Air Bag Light / Seat Belt Warning

[NGTD]

1 hr diagnostic time, plus 2 hrs for TSB @ $109.99 = $329.97, plus $42.80 taxes = $372.87 close enough to $400 in my books. Want me to scan the invoice??

Here is a copy of what the Ford rep sent me after I pm'd them (they did not contact me):

Good morning NGTD,

I hear you! This must have been such an inconvenience. The TSB are not recalls, unfortunately. They are Technical Service Bulletin an aide to the dealership if they are stuck trying to perform a particular repair on a vehicle. They are given to them by Ford engineers.

I hope this help, Thank you


Anan
Ford Service Canada

I am well aware of the difference between a TSB and a recall. Platitudes and nothing else.

This is a problem that results in non-functioning of the seat belt pre-tensioners and the airbags in the event of a collision. Not worthy of a recall???

 

[peterk9]

......This is a problem that results in non-functioning of the seat belt pre-tensioners and the airbags in the event of a collision. Not worthy of a recall???

I can only guess that the problem is not wide spread or common enough to warrant a recall. I'm not sure what the determining factor is as I thought recalls were based on 'Safety' issues which I clearly feel this is.

Peter

 

[Daurdahl]

Looking for help on my 2016 Ford Explorer. I bought it new and it has 63k miles. The airbag light stays on after engine start. No flashes just steady. I tried the reset of disconnecting the battery. It reset and stayed off approximately a month. It came back on today. I immediately took it to autozone and had them check for a code. No code faults showed up but the light is still on. Does anyone have a suggestion. Thanks

 

[peterk9]

Looking for help on my 2016 Ford Explorer. I bought it new and it has 63k miles. The airbag light stays on after engine start. No flashes just steady. I tried the reset of disconnecting the battery. It reset and stayed off approximately a month. It came back on today. I immediately took it to autozone and had them check for a code. No code faults showed up but the light is still on. Does anyone have a suggestion. Thanks

Welcome to the Forum.
Your thread has been merged with this existing one. All members are urged to use the Forum's 'Search' feature prior to beginning a new thread to see if there are existing ones. Not too much hasn't been discussed. Many of the airbag light issues are due to the connector under the seat. Here is another thread you may be interested in; http://www.explorerforum.com/xenfor...had-the-airbag-warning-light-activate.420672/
Your vehicle is under warranty so take it to the dealer.
As long as the light in ON, the entire system is inoperative.

Peter

 

[Daurdahl]

Welcome to the Forum.
Your thread has been merged with this existing one. All members are urged to use the Forum's 'Search' feature prior to beginning a new thread to see if there are existing ones. Not too much hasn't been discussed. Many of the airbag light issues are due to the connector under the seat. Here is another thread you may be interested in; http://www.explorerforum.com/xenfor...had-the-airbag-warning-light-activate.420672/
Your vehicle is under warranty so take it to the dealer.
As long as the light in ON, the entire system is inoperative.

Peter

Warranty expired at 60k so I just went over. Thanks for the information though.

 

[peterk9]

Warranty expired at 60k so I just went over. Thanks for the information though.

That's a lot of miles on a 2016. I think it might take me 10 years or so to amass that much.

 

[Daurdahl]

That's a lot of miles on a 2016. I think it might take me 10 years or so to amass that much.

tell me about that. I feel like I have lived in it..

 

[Daurdahl]

tell me about that. I feel like I have lived in it..

I disconnected the connectors on the front seats and the second row seats and reconnected them. That was the fix. I haven't used the grease yet but will so the problem doesn't happen again.

 

[Highest]

I also have a 2012 ford explorer base model, initially for my son but for the last year or so the drivers side air bag
light has come on and off, so wife tells me the only one driving in that car is myself , alone !!!

I have had the dealership fix it three times saying that the connectors had to be greased, each time problem did not occur
periodically longer but not fixed.

Just two weeks ago they installed the seatbelt pretensioner but just this morning light came back on. This is crazy and
I am on wits end !!! Last Time I didn't drive the SUV for over a month .

Any suggestions on what else may be the rpoblem before I contact the dealership again ???

I wish I had the contact info for the ford rep who assisted me why I first got the suv , the PTU blew out that time...

Any ford rep feel free to chime in.


Thanks,

 

[peterk9]

I also have a 2012 ford explorer base model, initially for my son but for the last year or so the drivers side air bag
light has come on and off, so wife tells me the only one driving in that car is myself , alone !!!

I have had the dealership fix it three times saying that the connectors had to be greased, each time problem did not occur
periodically longer but not fixed.

Just two weeks ago they installed the seatbelt pretensioner but just this morning light came back on. This is crazy and
I am on wits end !!! Last Time I didn't drive the SUV for over a month .

Any suggestions on what else may be the rpoblem before I contact the dealership again ???

I wish I had the contact info for the ford rep who assisted me why I first got the suv , the PTU blew out that time...

Any ford rep feel free to chime in.


Thanks,

Try disconnecting and reconnecting the cable under the seat again and see if the light goes off. If it does then maybe they should install a new wiring harness. That connector seems to be a real problem. As for contacting a Ford rep here, good luck with that. It seems we have been on our own since the previous crew was reassigned at the end of January. Emails and text messages have gone unanswered.

Peter

 

[1995E]

I had this issue fixed before under warranty but now it has popped up again. It is intermittent and now it is constantly on. The trouble code says driver side belt tensioner. I am assuming it's the wires under the seat. Anyone know if a problem repeats itself after a few years, if there is anything I can do? I don't want to have to pay for it myself. Especially since the issue is a recurring issue.

 

[NGTD]

Light back on - back to the dealer for another $125 scan.

Now we are told that the driver's side Seat Belt retractor has failed - back ordered out of the US. 4-5 days for it to arrive and $708 in parts and labour. Real Happy!!!

 

[Highest]

Try disconnecting and reconnecting the cable under the seat again and see if the light goes off. If it does then maybe they should install a new wiring harness. That connector seems to be a real problem. As for contacting a Ford rep here, good luck with that. It seems we have been on our own since the previous crew was reassigned at the end of January. Emails and text messages have gone unanswered.

Peter

Thanks Peter I will try that. Sorry for the late reply as I away and did not need to drive the car. Came back yesterday and that dreaded air bag light was waiting for me...

 

[NGTD]

Light back on - back to the dealer for another $125 scan.

No we are told that the driver's side Seat Belt retractor has failed - back ordered out of the US. 4-5 days for it to arrive and $708 in parts and labour. Real Happy!!!

Ordered a used one for $65, plus tax. Going to install it myself.

 

[NGTD]

BTW - Just for follow-up with the group:

1. I messaged the Ford of Canada Rep - Crickets - Pretty disappointing that they can't even bother to respond.
2. Before the used part arrived, I decided to take a look at it myself.
3. I unbolted the 4 bolts for the seat.
4. Unhooked the battery and held the brakes on for a few seconds to drain any residual power.
5. Left the vehicle with power off for about 20 minutes.
6. Disconnected all of the electrical connectors under the drivers side seat.
7. Applied dielectric grease to all of them.
8. Put everything back and after 3 full cold-start cycles, no more Air Bag light!!!!

It's been fine for almost 4 weeks. Difficulty was quite low and the cost was about 10 cents of dielectric grease.

Next time it happens, I'm using the $125 to buy a decent code reader. Screw Ford and my local dealer. $900 - yeah right!

 

[peterk9]

BTW - Just for follow-up with the group:

1. I messaged the Ford of Canada Rep - Crickets - Pretty disappointing that they can't even bother to respond.

Not sure how you messaged the Ford reps but there are no longer any Ford reps monitoring this Forum or any other Ford forum as far as I know. Jan. 31st was the last day. I'm guessing that applies to the Canadian reps as well. What I've been telling member to do is to call them on the 800 number they left on their previous posts.

Peter

 

[NGTD]

Not sure how you messaged the Ford reps but there are no longer any Ford reps monitoring this Forum or any other Ford forum as far as I know. Jan. 31st was the last day. I'm guessing that applies to the Canadian reps as well. What I've been telling member to do is to call them on the 800 number they left on their previous posts.

Peter

Peter, I guess that's why they didn't reply. I PM'd the Member ID they used before.

Corporate direction to get off the Forums? Too bad, they at least were trying to be helpful.

 

[thedutydoctor]

My Wife's 2012 Black Explorer was giving out a B1212 code. After following the TSB 12-5-11
Which is basically cleaning all of the connectors with electrical contact spray, and then applying dialectric grease to the connectors.

My air bag light went out. I also bought an i920 iCarsoft Scanner to read the codes - the scanner was $125 from ebay - and its a pretty awesome scan tool.
I did read the resistance on the air bags before I did the cleaning and then after the cleaning - and it was apparent that the resistance was lower before I performed the TSB.
So if your handy and dont mind getting your hands dirty - follow the TSB 12-5-11 it fixed mine.

Before you go spending hard $$ on work / parts - try cleaning the connectors. (Dont forget to remove the battery first) or you risk setting off the air bag.
Its also not that bad of a job getting the kick panels off and the door frame panels off to check the pre-tensioner.

 

[peterk9]

My Wife's 2012 Black Explorer was giving out a B1212 code. After following the TSB 12-5-11
Which is basically cleaning all of the connectors with electrical contact spray, and then applying dialectric grease to the connectors.

My air bag light went out. I also bought an i920 iCarsoft Scanner to read the codes - the scanner was $125 from ebay - and its a pretty awesome scan tool.
I did read the resistance on the air bags before I did the cleaning and then after the cleaning - and it was apparent that the resistance was lower before I performed the TSB.
So if your handy and dont mind getting your hands dirty - follow the TSB 12-5-11 it fixed mine.

Before you go spending hard $$ on work / parts - try cleaning the connectors. (Dont forget to remove the battery first) or you risk setting off the air bag.
Its also not that bad of a job getting the kick panels off and the door frame panels off to check the pre-tensioner.

Welcome to the Forum.

Peter

 

[RandyH2]

A big "THANK YOU!!!" to those addressing this issue.

Now, about that SES light that came on today....