NHTSA Complaint #10743329 — 1994 MAZDA MX-5 MIATA

IN MARCH 2015 I STARTING RECEIVING A SERIES OF FLASHES ON THE AIRBAG LIGHT IN MY 1994 MIATA, WHICH INDICATED A PROBLEM. I TOOK MY CAR INTO BOB KING MAZDA IN WINSTON-SALEM, NC TO HAVE IT DIAGNOSED. I WAS TOLD THAT MY CLOCKSPRING ASSEMBLY WAS DEFECTIVE. THEY ORDERED THE PART AND REPLACED IT. I PICKED THE CAR UP AND WAS TOLD THAT AFTER REPLACING THE CLOCKSPRING, THAT THEY GOTTEN ANOTHER FAILURE CODE AND THIS TIME IT WAS THE AIRBAG CONTROL MODULE THAT WAS NOT WORKING. THEY SPECULATED THAT THE CLOCKSPRING PROBLEM MAY HAVE SHORTED IT OUT. I WAS WAS TOLD THAT THIS PART WAS "DISCONTINUED" AND IT WAS NOTED ON MY SHOP WORK ORDER. I HAVE MADE NUMEROUS INTERNET SEARCHES TO TRY TO FIND A USED ONE. ONE AFTER MARKET SOURCE SAID THEY HAD BEEN LOOKING FOR SOME FOR QUITE AWHILE AND HAD MANY PEOPLE CONTACTING THEM TO OBTAIN ONE. I SPENT NEARLY $700 TO HAVE THE CLOCKSPRING REPAIRED ONLY TO STILL HAVE NON-FUNCTIONING AIR BAGS. THE DEALER WAS ABSOLUTELY NO HELP TO ME IN TRYING TO OBTAIN THE PART I NEED. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW A AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURER CAN SIMPLY "DISCONTINUE" A KEY SAFETY PART TO ONE OF THEIR VEHICLES. I DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE DRIVING IT NOW AND WITHOUT THE AIRBAGS WORKING I FEEL THAT THE VALUE OF MY CAR HAS BEEN VERY NEGATIVELY AFFECTED. I BELIEVE THAT THIS SITUATION NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED AND ANY ONE EXPERIENCING THIS PROBLEM NEEDS TO BE MADE WHOLE.