that is exactly what it is. Takata is the only one using ammonium nitrate, and ammonium nitrate is hygroscopic (absorbs water from the air.) when new, the inflator pellet is supposed to burn rapidly but smoothly (deflagrate) from the igniter outward until all of the inflator pellet is consumed, generating a lot of nitrogen gas in the process.

when the ammonium nitrate pellet is exposed to high humidity for an extended time, it absorbs moisture which changes the physical properties of the pellet. then, when called on to fire by the ignitor, the whole thing detonates (meaning burns all at once, generating a shock wave) which bursts the canister sending pieces of metal everywhere.

 

c'mon, how often do you really use the airbags anyways. seems like a buncha hoopla

 

Perhaps it's just me, and I'm just unlucky when it comes to dealers, but in over 25 years, I have NEVER had a good experience at a dealership. In fact, many of my experiences have been downright horrible.

The most recent being two separate dealers attempted a rebuild of my 8.8 rear axle after a pinion bearing went bad, neither lasted longer than a couple weeks, and in both instances the dealers had the car for 3 weeks and 1 week respectively. Basically, the dealers had my car longer than their repairs lasted. Got fed up and took it to a privately owned shop. They rebuilt it in ONE DAY, and it's been running great for nearly a year now.

What's my point? ANY trip to a dealer comes at a cost, whether it's financial, time, or the real hurdle for me, aggravation. What's left of the warranty on the car is worth less than **** as far as I'm concerned. I laugh at the mail I get trying to get me to buy an extended warranty.

 

you do realize that the solicitation for extended warranties you get in the mail isnt from ford? the company trying to sell those goes to the dmv and gets lists of registrations, and then sends out mailers trying to look official. this has nothing to do with ford. i agree you went to 2 bad dealers, but there are many more out there that know what they are doing, it takes me 3 hours to do a complete rebuild on an 8.8 live axle. painting all dealers due to your experience at 2 bad dealers is like saying all pizza is crap because you bought a few 99 cent frozen ones from aldi lmao

 

As I said, that was the most recent, and final issue. 2 dealers? Try more than a dozen. I could fill pages with my bad experiences. I'm sure there are some good dealers out there, but they are rare, and I've given up even finding one.

 

must be your area, we have 3 dealers within an hour i hear nothing but good things about all of them. it sucks you cant find people who know how to fix cars properly

 

I cringe at the thought of going to a dealership. First, appointment? Hell, you make an appointment and they act like you have all the time in the world to just hang around while they see if they can "fit you in". Appointment my tail feathers. The one or two times a trip to the dealership was pleasant in my lifetime have been seriously the exception and not the rule. I have to demand to be with my car, and tell them harshly up front that NOTHING is to be done or offered that is NOT specifically what I am there for. Sorry jwog, I simply have had too many dealerships attempt to rip me off, or have had kids/friends/family taken advantage of. Hell, my girlfiriend had the entire exhaust system replaced on a Saturn right before I met her.... over a wheel, that from what I could gather, simply needed balancing. A wheel! What has that to do with the exhaust? Absolutely nothing, but she paid several thousand dollars and I had her wheels balanced and her problem, which of course the exhaust didn't fix, went away.
Anyway, back to topic, I am going to call about mine. The dealership locally appears to be better than most, and I'll hope for the best.

 

Daily Driver is an '06 Subaru Outback and Subaru issued a similar recall. Specifically for the passenger side. If you know anyone with an '04-'08'ish Subaru they should double check.

 

you do know that legally any work performed without express consent in writing signed by the customer cant be charged for right? so if they were to repair something on your car for you without your written consent, you dont have to pay a dime, hell, if i went to a dealer and they fixed stuff, and didnt get my permission, i would be happy as hell, as i would be getting the better end of the deal than they would. you cant beat free repairs. and not to knock your girl, but who the hell agrees to pay for an exhaust system replacement if the wheel is the problem? im sure that specific dealer was out to rip her off, but who pays for crap if it doesnt fix their cars? not my customers.

 

Only most people who do not know that exhaust and tires are completely disconnected... I find most females do not know much more than where to put gas in. Apologies if I've offended you, but I'm not a young man any more, and my experiences (and others I've seen) are far in favor of being in the negative category at dealership interactions.