2016 Dodge Grand Caravan - suspected clockspring problem

[Number_35]

Hello all -

My friend bought a used 2016 Dodge Grand Caravan for his daughter and family a few months ago. It was high mileage for the year (c. 160K km/100K miles) but in good shape, and the price was good.

I think there are still a few months of the one-year powertrain warranty (offered by the selling dealer) remaining, but no remaining warranty on the peripherals.

I haven't done any diagnosis personally, but my friend says that his daughter has reported that the steering wheel controls (sound system, horn, cruise) no longer work. My first thought was that the clockspring had gone bad.

There was a YouTube video on replacing the clockspring on an older ('07?) GC, but nothing for the present generation of van.

My biggest concern is deploying the airbag inadvertently. With the older model, the poster said that disconnecting the negative battery terminal for a couple of minutes was required to give the capacitor time to discharge. The poster did warn, though, that this may not suffice for all vehicles; some would require that the airbag fuse be pulled.

Have any of you BITOGers replaced the clockspring in a 2016 (or close) Grand Caravan? If so, what precautions did you take to disable the airbag ignitor(s)?

Any other tips regarding doing this job?

Also, the part offered by Rock Auto is a Dorman. I know that Dorman has an iffy reputation on some parts ... any recommendations? I assume that a genuine Mopar part from the dealer would be pretty pricey. I plan to phone NAPA tomorrow to see what they've got.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts on this!

 

[clinebarger]

Disconnect the negative battery terminal for 2 minutes.

Price out a genuine Mopar part......Dorman is TRASH!!

 

[Number_35]

My cost on the Dorman part locally would be C$344.50 plus tax ... but the OEM part from the dealer is C$574.00 plus tax. Yikes!

Alternatively, the Dorman from Rock Auto is C$218.89 ... but it's not the factory part.

The owners have been quoted C$500 for the entire job (parts and labour) by a local garage in their small community, so I think they'll go that route. I presume the garage will use the Dorman part, and I hope the warranty is OK ... we'll see.

 

[mehullica]

Take out the assembly & disassemble it. If the airbag wiring traces are good inside the ribbon cable & only the other traces are broken try repairing it if you’re good at electronic repair. The ribbon cable somewhere has a kink in it & the trace broke. I wouldn’t repair the airbag circuit traces, but the others I would.

 

[meep]

Idk why these things are so expensive, though it’s quite possible it includes the steering angle sensor. If so, that can require calibration, which means having a conversation with the computer. I bought a used Volvo and the thing was exactly 90 degrees off. Considering a new part was about $300, I notched new index holes at 90 degrees with a dremel and reinstalled it as a Hail Mary, and IT WORKED. kept that sucker in service and it worked great. if calibration is required, you’ll need someone who can do that to wrap up.