I took my 99 SE-L to the dealer on Monday for a flashing airbag light. See the link below on why I wanted to get it fixed instead of resetting the airbag ECU...
http://home.att.net/~stefnee/accident2jpg.JPG

Well the dealer called to say that my right side airbag had failed and it needed to be replaced. I asked if it was covered under warranty and he told me yes, but I was out of warranty. I had 53,606. I then called my extended warranty company and was told the airbag was not covered. I told the dealer to go ahead and replace the airbag...see above link...

Dealer said it would cost $385.00. I thought hey...from what I understand airbag replacements cost$$$$. Well today I called Nissan of America to ask about approximately when an airbag should fail. The manual only says to have the airbag assembley checked 10 years after manufactured.

I was told that my airbag is covered for 5yrs/60000 miles under the powertrain warranty. Then I was asked how much I paid, when I said $385 they told me that airbag replacements are considerably more. I faxed my invoice to them and they told me that they would get back to me in 24 - 48 hrs.

Should I have gone for a second opinion? Or was it just an oversite on the dealer?

Stefnee

 

So the dealership said it wasn't covered , but Nissan NA said it was. Get your money back.

 

oh and if the dealer has tried to rip you of. then go public call any and all new agencies that would love to expose dealerships ripping people off.

 

Believe me, I was all but prepared to go to the dealership today. Nissan NA said to wait until they could review the information, if they are doing something they shouldn't, Nissan NA wants to investigate.

stefnee

 

I agree with NickStam. It sounds like the dealer tried to beat you. But do not feel bad. We are all subject to it as dealers are all crooked for the most part. What sounds positive is that NA told you that it was covered. So you at least have that information. The next step is just getting your money back. Maybe NA will reimburse it if you make enough "noise". The dealer ought to be ashamed. They already make a killing on the prices they charge for these cars. But for some reason that is not good enough. They also feel the need to try and cheat us when we come in for service also. I ahd the experience of a dealer telling me that I needed over $3,000 worth of work done (a couple of weeks ago. I took it to another place and found out that all of the things that the dealer said I needed were not true. I got what REALLY needed to be done for $250. It's unbeleivable when you think about it. Please let us know how things works out for you. I hope that you get your money back.

 

That's why I hate dealerships...always trying to rip you off and the worst is the way they rip females...I even hate going to pick up touch-up paint at the dealership...

 

I had a similar issue with my catalytic converter... CEL came on and I took it to dealership. They told me the cat needed replacing. They then told me it would cost $800+ and was not under warranty.

I happened to call my regular mechanic and he informed me that all emmission-related components must be covered for like the first 5 years/ 80,000 miles in NJ (depends on state). I then called Nissan NA and gave them the story. They confirmed that the cat should be covered.

I called back the dealership and gave them an update. The guy on the phone checked his warranty list again and this time he "found" the section that says its covered and said "oops".

F them. Last time they get my business.

 

I have a feeling that the dealer did not do anything more than just reset the airbag light. Trust me, dealer cost on an airbag is a lot more than you were charged and don't forget the labor. How can they be sure it failed? Something is fishy.

 

I was charged 1.50 hours of labor: $112.50 and $234.96 for parts.

Stefnee

 

How do you know the airbag was replaced? Maybe they just replaced the crash impact sensors.

 

what did the parts say. cause i know a airbag will cost more than $234 dollars. i accually can ask tomorrow how much the cost is on a passenger airbag.

 

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