musicmaster

So a local Honda dealership has a 01' Civic LX with 116k miles on it for $3900. Besides one major scratch (about 1" wide and 10" long) the only problem with it is the SRS light remains on. Dealer said he didn't want to put more money into it, and that it would be $150 to fix.

Reading on the forums here, it seems like it may actually be covered under warranty. How should I bring this issue up with them before purchasing it?

00falcon

ask them straight up why it is on... if it has anything remotely due to the seat belts they should fix it for free under it's lifetime warranty... if it is with the airbags then that may indicate that there are more problems than it's worth

kinda weird how a honda dealer wouldn't fix it though...

waaBAAH

does seem kind of strange they dotn wnat to fix it.. but on the other hand they arent trying to "scam" you. they could always take the bulb out and you would not know until further down the road.

but anyway...it might be somethign as simple as just reseting the srs system. if anything gets unplugged the code will be stored until cleared, resulting in the SRS light.

i would just take 400-500 off sticker to try to compensate for what possibly could be worng along with diag. 150 quote from them might be just the diag. portion that they would have to pay the tech. eventhough it is a dealership they still would need to pay the tech.

BlackEM2

mines on but dont know why either but shouldnt effect with the way it drives and runs right??? mines fine??? i wouldnt be too worried for that price thats a steal i think

Curiouz_G

couple of reasons this might happen:

-other seats were installed
-its been in an accident and the seat belt needs replacement (not all car fax's will cover ALL accidents if they havent been reported. Id hate to see you NEED them in an accident and they just dont lock)
-sensor was unplugged with the battery on

Get them to replace it or dont buy it

Targa250R

Whether or not it's covered under the lifetime seat belt warranty depends on what exact error code is stored in the SRS control unit.

If it's a seat belt buckle switch or something related to OPDS, and the car doesn't have a salvage or rebuilt title, then Honda will cover it.

If it's something relating to the air bags themselves, then you're going to be paying.

85_305

It could be a plug behind the dash (cd-player center piece)

dr_spock

It could be the SRS control module. Something is wrong with the SRS system. I'd look for another car.

Mr_Iceman

I own a 2001 DX 2 door coupe... My light had been on since 3 months after I purchased it, and I was the second owner (had 28K miles on it in 2003). The dealership I purchased it from told me that the light indicates a couple of problems:

1. Replacement of the seats or a faulty sensor in the seats for the side airbags for the ODPS. This was ruled out as the DX model does not have side airbags in the seats.

2. Replacement of the seat belts. This too ruled out as neither seats, nor the seat belts have EVER been replaced.

3. General code fault (sorry, can't exactly remember the wording they used that day), causing the light to continually need resetting without an actual problem existing. (this is most likely the case for MY vehicle).

The airbags did deploy, despite my SRS light still glowing on my dash, after my car was stolen in 2004, when the assailant rear ended someone at a traffic light (he went to jail and I got my car back with minimal front end damage and a couple of deployed airbags in the vehicle).

6 months after I got my car back after it being stolen, the light AGAIN decided to come on. Warranty work done and diagnostics done for ONLY the SRS light on my dash. Again, the dealership told me that my system is fully functional and that no error could be found causing the SRS light to come on. They reset the light, and 3 days later, the light came back on.

This is my experience, as I have that same problem with the SRS light. I'm not saying that your airbags are just fine and they'll go off, as that particular vehicle may have a real problem. If the vehicle is still covered under FACTORY warranty (which I believe is 10 years, 100,000 miles) you may be able to have a dealership pay for all of the diagnostic work and fix the PROBLEM CAUSING the SRS light to come on.

~Ice

Mr_Iceman

I'm positive that the vehicle no longer has a factory warranty... limit (as I just found out from a local honda dealer) is maxed at 8 years 100,000 miles. I was wrong in my last post at hoping that the vehicle was still covered.