Well everyone, I went to the stealership in Akron, Ohio on Friday and they hooked my car up to the consult 3 for the blinking airbag light. They found an "open drivers airbag code" just like the consult 2 at the other dealer but the consult 3 also displayed there was a wire that had become disconnected near the clockspring assembly. The tech showed me the wire before fixing this, it was not corroded but had simply "jarred loose" so it was just a matter of plugging it back together and clearing the light code with the consult 3 and what do you know NO MORE BLINKING LIGHT. I was happy they only charged me $75 TOTAL for the diagnostic test and NO LABOR CHARGE. It took the tech about 60 minutes to fix this. The tech said the clockspring might be the next to set the airbag light off but he has fixed this same wire on many maximas and this seemed to fix the problem for good. This made my day. Now I am going to go back to the original Nissan dealer near me( the one with the consult 2) and show them I got it fixed for $80 instead of $1,083 they wanted to charge me for the whole airbag assembly. I will never go back to that dealership. I wanted to let everyone know in case this ever happens to you...FIND A DEALERSHIP WITH A CONSULT 3 SO YOU DON'T GET RIPPED OFF!!!!!! THANKS AGAIN TO EVERYONE'S INPUT ON THE ORG.

 

Good info. 2nd opinions always help.

 

Nice.

Mind sharing which dealers they were?

 

So did the first dealership end up bending you over for the diagnostic? That would suck but given you only had to pay $80 (or whatever the cost of 2 diag's) then thats a steal.

Speaking of steal, Nissan and maybe all car manufactuers ought to do a better job to regulate the dealership industry. I mean WTF! Is this not paramount to organized crime?

Talk about exploitation. I hate to sound like a zaney liberal but the Dealership Industry ought to have some form of regulation and reign in some of these irresponsible diagnostic/repair/labor cost.

I'm all for making a buck, even pushing the limits of exploitation but in an enviroment where vehicles have more and more sophisticated components and make up there needs to be some limits placed on how much you can take advantage of consumers. Just my .02

 

I hate to sound like a zany liberal but conservative republicans really bust my hump ... at least you got the job done huh ... not bad for saving over 1000 dollars.

 

What does this have to do with Rep vs. Dem?

Glad you got it fixed for a diagnosis fee!

 

You should definitely post this in the dealership/vendor feedback section.

Glad it worked out for you and your wallet.

 

Leave the politics out of 5th gen guys.

 

Hey everyone.....I did pay the diagnostic test at the first dealership($80) and the diagnostic test at the 2nd dealership also but it was $75 (no labor to fix the problem). So it was still a bargain to fix $155 instead of the $1,083 they first wanted for the whole airbag assembly.. Also COOLMAX.... The first stealership I went to for the $1,083 charge was Arch Abraham in Sheffield previously in Elyria. The stealership I got it fixed right was Fred Martin Nissan in Green(AKRON) where I originally bought the car. I recommend Fred Martin to anyone in the Cleveland area. They are honest which is hard to find in a stealership. I am definetly going to drive down there if I have problems in the future.....

 

One reference to zaney liberals seems to be all they heard/read me say/post.
I was referencing liberals not democrats. If you pay attention there is a big difference between the two. For the record, I'm a Democrat.

Regardless the main point that was neglected in the other replies is that dealerships ought to be regulated, somehow. They really bend the consumer over.

 

Big difference? Yet I hit the nail on the head.......

I agree that this was nuts for him to go through this. They would tell you that, for the govrnmt., to get involved is invasion. A business should be free to run it's way without intervention from big brother.....

I'm a conservative rep!

Still glad he got it fixed, regardless of political affiliation!

 

OMG!!!

Arch Abraham is whom I bought my car from!
AA probably wants the money for that new dealership. My purchase went well and my car hasn't had any real problems either.
Oddly enough, I did browse the lots at Fred Martin as well, but wasn't fond of the sales staff, nor could find the right car for my needs.
I'll keep it in mind regardless.
And I guess this should be posted in the dealership/vendor experience also.

 

I always get multiple opinions and check nissanparts.org. I get tired of the exploitation as well.

 

Hey everyone...I went back to the original dealer that wanted to charge me the $1,083 for the airbag replacement. I showed the general manager that I got it fixed at another dealer for $75 and he wanted to know what he could do for me. I told him I wanted my $80 back for the diagnostic test they performed to tell me it was going to be $1,083 to fix my car. He complied and cut me a check on the spot and I was on my way.....Sometimes you have to let the stealership know they aren't going to screw everyone around.....

 

Wow, nicely done. I never would have thought to go back to the first dealer.

 

This is the exception, not the rule. Nice job sticking it to the man.
Chalk one up to us.

 

I have the same blinking airbag light problem. It happened after i took apart my interior to put my subs in. I'm JW, is the Consult 2/3 the computer which reads the codes?? I am bringing it to a dealer to have them check it out.

 

Hey flyerhawk..Welcome to the org...The consult 2 and 3 are the computers that the stealerships have to read your cars computer. Try to ask the dealer before you go if they have the consult 3 since this new laptop is the way to go. It tells the technician exactly which wire might be bad instead of just a general fault code the consult 2 will throw....Most dealerships have the consult 2 because it costs around $6000 for the consult 3 and most dealers are to cheap to upgrade.....Don't let them screw you around like they did me telling me it was going to be $1000 for a new airbag and all it turned out to be was a loose wire for $75...Get a second opinion if you feel uncomfortable...

 

Thanx man, because I was just about to ask what those consult things were.. lol.. because my airbag light is blinking as well but I've been putting off getting it checked out because the $1,000 airbag story scared me. And everybody knows how dishonest those damn dealers can be.. freakin bastards.. but yeah, now I know what to ask about and I'll be more confident going in there, hopefully won't get screwed over, and just might live if I'm in a serious accident.. lol.. thanx a bunch

 

hey, if anybody is still reading this thread... is it even possible that you would need an entire new airbag assembly or anything costing near $1,000 if you've never been in an accident or tampered wit your steering wheel in any way? it just doesnt make sense to me.. airbags don't just wear out like tires, you know? the light just came on out of nowhere when i started my car one day and never went away.. i'm getting it checked out this weekend and i need to go in there with some confidence because i think they might try to screw me...

 

You probably might have to reset the airbag light. There should be a how to thread on how to do it. Try seeing if you can reset the light before doing anything else. If it doesn't work then go and do the dealership thing.
Good luck

 

yeah, if you're talking about the thing where you push that button on the drivers side door panel, i already tried and no luck.. are you talking about another procedure?

 

does anybody know.. is it even possible to need an entire new airbag assembly or anything costing near $1,000 if you've never been in an accident or tampered wit your steering wheel in any way? it just doesnt make sense to me.. airbags don't just wear out like tires, you know? the light just came on out of nowhere when i started my car one day and never went away.. i'm getting it checked out this weekend and i need to go in there with some confidence because i think they might try to screw me... any help would be greatly appreciated...