I bought a used 2007 MINI a month and a half ago. The light for the airbag sign came on and I took it to the dealership. They took it apart but noticed that there was a liquid spilled and are denying the warranty. They said it was around $800 to fix.

I'm guessing the previous owner spilled something on the steering wheel. What are my options besides getting it fixed out of pocket? Can I drive the car without the airbag? If so, how can I make the sign "disappear"?

Thanks!

 

Did you buy it privately or from a dealership/used car lot? I'd be making some angry phone calls if you bought it from a business.

 

I got it from a dealer. I'll try asking them.

Thanks!

 

Yeah... The dealer should step up to the plate...and fix it since it is a safety item, and if you can prove it was that way when you got it, hopefully fix it.
Airbag parts tend to be $$ since they are usually bought by insurance companys, and I think, the liability and relilalibility issues with making new ones in pretty low volumes....

 

Good luck! From what you say, it seems only right that the dealership sort this out for you.

 

talk to the dealer, it would take a lot of "liquid" to get to a connector to cause a problem.

 

Talked to the dealer where I got the car from (they are not specifically MINI) and they said it was past the 30 day warranty time period (it's been about 7 weeks) and there is nothing they can do about it. They did offer to turn the light off.

Am I pretty much out of luck at this point?

The service detail sheet that MINI gave me says, Faulty steering wheel air bag. 49088 faulty steering wheel air bag. Fault code 93A8.

=[

 

This is a bit of a long shot, but call you ins. Company....airbags are so $$$ to them if an accident should happen, some of the more forward thinking companies will pay for it's repair, rather than have an owner disable it.
I know that USAA had this listed as a benifit a few years ago....I haven't tried to use it, but others might think the same way.

 

PS turning off the light is likely what they did before they sold you the car....
It will turn on soon, again!!!

 

Good news! I talked to Way and he told me to go to the other dealer in our area as Global Imports are known to be... "evil". And they fixed it for me.

My warranty is just about up now - at 49,300 miles. Thanks Way and thanks everyone for the advice!

 

Refusing to fix something under warranty is indeed evil. The reimbursement rate is typically less than they charge a customer but it is part of having and retaining the dealership. I haven't run into this a lot but in the two instances I did, VW and Jeep convinced the respective unwilling dealers to fix it.