Blinking Airbag Light

O

orr4yaz8

Member
Hi all!

I have a 2006 Mazda5 I purchased with 15k miles on it. It may have been in a front-end collision before I bought it. The airbag light on the dash has blinked randomly since I bought it. There is no pattern to the blinks. I have taken it to a dealer, the dealer says I have a broken sensor. The sensor is evidently part of the wiring harness, and the whole thing will need to be replaced at a cost of $2500 US. Is it possible he is wrong, or there may be a cheaper fix? I really don''t want to spend that kind of money if I don''t have to. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
 
My real conern would be that it might not work when you needed it. I'd try another place to see what they think. The dealership also thinks replacing the entire engine because of a check engine light is a possible step...(exaggeration).
 
orr4yaz8 said:
Hi all!

I have a 2006 Mazda5 I purchased with 15k miles on it. It may have been in a front-end collision before I bought it. The airbag light on the dash has blinked randomly since I bought it. There is no pattern to the blinks. I have taken it to a dealer, the dealer says I have a broken sensor. The sensor is evidently part of the wiring harness, and the whole thing will need to be replaced at a cost of $2500 US. Is it possible he is wrong, or there may be a cheaper fix? I really don''t want to spend that kind of money if I don''t have to. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
Click to expand...

Why isn't this covered under the warranty?
 
olddaddy said:
Why isn't this covered under the warranty?
Click to expand...

Becasue if it was involved in a collision, that may be how it was damaged. That makes it an insurance claim, not a warranty claim. Car is no longer insured witht he person who had the accident, so it becomes the new owner's responsibility. Sorry. :(
 
My mustang did the same thing with the air bag light even after the bag was replaced. No way to tell if it will deploy or not. Thats alot of money if you really fear scared about it not deploying, I would really give where you bought it hell and ask for a refund or you can just trade the car in and take your losses.
 
You said it might have been in an front end collision? Are you just saying that because of the light blinking or are there other clues that are pointing you in that direction?

If just the light..... Then shouldn't you be able to bring it into a dealership and say, "my 2006 with 15K miles has an issue that should be covered under the standard 3 year/ 36K mile warranty." Even if it isn't covered 100% per the crazy rules for just about each item in the vehicle, maybe part of it would be covered.

Like the other person said, I would also try bringing it back to where you go it and if it was in an accident and they didn't say anything, you might want to argue that case, especially if it was a legit place.

You don't want to sell it to someone else with the same problem without letting them know or your might just be creating a new mazdas247 Mazda5 forum new member.... ha ha.
 
You say there is no pattern, but is it possible that it only "blinks" when there is something in the front passenger seat? It doesn't have to be something very heavy, a single grocery bag or even a heavy pocket book might weigh enough to disable the front airbag. I have had the light "blink" if there is something on the seat and the weight shifts as I hit bumps etc. It is a safety feature to keep the airbag from hurting a small child.

Keep an eye on it before you spend big money on a sensor.
 
Good call Rocket! I can not remember the offical #'s, but the front airbag does deactivate via a weight sensor in the front passenger seat.

Is it the Air bag light in the instrument cluster that is blinking, or the air bag light in the upper glovebox area?
 
Good call Rocket. My wife's Honda CR-V does that. For the '08 MY (not sure about others) there is a separate Dummy lite on the passenger dash to say the airbag is not active.
 
Hi, it is me, the original poster.

To answer some of your questions: It is the light in the instrument cluster that is blinking erratically. I have taken it to two different dealers service dept., and both said they could see signs of overspray from repair. I also found some tiny pieces of glass from a broken windshield in the upper dash area. I am fairly certain it was hit and repaired. As far as taking it back to the place I bought it, I bought it over a year ago, so I think that ship has sailed. I never was concerned about it, because I always wear a seatbelt. Recently, however, my wife has made noises about selling it, so now I care. Also, I am aware that small packages could cause this to blink, but it happens when the seat is empty or occupied by a person.

I guess I am trying to figure out at this point if it is possible to repair the sensor without replacing the entire wiring harness. I get the sense from most dealer service reps that they are replacers, not fixers. My driver's seat also has a small separation in one of the seams, and they instantly ordered me another seat cushion rather than attempt to sew it.

Thanks for all your replies.
 
Ok, I will look up the info in the shop manual, and see where to go from here.(whip)

You say that the light blinks without pattern, do you mean that the light flashes like there is a short or bad connection, or does it blink on off, just in no particular pattern.
 
It flashes like a bad connection, I think. I would characterize it as mostly off, with occasional quick flashes on. However, it is never off for more than 3 or 4 seconds, it will then quickly flash on, sometimes once, sometimes many quick flashes, but never with any discernable pattern or timing.
 
Check the connector under the passenger's seat also to be sure it is tight. I still suspect the passenger seat. I don't think a body/bumper mounted sensor would cause the dash light to blink.
 
I checked out the shop manual for the Mazda5 airbag system, and there are many different blinking patterns. However what you are describing sounds like a bad ground/bad connection.

There should be a DTC stored in the computer that the dealer could read with the mazda scan tool, that could point you in the right direction.
 
Rocket, I took your advice and messed around under the passenger seat. Nothing was obviously amiss, but when I started the car again, I am now getting a steady code 21 (2 long flashes, a pause, then a short flash). Does anyone know what that code is for? Again, I have a 2006 Mazda5 sport w/auto trans. and 2.3 liter. Thanks for all your help!
 
Ok, for a code 21,

1) Open or short circuit in wiring harness between passenger-side airbag module (inflator no 1) and SAS control Module.

2) Passenger-side airbag module (inflator no 1) malfunction

3) SAS Control module malfunction
 
Thanks a lot! I am taking it to someone with a scanner tomorrow, he thinks he can fix it. I will take this code info along just in case he doesn't have it. By the way, Mazdadude, I know this is off-topic, but you seem to like '92 Miatas. Is there a reason for this, or just happenstance?
 
orr4yaz8 said:
By the way, Mazdadude, I know this is off-topic, but you seem to like '92 Miatas. Is there a reason for this, or just happenstance?
Click to expand...

I like the 1.6L motor (which narrows it to a 90-93), the long nose crank 1.6L motor (which narrows it to a late 91-93), extra chassis bracing ( 92-93), and I dont like the nose badge on the 93, so that pretty much leaves me to a 92!

I have had 2 red 92's, now I am looking at getting a blue or yellow one. (Please don't tell the wife yet).
 
So, a followup.

I took my car to a guy in the San Fernando valley, north of LA. His name is Rod Salas, his business name is Air Bag Tech. Tel. number is 818-212-8911.
He hooked up his laptop, found the code problem, spent about 1 and 1/2 hours tracing down the problem, fixed it and charged me $175. The dealer wanted $2500! I thanked him profusely, and vowed to send anyone with a similar problem to him. He was very nice, and did excellent work. I highly recomend him to anyone with an airbag problem
 
Please log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

bpt323
Airbag code B2230
Replies
3
Views
1K
negusm
N
N
2012 Mazda5 Intermittent Upshift issue
Replies
2
Views
916
n2gadgets
N
M
Mazda5 2006 - Code 19 airbag
Replies
8
Views
3K
Regal Eagle
R

Latest posts

Back