The airbag compartment in the drivers seat headrest popped open while driving and I have been unable to pop it back in. I was not injured but it scared me and could have caused an accident.
- NHTSA ID
- 11748325
- Incident
- Jul 15, 2024
Owner-reported complaints naming the interior system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming seats, latches, locks, linkages and interior fittings. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 57 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 57, in the owner's own words
The airbag compartment in the drivers seat headrest popped open while driving and I have been unable to pop it back in. I was not injured but it scared me and could have caused an accident.
The passenger's headrest just exploded.
The contact owns a 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that upon entering the vehicle with other passengers, the passenger's side sliding door failed to latch and close securely. The door ajar warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or to an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 77,000.
.....2014 Dodge Grand Caravan...dc: 07-14...approx date of incident:09-12-2025...reported to Dealer and Dodge customer svc @ 1997. Reported on 09 - 24,25,26 - 2025, after researching on you tube and the net and finding other vehicles with same issue, dodge case was opened with NO assistance from dodge at this time! Out of warranty! Dodge is aware of the problem and extended a warranty on the issue up to 10 years/ unlimited mileage...Problem; While driving down the interstate at highway speed my drivers side SEAT BACK HEAD RESTRAINT EXPLODED, almost causing an accident! No warnings, No check engine lights, No airbag lights, nothing just a loud bang and the head restraint slammed forward into the back of my head.....
The contact owns a 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that the actuator for the driver’s side rear sliding door failed to operate as intended, and the contact was forced to secure the door with a ratchet strap. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the door actuator was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 110,000.
The contact owns a 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the sliding door became ajar. The door was difficult to close or latch securely. There were no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that the VIN was not under recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.
The passenger side headrest just exploded. It turns out that this is a safety feature that deployed on its own as part of the housing that holds the unit together just apparently broke. Had someone been sitting there, this would have blasted them in the back of the head. There were no warnings or messages. Now I'm concerned the driver side headrest will explode too while I'm driving and I have an exploded passenger headrest thats now not safe for passengers.
Was driving down the highway coming back from Orlando when my air bag light went off. Heard cracking in my head test and all of a sudden it expired and deployed and hit me in the back of the head and almost knocked me out. Made me dizzy and I had my kids in the car. This should not have happend if I was not in a car crash and dodge refuses to fix it. It was faulty without any warning. There are many people this has happend to and the had a extension back in 2024 and to repair them and I never received a letter
While driving in the parking lot of my kids school to drop them off in the morning, I heard a loud noise and felt something hit me in the back of my head with some force. It was not painful, but was actually very uncomfortable. I stopped in the parking lot to see what it was. I noticed that my driver side headrest was out of place (the fabric portion was popped forward) away from the plastic backing. I could see the the springs inside the headrest. My husband used a zip tie to pull the headrest back together. My vehicle was not in any accidents to cause this to happen. I did not take it to a dealer to inspect, as it just occurred. There were no warning signs/lights. It was very unexpected and abrupt. No one was injured, but my head was actually uncomfortable and I very glad that I did not have my son driving at the time, as he could have been injured due to the spring loaded force.
The contact owns a 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, the passenger’s side electronic sliding door locking mechanism malfunctioned and erroneously unlatched. Additionally, on several occasions, the sliding door failed to unlatch, and the door could not be opened. The contact stated that occasionally while driving at undisclosed speeds, the message that the door was not latched securely was displayed. During the failure, the interior roof light remained illuminated, and the vehicle would not lock as intended. The battery was disconnected and reconnected to correct the failure. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the siding door locking mechanism was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 235,000.
The head rest popped out for no reason. I noticed it when I got into the car.
I bought this van the previous owner told me that the headrest deployed at an unknown time while the vehicle was parked and no one was in it. Since owning it a few months ago the other headrest deployed. This also happened while the van was parked in my driveway and no one was in it.
Driver's seat headrest suddenly deployed while driving. I contacted Dodge they haven't replied yet. From what I'm reading there are numerous vehicles with same issue. I was very startled, distracted from surprise and have a sore neck.
Passenger side front headrest deployed for no reason while vehicle was parked.
While driving with my three daughters in the car, the driver side headrest activated and hit me in the back of the head. This was random and no warning was given. As a result the headrest deployed and it cannot be fixed/put back. I currently have a strong headache and am still feeling a little dizzy after the incident.
My family and I were on a hike in the mountains, and when we got back to our car, the drivers headrest had popped out of itself. We tried to see if we could fix it, but it busted out with such force that it broke parts. When I looked this up, it appears that this is a pretty common occurrence with our make and model, and others have actually had it happen when they are in the seat and been injured! Thank God we weren’t driving through the mountains when it happened! This is a serious issue and I couldn’t believe that nothing had been done to create a recall, especially after finding a report about the same issue with the same vehicle online from October 2019 (almost FOUR years ago) by [XXX] , stating that the government was researching this issue after several people were injured. Apparently this is a safety feature that is built to prevent whiplash in an accident, but is activating without provocation in many vehicles, if it’s not offsetting whiplash, could this not CAUSE whiplash?! This needs to be addressed as a recall and fixed for others before it causes a serious car accident (if it hasn’t already) or kills someone. This is completely unacceptable. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The driver's side headrest popped forward. OK one day, then when I got in the car the next it was popped forward pushing it against the back of my neck (thinking it was 4/14/23). Looks like the plastic hooks, or plastic parts just broke. I'm 75 years old, 6"3" tall. Very uncomfortable. I am very happy that the thing didn't explode when I was driving the car. I thought my 2014 Grand Caravan was a safe car. Have less than 128,000 miles on the car. Took it to the local Dodge dealer in Whiteville today (4/21/2023), and was told by the service manager that I was responsible for fixing it (at minimum part would cost $135 + tax, then installation - OR MORE). Told it was a common occurrance. BUT IT WAS ON ME. I have not had any wrecks, speeding tickets, or any bump ups. Now I no longer feel safe in this car. NO WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON. I would like responsible parties from Chrysler Motorrs to inspect my car. Planning on zip tying the other headrests for fear of it blowing up too.
Headrest deployed while driving without warning or any accident occurring.
My 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan has sat in my driveway for the last two days - June 20 and 21 - and when I got in the van to drive it, on the morning of June 22, I noticed that the driver-side headrest was deployed. I tried to reset it on my own but it does not appear to clip back in place because the part is damaged. The van was not struck or in an accident before I parked it on June 20 nor was it struck while parked in my driveway. While I was not injured by the deployment, this kind of premature deployment while driving could result in some injury.
Sensor in the Passenger Seat is defective and will cause the Air Bag light to intermittently come on leaving the Passenger without Air Bags during an accident. ALL defects / warning lights dealing with AIR BAGS or any other SAFETY FEATURE on a vehicle, regardless of year, should be looked at immediately by Dealers when the vehicle is brought into the Dealership. These are MAJOR Safety Defects and if the Dealership cannot inspect / and safely repair the vehicle during that visit, then a loaner car should be issued to the vehicle Owner until the vehicle is repaired. Maybe this will help the OEMs make Consumer Safety a priority instead of maximizing profitability of a component by using cheap inferior products that may save .0001 cent per unit sold.
The passenger front seat headrest deployed on its own when my wife was driving us back from the store, yesterday. I am so fortunate that I was in the passenger seat when it unexpectedly and violently deployed, as my wife would have been injured far worse than I was. My neck is sore but I am already on the mend, etc. I would hope this is a 'stand alone' incident, otherwise I would consider this event to be one of SERIOUS CONCERN for Dodge as injury could potentially be far worse than what I experienced, etc. THERE was NO WARNING; NO ABRUPT DRIVING OR ANYTHING; IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL DAY WITH EXCELLENT DRIVING CONDITIONS, ETC. I would expect Dodge to repair my vehicle, if nothing else.
Inadvertent deployment of front passenger automatic headrest restraint
This is the second time my driver side window motor has gone out. I know this is not a normal wear a d tear issue. The shifting column had the plastic cover just pop off(I guess the glue melted or it wasn't even secured in the first place. Driver side seat plastic covering over the switches disconnected from whatever it was connected too. As much as these cars are priced and sold, might as well by power wheel toy, because that's the quality. The control panel keeps flickering for the passenger doors and trunk. It's hit or miss if the rear hatch opens and sometimes we open the idimf door and it will close halfway to opening. I have had the car multi point inspected at a dodge dealership in January due to the sliding door malfunction as well as a major oil leak and repaired but the amount of electrical issues has been ongoing since purchase!!
As I was sitting in a parking lot today o heard this loud boom that sounded as if I had been rear ended and felt what seemed to be a blow to my head. I looked around and there were no cars around and got out of the vehicle to see what happened and it was the headrest that burst open. It ended up hurting my head and neck and could have potentially caused an accident had this happened while I was driving. There were no other signs of something happening and no warning lights. Dealer was not notified.
As my vehicle was parked; we came out to my passenger headrest being deployed by itself. No accident/incident happened. Self deployed. Just glad no one was in it at the time. As this just happened, I haven’t had time to report it to the dealership due to it being Sunday. No warnings or lights came on when this happened. It just self deployed. After more research it looks like this has been happening for years. Why isn’t this recalled?
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