Airbag light that comes and goes

[Klutch9]

The airbag light on my Focus has come and gone for the past week. It first appeared last week on tuesday, on my way home from work. Then on a later trip that day, it never came on. It stayed off every day until friday, about 10 minutes into my trip. It then stayed off on my next trip, and hasn't appeared since. What could be causing this? I've checked all the SRS sensors, and they are properly connected. All fuses also check out OK. Is the clock spring on its way out possibly? I've got an appointment with the Ford dealer on friday to figure this thing out.

Also, when the light comes on, it doesn't do a sequence of flashes. It just comes on and STAYS on.

 

[xBa380]

My 2008 xB I took in for an ignition coil recall a few weeks ago. They did the recall and the very next time I started my car the next morning my airbag light was on. Shut the car off and turned it back on, light went away.

Left school later that day and the light was back on. Called the dealer right away telling them the light has been on since getting the work done the day before. I took it in and they did their "diagnostic". An hour later, they told me there was a "hole" in the passenger side airbag harness, and the repair was $1200. They said Toyota agreed to cover half the cost. I told them I have to think about it and left (after paying $50 for them to look at the issue... although I never had it until they did work the day before...)

Airbag has not been back on since... It has been three weeks now. They did reset the battery, which they never unplugged when they did the ignition coils. So they cleared the code and reset the battery and all has been well. No problems since.

Maybe try doing that? If you still get the light, got to autozone and get the code. Look it up online and find what it tells you.

Hopefully you get it fixed!

 

[JosephHarmon]

Bring it in to a dealer. Olnly 5 years...They shall fix it for free due to being a safety defect.

 

[Klutch9]

Originally Posted By: JosephHarmon
Bring it in to a dealer. Olnly 5 years...They shall fix it for free due to being a safety defect.


Doubtful, since it's past the 5 year/60,000 mile warranty regarding the airbag system. Plus, my car was involved in a crash and has a salvaged title, and also has a new driver's side airbag. I doubt there is any applicable warranty left.

 

[Klutch9]

Originally Posted By: xBa380
My 2008 xB I took in for an ignition coil recall a few weeks ago. They did the recall and the very next time I started my car the next morning my airbag light was on. Shut the car off and turned it back on, light went away.

Left school later that day and the light was back on. Called the dealer right away telling them the light has been on since getting the work done the day before. I took it in and they did their "diagnostic". An hour later, they told me there was a "hole" in the passenger side airbag harness, and the repair was $1200. They said Toyota agreed to cover half the cost. I told them I have to think about it and left (after paying $50 for them to look at the issue... although I never had it until they did work the day before...)

Airbag has not been back on since... It has been three weeks now. They did reset the battery, which they never unplugged when they did the ignition coils. So they cleared the code and reset the battery and all has been well. No problems since.

Maybe try doing that? If you still get the light, got to autozone and get the code. Look it up online and find what it tells you.

Hopefully you get it fixed!


Maybe I should unplug the battery if the light comes back. I heard that not all diagnostic readers can interpret codes from the SRS system, since it is somewhat 'apart' from the OBD II system. Also, I believe that the SRS system triggers a light only when a problem is recognized, and goes away immediately upon that problem going away (unlike a CEL, which stays on until the problem has gone away for a certain period of time). I have also read of other Focus owners mentioning that an SRS light can be triggered by low voltage coming from the battery. My car always starts fine, but it does have the OEM battery, which is over 5 years old.

 

[bdcardinal]

I have sold a fair amount of clocksprings on that vintage Foci. Since the car is a salvage title it will show up on OASIS as title branded and will have no warranty coverage whatsoever.

 

[Popinski]

My car did the same thing when my alternator was dying and died. They restarted the computer and everything went back to normal.

 

[mechtech2]

I left the trunk ajar and the light stayed on in the Hyundai Sonata - it drainded the battery pretty low.
After a good charge, the airbag light cam on for a few weeks, and eventually fixed itself.

 

[user52165]

Originally Posted By: Klutch9
Originally Posted By: Joseph Harmon
Bring it in to a dealer. Only 5 years...They shall fix it for free due to being a safety defect.


Doubtful, since it's past the 5 year/60,000 mile warranty regarding the airbag system. Plus, my car was involved in a crash and has a salvaged title, and also has a new driver's side airbag. I doubt there is any applicable warranty left.


Thank you for providing this minor extra info. I always wonder why posters often fail to mention significant facts that have a major influence on someone's response. I would bet that "new" airbag is a salvage yard item and it was installed by a $10/hour body shop worker who had no idea or interest in checking the system.

Now that said, If your car did not have a salvage title but was still past the normal warranty, you would still have a good case for getting this fixed free. Dealers and auto makers are very conscious about safety related issues........ ask Toyota and gas pedals. Example: Honda had (perhaps still has) a lifetime warranty on seatbelts. But that salvage title will put you SOL.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: xBa380


Left school later that day and the light was back on. Called the dealer right away telling them the light has been on since getting the work done the day before. I took it in and they did their "diagnostic". An hour later, they told me there was a "hole" in the passenger side airbag harness, and the repair was $1200. They said Toyota agreed to cover half the cost. I told them I have to think about it and left (after paying $50 for them to look at the issue... although I never had it until they did work the day before...)


Talk to a lawyer. They reefed on something, though I don't know how or why. Maybe trying to do a courtesy check on a cabin air filter? This should not have happened.

To the OP: check your passenger seat; it may have a "butt sensor" and if you have about 10-20 lbs of stuff on it, or if it thinks you do, it can't decide if there's a human there or not. It could also be part of the system you haven't checked yet, and you could screw it up by jamming something on the floorboards under the seat.

 

[GMBoy]

Does this car have a passenger sensor in the seat? Next time the light goes on, sit in the passenger seat and see if the light goes off. I've seen this issue (but is not very common) before in other makes. Otherwise - you do need to get the body code pulled and follow the proper diagnostics or let someone else do it. ABS modules are not that expensive anymore if that is the issue. The other poster was correct about it possibly being the clock spring too. You did the right thing by checking all your connections and that's probably the extent of what you can do.


**Edit - just saw guy above me mentions the butt sensor too.

 

[Klutch9]

Originally Posted By: user52165
Originally Posted By: Klutch9
Originally Posted By: Joseph Harmon
Bring it in to a dealer. Only 5 years...They shall fix it for free due to being a safety defect.


Doubtful, since it's past the 5 year/60,000 mile warranty regarding the airbag system. Plus, my car was involved in a crash and has a salvaged title, and also has a new driver's side airbag. I doubt there is any applicable warranty left.


Thank you for providing this minor extra info. I always wonder why posters often fail to mention significant facts that have a major influence on someone's response. I would bet that "new" airbag is a salvage yard item and it was installed by a $10/hour body shop worker who had no idea or interest in checking the system.

Now that said, If your car did not have a salvage title but was still past the normal warranty, you would still have a good case for getting this fixed free. Dealers and auto makers are very conscious about safety related issues........ ask Toyota and gas pedals. Example: Honda had (perhaps still has) a lifetime warranty on seatbelts. But that salvage title will put you SOL.


I doubt it. The place I bought my car from is a local company that ONLY buys/fixes late-model salvaged Focuses. They know the cars very well, and every guy in there is a stand-up person. I got a free one-year warranty when I bought the car (which has since expired), and I had a few minor issues, and the shop was more than happy to make the repairs. I watched them as they made each repair, and they really know what they're doing. They seriously know these things inside and out.