2014 Town & Country
Head rest blew open with a loud bang driving on interstate on passenger side. The plastic inside that holds a metal rod broke. The rod was still seated in the trigger and appears to be caused by weak plastic used to hold the rod and head rest in position until collision sensor releases it. This is part of the air bag system and is to protect from whiplash in rear end collision. Car has 47,000 miles so is not under warranty but it seems it should be as it is part of the safety equipment. I know the Jeep forum has at least 92 reports of a similar problem so seems to be a Fiat/Chrysler problem. Am enclosing pictures of this:


Rod and broken plastic in head rest


Rod still in trigger


Broken plastic that held metal rod


Area that broke allowing head rest to spring forward.

 

You should report it to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association here: NHSTA
If there are enough complaints the NHSTA will do an investigation and may issue a recall.

There are already several complaints about this issue on the NHSTA website: https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2014/C...FWD#complaints

A search for earlier year models and the Dodge Grand Caravan shows similar complaints.

If you have the headrest replaced be sure to keep your receipt, so if a recall is issued at some point in the future you will be able to get reimbursed.

 

My head rests went of and I had to reset them.
There is a class action lawsuit for this and you should check it out.
My vehicle is a 2016 Chrysler Town and Country Touring L.
Good luck....

 

This also happened to me. 2013 Town & Country. I received the letter from FCA US LLC Customer Center saying that I could be reimbursed if I had the repair. I sent them all of the documentation of the repair ($783.77) and now my "case manager" will not respond to my emails or phone calls. Very frustrating.

 

2013 Chrysler 200 Touring
My driver side Active Headrest activated without a collision. The engineering sucks on this assembly. Metal bar that snaps into a metal lock, but held together by plastic??
I guess there have not been enough complaints to create a recall, but enough complaints for Chrysler to extend the warranty to 120 months. If you still have the problem or already fixed it, you may be due a full reimbursement or your dealership should be able to fix it without a cost to you.. as long as your vehicle is not over 10 years old.
Ken

The metal bar in the other photo should be seated within the bracket in the center left of this photo, but the inferior plastic broke loose.

 

I just had a similar problem with my 2014 T&C, did you get any resolution? Did you try any other ways to fix the headrest other than a dealer (I suspect that price is hi enough to be a dealer, and I suspect it will be even higher now...) TIA.