52 Plate Yaris Gls Airbag Light

[T-Spirit06]

Hi all,

My fiancee's Yaris shows the airbag light, this has been back to my friends at Toyota who have advised that she requires a whole new airbag at a cost of around £500.

The car is worth slightly more than the amount (She has the full TTE kit on a GLS, there isn't many around) so therefore I believe it would sell for a little more than a normal car of its age.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what we can try? £500 is expensive just after Christmas and before our Wedding.

I also dont like her driving it as the airbag will not deploy in the event of an accident.

Thanks!

[MikeSh]

Aside from concerns of injury, it's an MoT fail and means the car is technically not roadworthy, so it does need fixing. (Or maybe not - was that bag required on 52 plates?)

If there was an injury accident the insurance might get 'interesting' too.

Was that £500 for the fitted price? If the part was much less it might be cheaper to get an independent to get the Toyota part and install.

Also might be worth asking a bodyshop/accident repairer. They presumably have to replace quite a few each year and may have access to cheaper units.

Unfortunately with older cars things do go wrong (they are usually built to last 10 years) and repair often exceeds the 'value' of the car. However, you need to look at the condition of the rest of the car and consider not so much how much it would sell for but how much it will cost to get something else that is better - ie. what it is worth to you.

[FROSTYBALLS]

When we had a replacement driver's airbag fitted under extended warranty to our Mazda Premacy, the cost for just the airbag module was £750 - this was in 2007 ........

[T-Spirit06]

Hi Mike,

I find it strange that Toyota did the recall then 3 months later the Airbag light comes on, they do not want to claim any responsibility for it.

They have investigated and the light went out, but it has since come back.

Its a good shout regarding an independant garage/bodyshop, I luckily know a few of these.

Even considering upgrading her Yaris to a later model is met with evils, I shan't be suggesting it in the future!

and woah, £750? Surely they cant be that expensive, I would assume most of it is labour as you have to remove the dashboard etc.

Thanks for the suggestions though.

[FROSTYBALLS]

The airbag recall is to do with faulty inflators used in the production of the airbags by the manufacturer, Takata. The recall has affected 53 million vehicles globally (which was the estimate at the end of May 2015) since 2008, and involved vehicles from at least 11 vehicle manufacturers. Takata are responsible for producing the replacement inflators and, undoubtedly, will be bearing the costs of the vehicle recalls.

So although the vehicle manufacturers are having to undertake the various airbag recalls, the responsibility lies ultimately with Takata.

Back in November 2015, Takata have also been made to replace the replacement inflators fitted to 1.6 million Vehicles in Japan, although it is not currently known what effect, if any, there may be on vehicles outside Japan.

On our Premacy it was just the airbag module that cost £750 - labour was on top - but it was all covered under the Mazda extended warranty. Obviously parts costs vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.

One of the issues for you is that with the airbag light being on, it may well fail the next MOT. Rather than selling the car and possibly passing the problem on to someone else, it may be better to part exchange the car for a newer one. The dealer will probably put the part exchange to auction.

Not an easy decision!

[MikeSh]

I find it strange that Toyota did the recall then 3 months later the Airbag light comes on, they do not want to claim any responsibility for it.

That is a slightly relevant fact you failed to mention in your first post. It sounds more like a warranty claim now (assuming that this is the same bag that was replaced of course).

[MEP's Yaris GS]

As above.