airbag warning light!

[justjon]

I have searched the forum for this problem and have read the one post (2 years old) so on that note ..
I took my 2002 to the dealer today to replace the right brake/turn signal bulb which for $21.06 I was greatful to not have to tear the trunk upholstery apart but they gave me the car back and said the airbag light was on. They were right of course but it was fine when i drove in. Now I can't do anything about it for the weekend and have a 40 mile trip to do Sunday. I sure don't want the airbag going off in my face and have pretty much assured myself this won't happen. Anyone have a clue why this happened and what the cure may be or how MUCH the cure may be? Since it is a safety issue will Ford pick up the tab? Jaguar replaced my automatic seat belt motor for free on a 17 year old car. Your two centsworth appreciated.

[Sweet T]

Re: airbag warning light!

....but it was fine when i drove in..

My thought is, they broke the clock (sp) spring in the steering wheel while testing the directional. I'd demand they fix it.

If not, I've found a 411 call asking for your attorney's number, right in front of them works well......

I broke my spring.....$450

[justjon]

Re: airbag warning light!

That certainly sounds probable (i don't have a clue what a clock spring is) but how can I prove that it was allright when i brought it in?

[Sweet T]

Re: airbag warning light!

If it wasn't all right, they would have listed it on the work order to check.......

Anybody conscientious enough to replace a burnt out bulb, wouldn't let something like an airbag light to go unchecked.

I broke mine by laying on the horn, not in the middle of the wheel but on the edge (elderly man pulled into my lane...never saw me). I'm thinking the mechanic could have done something similiar trying to squeeze into the car or leaned on it if he was under the dash or something.

Save your paperwork.

[justjon]

Re: airbag warning light!

Went to the Ford dealer at odark hundred and was first in line. told my story to a new assistant service rep (this is Power Ford in Torrance for you South Cal folks) and they diagnosed my problem as Sweet T predicted as a broken clock (sp correct) spring. $480 to fix it. I insisted that i had drove in whole, except for my tail light and suggested that the300 pound car mover guy leaned on the airbag. Spoke to the Head service rep and he flatly claimed no culpability but wouldn't go so far to call me a liar who brought it in allready broken. He was a complete ahole about the whole thing. I went to an independant auto electric guy who said that if the horn blew, which it does, the spring is not broken. he will reset the codes tommorrow and we'll see what happens.the beat goes on. Thanks Sweet T for your input, at least I didn't show up completly naive.

[Sweet T]

Re: airbag warning light!

Sorry you have to go through this, it's not fun, I know.

Now that you mention it, your indy is correct, my horn did stop working.....too bad the codes don't record "when" it tripped. (I KNEW the guy had to be big haha)

Not too sure I'd want him to clear the code though.....that could open a whole other can of worms....the dealers won't touch it without a code, and it could take months for it to trip again. (COP paranoia setting in lol)

Good luck and keep us posted.

[justjon]

Re: airbag warning light!

What's not tripped is good "nes't pas?"

if the light stays off and if it doesn't retrip the code, wouldn't that mean it was working allright? If something is really wrong won't the code trip immediatly after the first ignition on check cycle?

[Sweet T]

Re: airbag warning light!

Not sure about the airbag light Jon.

Someone accidentally cleared a COP code on me and it choked for a year before it tripped again......brought it to the dealership four times....wouldn't touch it without the code.

I take it to AutoZone before the mechanic now....they read it, don't erase it, and give you a print out of a list of things that could cause the code.

[2Redbirds57/02]

Re: airbag warning light!

Jon, the air bag warning light on my 2002 bird came on and stayed on. I took it to a Lincoln/Mercury dealer as I did not trust the mechanics at my local Ford dealer to work on my car. The problem was a bad electrical connector under the drivers seat. Cost to repair was $140.00 which was mostly labor.

[justjon]

Re: airbag warning light!

My bird is in the hands of the Gods. I dropped it off at my indie guy, he comes highly reccomended and said he would fix it for$100 and if he had to buy a new clock spring for $80 labor plus the part ($100) wholesale. I'm betting on a connection problem.. Thanks for the tip 2birds

[00mustng]

Re: airbag warning light!

....my airbag icon came on....clock spring replaced at my friendly Ford dealer....wasn't cheap...As I was told...if the icon is on, the airbags won't deploy in an accident...so be careful what you're messing with....

[justjon]

Re: airbag warning light!

My indie repairmann disassebbled the steering column and there was a lot of corrosion on the electrical conections. cleaned every thing up and put it all back together. light stayed off for little less then a mile and thenn returned.

went to Ford and bought the Clock spring assembly $124.00 retail/$94 to the trade and my guy removed the old and installed the new in 40 minutes.

put on 20 miles in heavy traffic and all is well! Ford quote for this job was $480, my guy $90 labor (both cleaning repair and replacement)

[Sweet T]

Re: airbag warning light!

Glad you're all set.

It's nice to know an indie can do a clock spring, never crossed my mind to check.

So, not only are the dealerships thieves, they caused more damage than what it went in for.....and got away with it.

I'd like to see all the unemployed real estate lawyers turn into dealership lawyers lol.

Do you know Dick Hussey by any chance?

[justjon]

Re: airbag warning light!

I have bought some parts from Dick and talked on the phone. great guy and a big help in Allanteland

[Kokomo]

Re: airbag warning light!

I replaced the clockspring myself a couple of months ago. $110 for the part, and about 2-3 hours time to do it. There are instructions in another thread on here that tell how to do it.