Hello, the passenger airbag on my ex35 has been a problem for a few years. A local dealership told me a few years it was linked to wires under the seat becoming loose, and fixed it. The problem has reoccurred off/on for the following 3yrs. Now the dealership says it is the sensor which is embedded into the seat, so the seat needs to be replaced ($5k, and now the car warranty has expired). I read that making sure the wires are connected well can fix it, have not tried it yet, but wondering in general if I should trade it in at this point. I typically have no passenger in that seat, so the dealer clears the code and it doesn’t show as a problem until someone sits in the seat (or maybe it is when the seat is moved back/forward). I love the car, don’t really want to trade it, paid off now. Please let me know your thoughts.
Thanks,
Jane
Well of course they want to sell you a new seat! I think that is ridiculous.
The seat can be removed, the sensor exposed and the wiring checked - and repaired. IF the sensor is available separately (and I would be amazed if it wasn’t), that can be replaced at the same time and the upholstery re-installed. This shouldn’t be a reason to sell a car. This is a reason to visit another dealer to see if they will do what I suggest or visit your friendly independent mechanic for a cheaper solution. Good Luck!
I’ve replaced tons of occupant recognition sensors, and also several seat frames, in a few instances
It’s a little bit of work, but not 5K worth of work
I suggest you find another shop, for a second opinion
BTW . . . the airbag light might now be on for the occupant recognition sensor. The light can come on because of various problems. It’s entirely possible you have an altogether different problem by now. Somebody needs to retrieve fault codes, properly diagnose and repair the problem(s)
If the light still is on because of the occupant recognition sensor, once it’s replaced/repaired, there’s a very high probability the seat will need to be recalibrated. This is typically done with a factory level scan tool, and sometimes calibration weights are also needed
The occupant classification system in this vehicle appears to use the bladder type sensor in the seat cushion. From my experience these are often not serviced separately, the seat cushion assembly must be replaced.
The right front seat cushion/seat adjuster/occupant sensor assembly for this car ranges from $4200 to $6000 in price.
Yikes, incredible, @Nevada_545 replacement seat from a salvage yard might be an option, that is a lot of money for something that is only a safety feature, I mean you might be able to get a new trans or engine for less. If I was looking at that I might consider trying a patch kit on the bladder, pulling the seat and going from bottom up.
Hmmmm…
Luxury car=luxury-level cost for repairs?
Yikes!! 
If this problem was reported while the car was under warranty and they never truly fixed it during that time, my understanding is that they’re still responsible for fixing it. Maybe you should contact the manufacturer using the contact information in your owner’s manual and ask them.
Agreed. I wasn’t sure what steps to take if I wanted to go that route to make the dealer responsible. It isn’t the dealer I bought it from that maintains it locally (they are about 400 miles away).
The manufacture would be the one paying for the repair, not the dealer. You will have to contact the manufactures customer service to get assistance. If it is 6 months out of warranty you may get help, if it has been a couple of years since the last related failure maybe not.
Thanks. It has been a couple years since the problem was first reported and they said it was loose connection under the seat. I wasn’t too concerned at the time (I rarely have a passenger in this car) although it kept happening. I made a ‘loud’ complaint earlier this year saying the problem is recurring; the dealer then said the seat had to be replaced and tried to get it fixed under the current extended warranty but they could not because the mileage was past the limit on the warranty. Dealer (service mgr) did not offer to contact the manufacturer.
I was replacing a muffler on a Cadillac and the part looked remarkably like the one I had replaced on a Chevrolet Caprice a couple of days earlier. I looked in the parts book and the Caddy muffler had the same part number. The only difference was the retail price of the Chevy muffler was $30. The Caddy muffler was $85!