NHTSA Complaint #10651494 — 2007 MINI COOPER

THE AIR BAG LIGHTS BEGAN ILLUMINATING INTERMITTENTLY ON MY 2007 MINI COOPER WITH 48,000 MILES. UPON MY MECHANIC SCANNING THE COMPUTER WE FOUND THAT THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG SENSOR IS OUT OF THE SEAT. THE ONLY FIX IS TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE PASSENGER SEAT CUSHION (COST: $1500). I GOOGLED "MINI COOPER AIR BAG LIGHT" ' AND FOUND THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WITH THE SAME PROBLEM ON MANY DIFFERENT MODEL YEARS. WHEN I CONTACTED MINI COOPER AND QUESTIONED WHY THERE HASN'T BEEN A RECALL ISSUED, THE PERSON TOLD ME THAT SINCE THE PASSENGER OCCUPANT STILL HAS THE SEAT BELT THAT THE AIR BAG MALFUNCTION IS NOT A SAFETY CONCERN. WHEN ASKED IF THE AIR BAGS WOULD DEPLOY ON THE PASSENGER SIDE IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT, HE ANSWERED THE QUESTION BY SAYING "WELL, THEY STILL HAVE THEIR SEAT BELT"'. IF THE AIR BAGS ARE NOT A SAFETY FEATURE OF THE CAR THEN WHY IS IT EQUIPPED WITH 8 AIR BAGS? PLEASE INVESTIGATE THIS AIR BAG MALFUNCTION BECAUSE AS A MINI COOPER OWNER, THIS IS A BIG SAFETY CONCERN FOR ME, AS WELL AS THOUSANDS OF OTHER MINI COOPER OWNERS WHO HAVE TAKEN TO THE INTERNET TO EXPRESS THEIR FRUSTRATIONS. THANK YOU *TR