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Chrysler Airbags

As the complaints below indicate, there are unsettling signs that there may be something going on with DaimlerChrysler's air bags.

Alicia of Mountain View AR (8/19/04):
On August 13th, my fiance was driving his 1998 Dodge Neon with three of his co-workers when he went to sleep at the wheel, left the road and struck a tree. The passenger side airbag deployed, but the driver's side did not. The car caught fire and burned, with my fiance inside. The other three men were able to escape the fire, all had injuries, but are alive. They were unable to get him out of the car.

My fiance Ricardo, has lost his life and was burned beyond recognition. Our future is in total ruins, and I am alone to wonder and mourn for him.

The cause of death for my fiance has been listed as blunt force trama to the chest. I don't understand why his airbag did not deploy. I believe if it had, he would still be alive. I have been researching this issue and I am finding several instances where Dodge airbags have not deployed. I have contacted an attorney to help me. I am looking for answers.

Brigitte of Kitchener, Ontario (8/10/02):
My car was parked in my driveway and my air bags deployed; no one hit it. We were sitting by the car when it went off. My steering wheel is finished and my dash is ruined, my glove compartment is all warped.

Stacy of Wheeling WV (6/27/02):
I bought a 1996 Plymouth Neon used in 1999 with 28,000 miles on it. Just yesterday, I had an accident. I was traveling about 65 miles per hour when, in an attempt to dodge a deer, I slammed into a guardrail with my front driver side corner of the car. The car is most likely totalled. The air bags in my car didn't deploy. The police officer on the scene was quick to point out the problem. I am thankful to be alive after the air bags decided not to work.

LouAnne of Wichita Falls TX (5/10/02):
I purchased a 2002 Jeep Liberty in January. Over two months later, I received a recall notice from Chrysler. It stated that, during a severe frontal offset crash test, a wire used in the airbag system was chafed by a bracket. This potentially led to the airbags deploying later than expected. I was instructed to contact my dealer and make an appointment to have the necessary repair work completed. I turned my vehicle in on March 14th and had the necessary work done.

On March 29th, while coming home from work late at night, I was involved in a collision. Due to a combination of fatigue and low blood sugar, I passed out behind the wheel of my vehicle and hit a parked truck. I crushed in the entire front of the jeep and the air bags did not deploy. I contacted my insurance company and they sent they sent someone out to asses the damages. The estimate came to just under $7000.

I then called Chrysler with a complaint because the airbags did not deploy. They told me that I needed to contact the body shop that was going to work on my car and have them cease all action until one of their investigators looked at my vehicle. I asked when that would be and the response was, "We'll call you." I asked for a copy or a chance to look at the investigators report. I was told that I would not be allowed to do either because that was priveleged information. I then said that I at least wanted to be there when my vehicle was looked at. The respose was, "well, we will call you."

The investigator called me on the day she was due to arrive and was very vague on when she would be there. Because of this, I wasn't able to take off work to at least watch. A few days later, I received a typical Chrysler form letter stating that the primary impact involved crumple zones and crush areas, engineered to dissipate impact energies. Therfore the rate of deceleration necessary to activate the airbags was not met. I crushed in my entire front end and bent the bumper, tail gate, and bed of a 1997-98 Chevy Silverado pick-up. With all that, they expect me to be happy with a form letter.

Melissa of Carver MA (3/14/02):
My mother recently was in a car accident. She was driving down a highway going approx. 30-40 mph, 2 cars ahead of her slammed on her brakes and caused the car behind her to crash. My mother was behind the 2nd vehicle and saw this happen, so she tried to stop and hit the 2nd vehicle. She hit her head on the steering wheel, the air bags never went off.

When she looked up her car was on fire. Big flames coming out of the hood. I don't understand how her car could catch on fire from this accident. She could have died. I've looked everywhere and I can't find any other instances where this type of thing happened with a Neon. We just want some answers, and to know if there was some kind of defect with this type of car.

Cars can and do catch fire after accidents -- and sometimes for what appears to be no reason at all.

Ron of Lakeport CA (8/10/01):
I was in an accident in a 2000 Dodge Ram 4x4 and the air bags did not work, also the seat belt did not hold me in place and I hit the windshield with my head and cracked the windshield. The man at the body shop said that it should have worked for I was going approximately 40 mph and the total front end damage to the truck was over $12,000.00. I feel that am not alone is this for I know that there was another truck in the body shop at the same time as mine and the air bags did not work.

My head still hurts from hitting the windshield and I also hurt my back and my doctor knows about it and will possibly have to have some therapy on it. I also don't feel safe in the truck due to the fact that I don't feel the air bags will work in the future if needed.

Michael of Fresno CA (8/1/01):
About one year after I purchased my Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab Pickup, I was involved in an accident in which the air bag did not deploy. I was traveling at 40 to 45 mph trying to make a call on my cell phone (yes I do think this should be banned) when I struck the rear end of a Ford F-150. The collision pushed the entire front end of the truck almost to the front windshield. The Dodge was totaled and so was my face.

My seatbelt saved my life but I suffered major face trauma because the steering wheel collapsed on impact and my face impacted the dashboard with such force that the dashboard was completly dislodged. I took plenty of pictures on the truck damage and my injuries. As of this date I cannot seem to find any attorney interested in my claim i.e. "You have to have a lot of money to take on Dodge."

My face required approximately 50 stitches the worst being my nose, which was split wide open. I am a salesperson and this has really been a problem because my customers are constantly staring at my nose. I know I have lost sales from this. I also suffer from headaches, neck and back pain and other common ailments caused by vehicle accidents.

John of Tampa (7/29/01):
I was a passenger in my boss' work truck on my way home from a job, when a chevy Blazer took a left turn from the turning lane in front of us against the light. My lead man hit the brakes but could not stop in time and hit the Blazer square on the side, with enough force to roll the Blazer over. My lead man although wearing his seat belt hit the steering wheel hard. I too was wearing my seat belt but hit the dashboard and almost bit through my lip. Neither driver nor passenger air bag went off. In a separate incident, my mother's Dodge Caravan was in an accident and her air bags did not deploy as well.

I searched for a lawyer to go after Dodge about the airbag failures but could not find a lawyer that I could afford. In my mother's case the lawyer is sendimg her to thearapy for her injuries but told her that he could not or is not willing to go after Dodge. This is the integrity of our country today and if we do not take steps to prevent this, corporations such as Dodge will continue to make cars that are unsafe until the lawsuits get too high and outweigh the cost of recalling defective safety equipment -- little consolation to those who have perished in a crash due to faulty equipment.

The automobile companies will spare no expense to defend against a suit of this kind. Most private attorneys simply cannot afford to spend the kind of money it takes to prosecute this kind of case on a class-action basis.

Sheila of Lexington KY writes (6/2/01):
On Apr.17 2001 while driving on I-75 I hit ice on an overpass, lost control of my 2000 Durango, hit a guardrail and rolled my truck 2 or 3 times according to an off-duty fireman that witnessed the accident. The paramedics that were called to the scene asked me at least three times if I would go to the hospital, but I refused. The car was investigated, and I received a letter that stated: "The conclusion of the DaimlerChrysler Motors Corporation investigation is that the primary impact involved "crumple" zones and "crush" areas, which are engineered into your vehicle to dissipate impact energies in order to inhance the total vehicle crashwothiness. Therefore, the rate of deceleration necessary to activate the airbag system was not met." We bought my son a new 1998 Dodge Neon a few years ago. He was involved in a frontal accident at 35 mph, and his airbags did not deploy. I was traveling about 65 mph, and impact was so hard that one wheel was broken off, the truck was totaled -- but the airbags didn't work!!

Though I have not been to a doctor, I do experience headaches, soreness in my neck and shoulder, dizziness, and almost constant shaking. I am employed as a forman, and am required to drive alot, I cry while driving in rain or bad weather. I drive only when absolutely necessary. My son required physical therapy for several weeks after his accident.

Tommy of Hillsdale TN writes (12/14/00):
On December 8, 2000, we had a driver and 3 passengers aboard the 1997 Dodge Diesel Truck. We were at a complete stop when the airbag deployed. The gassy fumes burned our eyes and throats. The driver incurred the most of injuries. The extent is unknown as the results are not in from his physician. However, he was disoriented for 3-5 minutes. Complained with neck pain and stiffness. His hands were cut and bleeding. As to date, December 14,2000, he still has the same complaints and has developed constant headaches.

In addition to "the 200 mph blow" to the face and head, the driver and the passenger sitting next to him, both had their clothes burned. I have searched the web for information on this particular situation. I have not found anything where the airbag deploys in the stopped position. Clearly, this is a defect in its manufacturing.

The airbag acted as a gun. It exploded. This incident was not operator error. Airbags are a safety feature to safe lives in an impact or crash to cushion the blow. In this case, where there was no crash, the result has been detrimental and had we had our children in this vehicle on the interstate, it could have been fatal. The point is this is not what the airbag was designed to do. It is defective, dangerous and out of the spectrum of manufacturer promise of quality and safety.

I am now terrified to drive anything with an airbag. I am very angry my clothes were burned, and even more angry that Crysler has not offer an apology or compensation. My eyes and throat still burn. I would like to know what the cause is. I have learned the bag is filled with some sort of gas that could lead to blindness. And that short people are at high risk for injury at impact.

We all thought we had been victims of a drive-by, and the driver thought he had been the one hit. He was but not by a gun, but something just as powerful, an airbag out of control. The owners manual does not warn the airbag may go off while in the stopped position. Clearly this is a manufacture defect.

Blythe of Guerneville CA writes (4/8/01):
On Jan. 30, 2001 I sustained major injuries after my 1998 Dodge truck had a 45-50 mph impact. I had my seat belt on, which is what saved my life. My drivers side and passengers side airbags did not deploy, and I hit head-on in an 8-ft deep concrete reinforced ravine.

My truck was a total loss. I have deep emotional scars and fear of driving. I fractured my sternum and rib, sustained a concussion, damaged discs C-5, C-6, C-7. I have major medical bills mounting, I missed a month of work. Due to physical injuries sustained as a result of the airbag not deploying it is hard to work a full 8 hr. regime for employment, I need physcholgical counseling, and physical therapy, and have not been able to do my regular activities since the accident, nor get the crash sound out of my head. I suffer from frequent headaches and physical pain in my upper torso, and have to live with it on a daily basis. I am complaining so that this does not happen to someone else. I noticed a few days before the accident that my drivers side seat was not functioning electrically and I was going to have this looked at.

Blythe should immediately -- and we mean today -- contact an experienced trial lawyer who handles personal injury cases. So should anyone else injured by an airbag's failure to deploy or by one that deploys in error.

Rick of Roland AR (6/2/01):
I was in an accident 2 weeks ago with my 20001 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 ext. cab truck. I hit a car broadside (their fault) which totalled their car and caused $6000 so far to my truck. Once again, my air bags did not deploy. I received a concussion and the usual back and neck pain. This also happened in my 1998 Dodge 1500 4x4 truck.

As my truck was taken to the Dodge dealership, I noticed another Dodge truck, crushed up to the engine sitting in the body shop parking lot. Their air bags did not work either. There has to be a major defect with these trucks.

Bryson of Anchorage writes (4/28/01):
A '98 Monte Carlo pulled out in front of me and I struck him at 30-35 mph in my '94 Dodge Ram 1500 pick up truck. Both of this gentleman's airbags deployed, however, the airbag in my truck did not. I had myself checked at a local hospital and I was released okay. My question is "Why didn't my airbag deploy and what should I do about it?" My truck had to be towed from the scene and is still in the shop being repaired. I am learning that this is not an uncommon problem for the Dodge Ram Pickup.

Janet of Marlboro MA writes (2/13/01):
On a Friday morning in late January, 2001 I was driving my 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee (with only 5,000 miles on it!) to work. I came to a complete stop at a stop sign ... let a car go by ... started up, going left at a slow pace (narrow back road in Massachusetts) and WHAM ... my truck veered to the left, to the right, started to skid sideways and quicker than a wink slammed me forward into a telephone pole ... all in an extremely short distance!! It was as if my truck was "possessed" ... which was exactly how I described to the local police. I had no control ... there wasn't anything that I could do... the brakes didn't seem to work and the acceleration continued until it hit the utility pole. In addition, my airbags did not deploy! My husband and I immediately contacted Daimler Chrylser that same day and they did send out an investigator. According to DC's investigator (Mr. Martell), there is nothing wrong with the Jeep. To quote "Your airbags are designed to deploy in a frontal impact of LESS than 30 degress from head on. It appears from the inspection that your impact was well beyond these parameters." In speaking with Mr. Martell, I told him that I would make sure that the next time I was slammed into a pole by some phantom force, that I would ask "them" to be more precise, so my airbags would protect me!

Brent of Anchorage, AK, writes:
My son was driving a 1995 Dodge Neon. He rear-ended a pickup. On impact, the airbags did not deploy. After the impact, and after my son's head had hit the steering wheel, both airbags deployed and the passenger window was blown out. It costs $2,000 to re-install the airbags. It cost about $200 to replace the passenger window. I am having my son screened medically to see if there were any medical consequences of the late deployment.

Sean of Cape Coral, FL, writes:
I purchased a new 2000 Dodge 1500 extended cab pickup on October 18, 2000. On December 12, 2000, I t-boned a 2000 Cadillac Escolade while traveling approx. 55-60 mph. My airbags did not deploy. The body shop asked me which wall I hit because the front of my truck was flattened all the way to the engine. The frame is bent and twisted past the cross member under the engine and they are still trying to decide if they are going to total the truck.

I have asked what causes the airbags to deploy but no one seems to be able to determin that although everyone from the paramedics and policemen on the scene and the body shop people from 3 different body shops have said the airbags should have deployed. I have contacted Chrylser Consumer Affairs but have not heard from them yet. I broke 3 ribs on my left side, cut my left lung, bruised my spleen and have a mild concussion.

Sean should find a good personal injury attorney.

Vic of Hurst, TX, writes:
While my daughter was driving my 1993 Chrysler Concorde, the car was involved in a front-end collision involving three cars. My daughter and my oldest grandson were in the front seat, while my other three grandchildren were in the back seat. All five had their seat belts fastened.

Upon impact with the car immediately in front of mine, however, none of the seat belts locked up, nor did the passenger airbags deploy. My car was totaled because of the damage done to it. My insurance company also had to reimburse the occupants of the other two cars for repairs required to their vehicles.

I wrote a letter to Chrysler Corporation's safety division requesting an immediate investigation as to why neither the air bags nor the seat belts worked as they are supposed to. I received a letter and a call from a private investigator hired by Chrysler to investigate the accident. His explanation was that all safety features were functioning properly.

I asked him specifically if he had noticed that the radiator of my car had been displaced about 14 to 16 inches. He acknowledged that this was the case, and he has pictures confirming the damage. I also asked if he had noticed that my front bumper, which is extremely low on the car, had not been damaged. He agreed.

At this point, I suggested that the design for activation of airbags was defective, since the BUMPER contains the sensors that activate the airbags. I further explained that had my daughter been traveling at a higher rate of speed and ran into the back of an SUV or a pick-up, the bumpers would never touch, the airbags would never activate and the entire top of my car would be cut off, killing everyone inside. He told me that I was correct in this observation.

I'm not a safety engineer, but I do know that something as simple as adding sensors in critical locations other than just the bumper could save lives. If something isn't done immediately throughout the industry, many deaths will be attributed to this design flaw. The DOT needs to be honest with consumers and let them know before they purchase an automobile that unless the bumper of your car directly hits the bumper of the other car, the air bags will not deploy.

Robert of Leland, IL, writes:
We purchased a 1999 full size Dodge conversion van (1500). On June 20, 2000 I was involved in a serious car accident My van struck a vehicle that turned in front of me. The point of impact was front end at 45 mph. The damage to the front end was extensive my airbags did not deploy.

When we contacted Chrysler they investigated our report and sent us a form letter stating our system was working properly. We disagree with this decision but can not get any further cooperation from Chrysler.

The biggest consequence from this whole matter is that I will never feel safe putting my family into this vehicle again.

George of Fernandina Beach, FL, writes:
I was in a single vehicle accident, 1998 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad-Cab, in which I was traveling at approximately 35-40 mph when I stuck a tree. It struck almost dead center of the truck, the tree did not break at all, in fact received only a loss of some bark. The driver's side airbag did not deploy.

After the truck was towed to the repair shop and I consulted with people regarding the non-deployment of the air bag I contacted Dodge Corp for an explanation. They sent a investigator out to review the system, Mr. Wagner from Engineering Analysis Associates.

I then received a letter from DaimlerChrysler Motors Corporation stating, "Our test has confirmed that the Air Bag Restraint System in your vehicle is operating as designed and functioned normally under the conditions to which it was exposed. The air bag did not deploy because the vehicle never reached the level of deceleration required to activate deployment. Further, as indicated in our inspection, the air bag in your vehicle did not detect enough deceleration to cause deployment."

Almost every attempt to contact Mr. Gilbert resulted in a dead end until we went to our local dealership and got a District Service manager to make phone calls and I finally got to speak to Mr. Gilbert who told me it was a legal issue and that DaimlerChrysler stands by its report. No further explanation on how the system works or anything else was given.

Gary of Tuscola, TX, had a similar experience:
This involves the airbags not deploying after my wife wrecked her 1997 Dodge Ram Ex cab. The truck sustained $9,938 in damages including a new frame. I feel the Daimler Chrysler investigator was not fair in his decision on his report to his employer releasing their responsibility to me for the airbags failing and the injuries my wife received in the accident.

My wife hit a heavy light pole in a parking lot of a store in Abilene after turning to avoid a headon with a another person who was driving at a high rate of speed in the parking lot. This person lost control of his car and spun out in front of my wife causing her to hit a lightpole head-on at around 10-15 mph. The damage that the truck received should have been enough to deploy the airbags but they did not.

The front of the truck was totally damaged with the middle of the bumper being pushed under the truck all the way to the cross frame, which supports the engine. The left motormount was sheered from the frame. So you can see how extensive the damage was. The frame bent in at least 3 or 4 places including under the cab just under the driver's seat!

My wife works at a hospital business office and had a R.N. look at her the next day and she had received a pretty good neck and shoulder injury. Her eyeglasses were thrown from her face and broke against the windshield; this should give you some idea of the shock from that impact.

I have a problem with the safety of this truck's airbag system. First, we got the misfortune of testing these airbags ourselves and they failed, causing injury to my wife. Second, Damiler Chrysler is not going to replace any of ther airbag system at all and My family is going to have to rely on a safety feature that has already FAILED! I think this is unjust and I feel that Damiler Chrysler is putting my family's safety at risk because of this safety feature not working. What would happen had my wife had a headon collision at a faster speed?

If we were Gary, we would be consulting the top personal injury lawyer in Texas about now.

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