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Technical Airbag light / Control Unit

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Technical Airbag light / Control Unit

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Lorna_99

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Hi the other day the airbag light came on with a warning saying "airbag failure see handbook" I looked at the handbook and it said contact the dealer. After phoning Arnold Clark and being told it was £80 for them just to run a diagnostic check i decided otherwise.
Took it to an auto mechanic today and he said it was the airbag electrical control unit that was faulty but that a dealer should look at it.

Still reluctant to give Arnold Clark my money i was doing some research and found that you can buy a new control unit for £75.

My question is, how easy is it to replace and where is the ecu to start with. Any other suggestions to resolve this are welcome. Thanks in advance
 
Well since some1 on this forum was quoted £400 for a similar repair I guess the light/warning is just going to have to stay on for a while as there is no way I can afford to fix it. If only it happened 6months ago while it was still under warranty :(
 
Lorna_99 said:
Hi the other day the airbag light came on with a warning saying "airbag failure see handbook" I looked at the handbook and it said contact the dealer. After phoning Arnold Clark and being told it was £80 for them just to run a diagnostic check i decided otherwise.
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Concerning the diagnostic check, if you have to have one to diagnose the fault, then so be it, but please phone around a couple of other dealers about the cost of just hooking the car up to diag and checking. Three dealers I have spoken to in my own area, all quoted £60. 80 quid seems a bit steep.

As others have said, I wouldn't personally mess about with the airbag unless you are qualified. Best left to the dealer.
 
It was at an auto electricians today and he diagnosed the faulty control unit but said the dealer needed to fix it, I found most local garages will do a diagnostic check for free in the hope that they then get the business to fix any problems. Arnold Clarks £80 is a clear rip off
 
Lorna_99 said:
It was at an auto electricians today and he diagnosed the faulty control unit but said the dealer needed to fix it, I found most local garages will do a diagnostic check for free in the hope that they then get the business to fix any problems. Arnold Clarks £80 is a clear rip off
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I would have thought that a qualified auto electrician could do the job, but clearly, if the one you've seen can't do it and is referring you to a dealer, there must be a very good reason. Does he think you are still under warranty?
 
Im not sure maybe he thought it was under warranty............

I had a hard enough time getting anyone to look at it once I said it was a Fiat 500, most garages just said they couldnt (or maybe wouldnt) deal with it. Glasgows not overly fiat 500 friendly it would apear
 
Lorna_99 said:
Im not sure maybe he thought it was under warranty............

I had a hard enough time getting anyone to look at it once I said it was a Fiat 500, most garages just said they couldnt (or maybe wouldnt) deal with it. Glasgows not overly fiat 500 friendly it would apear
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I would hazard a guess from what you've just said, he thinks you are still under warranty. Speak to him again just to make sure. If he says he really can't do it, give several Fiat dealers a call explain you believe you know what the problem is and get a quote. This could be difficult I realise if there aren't many Fiat dealerships about but looking at dealers in the Glasgow area, there is still Parks Motor Group and Morrisons Whins of Milton, Stirling you can get quotes from.

You are undoubtedly going to have to sort this out soon because MOT will most likely require it to be fully functional.
 
Lorna_99 said:
It was at an auto electricians today and he diagnosed the faulty control unit but said the dealer needed to fix it, I found most local garages will do a diagnostic check for free in the hope that they then get the business to fix any problems. Arnold Clarks £80 is a clear rip off
Click to expand...

£80 for connecting computer (costing £3k+monthly subscription) , reading error codes, gaining access to module(s) and carrying out wiring checks with the relevant resistor kit (£250 each kit) takes time.
May I also point out that at present your airbag system is non-functional, your car will not pass a MOT and if involved in a accident they airbags will NOT deploy and if the insurance company find this out you may not be fully covered?

Under block exemption any one/garage can buy the required information to help diagnose your fault but taking this cost into account, time & other factors £80 isn't that bad...certainly better than severe injury or worse!
 
When i first phoned Arnold Clark they told me the airbags would still function in the event of an accident and not to worry about it too much.

And when most people will do it for free £80 is not a reasonable price to pay.

I will call the auto electrician tomorrow and double check with him bout warranty issue but even he said it was not an urgent repair and I could put it off for a few months if i needed to.
 
Lorna_99 said:
When i first phoned Arnold Clark they told me the airbags would still function in the event of an accident and not to worry about it too much.

And when most people will do it for free £80 is not a reasonable price to pay.

I will call the auto electrician tomorrow and double check with him bout warranty issue but even he said it was not an urgent repair and I could put it off for a few months if i needed to.
Click to expand...

I agree with you reference the diagnostic charges, however, T14086 does put up a very valid argument. Still, if you got it diagnosed for free, then that is good news for your pocket.

I do agree completely with T14086 though, if your airbag(s) don't deploy as a result of a fault you already know about and you have an accident, any accident investigator worth their beans will find out that the airbag electrical control unit was faulty and it could well invalidate your insurance to the point of no pay out.

Injury, severe or otherwise, is a terrible price to pay if you are unfortunate enough to have an accident because you didn't get it fixed at the earliest opportunity.
 
Lorna_99 said:
When i first phoned Arnold Clark they told me the airbags would still function in the event of an accident and not to worry about it too much.
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You really want to take that chance?

Lorna_99 said:
And when most people will do it for free £80 is not a reasonable price to pay.
Click to expand...

Please tell us who does free diagnosis including wiring checks so we can all go there.

Lorna_99 said:
I will call the auto electrician tomorrow and double check with him bout warranty issue but even he said it was not an urgent repair and I could put it off for a few months if i needed to.
Click to expand...

I would find another auto electrician if I was you! Airbag light/system in-operative is not urgent!!! If you want to dismiss the advice of the knowledgeable people on this forum (and there are many of them for the highest technical backgrounds) then thats 100% your choice.
 
Normally such an indication is one of faulty 'seat occupied' detectors or connection to them and do not mean the air-bags will not deploy.

Best to get diagnosed and fixed ASAP agreed, MOT failure, probably, will the air bags deploy, probably

OK to drive to an indy at your next opportunity to get it fixed at possibly less cost less than a main dealer? - yes, definitely.

I don't get the hysteria that suggests 'air bag light on' don't drive it...what do you do then?? recover it perhaps??
 
MJG said:
I don't get the hysteria that suggests 'air bag light on' don't drive it...what do you do then?? recover it perhaps??
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Through no fault of her own, Ladykitching once had the misfortune to be involved in a serious head-on collision. Without the airbags & seat belt pretensioners, it is extremely unlikely that she would have survived. It is surely beyond doubt that airbags have saved many lives & I wouldn't like to think of anyone spending their last minutes in this world thinking "if only I hadn't ignored that warning light".

That said, recovering the car just because the airbag system may be malfuctioning is IMO an overreaction. I'd put this one in the same category as driving with the spacesaver wheel after a roadside puncture - ok for getting you home & organising a proper repair, but not something to put off for any length of time. And in both cases, I'd definitely be driving with added caution and awareness.
 
You know this may not end up being a solution, but it is worth a try.
Why dont you speak with Fiat Customer Services and say wtf airbag light out after only x years? I thought they were supposed to be serviced every 8 years?? And you want me to fix it from my own pocket???

I am not sure what the smallprint says from airbag protection how long the warranty for that is, but you could always say Fiat shoddy build quality was responsible for the airbag failing so early in the cars life and lasting less then half its design life. Again it only costs you an email/phone call.


At least you maybe convince them to have a look at it for free.
 
Last edited:
jrkitching said:
Through no fault of her own, Ladykitching once had the misfortune to be involved in a serious head-on collision. Without the airbags & seat belt pretensioners, it is extremely unlikely that she would have survived. It is surely beyond doubt that airbags have saved many lives & I wouldn't like to think of anyone spending their last minutes in this world thinking "if only I hadn't ignored that warning light".

That said, recovering the car just because the airbag system may be malfuctioning is IMO an overreaction. I'd put this one in the same category as driving with the spacesaver wheel after a roadside puncture - ok for getting you home & organising a proper repair, but not something to put off for any length of time. And in both cases, I'd definitely be driving with added caution and awareness.
Click to expand...

I think my post was badly worded, it wasn't particularly aimed at anybody on here - more just a general observation that happens when people see the air bag light on - with some thinking they immediately must stop driving and ring the AA/RAC rather than just acknowledging the light means the system needs checking as soon as and further that only a main dealer can touch them which of course is not correct, despite what it might say in the handbook.

AFAIK the light on does not necessarily mean the air bags will not deploy, though as said - this may be model dependant.
 
MJG said:
I think my post was badly worded, it wasn't particularly aimed at anybody on here - more just a general observation that happens when people see the air bag light on - with some thinking they immediately must stop driving and ring the AA/RAC rather than just acknowledging the light means the system needs checking as soon as and further that only a main dealer can touch them which of course is not correct, despite what it might say in the handbook.

AFAIK the light on does not necessarily mean the air bags will not deploy, though as said - this may be model dependant.
Click to expand...

Kind of know where you're coming from here. There was a guy with an old Marea and a dodgy airbag light and he could get it to go out temporarily to pass an NCT but then would come back on. Cost of getting this done meant that it was really not work keeping the car so it probably ended up heading for the scrappie. It makes you wonder if modern day cars can really become 'classics' given all the regs. Your picture of the Allegro steering wheel offered no protection and you would be allowed to drive around it. Still you can't put a price on safety and I nearly learnt that one day in a jap import 90's MX5.
 
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