Five problems related to warning light on have been reported for the 1997 Chrysler Town & Country. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The contact owns a 1997 Chrysler town and country. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact was aware of NHTSA campaign number: 02v293000 (air bags) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 175,000.
The air bag warning light came on after the dealership checked the recall 02v293000, air bag clock spring assembly and indicated that it was fine, and didn't need replacement. Currently, dealership wanted to charge the consumer $70. 00 to inspect the clock spring again.
The airbag warning light came on in June. I contacted the dealer and was told that it was the clockspring without them even looking at it. They also told me that my cruise control and horn would fail next. Sure enough, about a week later the cruise control and horn ceased to function. I have a friend with a 1997 caravan with the same problem. If the dealer knew what was wrong with it sight unseen, that indicates that this is a common problem. I see that there is an open investigation (NHTSA action#ea01007) into this very problem, and I hope that it results in a recall soon. The dealer wants almost $300. 00 to fix it.
The air bag warning light remains illuminated indicating a malfunction. Consumer also states since this problem has occurred the horn has become inoperable and a clicking noise is coming from the horn area. Nlm consumer states cold air came out of the passenger side vents when the heat is turned on due to a faulty heater control. Dealer replaced faulty clockspring.
The failure of the air bag clock spring has resulted in the air bag warning light staying continualy on and the loss of the cruise control. I have talked with several other people who indicate this is a problem on similar Chrysler products. There is some concern that the air bag(s) could deploy without having an event that would signal deployment. There is also concern that the air bag(s) would fail deploy in the event of a front force collision.