Ok so heres the situation...

I've had the air bag light flashing on my 98 I30t for about two weeks...last Friday. Based on some research I did here on the archives, I tried talking to Nissan to see if they would pick up the bill on whatever the diagnosis was citing the TSB for Side-Impact Airbags and it being a safety issue...

A customer rep for Nissan's corprate 800 number told me to get the car diagnosed at an Infiniti dealer to find the exact problem and then we could go from there...I took down her name and she even gave me a case # to refer to later...

SO...$95 later the car is diagnosed with a faulty passenger-side-impact airbag module. The light cannot be reset and the module must be replaced. I was quoted $669 after labor...I told the dealer that I was in talks with Nissan to see if they would pick up the bill...he said "okay no problem but he'd be surprised if they actually did that because the car is out of waranty."

So TODAY I call Nissan back, give the guy my Case # and he already has in front of him on his computer the diagnosis and stuff...he also knows that I wanted Nissan to pay for it...so he asks me if I found the TSB or if the dealer found the TSB...I told him that I found it on my own...so then he's quiet for a few seconds and says, "Well we cannot authorize that decision. You need to take the car and the TSB back to the dealer and it will be their decision wether the work is done free of charge or not..." So I got his name for future reference....

So guys now I am stuck!! What do I do next...I am PRETTY SURE that the dealer is not going to be very happy about me wanting $669 worth of work done for free on a 6 year old car out of warranty...I mean sure I could bring along the TSB and try to cite a safety issue but I am not sure how far I can get....what should I do guys?? Should I bite the bullet and pay or stand my ground??

Let me also add that I like the dealership where I go and I do not want to sour my relationship with them...so being threatening, assertive, and demanding is not high on my list of what I should do...HELP!!

 

Stand your ground. I've been thinking about this lately. My airbag light has been flashing for the last 2-3 months. Ive owned the car for over a year now. Previous records showed a faulty side airbag around 30k miles (previous owner) and it was replaced. Im aware of the TSB aswell, but I wasnt sure if it could be covered. Mines a 99, so we're in the same boat. Let me know how it goes.

I think ill be calling the 1-800 number tomorow morning to talk to them over this. I agree on the safety issue. Is it true that all the airbags are turned off when the airbag light comes on? Or is it just the airbag that is faulty?

Anyways, I dont think we should have to pay for airbag replacements. Should be lifetime warrantys like our seatbelts. All cars have seatbelts, and pretty much all cars have airbags now, so why not treat them the same? I'll keep you updated on how my adventure goes.

 

If that is the dealership where you have a "standing" I guess from a customer service standpoint I'd try to use that. Tell them that you have loved working with them in the past and that you'd love to keep on doing so in the future and find out if there is anything they can do for you. I'm pretty sure you'll have to pay for parts but if you talk to the right people you might get reduced or removed labor.

Just my $.02

 

I never really knew the difference between a TSB and RECALL so I looked it up. Looks like a Recall is covered by the stealership whereas a TSB may or may not be covered by the stealership .


Definition of TSB: http://www.autotsb.com/whatis.html


“TSB's or Technical Service Bulletins are frequent repair notices used by the automotive repair industry to diagnose and repair today's increasingly sophisticated automobiles. Often, the auto technician's first procedure in repairing a vehicle is to check for relevant TSB's.

Before It's a Recall, It's a TSB.

Thousands of TSB's are issued each year with most dealing with minor cosmetic repairs or specific repair instructions for technicians. On the other end of the extreme are TSB's that eventually become NHTSA (National Highway Transportation Safety Administration) Official Safety Recalls.”



More good stuff: http://www.thecarconnection.com/index.asp?article=4371

“Okay, so what's a TSB (technical service bulletin)? If a manufacturer decides that the issue is a design issue or a common problem not pertaining to safety, a Technical Service Bulletin, or TSB, may be issued. Manufacturers often will cover the cost of problems revealed in TSBs if the problem is particularly endemic, and even if they don't you will have a clear remedy for a common (and potentially frustrating) problem with your vehicle. Ask a technician at the dealership how common your problem is, and if you feel like your repair should be compensated, call the regional service manager (your dealership will be able to supply the number).”

 

You guys need to read your warranty booklets. I think seatbelts, airbags etc.. have a much longer warranty than the rest of the car. ie.. 3-gen guys get their seatbelts replaced for free as the seatbelt warranty is a safety item.

 

yeah dude seatbelts are warrantied for the life of the car...but airbags apparently are not...but they are called a "Supplmental Restraint System" right? Doesnt that sound to you like they work in CONJUNCTION with the seatblets? If my seatbelts did not work or were defective...I could be seriously injured or killed in the event of an accident...what's so different if my airbags dont work...if it doesnt deploy theres the POSSIBILITY that i could be seriously injured or killed...if it deploys at just some random time...i could be seriously injured...

What it all comes down to is it will be MUCH cheaper for Nissan to pay $669 for my air bag module rather than pay me or my family (or anyone's family for that matter!) millions of dollars after they are sued for me or someone else being seriously injured or killed because Nissan allowed their cars to roll around with the POSSIBILITY of having defective air bags...

Now I understand that the dealership is a business, there is money to be made, and they can't be doing all kinds of "goodwill" work JUST because its the right thing to do... but this is a SAFETY issue...am I making sense or is it just me? LOL you guys are great just letting me rant on and on...

 

No, I hear ya. Thats how I have thought of it. Im at 70k miles now and this will be the 2nd faulty airbag. Airbags should be treated as seatbelts in this matter. They might be expensive to replace, but it will save Thousands on medical bills if i ever get into an accident.

 

You should call the 800 number and start writing letters till there's no tomorrow. You just HAVE to be persistent. Write one to the head quarters and anywhere you can think of. Tell them that you will hold them responsible for any damage that will be caused to you because of that faulty airbag that was put in by them. Tell them that you will go to the news if something does happen to you. Find out ALL names and maybe even record converstations with them. Make sure that you have their consensus before you do otherwise it's illegal

 

stand your ground.. should have checked ebay $75 brand new
black
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...category=33719
tan
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...category=33719

 

does anyone know a free website to get a list of TSB for a car.

 

You can find out what TSB, Safety and General Recalls a car has here.

http://www.alldata.com/recalls/

However, you have to subscribe to get a complete copy of the TSB.

 

I had this issue same issue on the passenger side, Infiniti replaced it under warranty. Right after the warranty expired my driver side air bag started giving me trouble codes. It turns out the wire right underneath the seat was pinched and i just moved it, reset the computer and everything has been fine almost a year later. Check underneath, the airbag wires are wrapped in yellow tape. Worse comes to worse, remove the back of the seat and check. There are 4 panel pops on the bakc panel and an anchor at the top, so pop the bottom the middle and then slide it down. Hope this helps...
John