this occurred. If I had still been in the mountains there's no doubt I would have had an accident. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11744875

Driver side headrest deployment while parked without collision

NHTSA ODI 11688412

My daughter sat inside the passenger seat while the car was parked, and the passenger headrest deployed onto the back of her head.

NHTSA ODI 11687800

The contact owns a 2015 Dodge Journey. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the passenger’s side headrest exploded without impact or warning. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the safety mechanism was erroneously tripped. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 134,000.

NHTSA ODI 11670742

Both front headrests have deployed. Car was sitting in driveway at night, came out in the morning and headrests were open/deployed. Plastic pieces inside snapped and will not lock back together. I have found hundreds of similar issues that people had with the same model of vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11650346

Passenger Side Head Rest deployed. Plastic Clips Broke.

NHTSA ODI 11621369

Driver’s headrest deployed, popped open while vehicle was turned on but in park. My safety was at risk , had I been driving not exactly sure how I would have reacted. Especially since when it deployed ( exploded open) it did so to the back of head causing blunt pain from back of head down neck. Initially thought I had been rear ended due to loud noise and force of head being pushed forward. There was no forewarning at all. Due to pain, was not able to verify with dealer of insurance agent as of yet.

NHTSA ODI 11604828

Driver side headrest has deployed, and there was no warning or notification prior to this happening. I should not have to pay hundreds of dollars on a replacement if clips or what may it be to hold device together are faulty. 1st vehicle with this problem, and now my 2nd Jeep Compass has this issue as well. No accidents, just deployed.

NHTSA ODI 11573514

Headrest deployed while driving!

NHTSA ODI 11569097

The passenger headrest burst open in its own with no incident causing it to do it.

NHTSA ODI 11556800

Drivers seat head rest deployed at a stop light which caused my head to jerk forward.

NHTSA ODI 11552106

Front passenger headrest deployed for no reason and it cannot be put back. Will be taking to dealership. Seems to be a common issue.

NHTSA ODI 11542233

My driver side headrest popped forward. Apparently this is a safety feature if you are in an accident, I have not been in an accident. I noticed on 8-28 the headrest felt different while driving and when I got to work I looked at it and the front of the headrest was detached. After looking online this has happened to many dodge owners, I’m glad it didn’t happen while I was driving.

NHTSA ODI 11541553

Spontaneous deployment of active head restraint of passenger side of vehicle occurred. The passenger seat was occupied when spontaneous deployment occurred which caused passenger to experience head and back pain. The deployment of active head restraint was not the result of collision as the active head restraint spontaneously deployed while the car was in motion. No safety dash features predicted the spontaneous deployment of head rest.

NHTSA ODI 11540918

Went car this morning and notice the front passenger head rest was pop/broken. There are no accident, hit misuse to car. This is a family car.

NHTSA ODI 11539298

The front passenger seat head rest has snapped open or apart while it was parked & no one in the seat. It appears there is a broken clamp or snap that holds it together. This seems like it could be a safety hazard if there was a collision, the headrest might push a passengers head forward instead of restraining.

NHTSA ODI 11528459

Driver seat headrest deployed without any accident or driving.

NHTSA ODI 11516537

I was driving and I had a passenger. We were just driving like normal. All of a sudden the passenger headrest snapped. It was pretty loud. The pieces inside the headrest are broken and will not snap back together. Luckily there were no injuries despite the force when it broke.

NHTSA ODI 11492491

While my car was stationary, my passenger headrest safety mechanism (or Active Head Restraints (AHR)) deployed. The soft piece of the headrest unexpectedly and violently popped out from the plastic unprompted. Luckily, nobody was in that seat, but the noise startled me so badly I thought I was hit. Upon inspection, two PLASTIC clips that hold the strap in place had snapped and broken, releasing the mechanism. I promptly called a Chrysler dealer and they scheduled me for a warranty replacement. The serviceman said this is a known issue, and that a lady suffered this same issue a couple weeks ago but on the driver's side. He said that although this is a known issue, there is no recall. When asked if I could have the driver's side preemptively replaced, he said it would have to be at my expense. If I had been driving and it happened on the driver's side, I likely would've gotten into an accident and/or been injured. If this is a known issue (and if you research online, it is), why is there no recall? What if this causes a crash and death?

NHTSA ODI 11489937

The Passenger Head Rest Exploded While Driving Scared Me Like To Had And Accident Glad No One Was Sitting In It They Could Have Been Injured Made A Loud Boom Shook The Car I Have PTSD From Vietnam Did Not Help None At All

NHTSA ODI 11478446

Headrest just popped open, the 2015 journey is equipped with headrests that open upon impact to reduce whiplash and protect the neck. My driver side one popped for no reason while driving, which can be a dangerous situation if moving or on the highway.

NHTSA ODI 11442054

The headrest deployed while parked in my drive way. It’s supposed to be a safety feature for accidents but I’d the drivers side deploys next when I drive it will cause an accident. I am now uncomfortable driving unsure of when it will happen again.

NHTSA ODI 11441217

On Nov.18,2021 while driving my 2015 dodge journey suddenly felt like something slammed into the back of my driver seat, and into the back of my head. Come to find out my headrest airbag deployed. I feel this should be repaired at the expense of manufacturer. It is a defect that can cause injury to driver. I was not in an accident was just driving down the road. I have had pain in my neck and head since this occured.

NHTSA ODI 11441104

We went to get in our vehicle and the headrest had deployed while no one was in the vehicle. It has not been in an accident.

NHTSA ODI 11439531

I was just driving and the head rest came apart on the front passenger side. I can’t get it to go back together.

NHTSA ODI 11436815