NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Recall Query RQ04-001: DRIVER AIR BAG CLOCKSPRING FAILURE
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Recall Query RQ04-001 on January 28, 2004 and closed it on June 4, 2004, the day it opened Engineering Analysis EA04-013, which this investigation's summary cites. NHTSA's investigations file lists 5 models from 3 makes for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- RQ04-001 (also written RQ04001)
- Investigation type
- Recall Query An investigation into whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or whether its remedy works, run much like a Preliminary Evaluation.
- Status
- Closed June 4, 2004
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Chrysler (FCA US, LLC)
- Component
- Air Bags — Frontal
- Vehicles and equipment
- 5 models from 3 makes, including the Chrysler Town And Country and Dodge Caravan
A recall appears here only when NHTSA's investigations file links one to the investigation; NHTSA's summary or record can name others.
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Recall Query RQ04-001.
COMPLAINTS REPORT AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATES, AND THIS MAY BE ACCOMPANIED WITH A NON-FUNCTIONING HORN AND/OR CRUISE CONTROL (IF EQUIPPED).
THIS IS INDICATIVE OF AN OPEN-CIRCUIT CLOCKSPRING FAILURE (RESULTS IN NON-FUNCTIONING DRIVER'S AIR BAG), SIMILAR TO THE FAILURE CONDITION THAT WAS THE SUBJECT OF DAIMLERCHRYSLER'S RECALL OF MODEL YEAR 1996-1998.5 MINIVANS (RECALL NO. 02V-293).
THIS RECALL QUERY HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS (EA04-013).
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Recall Query RQ04-001. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to that page's NHTSA investigations section.
What an NHTSA investigation is
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) looks into possible safety defects in vehicles and equipment, often after owner complaints. An investigation usually starts as a Preliminary Evaluation, or as a Recall Query when it concerns whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or fixes the problem, and ODI can upgrade it to a more detailed Engineering Analysis. A Defect Petition asks NHTSA to open an investigation, and Audit and Equipment Queries are administrative investigations into whether companies complied with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting, recall and certification rules.
An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.
To see whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Free VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for RQ04-001
Investigation details come from NHTSA's investigations file, which try.vin imports once a day. The investigation types are described from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's May 2023 report on NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA's petition rules (49 CFR Parts 552 and 557) and NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation procedures. How try.vin reads NHTSA investigations.