The Chrysler Group has issued a recall on 299,718 Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivans from the 2008 model year to fix a problem that could cause the airbags to deploy unexpectedly.
The automaker said that the issue is related to the Occupant Restraint Control (ORC) modules that controls the airbags. According to Chrysler, the OCR module may have been exposed to moisture. If this happens, it could lead to the airbag warning light going on while in some cases, the airbag could deploy for no reason.
Chrysler had previously recalled the same batch of vehicles in January of 2011 to replace the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) drain grommet, which had the potential to leak moisture into the area of the ORC module.
The company said that its engineers determined that “that the printed circuit board in ORC modules previously exposed to moisture could delaminate over time, despite the elimination of the source of prior moisture”.
The Detroit automaker added that it is unaware of any accidents or injuries related to the condition in vehicles that have had the prior recall completed.
“Despite the lack of field reports, we believe it is in the best interest of our customers to replace these modules to ensure the proper functionality of the minivan’s advanced safety system,” said David Dillon, Head of Product Investigations and Campaigns.
The majority of the affected minivans were sold in the United States, but Chrysler said there are also 50,251 vehicles in Canada; 3,748 vehicles in Mexico, and 13,633 export models.
The company will begin sending letters to the owners of the affected models in September to schedule an appointment with dealers to replace the OCR modules free-of-charge.
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