Honda Odyssey Airbag: Dealer Vs. Local Mechanic Diagnosis

The Airbag Light Warning

Morsinkhoff’s story begins with an usual, irritating warning: a red air bag light on the dashboard of his better half’s 2020 Honda Odyssey. Although the van was much less than three years of ages at the time, its odometer had exceeded the 36,000-mile mark, placing it outside the three-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper service warranty window that Honda supplies.

This is a prime example of exactly how real-world experience and logical diagnostics usually outmatch the “parts cannon” strategy sometimes taken by car dealership service departments. While several manufacturing facility service technicians are extremely educated, dealer stores operate under stringent time-billing and guarantee compensation frameworks, which can push them towards changing large systems rather than pinpointing the most economical solution.

Concerned it could signify something severe, or that the issue could certify as a recall, he scheduled a consultation at the dealer. Two days later, after carving time out of a chaotic family timetable with 3 kids, Morsinkhoff handed over the Odyssey at his neighborhood Honda solution department at 8 a.m

In the period of a single day, a red air bag light in a late-model Honda Odyssey set off two radically different medical diagnoses– one from a car dealership, the other from a relied on local technician. The difference? $6,875 and a great deal of trust fund.

Dealer Diagnosis: Costly Replacement

. According to the dealer, the likely offender was a fault in the passenger seat’s airbag system electrical wiring harness, a deeply integrated component that would call for eliminating a huge portion of the vehicle’s inside to gain access to and replace. Modern lorries, such as the Odyssey, attribute complex air bag systems with sensing units found in numerous locations, including motorist and traveler frontal air bags, seat-mounted side airbags, and side drape air bags. Some even include seat-integrated air bag modules, which can even more make complex repair work.

In a viral TikTok clip, Dallas-area Real estate agent Jonathan Morsinkhoff (@morsinkhoffrealestate) takes audiences with the fear and disbelief of allowing a little bit of count on for the staff staffing the repair work center at his regional Honda car dealership.

The dealership’s message described that their professionals were unable to determine the exact mistake place and hence recommended changing the entire airbag electrical wiring harness. That’s a labor-intensive job that Morsinkhoff was told involves removing back the trim, lifting the carpeting, and removing the seat rails to access the buried cabling.

In the period of a single day, a red air bag light in a late-model Honda Odyssey caused 2 drastically various diagnoses– one from a dealer, the various other from a relied on regional auto mechanic. According to the dealer, the most likely offender was a mistake in the guest seat’s air bag system wiring harness, a deeply incorporated element that would require getting rid of a big portion of the automobile’s inside to gain access to and change. Modern automobiles, such as the Odyssey, function complex air bag systems with sensing units located in multiple areas, consisting of vehicle driver and passenger frontal airbags, seat-mounted side airbags, and side drape airbags. Some even consist of seat-integrated air bag components, which can even more complicate fixings.

Second Opinion Saves Thousands

According to nationwide estimates, air bag sensor repair work or harness problems typically vary from $100–$600, relying on the location and intensity. A $7,000 job is a statistical outlier unless a full additional restriction system restore is entailed.

While Morsinkhoff recognized that post-collision electrical gremlins might be intricate– his wife’s Odyssey had actually been in a front-corner collision concerning eight months earlier– something regarding the quote really did not sit. He did what every experienced vehicle enthusiast advises when encountered with a four-figure service price quote: He obtained a 2nd opinion.

Much less than 2 hours later on, the phone sounded. The technician had actually currently drawn the air bag mistake codes, identified the concern as a loosened adapter under the chauffeur’s seat (not the guest’s), gotten rid of and reseated the circuitry harness plug, and verified that the air bag system reset easily.