Air Bag Light / Seat Belt Warning

[peterk9]

So you can now add me to this list as well. $542 later supposedly the dealer has fixed the issue by bypassing the original wire in the wiring harness with another wire and pin replacement in the main harness.

This is absolutely ridiculous - obviously Ford knows it's an issue and due to all the internal console components you have to pull out it takes hours and of course the ridiculous charge. AND of course extended warranties don't cover the expense either.

You would think something around the SRS system would be of greater importance to Ford and covering an obvious problem. God forbid someone's airbag doesn't deploy as a result of this... maybe that's what has to happen to wake Ford up to resolve.


2011 Ford Explorer Limited
59195 miles at time of service
Service date 2016.02.02

In addition to the items covered in my post 243, wiring harnesses are covered under the ESP Electrical listings.

• Wiring Harnesses (Excluding
Spark Plug Wires)

Peter

 

[dahveedem]

In addition to the items covered in my post 243, wiring harnesses are covered under the ESP Electrical listings.

• Wiring Harnesses (Excluding
Spark Plug Wires)

Peter

should have stated 3rd party ESP.
sent a PM to the Ford Service Rep here monitoring this thread.. we'll see where that goes...

 

[peterk9]

should have stated 3rd party ESP.
sent a PM to the Ford Service Rep here monitoring this thread.. we'll see where that goes...

If you sent a PM to FordService, you may not get a response. As per the "Out of Office" thread the following was posted on Jan. 8th;

Hey Ford Fam,

We will be away from the forum temporarily. If you guys need help, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us via Twitter or Facebook. If you need immediate assistance, please contact your dealer or the Customer Relationship Center. For the CRC, dial 1-800-392-3673 OR 1-800-232-5952 (TDD for the Hearing Impaired).

Thanks for your patience!

Tricia
__________________
FORD SERVICE

Peter

 

[ssilence]

Looks like I will have to take our Explorer in soon. We have been having it come on and off occasionally. Usually I can restart the vehicle and it will stay off, so it isn't as bad as some of you. We have a 2012 sitting at about 72K miles. We have the Ford ESP for 6 years and 100K miles, so hoping it will be covered under that. We have had more issues with this car than any other we have owned. This will definitely be the last ford for a while.

 

[slsmith2206]

I have a 2012 with the same issue.....it's been happening since the car was brand new. It's been to the dealer 3 times for same issue and only once did they say the found the issue. Obviously they didn't because I still have the issue. Unfortunately my warranty is up and now they can charge me, so miraculously they have found the issue. The connectors need grease. They are asking for 400 to put some grease on connectors. This is obsurd to me when the TSB calls for 1.4 hours of labor and no parts!?!?

 

[peterk9]

I have a 2012 with the same issue.....it's been happening since the car was brand new. It's been to the dealer 3 times for same issue and only once did they say the found the issue. Obviously they didn't because I still have the issue. Unfortunately my warranty is up and now they can charge me, so miraculously they have found the issue. The connectors need grease. They are asking for 400 to put some grease on connectors. This is obsurd to me when the TSB calls for 1.4 hours of labor and no parts!?!?

I think if you read through the thread you'll find that grease didn't always solve the issue.

Peter

 

[Highest]

I also have a 2012 explorer and my drivers side air bag light comes on and off for almost a year now. I can't tell how much I have paid out of pocket in the last two years as I have 90k miles and out of warranty.

Last time a ford rep from here called me and my dealer and helped me when my PTU failed, so any ford reps reading this please respond. Seems even if you guys can't cover any cost my dealership does a great job when you guys intervene.

Thanks and regards,
Darrin

 

[peterk9]

I also have a 2012 explorer and my drivers side air bag light comes on and off for almost a year now. I can't tell how much I have paid out of pocket in the last two years as I have 90k miles and out of warranty.

Last time a ford rep from here called me and my dealer and helped me when my PTU failed, so any ford reps reading this please respond. Seems even if you guys can't cover any cost my dealership does a great job when you guys intervene.

Thanks and regards,
Darrin

No Ford reps are currently monitoring the Forum.
See; http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3497117&postcount=127

Peter

 

[ZuBo9231]

I just picked up a 2014 explorer with 20k miles. All is good except the air bag light turns on after about 15 min of driving alone. If I drive with someone in the passenger seat the airbag light will never come on and everything is ok. Do you think it has something to do with the weight sensor or at least something with the passenger seat?

 

[peterk9]

I just picked up a 2014 explorer with 20k miles. All is good except the air bag light turns on after about 15 min of driving alone. If I drive with someone in the passenger seat the airbag light will never come on and everything is ok. Do you think it has something to do with the weight sensor or at least something with the passenger seat?

I don't believe this particular issue has come up before. I think the sensor just sends a signal to turn the passenger airbag system ON or OFF. On the driver's side the issue usually involves the wiring or connector under the seat. What I don't know is if the same setup exists on the passenger side. One important thing to keep in mind is that while the light is on, the airbag system is inoperative. Since the vehicle is under warranty it might be a good idea to have the dealer check it out.

Peter

 

[ZuBo9231]

Yea I have a appointment next Monday. I just hope it's nothing too crazy!

 

[rtsittner]

Are you placing a laptop or iPad on the seat? The reason that I ask is that this is a known issue with newer Cadillac models. Laptops/iPads interfere with the sensor (RF issue, I recall?) and cause issues with the airbag display.

 

[ZuBo9231]

Are you placing a laptop or iPad on the seat? The reason that I ask is that this is a known issue with newer Cadillac models. Laptops/iPads interfere with the sensor (RF issue, I recall?) and cause issues with the airbag display.

No I have nothing on the seat or using any laptops. It's so weird that when the passenger air bag is on I have no problems. When I am driving alone the air bag light come on on the dash

 

[ZuBo9231]

So just got my car back from the dealership after they said they found a open circuit under my passenger seat. They replaced the sensor and said everything was ok. On my way home the air bag light came back on on the dash. Anybody have a clue what it could be?

 

[baggs3222]

Just came back from service of an illuminated air bag light. It came on Sunday and stayed on into Monday. It of course went off while driving to the dealer but I left it there for them to look at nonetheless. They found trouble code B141B which is related to TSB 16-0001 which was released late April of 2016. Here's the link to the TSB if anyone is interested TSB 16-0001.

The light did not come on when I drove home and I will report back if it ever does again. Hopefully this new info will help someone else out too.

 

[MikeCallery]

I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS! I thought maybe, just maybe it was my 2011 XLT. My neighbor's Limited has had no issues but not mine. I have had the seal-belt tensioner replaced at least twice, if not, three times, and I about to have it done before. The local dealership, which is a great dealership, just replaced the part and as soon as I moved the seat it went off. You would think that if I am writing about this, and some people here are writing about it, and we are all talking about the same part, that Ford would have more issues then just our issues and would react to it. After all, someone has to pay for the technician's time.

I could not care if the light is physically on, but am concerned that if it is on and the airbag doesn't go off in an accident, I might have more issues. I can promise Ford that there are a lot of personal injury attorneys out there who would take my case. Ford, pull up my Vin number, see how many times I have had issues. Show some customer support.

 

[ENeal]

I have a 2012 Ford Explorer and the air bag indicator light came on last night. It doesn't flash to give any sort of diagnostic code. It comes on with all other indicator lights when I turn the ignition, goes off for approx. 4-5 seconds and then comes back on and stays on continuously. Any idea what the problem may be? Thanks!

 

[thefranchise713]

Time to scan for codes with a higher end scan tool, FORScan, or IDS.

I had this exact behavior when I pulled my RCM fuse, however. The light proved out, turned off, then came back on when the car realized that it couldn't reach the module.

 

[peterk9]

I have a 2012 Ford Explorer and the air bag indicator light came on last night. It doesn't flash to give any sort of diagnostic code. It comes on with all other indicator lights when I turn the ignition, goes off for approx. 4-5 seconds and then comes back on and stays on continuously. Any idea what the problem may be? Thanks!

Welcome to the Forum.
Using the handy "Search" feature (top right corner) on this Forum, I found this thread and merged yours with it. There is also another one that may be of interest to you.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums...had-the-airbag-warning-light-activate.420672/

Peter

 

[xaustie]

When you start the car all the indicator lights including the airbag light go on so that you know the actual light is OK. After a few seconds the airbag light goes out while the Restraints Control Module runs tests on the entire airbag system. This takes several seconds. If a problem is found then the airbag light will come back on and stay on.

@thefranchise713 is spot on. There are well over 100 individual DTCs for the RCM. If you don't know that actual code by using a "higher end scan tool, FORScan, or IDS" then you have absolutely no idea what is wrong and where to start. If you go to a dealer I would insist on knowing specifically what code(s) are being thrown. An example of a code is "B1212:13". Get them to show/tell you the actual code #. Don't let them get away with saying the "code is for the driver's seatbelt" or some other simplistic/useless bit of info.