Hey All,

Loyal Honda person here. We are an ALL HONDA family and currently own four Hondas (2019 Accord LX, 2016 Civic LX, 2007 CRV EX and a 1999 Accord LX). The 1999 Accord LX is a recent purchase ( as in this past weekend). It belongs to my son who is 19. It replaced a 2000 Accord SE that was wrecked, much to our chagrin, exactly one year prior.

When we purchased the 99 Accord LX, which has 140,000 miles fyi, there was no SRS light illuminated during the test drive. It didn't show up until later that day when we took it home and my son had put some miles on it. My guess is the fella who sold us the car had cleared the code but it came back.

I used the following video and followed the instructions to obtain the reason code for the SRS light being illuminated. Oddly, we got three long flashes followed by two quick flashes and then a pause and then two long flashes and then a solid SRS light again. I interpret the three long and two quick as 3.2 but I'm not sure what to make of the two long flashes after that first sequence.


That's a great video by the way. Straight forward and easy to follow. Unfortunately, my code is not the same as the codes he got in the video. He got codes 9.3 and 9.4 which are related to the malfunctioning sensor in the seat belt buckle clip. Instead, I get code 3.2 which is described as follows: Open circuited Or high Resistance In Driver's Seat Belt Pretensioner (Explosive Device).

I found the following video detailing how to solve this code. It isn't a Honda but the issue and principle is the same. It appears the entire buckle apparatus needs to be replaced including the wiring harness and you have to remove the seat to do it. Not a big deal as far as I'm concerned and I don't mind doing it so long as I can find the part and I prefer it be a new part versus used.

You Tube

My questions are as follows.

1. Is this something that Honda should cover under warranty considering seat belt malfunctions are allegedly covered under a lifetime warranty by Honda? I am in the U.S. fyi and I realize Honda doesn't extend that lifetime warranty for seat belts in other countries. I ask this because in researching this, it appears sometimes the dealer will honor the warranty and other times they won't, although when they haven't it appears they didn't because the issue related to codes 9.3 and 9.4 and not code 3.2.

2. If I did this myself will the SRS code clear itself once I swap out the entire seat belt buckle apparatus to include wiring harness? In the video it automatically cleared for the guy and then he easily erased the codes in the SRS modules with his scanner/reader.

Thanks.

 

This will be interesting. I will keep you updated. I have an appointment with a local dealer tomorrow and we will see how they handle this. Also of note, the retractors for both the driver's side and passenger's side do not retract properly or easily. The belt has to be fed back into retraction.

The wrecked 2000 Accord SE we had, the SRS light was illuminated and we had similar issues with the retractors not retracting. When my son was in the accident (both the front end and the rear end were substantially damaged), he mentioned that the airbag didn't deploy and also the shoulder harness did not restrain him and his head hit the steering wheel as a result. So, it's a serious issue that many take for granted and it could cost you your life. We took it for granted with our 2000 Accord SE. Never again and let this be a lesson to those who try to reset the code without addressing the underlying issue or to those who just take the bulb out and think the SRS light is nothing serious.

 

This is interesting/intriguing.

https://www.safetyrestore.com/blog/a...dule-dtc-code/

Quote:

Resistance In Driver’s Seat Belt Pretensioner (Explosive Device) Acura EL

This car was never in an accident per the Carfax report. The owner of this per the Carfax report was fastidious in getting it serviced so you would think if it was in an accident, the owner would have had this code cleared if it was the result of an accident.

Here's what concerns me and is a risk. What if I take it to the dealer and they say the seat belt pretensioner is functioning properly and the SRS light is because of this code stored in the airbag module per that link and that means it was in an accident and as such the lifetime warranty does not apply. At that point I'm out a $100 diagnostic fee or whatever it is these days.

Also, I ran across this video and this guy claims the buckle on his model, which is a 2005, and thus my model too doesn't have an explosive pretensioning apparatus. I find that baffling. If there is no pretensioning mechanism, why would the code indicate an issue with the pretensioner?


Any ideas or thoughts?

 

I spoke with the fella who sold us the 99 Accord LX. He's a small dealer. He only ever has four or five cars he's selling at a time. He swears he didn't clear the SRS code and he swears the SRS light was never illuminated while the car was in his possession and he's had it for nearly 50 days. I'm skeptical. People lie especially when it comes to selling cars. What's the likelihood the SRS light just suddenly illuminates when we take possession of the vehicle and have only driven it 30 miles?

 

Well, as it turns out, that method above in the video for determining the SRS code apparently is not entirely accurate. Per the Dealer, the code, or I should say codes, is/are as follows.

It's the Clock Spring. They want $775 to repair it. No way. That's outrageous. It's not a ridiculously difficult repair. I will do it myself, obviously taking care to make sure the battery is disconnected so the airbag doesn't inflate. There are a couple of videos out there on how to replace the Clock Spring. I will use them. This would explain why my cruise control isn't working. Oddly enough, the horn does work but the mechanic said that can happen where a couple of the steering wheel components don't work but one does.

He also indicated my V-TEC Solenoid Valve needs to be resealed because it has a leak. They want $550 for the repair. Once again, no way. I can do this myself. It's an easy repair and the valve gasket and accompanying small filter basket are not expensive by any means.

As well, he indicated my Distributor is leaking oil. They want $1,000 for this repair. What? $1,000? Ridiculous. A new Distributor is $250 or less and it's easy to replace. I can also do this myself for next to nothing. Dealers are crazy and car salesman are crooked and slimy. The guy who sold this car to us lied his *** off. Anything for a buck. Pathetic. I sold a truck this past weekend and I informed the buyer of every single issue. Didn't lie about any of it. Was completely upfront. He respected my honesty and it was priced right for the issues it did have. It's the only way to do business. You don't have to lie.