NHTSA Complaint #11636356 — 2000 HONDA CR-V

HONDA CR-V 2000 - I repeatedly contacted dealer in 2020 to get airbag replaced due to recall, but they said they didn't have replacement parts. 11/1/24 I brought car to Honda El Cerrito for airbag replacement due to recall. SRS light was on after their repair, but I didn't know that was a problem. I brought the car to another mechanic a couple weeks later for visual inspection prior to sale, and he said SRS light shouldn't be on & go back to dealer. It took awhile to get another appointment due to holidays. About 1/3/25, dealer looked at car again and said it had a faulty airbag inflator (in the airbag they replaced). It took 8 days for them to approve replacing their own faulty inflator. Meanwhile I couldn't drive it. They replaced the airbag, but then informed me the cable reel was broken and not covered under recall warranty. However, nothing was wrong with car prior to bringing it to El Cerrito Honda, other than needing a replacement airbag due to recall. I'm not aware of SRS light being on prior to visiting EC Honda / airbag replacement the first time. Honda El Cerrito is requiring me to pay $650 out of pocket to complete repairs, since cable reel is not covered. However, my understanding now is that it is common practice to replace the cable reel along with airbag, due to the fact cable reel sometimes breaks during replacing airbag, and it is a sensitive necessary part for SRS function. Honda Corporation says cable reel is not included in the recall / warranty, so this is an out-of-pocket expense to me / consumers. I believe Honda El Cerrito either damaged the cable reel or is requiring me to replace it bc it's common practice with airbag replacement. However they are simply putting the cost & responsibility on me due to age & miles of car. I believe this part (cable reel) should be included in Honda's warranty if it is common practice to replace it along with airbags, since their airbags are on recall. Consumer should not have extra cost due to recall.