Front Seat Head Restraint problems of the 2013 Chrysler Town & Country

The contact owns a 2013 Chrysler town and country. The contact stated that while stopped, the child sitting in the second row hugged his sibling, who was sitting in the front seat, and the front passenger’s seat headrest deployed. The contact was unable to push the headrest back down. The headrest struck the child on the face; however, no injuries were sustained. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed that an unknown plastic item had detached from the head restraint. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the nhsta hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 132,168.

The front seat passenger side headrest spontaneously busted open abs cannot be put back because the rings that hold it in place broke. We were not in motion. Someone sat in the seat snd it happened without cause.

Parts in the headrest break and headrest popped forward hitting driver and passenger in back of the head the vehicle was stationery one time the second time it was moving on a rural highway.

Both headrests deployed involuntarily and unexpectedly when the ignition was being been turned off after I pulled in the my driveway. The van was stationary and there was no impact or cause for the deployment/. I was in the driver's seat the headrest hit the back of my head with force. We were unable to reset the headrests as the plastic clip holding the metal rod had broken on both headrests.

Active head restraint on front passenger seat deployed unexpectedly with no cause or warning. Vehicle was stationary.

We were driving down the highway didn't hit anything and the headrest airbag deployed. We were starting to slow down to turn and the headrest airbag deployed.

Both headrests deployed involuntarily and unexpectedly when the ignition was being been turned off after I pulled in the my driveway. The van was stationary and there was no impact or cause for the deployment/. I was in the driver's seat the headrest hit the back of my head with force. We were unable to reset the headrests as the plastic clip holding the metal rod had broken on both headrests.

My 20123 Chrysler town and country has an active head restraint headrest. It moves forward in an accident to lessen the likelihood of whiplash. My driver's side headrest deployed (snapped into the forward position) while the car was parked and turned off. I was picking up a bag from behind the driver's seat when this happened. It was startling to say the least. I was not hurt, but I have read that others who were actually sitting in the driver's seat have been hurt due to the headrest hitting them in the back of the head. I looked at the mechanism that releases the spring-loaded headrest, and it was broken. Several pieces of broken plastic were at the bottom of the headrest box, and a metal bar that serves to hold the headrest in the normal position was at an angle with broken plastic around it. It's pretty clear that the plastic retained the metal bar, and this plastic simply broke and released the headrest to spring forward. In my estimation, the plastic holding the bar was insufficient in strength to serve its function reliably long-term. It's a bad design. Forums on the internet confirm that this failure is not infrequent and sometimes harmful to the person in the seat. The cost of replacement of the headrest is about $700. I would estimate that the repair would take an experienced technician about 15 minutes, so the headrest must be quite pricey. Since the headrest is functionally in the same category as an airbag, and since it can cause physical harm when it suddenly breaks for no cause other then design failure, I believe that the headrest should be recalled. Consumers should not bear the burden of repairing a faulty design in a safety system.

Headrest safety feature of deploying forward activated without cause while driving and no outside contact was made.

While driving on I-70 in colorado my driver side headrest airbag deployed in my 2013 Town & Country Mini-van. There was nothing happening, we did not hit anything, there were no bumps or reasons for it to deploy. It struck me hard in the back of the head causing whiplash. We pulled over and the head rest locking pin and come out of the inside of the headrest. The reason was the plastic hooks holding it had broken. We pulled it together and wrapped it with a strap.

While getting out of our van, the passenger side active head restraint deployed. After searching online, it appears that this is an ongoing issue with the vehicle. Fortunately, no one was hurt but could have easily been worse.

On 8/15/19, my 2013 Chrysler town and country front passenger seat head restraint deployed without being involved in a collision. I was in the passenger seat riding under normal conditions on the city street at approximately 25 mph when the headrest popped out and hit me in the head throwing my head forward causing my hat and sunglasses to fly into the dashboard. My neck was sore for a day or 2 but I do not have lingering physical issues that I know of. I contacted Chrysler customer service via the mopar website chat and the customer service representative referred me to my local dealer which quoted me $700 to replace the defective headrest. Upon inspection, the thin plastic mount that retains the metal release bar crumbled causing the headrest to deploy. This is apparently an issue as I have read on car forums hundreds of accounts of this same issue happening to people with this same headrest. I have also read that there is a class action suit that has been filed against Chrysler for this. This is dangerous and could cause a fatal accident if a driver is hit in the head while driving.

The front passenger headrest popped open, hitting my head, while we were sitting in the parked car (at taco bell eating). It will not go back in place. The dealership wants $800 to replace it and Chrysler claims that other VIN from that year have recalls but not mine?! they will not help replace the deployed headrest.

The active head restraint on the drivers side deployed on its own when no one was in the car.

Friday morning, 09-28-18, I got in my vehicle to drive to work (vehicle in my driveway parked all night). I noticed the passenger headrest/active head restraint was extended. On Sunday morning (vehicle parked in my driveway all night), two days later, I get in my vehicle to go to church and the driver headrest/active head restraint was extended. I reviewed the issue on both headrest and noticed the plastic that holds the pin had weakened and broken. The pins are still locked in place by a holder or clamp. I stopped by the dealer and a service rep stated this is known to happen. It is not covered and I will have to pay +$500 to replace the active head restraints.

A year ago the front of the headrest on the passenger seat popped out while driving on a city street. I attempted to push it back in later but it would not stay. I recently learned that the piece that holds it into place was plastic, and it broke. I am now concerned with this happening on the driver side. In addition, the headrest cannot be repaired.

~tl the contact owns a 2013 Chrysler town and country. While the vehicle was parked and idling, a noise similar to a gunshot was heard. The contact realized that the rear passenger side head rest air bag deployed. Afterwards, the passenger side sliding door did not lock and all the electrical components, including the radio and gps malfunctioned. Ever since July of 2018, the contact made numerous attempts to schedule a diagnostic appointment with the dealer (black Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/ram). The dealer stated that the repairs could not be scheduled unless the headquarters authorized the diagnostic test. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 84,662.

The active head restraint (headrest) on the driver side of my van activated for no reason while it was parked. The vehicle has never been in a crash and has 110000 miles. I have not been able to reset the headrest. I took it to the dealership today and they said it would cost $759 to replace. . Read more...

Headrest exploded with broken pieces sitting in my driveway. Van was sitting in my driveway.

Yesterday my 69 year old mother got into the 2nd row captain seat of my van. I was buckling my son into the other captain seat. All of a sudden she screamed. She pulled the lever on the side of the seat that allows you to lean the seat back and the headrest snapped forward with incredible force and almost knocked her out. I couldn't understand what happened so I investigated. . . . The lever that allows you to tilt the seat back is also the same lever that releases the seat from the floorboard and snaps it forward so that it is folded up to go down into the floor for storage. So, if you pull that lever all the way up - the seat snaps out of the floor and folds up like a accordion with a great amount of force. If you gently pull that lever up a little bit, but not all the way, it allows you to adjust the tilt of the seat back. In other words, allows you to recline or sit up more. I was shocked!!! if that headrest snaps forward with enough force to almost knock out a full grown adult, what would it do to a child? how is a child supposed to know not to pull the lever up all the way? how can I prevent my kids from pulling that lever? there's no way to lock it. The vehicle was located in the driveway of my home in a stationary position. I am happy to provide more information if you would like to contact me. 913-205-6973.

On or about the date reported in this claim the vehicle was at a stop in a parking lot space. Nothing happened to the vehicle and without warning the driver seat active headrest restraint, part of the safety system and designed to move up and towards the head in the case of a rear-end collision, activated and struck the driver in the back of the head throwing the head forward. No medical attention was sought. The vehicle was taken to a Dodge dealership to diagnose the issue and and the certified mechanic found no evidence/indication for why the active headrest restraint should have activated. Fiat Chrysler automobiles (fca) was contacted about the safety issue and a service ticket was created. Although no recall has been issued for this defective part, fca's response was that the vehicle exceeded the basic vehicle warranty coverage and that vehicle repairs would be the responsibility of the owner. The owner has found multiple other posts of this same situation online from other owners, including vehicles within fca's basic vehicle warranty where age and mileage were not a factor. At the time of this claim the vehicle is at the dealership for repairs. The repair invoice can be provided at a later time upon request by NHTSA.

The contact owns a 2013 Chrysler town and country. While driving approximately 55 mph, the front passenger side head restraint suddenly popped open. The air bag inside did not deploy. The contact took the vehicle to the country Dodge dealer who informed the contact that the head restraint needed to be replaced. There was no recall for the repair. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer opened case number: 32033245 and informed the contact that the repair was not covered under warranty. The approximate failure mileage was 52,000.

While in park, driver was leaning forward to reach something on floor when head rest shot forward. Inspection revealed plastic retainer had broken allowing the active head restraint to release. Safety concern is what if this had happened while driving with head near the head rest?.

The driver-side active head restraint fired without provocation while the car was parked. It hit my wife in the head. The plastic parts inside the head rest are broken and chalky, like plastic left to sit in the sun too long. This part is clearly defective but the dealership refuses to do anything about it.

Raised the driver side front seat headrest and it came apart and would not go back together, it was stationary.

The headrest which is part of the air bag system, deployed while driving and hit my wife in the head. The headrest is broken and needs to be replaced. My research has shown that there are many people having the same problem. This part seems to be defective and should be taken care of by Chrysler.

The contact owns a 2013 Chrysler town and country. The contact stated that the passenger side headrest independently started to separate. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the headrest needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

The contact owns a 2013 Chrysler town and country. While driving various speeds, the passenger side headrest was touched, popped out of place, and struck the passenger in the head. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 49,213.

Headrest split in half and smacked both driver and front passenger in the back of the head with substantial amount of force without warning. A dash warning then came on saying that air bag had deployed. Neither of the front airbags deployed. We had not touched the brakes, not had anyone hit us, nor did we hit anyone/anything. We were just driving at about 50 mph when this happened. Caused severe headache and back spasm to both driver and front passenger. Scary! my husband just took it to the Chrysler dealer but they had no idea of the cause. Since there was no damage/accident they just relocked the airbags. Rather scary to think that this may happen again and may cause an accident the next time. Please check for other suck occurrences and respond by letting me know if there has been a cause found and how this problem may be rectified so that we don't have to be concerned about it happening again.

We rented the Chrysler town and country minivan to transport our family while on vacation. A couple of days into our vacation, I placed my right hand at the top of the captain seat in the middle row on the passenger side of the van. I then used my left hand to trigger the lever on the seat to lean it forward so one of my children could get out of the backseat more easily. The headrest snapped down hitting both my right middle finger and my right ring finger. The post of the head rest bruised my middle finger from the tip of my finger to the middle knuckle. My ring finger was pinched in the slit on the top of the seat where the post on the headrest goes when the seat folds up. When my finger was crushed in the slit on the back of the seat, the pad of my right ring finger was cut in a semi-circular shape and the skin was peeled back from the flesh. The injury on my finger required a trip to urgent care and 4 stitches. It took about one and a half months for the injury to heal. Now, the tip of my finger is scar tissue, with no feeling except underneath the scar tissue where there are still nerves. I am currently unable to use the finger for typing or other activities that require pressure. It seems to me that there is a product defect and a design defect in the seats. There is only one lever on the seat to provide for leaning it forward, backward or folding it completely so it may be stowed. The speed with which the seat folds makes it dangerous. As a result, there should be other levers available for adjusting the seat that do not force it to fold up completely. Additionally, there is a failure to warn of the dangers of the quickly folding seat, either from the manufacturer or the rental car company. There is no visual warning label anywhere in the vehicle, which warns the user to keep their hands and body out of the way of the seat when triggering the lever.