Hi:

The air bags in my 1999+ GLE Maxima had deployed 1 yr back in an accident. They were replaced by the bodyshop.

3 months back the check air bag light came on. Took it to the bodyshop who took it to their nearest Nissan dealer who claimed that this is the symptom of a standard problem -- the Maxima's passenger side front seat harness is too short. He reset the code.

Last week this code came back on!

Called bodyshop. They claim that Nissan dealer says that this is something that Nissan will replace free of charge because the harness has been recalled. Sounds likely?

I am thinking of going to the dealer where I bought the car in order to get another opinion.

Any other tips?

Regards,

 

u know my friends 99 did that too but w/ no accident he had to keep taking it back to nissan and getting them to reset it. i dont know if there was a recall or not

 

Nice i finally get to vent abit about Nissan service...

First off i have the same problem, one day i moved my passenger seat back and forth and the air bag light came on, so i reset it. It kept on coming on at times for the next month and i kept resetting it till about two weeks ago when it wouldn’t reset. So i said 'let me take it to get if fixed', but first i looked up some info on it, this short harness was never a recall but it was part of a TBS (Technical Bulletin Service) and also the air bag system is covered under a 06monthsa/60k miles warranty, so I figure this should be a free fix by Nissan.

But... when i went to the service center i told the guy my situation and asked him if this was going to be free since it was under warranty, he said 'he didn’t know' and he ran off to the back to confirm the warranty. Came back minute later and told me that they need to diagnose what the problem is before they can tell me if it’s covered under the warranty. So i continued to tell him exactly what the problem is and that it is covered under the warranty, but he still told me they need to diagnose what the problem is and that would cost about $90, and if its covered i get my money back and if not they keep it. What BS so they want me to gamble 90 bucks for a simple diagnose (press a button a bunch of times and see how many times a light blink, I wish I got paid like that ), even thought i know the exact problem.

But when i can afford i will go in and take the gamble, for know i just put some black electrical tape over the light...

 

I went to the original Nissan dealer.

He ran the diagnostic, confirmed the problem, and replaced the harness at no charge. The light is out now -- mebbe all he did was take out the fuse for that light

 

it's easy to know if they fix it or take the fuse out,when u turn the key to the "on" or start position the light come on for about 7 sec. and then off,that mean it's working probably.

 

mine came on today.
what years does the harness problem apply to?
im going to reset this sucker if i find the instructions.

 

Damn that pic in your sig looks like a 4x4.

 

Where is the harness located?
mine has been blining for almost a year now, I reset it before, but the sucker came back on and now won't go away.
It will cost $600 here in Toronto as I was quoted, to get it completely fixed.

No bloody way I am paying that.

So, where is the harness located? I don't mind doing it myself if it's a reasonable job.

THanks

 

600$ CAN!? wtf
mine was reset yesterday but then came back on this morning.
how come the reset procedure only works some of the time? today mine changed from a faster blink to a slower longer one

 

that's what the dealer told me.
I laughed at them and walked out.

don't have a clue what to do now

 

it applys if you have side air bags, so i guess its the 98-99.

 

yeah i read the air bag light code which said right side air bag (one short blink at the end)
but i still dont know if i should go to the dealer theyre going to charge me up the **** for diagnosing arent they? then i hear they should fix the problem for free since its a TSB thing? no clue man

 

thats why i just put electrical tape over the light, and ill deal with it when i can afford it.

 

yeah i really dont want to go to dealer.
one more question: if i reset the ECU (not the air bag one but the actual ECU ECU) will the light go off? im bout to jus do that and screw it all

 

Didn't work for me
I even disconnected the battery for 24 hours. Didn't work either.

If the common problem is the bloody passenger side harness or something, why can't we do it ourselves.
It can't be that hard?! or is it?

 

don't know how to reach this harness or what to do with it really. all i know is i cant afford to be ripped off for such a stupid problem. can we pass inspections with a blinking air bag light?

 

bump: does resetting the ECU reset the air bag light?

 

Hey I had the same problem with my light flashing. There is a harness issue that every dealer should be aware of. If you do have side impact bags Nissan will replace it for free. My dealer told me that if the light was on or flashing the bags will not deploy in a accident. Get it fixed.

 

did you get charged for anythign? diagnostics?

 

Not one dime. I came in and told them the problem and they never mentioned the diagnostics fee. Maybe they knew what it was right away. I did have to come back because the harness was not in stock. But hey for free I would have been willing to wait for that part to come in.

 

Were you still under warranty?
I was told by Nissan that if you are not under warranty anymore, the airbag is not covered as a safety device, such as a seatbelt which is covered for life.
You didn't have to pay a dime for anything? where is this, Canada or US?

 

I was NOT under warranty and I'm in the US. I asked when they said it was no charge and they told me about the TSB. I assume the TSB tells them that there is no charge. Somehow I don't think the dealer would do it for free if they didn't have to. This was done about 6 months ago. Beleive me I was VERY suprised not to be charged for it. If you are having this problem I would call your trusted dealer and see what they say about it. If they tell you that there will be a charge for it (service / replacement) I would mention the TSB.

 

What is a TSB? what does it stand for?

 

technical service bulletin
and i think i will give the dealership a call this week. thanks rosewood well see wat happens

 

Just called a dealer, the service dept. didn't know anything about it.
They said I need to call back when the head of the dept. is in the office.

As far as I understood, if there is no recall on it, they won't touch it. I'll see if I bit&h at them a little, maybe they'll budge

 

maybe.. i hate having to btch at people so i hardly do it. ill probably end up having the dealership push me around but we'll see haha.

 

I just had this happen to my '99 i30 a couple months ago..they ended up replacing the passenger side air bag module, so the invoice says.

My .02 dollars,
John

 

wre you under warranty? did it cost you anything?

 

warranty covered it

 

no more warranty for me. hopefully this tsb crap pulls thru.
i dont even know why i care . the light doesnt bother me much anymore and i dont really care about having air bags whatever

 

well i went in to the dealership today and the guy said 89$ for the diagnostics and tsb means nothing in terms of free repairs. even if its a tsb problem i still pay 90 for diagnostics and then for the repair.
so wtf its not my fault that stupid harness is made like crap

 

Okay I went out to the car to get the repair bill and here is what is says:

"cust states air bag light flashing sop for this concern- open curcuit in the side air bag module- replace the left front seat air bag module"

It goes on to state that it is under warranty. I was wrong about not being under warranty. Ir is strange that I bought the car in 01/07/99 brand new off the lot and I had this problem at 02/12/02 and they did it for free. I guess I have a great dealer to do it for free after the 3YR/36,000 mile warranty was out. I am now counting my blessings.

Sorry for all the confusion I caused.

 

its ok man im glad you got it for free. the guy i talked to was cool last time which changed my mind about dealer people but this time he was **** so now im back to thinking theyre ****s.
forget it. as long as i can pass inspections with that light on... but im not sure about that

 

AAHA! Lier!

The car is under warranty until 100,000km or 3 years I believe. I am over 100 clicks, so my luck ran out.

 

isnt 100k extended warranty? either way im outta luck i think forget that little light its jus a pain in th butt