Airbag Light / Wire Harness

Question:

I have a 2000 Explorer Sport 4×2 and the airbag light is coming on intermittently. I took it in to the dealer today and they said that it’s a resistance problem with the airbag wire harness. Cost to replace – over $250. Naturally, it’s not covered by my extended warranty and I’m told there is no recall. I’m really pissed about this. The car is just over 4 years old and to me this sounds like the harness was defective when it was originally installed. Lots of airbag light / wireing issues found on the web. We are not talking about a mechanical part that died from use. This is a part that they tell me needs to be replaced because of a resistance problem. This car is 100% stock – no add on electronics on my part so it’s not something caused by a change by me. I know that the dealer has no control over warranty and recall. However, I think that Ford (corporate) should stand behind this and replace it at no cost. Anyone agree with this? Anyone have any suggestions as to how I approach someone outside the dealer to get Ford to cover this? How do I find out if this is a common problem and should be looked at for recall. Alternately, is this something that I can replace myself ? I looked at one of the discount Ford parts sites and could find anything like this listed. Thanks in advance for your comments and suggestions.

Response:

I bet you have the side impact airbags (the side of your bucket seats up by the head would say airbag on it).  If so, I used the information at www.fixyourford.com to fix mine.  It didn’t require a new harness at all…about $2 lubricant did it.  I went through the same thing with the dealer and never could get Ford to repair it.

I have a 2000 Explorer Sport 4×2 and the airbag light is coming on intermittently. I took it in to the dealer today and they said that it’s a resistance problem with the airbag wire harness. Cost to replace – over $250. Naturally, it’s not covered by my extended warranty and I’m told there is no recall. I’m really pissed about this. The car is just over 4 years old and to me this sounds like the harness was defective when it was originally installed. Lots of airbag light / wireing issues found on the web. We are not talking about a mechanical part that died from use. This is a part that they tell me needs to be replaced because of a resistance problem. This car is 100% stock – no add on electronics on my part so it’s not something caused by a change by me. I know that the dealer has no control over warranty and recall. However, I think that Ford (corporate) should stand behind this and replace it at no cost. Anyone agree with this? Anyone have any suggestions as to how I approach someone outside the dealer to get Ford to cover this? How do I find out if this is a common problem and should be looked at for recall. Alternately, is this something that I can replace myself ? I looked at one of the discount Ford parts sites and could find anything like this listed. Thanks in advance for your comments and suggestions.

Response:

I have the same problem with my explorer. After talking myself to death with the local dealer, they finally agreed to split the repair price with me. I had to pay $100.00. The problem with fixing it yourself is the danger involved. If the air bag system is not fully discharged by letting the back up battery drain, messing with a harness could cause the air bag to deploy. I agree with you that this should be a free fix from Ford, and I am retaining all my paperwork in case they ever recall it for this problem. Good Luck Randy

Response:

Related Posts