Airbag Light issue. Dealer has "no clue"

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TDurden1023

Member
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Mazda CX-5
Just bought a 25k mileage 2015 cx5. As the title indicates the airbag light is flashing. It's a 3 flash 6 flash pattern for the airbag. It's all covered under warranty but I was told by the service tech that the airbags won't deploy until fixed. What are the odds this is masking a larger problem with this new car I just bought? What may the other problems be? It's a 2015 cd5 touring.

After 48 hours, I was just told by the Mazda service guys they have not been able to diagnose this and cannot recall this problem being this unsolvable before. They said there is "no signal back to the module, but the electrical test shows they're there." Does any of that make sense to you? Thanks if you have any ideas.
 
They should be talking to Mazda's tech line... that's where inquiries go when the local techs can't figure it out.
 
Generally this is the point where the tech line will have them swapping out parts.
 
craigo said:
Generally this is the point where the tech line will have them swapping out parts.
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Thanks. Is this like blind hope that they figure out the issue? Is this worrisome for a car i just purchased? Or is this kind of like a "eh, it happens 1 out 100 times, it'll be fine" kind of thing? From your perspective.
 
TDurden1023 said:
Thanks. Is this like blind hope that they figure out the issue? Is this worrisome for a car i just purchased? Or is this kind of like a "eh, it happens 1 out 100 times, it'll be fine" kind of thing? From your perspective.
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Not a common complaint. Could be a one-off fault somewhere, they happen... a solder joint has an issue, gets missed in the QC... you make a few million of something, a few have issues. Dealers vary in quality and knowledge as well so I take what they say with a bit of a grain of salt. Good luck, let us know how it resolves, it will be helpful to anyone with a similar issue in the future.
 
craigo said:
Not a common complaint. Could be a one-off fault somewhere, they happen... a solder joint has an issue, gets missed in the QC... you make a few million of something, a few have issues. Dealers vary in quality and knowledge as well so I take what they say with a bit of a grain of salt. Good luck, let us know how it resolves, it will be helpful to anyone with a similar issue in the future.
Click to expand...

Thanks again. I will definitely update on the resolution for others. I've heard such good things about Mazda, but have to say I am pretty displeased with only having this for 48 hours before a safety issue.
 
TDurden1023 said:
Thanks again. I will definitely update on the resolution for others. I've heard such good things about Mazda, but have to say I am pretty displeased with only having this for 48 hours before a safety issue.
Click to expand...

It's unfortunate they would sell you a car that has an obvious issue. It would seem they didn't inspect it very thoroughly. Did you carfax it? Make sure it hasn't been through a flood or something.
 
TDurden1023 said:
What are the odds this is masking a larger problem with this new car I just bought?
Click to expand...

Pretty low probability this issue is masking other problems with the used car you just bought. The air bag diagnostic system has detected a problem with the driver's seat pressure sensor. It could be as simple as a wire or wire harness that was detached and got caught in the sliding seat mechanism, possibly shorting it to ground. Or the seat pressure sensor itself could have been damaged, both easy fixes once the tech traces it down. Modern cars are very complex but are generally so reliable that it takes technicians years to get a good grasp on everything and the entire time the technology is evolving. A good tech probably would have found the problem in 15 minutes. At least it's all covered under warranty.

What may the other problems be? It's a 2015 cd5 touring.
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Are you expecting other problems?
 
craigo said:
It's unfortunate they would sell you a car that has an obvious issue. It would seem they didn't inspect it very thoroughly. Did you carfax it? Make sure it hasn't been through a flood or something.
Click to expand...

Carfax and Autocheck were clean. 1 owner, regular maintenance. No lights flashing on dash on test drive OR the following 48 hours.
 
MikeM. said:
Pretty low probability this issue is masking other problems with the used car you just bought. The air bag diagnostic system has detected a problem with the driver's seat pressure sensor. It could be as simple as a wire or wire harness that was detached and got caught in the sliding seat mechanism, possibly shorting it to ground. Or the seat pressure sensor itself could have been damaged, both easy fixes once the tech traces it down. Modern cars are very complex but are generally so reliable that it takes technicians years to get a good grasp on everything and the entire time the technology is evolving. A good tech probably would have found the problem in 15 minutes. At least it's all covered under warranty.



Are you expecting other problems?
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Thanks, that all sounds pretty reassuring.

I'm definitely not hoping for other problems. I just adhere to the 'where there's smoke, there's fire' mantra. And I'm concerned that driving off of a lot 48 hours after purchasing a 1 year old car with 1 owner, low mileage that this would happen. I'm wiling to accept this as a rare and fixable event.. i'm just kind of in shock.
 
TDurden1023 said:
I'm concerned that driving off of a lot 48 hours after purchasing a 1 year old car with 1 owner, low mileage that this would happen. I'm wiling to accept this as a rare and fixable event.. i'm just kind of in shock.
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Don't be in shock, this sort of thing happens with brand new cars also.
 
Update: Just got a call from service. Mazda told them it has to be the harness for the srs restraint system. Which is apparnetly made to order. Looking at 2 weeks at least.
 
TDurden1023 said:
Update: Just got a call from service. Mazda told them it has to be the harness for the srs restraint system. Which is apparnetly made to order. Looking at 2 weeks at least.
Click to expand...

That would be a 3 flash 8 flash pattern (not 3-6).
 
UPDATE, for anyone reading this: Wound up reaching out to the previous car's owner (a receipt of hers was left in the car and I got her contact info). She said the car had rear ended someone, had body work done. She then began experiencing all the same issues I am having. Took it into the same dealership I bought it from multiple times, including once for a month. So, there ya go. I trusted the CPO process and none of this was disclosed on carfax, autocheck and the CPO form checked boxes that said "stored trouble codes" and "checked for body damage" "met standards" - guess that doesn't mean much if you think about it. I am now working to see if the dealership will easily take this car back.
 
TDurden1023 said:
UPDATE, for anyone reading this: Wound up reaching out to the previous car's owner (a receipt of hers was left in the car and I got her contact info). She said the car had rear ended someone, had body work done. She then began experiencing all the same issues I am having. Took it into the same dealership I bought it from multiple times, including once for a month. So, there ya go. I trusted the CPO process and none of this was disclosed on carfax, autocheck and the CPO form checked boxes that said "stored trouble codes" and "checked for body damage" "met standards" - guess that doesn't mean much if you think about it. I am now working to see if the dealership will easily take this car back.
Click to expand...
Makes perfect sense, exact same thing happened to me. Got rear ended to where the rear door was completely damaged and set off the airbag light to a constant flash even though they didn't deploy. They had to do a "recalibration" of the system. Anyway, that was 2 years ago and haven't had a problem since.
 
TDurden1023 said:
Carfax and Autocheck were clean. 1 owner, regular maintenance. No lights flashing on dash on test drive OR the following 48 hours.
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I'm not familiar with Carfax and Autocheck (when I buy used cars I do my own investigation/inspection) but I thought these services existed to disclose previous accidents/major repairs? If so, it sounds like you have a good case. Did you ask the dealership about the cars history? They are required to disclose (but only if you ask).

Good luck! The last thing I would want is a car that had been crashed and repaired. Most problems with modern cars are due to human error/stupidity.
 
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