NISSAN AIRBAG DEFECT - reclaim costs ?

EdGasket

Ah well if the airbag recall and light are not linked then that is a different matter; probably no chance to reclaim costs at all unless a link is proved.

Ref. "And paying £50 a go to put the light out?" Yes that would be a standard charge for a diagnostic connection and remedy. Air bag light on = MoT failure so what choice did the OP have?

TadleyBaggie

The most common cause of airbag lights coming on, are poor connections. So in the process of doing the recall they may have fixed the light issue as a side effect as they would have disconnected and reconnected as a matter or course.

reddwarf2002

EdGasket wrote: »

Ah well if the airbag recall and light are not linked then that is a different matter; probably no chance to reclaim costs at all unless a link is proved.

Ref. "And paying £50 a go to put the light out?" Yes that would be a standard charge for a diagnostic connection and remedy. Air bag light on = MoT failure so what choice did the OP have?

If the OP was paying £50 a go at the same garage then it would have been foolish on 2 grounds IMO. Firstly, had it been my car and the fault came back then I would not have had it 'remedied' for the MOT at the same garage again.

Secondly, OP should have enquired as to what remedial work the garage carried out. If it turned out it was just resetting the (ECU) fault code then I would have found an alternative garage to do it for much cheaper. In fact buying a scan tool would have been much more cost effective.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

TadleyBaggie wrote: »

The most common cause of airbag lights coming on, are poor connections. So in the process of doing the recall they may have fixed the light issue as a side effect as they would have disconnected and reconnected as a matter or course.

No they wouldn't have.


They would not have done this.


They would have IGNORED any airbag light illuminated and simply replaced the airbag and disconnecting the battery.


They MAY have reset the light AFTER the bag was fitted to ensure it was connected correctly but more often than not, a battery disconnection usually results in the ECU resetting to factory default and needing to relearn the body modules and any fault will be flagged 15 mins after driving.


if they did check the fault and code and realised it was connection issue they would have left it alone or called to asked the customer if they wanted the issue investigated further.


Nissan are not in the business of "betterment" when a recall is made.


The common cause would have been the connectors on the cables under the seat Nissan wouldn't have touched them and only the stearing wheel and other airbags around the car with the same part being recalled.

forgotmyname

EdGasket wrote: »

Ah well if the airbag recall and light are not linked then that is a different matter; probably no chance to reclaim costs at all unless a link is proved.

Ref. "And paying £50 a go to put the light out?" Yes that would be a standard charge for a diagnostic connection and remedy. Air bag light on = MoT failure so what choice did the OP have?

The OP could have complained that the light has come back and want it fixed properly?

On my car the light cannot be reset with an OBD tool, if the airbag fault exists when the ignition is switched on the light comes on. It will go off once the fault is fixed.

reddwarf2002

forgotmyname wrote: »

The OP could have complained that the light has come back and want it fixed properly?

On my car the light cannot be reset with an OBD tool, if the airbag fault exists when the ignition is switched on the light comes on. It will go off once the fault is fixed.

Generic OBD2 tools usually cannot reset airbag lights as these modules are accessed using proprietary hardware/protocols. You need a more specific tool for example VCDS for VW Audi group, Peugeot Planet for Peugeot, OpCom for Vauxhall etc.

forgotmyname

Its more to do with the tools not clearing a fault that still exists.

Fix the airbag fault and the light goes out without needing to be reset, once fixed you can erase the history of the code but it wont usually put the light out if the fault still exists.

wongataa

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

No they wouldn't have.


They would not have done this.


They would have IGNORED any airbag light illuminated and simply replaced the airbag and disconnecting the battery.

Replacing the airbag means you have to unplug the old one and plug in the new one. I am guessing that this is the connection the poster you replied to was thinking about. By physically breaking and remaking this connection they fixed the dodgy connection by accident.

How would you replace an airbag without unplugging any connections?

facade

The airbag issue was the possibility that on deployment the inflator would burst and fill the cabin with a hailstorm of shrapnel.
(Google takata airbag recall)

Can't see how that would cause the light to come on, maybe there was a loose connection, and changing the airbag fixing the fault is a bonus for you.

My '08 Note got a new drivers airbag 2 weeks ago over this issue

I did wonder if I could claim something for the time & fuel wasted taking the car to them, but they think a new airbag that won't pepper me with shrapnel is adequate compensation.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

wongataa wrote: »

Replacing the airbag means you have to unplug the old one and plug in the new one. I am guessing that this is the connection the poster you replied to was thinking about. By physically breaking and remaking this connection they fixed the dodgy connection by accident.

How would you replace an airbag without unplugging any connections?

There are more than just these connections. The connections on the airbag unit itself within the steering wheel, pillars, Passenger dash, are completely different to those that sit under the seat or connect the airbag module, The type of connector used makes it almost impossible for it to dislodge or become a poor connection.


In 18yrs of vehicle repairs, I can tell you I have only come across a handful of airbag security connectors that were a source of a fault, and this is AFTER they were messed around with by either the owner doing a DIY job on a Cat C Cat D vehicle air bag replacement (broke the retaining security clips) or a they didn't know how the airbag came off and shoved things in the holes or keyways and ragged it off and never disconnected the battery in the process and snapped the wires and bodged a repair. either case ive seen regarding an airbag security clip in my experience has been from an human cause and not one of going faulty on its own.


The wires under the seat are 99.8% the cause of a airbag fault.
This is due to the wire being pull or pushed on by feet under the seat, or put under stress when the seat is repeated moved back and forth (think 3dr). 1% being the module at fault 1% being a faulty airbag security clip broken due to some sort of human intervention.