Air bag light came on

General Discussion
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1

My airbag light came on in my 2006 Tacoma, had it fixe for $580, as my dealer told me:

1. It would not deploy during a accident

2. could not get a inspection sticker

3. It was not covered by my warranty

4. It was diagnosed as a faulty spiral cable

I think Toyota should pay or help pay for this as it is a faulty part.



Has anyone encountered this problem? Thanks

2

3. It was not covered by my warranty 

I thought the required warranty on those air bags was longer than that.
3

Why Should Toyota Pay For Repairs To A Vehicle (Or Replace Faulty Parts) That Is Out Of Warranty ? They Would Go Bankrupt If They Adopted That Policy. A Warranty Has A Definite End.

I’ve never lived in a state that has inspection stickers. I thought those stickers were required to show that a vehicle met requirements for emissions. You mean to tell me that they check safety items, too ?

A faulty “spiral cable” must be what’s commonly referred to as a “clockspring” in airbag lingo.

CSA

4

From a Toyota Warranty Policy Bulletin;
Restraint System; 60 months/60,000 miles from the vehicle?s in-service date,
whichever occurs first.

5

You are saying all is well now technicaly, but you are seeking a line of reasoning to try and get Toyota to pay for the repair? If this is correct I must say this type of negoation is usually done before the repair is started. Now that the repair is done I think your best method is to talk with Toyota customer service and say something like “I went ahead and had the Dealer fix it as he does such good work but could you help just a bit with the cost”? be humble, it may help.

I will say that $580.00 sure does seem like a lot of money, was there an abnormal amount of diagnosis needed? why did the cost go so high? do you have a parts/labor breakdown?

6

The breakdown $289 for parts , $282 for labor. They diagnosed the problem with with the plug in scan tool, that cost $100 but they waived that, if I had it fixed. The tech writer told me that the airbag would not deploy in an accident and you can imagine that my insurance company would not nullify any claim for injury if I got in a accident, knowing that the airbag needed to be fixed. Of course these days the ECU records everything if you are in a accident so…
Really did not have much choice on getting it fixed.
For those drivers that do not have inspections like MA., they check everything, ball joints, brakes, lights, emmissions, tires, windshields . If you fail you have to make an appt for repairs(or if its simple like a bulb, they will often do it immediately)

My thoughts are that it must be a faulty part as there is no way that driver can wear out , the spiral cable/clockspring item.

Thanks to everyone for the responses and ideas.

7

In New York, they check tons of safety items. See:

http://www.nydmv.state.ny.us/broch/c-50.htm

8

“My thoughts are that it must be a faulty part as there is no way that driver can wear out , the spiral cable/clockspring item.”

Many parts are replaced on cars everyday that drivers don’t wear out. Some parts go bad from age or are “faulty” as you say. The warranty period gives you the benefit of doubt and pays to repair or replace faulty parts, but not forever. Given enough time, almost every part on every car could become faulty.

CSA

9

I’ve never lived in a state that has inspection stickers. I thought those stickers were required to show that a vehicle met requirements for emissions.

18 states have safety inspections. NH was the last state to have Emission testing.

10

Wow ! Thanks.

CSA

11

" . . . the airbag would not deploy in an accident and you can imagine that my insurance company would not nullify any claim for injury if I got in a accident, knowing that the airbag needed to be fixed."

I guess you were trying to say that insurance wouldn’t pay for your injuries if you were involved in an accident with a known faulty airbag.

Personally, I would be more concerned with being injured, maimed, or diasabled than concerned that insurance may not pay for my accident injuries, but hey, whatever floats your boat . . .

Just goes to show that not everbody has the same priorities.

CSA

12

“Given enough time, almost every part on every car could become faulty.”

+1

If the part in question was truly defective, it would have failed long before 5 years had elapsed. Many automotive parts could–in theory–be designed and built so that they never wore out, but you most likely would not want to pay the price of a new car that was designed with “lifetime” components.

Everything in life tends to have inherent compromises, and with cars and trucks, the compromise that takes place most frequently is the price point that is practical for a manufacturer to charge for the vehicle vs the longevity of the vehicle and its component parts. When you consider how much longer modern vehicles last, as compared to those of 40-50 years ago, I think that most manufacturers have figured out a practical compromise between price and vehicle longevity.

But, everything has its limits, and unfortunately so do warranties.

13

I don’t at all feel underprotected when riding in a pre-airbag vehicle, as long as I have the shoulder harness and seat belt on. Sure there are those high level accidents where a airbag will help, just like there are those even higher level accidents where not even an airbag changes the outcome. Some plan for the worst hope for the best, myself I just stay level (I canceled the roll cage and 5 point harness install).