NHTSA Complaint #10671371 — 2007 MAZDA MX-5

THE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER, DYER MAZDA IN VERO BEACH, FL. THE DEALER TOLD ME THE AIRBAG MAY OR MAY NOT DEPLOY IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH. THEY SAID I NEEDED A PASSENGER WEIGHT SENSOR, A PASSENGER SEAT TRACK ADJUSTER, AND AN SAS UNIT. APPROXIMATELY $2,000 JUST FOR THE PARTS. I CALLED THE MANUFACTURER, MAZDA, AND AFTER REVIEW, THE MANUFACTURER CONCURRED THAT THE AIRBAG MAY OR MAY NOT DEPLOY UNLESS THESE 3 PARTS WERE REPLACED. MAZDA AGREED TO PAY FOR THE LABOR ONLY, $650, BUT I WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE $2,000 IN PARTS. MY CAR IS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION, ONLY 11,752 MILES ON IT. THERE WAS NEVER ANY DAMAGE TO THE PARTS - IMPACT, WATER OR OTHERWISE. SINCE ALL 3 PARTS ARE REQUIRED FOR THE AIRBAG TO WORK PROPERLY, I FEEL MAZDA SHOULD COVER THE COST OF THE PARTS - NOT JUST THE LABOR. THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE. MAZDA OEM PARTS ARE ONLY WARRANTED FOR 12 MONTHS OR 12000 MILES. SINCE THESE PARTS ARE DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE SAFETY OF THE CAR, I FEEL THESE PARTS SHOULD HAVE A MUCH LONGER WARRANTY - SUCH AS 100,000 MILES - LIKE A POWERTRAIN WARRANTY. I HAVE RESEARCHED THIS ISSUE EXTENSIVELY ON THE INTERNET - SPECIFICALLY IN MAZDA OWNER FORUMS. THIS IS NOT A NEW ISSUE FOR MAZDA. THEY HAVE KNOWN ABOUT IT FOR YEARS. SINCE THE FAILURE OF THIS PART CAN BE RESPONSIBLE FOR DRIVER DEATH OR SERIOUS INJURY, I BELIEVE MAZDA SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR PRODUCT WORKING PROPERLY FOR MORE THAN 12 MONTHS OR 12,000 MILES. ANOTHER CONCERN I HAVE IS THAT IF THE PASSENGER SIDE SENSOR AIRBAG SYSTEM CAN FAIL, THEN THE DRIVER SIDE SYSTEM CAN ALSO FAIL. IF BOTH SYSTEMS FAIL, THE OWNER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR OVER $5,000 IN REPAIRS. I WOULD APPRECIATE ANYTHING YOU CAN DO TO ASSIST ME TO ENCOURAGE MAZDA TO STAND BY THEIR SAFETY PRODUCTS AND REPLACE THEM IF THEY FAIL. THANK YOU. *TR