Side/window Air Bag problems of the 2007 Dodge Nitro

I recently had a random deployment of my side airbags. I was not in a collision and had just drove over a pothole in the road. Although no serious injuries, my family and I have neck soreness and are shaken. If this would have happened spontaneously on a freeway or busy road, I am not sure I would be able to say �no serious injuries�.

The contact owns a 2007 Dodge Nitro 4x2. While driving 35 mph, all four wheels locked up and the vehicle stalled. The contact also stated that the driver side, passenger side, rear driver side, and rear passenger side air bags deployed. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact did not receive notification of NHTSA campaign number: 13v121000 (power train, air bags, structure). The contact believed that the recall notification was sent to the owner from whom he bought the vehicle. The parts to do the repair were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was contacted at 800-247-9753 and stated that they would not repair the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 288,000.

The drivers side airbag attached to the steering wheel just fell off as my wife was driving. Luckily it did not deploy, but she was never involved in an accident. It just fell off as she was making a right turn from the city street. Danbury Dodge refuses to replace the air bag saying it is out of its warranty period.

Air bags went off when the driveshaft just blew because apparently it was made out of aluminum which is magnetic and causes it to wear quickly and draws other parts to it causing it to rub and rupture; also the a/c always goes out. I had it repaired 3 times all for freon leaks. Nothing gets covered because not all of the vehicles were made with this terrible aluminum. This is a huge safety hazard!!! I was only going 40 mph on a side road when this blew with my girlfriend in the car. The driveshaft blew, side airbags deployed. She injured her neck and back from the jolt. There is no reason corners should be cut to make a cheaper vehicle that is unsafe!.

I was at a stop light and when the light turn green I was about to go when I heard a loud bang and the side air bags deployed. My truck never moved. The drive shaft completly broke in half ,it looks like when I was about to take off the drive shaft broke , shot up and hit the floor board and that caused the air bags to deploy. The drive shaft looks like it twisted. I havent fixed the vehicle yet and im hoping Dodge will cover the expenses. Luckily I wasnt in the highway because it could have caused my truck to flip.

I was taking a left turn at an intersection traveling approximately 5mph. At the completion of the turn I heard a loud bang and the side impact airbags deployed. Upon inspecting the vehicle it was found that the drive shaft had twisted and fallen out of the transmission. The casing along the top of the Nitro cracked, and caused damage to the interior headliner and windshield. The car would not go into drive or park indicating damage to the transmission as well. Upon inspection by two separate body shops (one being a dealership) it was determined that there was damage to the drive shaft that resulted in the incident. At this time the warranty is in the process of replacing the drive shaft.

Side curtain airbag failed to deploy in the 2007 Dodge Nitro during a passenger-side impact accident. My wife sustained facial laceration, numerous broken ribs, and internal organ damage. The impact point was the passenger side door and part of the rear quarter panel.

The contact owns a 2007 Dodge Nitro. While driving 55 mph she lost control of the vehicle and crashed head on into a ditch. She stated that her head hit the windshield and her chest hit the steering wheel. The side airbags deployed however, the front airbags did not. The police onsite stated that the brakes were not applied. The contact felt that the antilock brakes caused the crash. She sustained bruises to her chest, forehead and legs and suffered a swollen head, shoulder and neck. There is a recall for the antilock brakes (NHTSA campaign# 06v493000). As of August 10, 2007, the dealer has not determined the cause of the failure. The failure and current mileages were 19,900.