Airbag Light Issue SOS
 

I have a 2009 Ford Mustang, and I am beginning to think the car has a curse on it. This car is under the 3/36 warranty until June 2012.

The issue at hand is the airbag light.

I had the car a little while, and the airbag light started blinking (what appears to be a code 22), then burning solid. Two blinks repeatedly then burns solid.

Best I can understand from extensive use of google that means:
I took it to the dealership and they replaced the passenger side airbag (in May of this year). Last part of June, I looked down...airbag light was on again. It took me until just this week to get an appointment to get the car into the garage is why I waited so long to attend to this matter.

I will preface this with saying the local Ford dealer is being really nice about this...they are even renting me a vehicle while they are working on mine so I have no beef with them.

I took my car in yesterday to the appointment and they said they would look at it, and hopefully get it fixed by the end of the day. End of the day came, they said they were still working on it, needed about half the day today. Noon today, I get a call and they say...we have no idea what is wrong with your car, so we are calling in a Ford engineer to come take a look at it. They went on to say. Researching this automobile, they found out there has been an airbag light issue since 7,000 miles (previous owner). It seems this problem has reared its ugly head again.

My questions are:

1. CAN this car be fixed? or Is it likely it can be fixed?

2. I assume this falls under the 3/36 warranty and will not carry over into the power train warranty...is this an accurate assumption?

3. Since this problem was initiated at the 7000 mile mark, will they continue to work on it past the 3/36 mark, or will they warranty their work beyond that since it is being repaired now?

4. Should I plan on dumping this car before the warranty runs out? I don't want to get stuck with a car that the safety system does not work because I figure that would make it very difficult to sell.

Also

Also, it may or may not be related... the guy at the dealer said probably not, but the stereo will shut itself off if the music is a bit loud (not super loud) but louder than "your parents would approve of" kind of volume.

I figured that issue is something I would tackle after the airbag issue was settled. They did a "reprogram" of the stereo, turned the bass and treble down to half, and it hasn't happened anymore possibly because I have been keeping the volume at a "decent level". It would do it with a CD and iPod input.


4. Should I dump this car before the 3/36 is up?

Well I am not too sure about the airbag problem, but my first guess would be a faulty clock-spring (its what keeps the airbag wires connected while still allowing you to turn your steering wheel). Or, perhaps a faulty airbag RCM? You said they replaced the airbag assembly, but do you know what this included exactly? Perhaps call them and ask if these two common problem parts were replaced.

As for the stereo, if you have the shaker 500 (which I have) then I can tell you first hand that it can be problematic. The problem you have is likely incorrectly crimped power wires (this would cause the shaker to flash before shut down), improper ground, or perhaps because of the volume affecting the stereo I would venture to guess the shaker is shutting off to protect the amps in the speakers (each one has its own), the impedance doesn't match the factory speakers.

If you tell them about it, suggest they replace the speakers. Or perhaps the head unit, because as I said, those shakers are well known for being problematic.

Safety equipment is covered 5 yr/ 50k miles.

Thanks for the info on the airbag light, I feel a lot better knowing it is covered under the 5/60. Right now the car has 29000 miles was put in service in 6/09. Thankfully they have plenty of time to resolve this issue.

RE: the stereo...I am not sure if it is a shaker or not, I've never seen any logos or anything that say shaker. As far as I know it is a single CD w/mp3 capabilities and an aux. input in the console. Time is a bit more of the essence on this issue so I will need to get a bit more aggressive in getting this resolved. I will bring a CD and/or my iPod if/when I get the car back and try it out before I even leave the garage.

Did the dealer say which airbag is the problem? I had a problem with the airbag in the Solstice, it indicated it was from the passenger side. The dealer could not find a problem, so I made them replace the switch in the passenger seat that tells the system if a child or adult was setting in the seat. It's worked fine since then.

I don't know any details on the 7000 mile issue because I didn't have the car then. The last time they said it was the passenger airbag, and they replaced the airbag. This time they are saying we have no idea what is going on.

I'm still thinking pinched wire or the like (failed clock spring). Its not like the airbag will randomly deploy- quite the opposite, it will not deploy in the event of a crash.

They might have to try replacing the airbag module as I said before, if they haven't already tried that. But my bet's on a failed clock spring as I have heard of those going out from time to time.

Ford might recommend you don't drive the car- I'd recommend you don't get into any crashes. And for the time being, you should be fine.