NEED HELP! SRS light problems-lemon? Dealer problems.
06-13-2002, 07:14 AM
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NEED HELP! SRS light problems-lemon? Dealer problems.
I need some help from the board. I have read about the SRS light problems in the S2000 and in the words of a service tech at my dealer, "Honda knows it is a problem and has not issued a fix".
But anyway, here is my story...I need to know how to approach the situation and if I have any potential recourse under a lemon law.
Bought the car, that night on the way home...SRS light comes on. Return to the dealer, nothing found...reset the light.
Three weeks later, SRS light comes on, take it to the dealer close to my house, nothing found, reset light.
Change the headunit and add an amp....no problems.
Six months later...SRS light comes on, take it to the same dealer...no problems found, reset light....but get a bunch of crap about "modding the car" and the "this car is extremely sensitive to all electrical components....changing that headunit is probably causing a short...are you sure you didn't chop some wires in there?".....in other words, they are setting the stage for blaming me....
4 months later...SRS light comes on, take it to the same dealer.....HOOOORRRAAAAYYYY! they found the problem...Bad SRS control unit....car is in the shop for 2 days...new SRS unit comes in, install, and problem solved....
NOT
Yesterday, SRS light comes on, take it to the same dealer.....this time I get a whole bunch of crap about the headunit....service tech hooks up the code reader and says the SRS unit is bad again and says it "has to be a short...probably that stereo you added"...says he will call Honda and "see what they WANT to do....there is no way the second SRS control unit could be bad".
Here is my gut feeling....they are going to come back and say you modded it...you pay for the fix. I cannot believe that adding a headunit and amp could produce this problem. I have an Alpine 7894 that is wired direct to the battery for power and the other wires are connected through a harness to the original factory harness....no cut wires or splices....the only wire not used is the green dash control lead. The amp is wired direct to the battery, grounded to the chassis. I have visually inspected all fuses and connections.....and visually inspected all SRS wiring behind and under the headunit....most of which are covered in a plastic tubing to protect them...absolutely no scuffs of the wiring.
How do I approach this situation....should I take it back to the original dealer and demand a fix (more of the question is should I go to the trouble to put it back stock before doing this...Oh my what a pain)...I'm guessing there is enough documentation on "my secret honda service file" that says screw this guy no matter where he shows up! Anyone else out there that can comment on similar consistent SRS light problems?
I have read the lemon laws for my state and it seems the car would qualify for the number of repairs over the first year....my only problem is that the law specifies the criteria in the absence of any modding of the car...if this is my only recourse, how can I justify that it is not the headunit causing the problem...I just don't buy the "it is a delicate system on the S2000...if you change it, it will mess everything up" BS explanation. ANY HELP IS APPRECIATED!
KaCee
But anyway, here is my story...I need to know how to approach the situation and if I have any potential recourse under a lemon law.
Bought the car, that night on the way home...SRS light comes on. Return to the dealer, nothing found...reset the light.
Three weeks later, SRS light comes on, take it to the dealer close to my house, nothing found, reset light.
Change the headunit and add an amp....no problems.
Six months later...SRS light comes on, take it to the same dealer...no problems found, reset light....but get a bunch of crap about "modding the car" and the "this car is extremely sensitive to all electrical components....changing that headunit is probably causing a short...are you sure you didn't chop some wires in there?".....in other words, they are setting the stage for blaming me....
4 months later...SRS light comes on, take it to the same dealer.....HOOOORRRAAAAYYYY! they found the problem...Bad SRS control unit....car is in the shop for 2 days...new SRS unit comes in, install, and problem solved....
NOT
Yesterday, SRS light comes on, take it to the same dealer.....this time I get a whole bunch of crap about the headunit....service tech hooks up the code reader and says the SRS unit is bad again and says it "has to be a short...probably that stereo you added"...says he will call Honda and "see what they WANT to do....there is no way the second SRS control unit could be bad".
Here is my gut feeling....they are going to come back and say you modded it...you pay for the fix. I cannot believe that adding a headunit and amp could produce this problem. I have an Alpine 7894 that is wired direct to the battery for power and the other wires are connected through a harness to the original factory harness....no cut wires or splices....the only wire not used is the green dash control lead. The amp is wired direct to the battery, grounded to the chassis. I have visually inspected all fuses and connections.....and visually inspected all SRS wiring behind and under the headunit....most of which are covered in a plastic tubing to protect them...absolutely no scuffs of the wiring.
How do I approach this situation....should I take it back to the original dealer and demand a fix (more of the question is should I go to the trouble to put it back stock before doing this...Oh my what a pain)...I'm guessing there is enough documentation on "my secret honda service file" that says screw this guy no matter where he shows up! Anyone else out there that can comment on similar consistent SRS light problems?
I have read the lemon laws for my state and it seems the car would qualify for the number of repairs over the first year....my only problem is that the law specifies the criteria in the absence of any modding of the car...if this is my only recourse, how can I justify that it is not the headunit causing the problem...I just don't buy the "it is a delicate system on the S2000...if you change it, it will mess everything up" BS explanation. ANY HELP IS APPRECIATED!
KaCee
06-13-2002, 12:23 PM
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i know this cant be a problem with your aftermarket head unit, i have no aftermarket electronic parts installed and my srs light stays on, it was turned off once some how and it came back on again. i'll wait until it annoys me enough to go and get it fixed again.
06-13-2002, 12:41 PM
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Just got word from the service dept. Service called the tech line and they thought it was not the SRS control unit...more likely a bad/loose connector or a bad wire (read: we will find some way to blame this guy for screwing up the car). Bottom line....an estimated 3 days in the shop...tear apart the dash and trace all wires in an ATTEMPT to reproduce the fault....I'm guessing that if they find any way to blame this on me, I am facing a $2000 bill when I go pick up my car. I am getting seriously pissed by the minute over this problem.
Does anyone have any documentation from Honda on the SRS problem...any service bulletins? Anyone else had an experience like this? Suggestions?
Does anyone have any documentation from Honda on the SRS problem...any service bulletins? Anyone else had an experience like this? Suggestions?
06-13-2002, 12:56 PM
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They have a record of you SRS related visits prior to the head unit installation. Electrically, I don't believe the SRS has anything to do with the head unit. The SRS control unit is next to the radio in the dash board. They've got to fix it on their dollar. It may take some fighting, but get them to fix it first.
06-13-2002, 05:44 PM
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2 documented visits with the SRS light problem prior to the headunit-one the day after I took delivery of the vehicle. I have seen the box below the headunit...all of the wires leading to the unit are wrapped in a hard plastic tubing...I can't imagine replacing a headunit would mess that much with the wiring....I know it is tight behind there....but it looks like all of the wiring is below the headunit anyway...there is one wire bundle directly behind the headunit....but I traced the SRS control unit wiring and this is not it. I can't help but think it is some other glitch.
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