NHTSA Complaint #11376775 — 2012 INFINITI M37

THE FRONT PASSENGER AIRBAG LIGHT WENT ON IN MY 2012 INFINITI M-37 UPON STARTING IT THE MORNING OF 10/09/2020. I BROUGHT IT INTO MY LOCAL TAMPA INFINITI DEALERSHIP ON 10/21/2020 WHERE I PURCHASED THE CAR AND HAVE HAD OVER 90% OF THE SERVICING COMPLETED. MY SERVICE ADVISOR MICHAEL ENGLISH EXPLAINED TO ME THAT IT WOULD COST OVER $7104 TO REPLACE THE BOTTOM OF THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT. IN ADDITION A DIAGNOSTIC SENSOR WOULD LIKELY NEED TO BE REPLACED AT A COST OF $450. HE ALSO TOLD ME THAT THIS PROBLEM IS ONE THAT OCCURS IN A NUMBER OF INFINITI AUTOMOBILES OF THIS TYPE. HE WAS SORRY THAT IT WAS NOT COVERED BY ANY WARRANTY AND THAT IT DIDN'T SEEM FAIR THAT A RECALL WASN'T AVAILABLE TO REMEDY THE SAFETY PROBLEM. MY CAR HAS ONLY 120,000 MILES ON IT AND RUNS VERY WELL AND IS WORTH ABOUT $8000 AS A TRADE IN BUT NOT WITH A FAULTY PASSENGER SEAT SAFETY HAZARD. I CAN'T AFFORD TO FIX THIS PROBLEM THAT COST NEARLY AS MUCH THE CAR IS WORTH. HOW COULD INFINITI MAKE OR DESIGN A SEAT WITH AIR BAG SENSORS THAT CANT BE REPAIRED WITHOUT HAVING TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE SEAT? THIS IS THE RESULT OF POOR ENGINEERING AND IS A PRODUCT SAFETY HAZARD FORCING MANY CONSUMERS TO CHOOSE BETWEEN HAVING SAFETY EQUIPMENT OR DOING WITHOUT BECAUSE OF THE HIGH EXPENSE TO REPAIR. I'VE NEVER HAD AN ACCIDENT TO DEPLOY THE AIRBAGS AND MY CAR HAS ALWAYS BEEN GARAGE KEPT AND PROPERLY MAINTAINED. THIS IS A MANUFACTURER DEFECT AND THERE SHOULD BE A REMEDY FOR ALL THOSE OWNERS OF THIS TYPE OF VEHICLE. I HAVE NOTICED THERE ARE MANY OWNERS OF SIMILAR INFINITI VEHICLES THAT HAVE HAD A SIMILAR PROBLEM.