Air Bag Light

[Mikey1234]

I recently purchased my '10 Fusion Hybrid and the air bag light came on and stayed on the other day.

 

I brought it by a local dealer and they called me today and said that the seat airbag needs to be replaced on the passenger side, a $423 repair. Does this seem right? Has anyone else had this problem? What kind of questions should I ask the service dept in order to negotiate the price?

 

Thanks in advance

[hermans]

I had the issue in my 2010 3.0 and it was just a control module, It cost me $50.

[FordService]

I recently purchased my '10 Fusion Hybrid and the air bag light came on and stayed on the other day.

 

I brought it by a local dealer and they called me today and said that the seat airbag needs to be replaced on the passenger side, a $423 repair. Does this seem right? Has anyone else had this problem? What kind of questions should I ask the service dept in order to negotiate the price?

 

Thanks in advance

 

Mikey1234,

 

I'm happy to look into this and see how I can help. Send me a PM with your name, phone number, VIN, mileage, and dealer info. I'll let you know what I find out.

 

Ashley

[Waldo]

I had the issue in my 2010 3.0 and it was just a control module, It cost me $50.

 

How would you know you had the same issue without knowing the code?

Assuming the dealer has correctly diagnosed the issue, the side airbag part is about $250 retail and it looks like a 30 minute job tops. I'd say there's at least $100 of wiggle room in their price, unless that $423 also includes the diagnostic fee. If they are going to charge you ~$100 diagnostics even if you walk away, then I'd say the $423 is a reasonable price.

[Mikey1234]

They charge a diagnostic fee of $88 but if they find something wrong with the vehicle they apply the diagnostic fee to the repair.

[hermans]

 

How would you know you had the same issue without knowing the code?

Assuming the dealer has correctly diagnosed the issue, the side airbag part is about $250 retail and it looks like a 30 minute job tops. I'd say there's at least $100 of wiggle room in their price, unless that $423 also includes the diagnostic fee. If they are going to charge you ~$100 diagnostics even if you walk away, then I'd say the $423 is a reasonable price

The airbag light came on and stayed on. That is what he posted and I had the same issue....smartass.

[Waldo]

The airbag light came on and stayed on. That is what he posted and I had the same issue....smartass.

 

Sorry, didn't mean to be a smartass, but the airbag light represents any problem with any part of the system. I once had an airbag light come on and stay on and it turned out to be a wiring harness that was pinched by some interior trim. Cost $0 to fix.

[Mikey1234]

Yea, I just find it weird for a whole airbag to go out.

[acdii]

Each airbag has a control module in it that has to pass a test to verify that it can deploy. Most likely that is what failed and since its part of the bag they have to replace the whole thing.

[Easy Rider]

They charge a diagnostic fee of $88 but if they find something wrong with the vehicle they apply the diagnostic fee to the repair.

 

That's a good start. Many shops won't even do that.

 

But at this point, you should get it in writing that you will NOT be charged for parts or labor for a "fix" that doesn't really fix it.

 

As long as it is YOUR dime and not theirs, they sometimes tend to just throw parts at it until they get lucky.

 

I try to remember to do that for anything that is over my comfort threshold......which usually is about $200.

[Griswald]

I don't know if this applies, but the early Ford Escapes had issues with the airbag light coming on. It turned out to be the connection from the seat to the wiring harness was close to the floor and when someone in the rear seat either stuck their foot under or pushed something on the floor under the seat, it would bump the connector and eventually cause it to come loose. The fix was a piece of electrical tape on the connector.

 

Couldn't hurt to un-plug and re-plug the connectors...

[billford]

Totally agree with unplugging and reconnecting the suspect connectors first, but you will still need a scanner, to identify the circuit and component and to clear the codes. I would also apply contact cleaner to the connectors pins. Cleaners like Deoxit, will clean the connectors and prevent future oxidation. Airbag circuits are very sensitive. If a normal circuit resistance is 2 ohms and the system is seeing 5 ohms, it can set a code.

[mcalvo12]

Passenger airbag shows in the little window on top of my dash. 2013 Fusion Hybrid when the passenger side is occupied. Is this normal. I have not noticed it before. Did have a message that airbag off previously that wen't out though after restarting the car.

[BlueZips]

Happened to my car during July 4, 2014. The airbag light came on so i took it to the dealer. They ended up replacing the computer module for the airbag, and its all good now. But make sure you take yours in to get fixed if the light is on, or your airbag will not deploy!

[hybridbear]

Passenger airbag shows in the little window on top of my dash. 2013 Fusion Hybrid when the passenger side is occupied. Is this normal. I have not noticed it before. Did have a message that airbag off previously that wen't out though after restarting the car.

 

We see the words "pass airbag" in white text with no lights on when the passenger seat is occupied. According to the OM the passenger airbag light up there should only illuminate if the car detects weight in the seat but for some reason is disabling the airbag. If the seat is empty the airbag will be off but the light will not be on to say that it's off. If the seat is occupied the airbag should be on and the light will only appear if something is wrong and the airbag is off.

[acdii]

I think it also detects the amount of weight and will turn it off if its < a certain limit, say like 40 pounds, like it you have a kid in a car seat there.

[corncobs]

It also doesn't like "throwing" your laptop there then starting the car and removing the laptop. The airbag off light will stay illuminated until the next "power cycle"

[acdii]

How much does your laptop weigh? Dang man, mine is barely heavy enough to stay put in a stiff breeze.

[corncobs]

How much does your laptop weigh? Dang man, mine is barely heavy enough to stay put in a stiff breeze.

Probably around 6lbs.

Dell E6530 with a starting weight of 5.4lbs with a 4 cell battery and SSD.

My battery is bigger and I have a hybrid ;) 500 GB hard drive.