My airbag light came on yesterday. I've had the van almost 2 years, it has never been in an accident since I've owned it, and the carfax was clean when I bought it, so I asssume everything is factory original. I did a little research and from what I can tell there was a problem with the clockspring in the steering wheel on some of the prior generation caravans which resulted in a recall. Plus the fact that the light came on while I was coming out of a 90 degree turn makes me think the clockspring sounds like a logical starting point. Horn and cruise still work fine, located on the steering wheel. Found a clockspring costs about $30 and I have taken a steering column apart before myself so I figure this is a cheap thing to try before having someone scan it for airbag codes, that will certainly cost more than $30 just for the diagnosis. Anyone else out there have any trouble with an airbag light just coming on out of the blue? Thanks!

 

I would have scan for codes first before buying parts it may not need. And yes i have had air bag lite come on without any warning. Had codes for passager squib air bag, both seat belt buckles, impact sensors and ORC module. If the clockspring fixes your problem good job, if it didn't post the codes.

 

See if your local parts store will scan the codes. (Many will do if for free)
Otherwise you're simply guessing. There are probably over 50 reasons your air bag light could be on.
$30 for a new clockspring? Sounds way to cheap. Where did you get the quote from?

 

I ordered the clockspring on ebay it was $30 buy it now, brand new. This was after the airbag light being on solid for about a week. Then one day it began to come and go intermittently. Then it went off and stayed off about a week.. The clockspring I ordered arrived and I set it aside to see whether the light would come back on. Well, today it did and it was on solid for a 100 miles of driving. I got home and disconnected the battery for about 5 minutes and reconnected. Light stayed on. So I pulled the steering wheel and changed the clockspring and the light has gone off and stayed off so far. I will post back in a few weeks if it stays OFF so others may find this helpful for future reference.

 

I followed the advice given and replaced the clock spring, piece of cake ( 15-20) minutes and no more problem with light coming on.
Chrysler wanted $95 cdn got it at piston ring for $35 exactly same markings and molding keys. How can these guys be bankrupt??


Thankyou all.

 

Forgot to post back, Mine's fixed too.

 

i had this happen to me about 3 days ago i am going to stop by autozone to get the codes scanned. i hope its as easy as the clock spring.

i will post more later

 

I just replaced mine and it fixed my airbag light and now my cruise buttons work on the first push. It's cheap and easy to replace. Definately the first thing to replace when you have an airbag light and/or finiky steering wheel buttons or horn.

 

I have a 2001 Grand Caravan Sport. Airbag light came on solid a couple of weeks ago. Have noticed that the tach, cruise control and horn are also not working. It seems likely that they also go through the clockspring. Did anyone else have these collateral issues?

Auto Zone & Advance Auto Parts were not able to check codes and said I would have to see the dealer. I'm thinking about just going ahead and getting the clockspring.

Any thoughts?

 

jrj1950
Send me a pm with the last 9 of your vin, i will be able to let you know if there is a clockspring recall for your van. Leonard