I have 2 Chrysler Town and Country minivans; a 2005 and a 2014. They are both driving me nuts with the air bag light illuminating. Sometimes, it is just for the duration of a trip but other times, it will come on and stay for extended periods. I’ve had both in the shop and they came out repaired temporarily. The '05, last time it was worked on, had a problem in the seat belt buckle of the front passenger seat. The '14 had been worked on twice with a problem in the plug in on the driver’s side. In both cases, a scan tool was used to identify the location of the problem.
Out of curiosity, does that light being illuminated mean the air bag would likely not deploy if it were needed?
I am curious how common of a problem this is with Town and Country vans? And, what the solution to the recurrence might be?
Not all faults will disable an airbag. The driver’s airbag will not deploy if there is an open circuit in the clock spring as it cannot. However, a malfunctioning passenger seatbelt buckle is unlikely to affect the driver’s airbag.
Below is a page from the Chrysler passive restraints training manual.
"If the airbag warning light is illuminated, it may indicate that the ACM has detected a fault in one or more of the airbag circuits. This means that the airbag system may not function as intended. It does not mean the system is disabled."
