Airbag and warranty problem

She needs to ask them for the evidence that it is "her fault" the airbag was damaged.

It is very rare for airbag damage to be caused by the customer (except when they have crashed the car, of course).

As the car was not new, the "fault assumed inherent if found within six months" rule doesn't apply, but if it is still within warranty, then it is generally up to them to show that a fault was NOT caused by defective materials or workmanship, if they want to avoid liability under the warranty.

They are taking the mick, aren't they?

When I spent a number of years working for a major airbag manufacturer, we were always told that our products had a 'life' of 10 years, and that this 'life' was down to the ageing of the propellant within the gas generator. (Both the squib and main charge)

Tell them that if the airbag is at fault, Peugeot should get it verified by the airbag's supplier, and in the meantime tell your girlfriend to see a solicitor for the free half-hour (Green form scheme) during which she can ask for the solicitor to write a letter to the dealer concerned confirming her intention to pursue legal remedies unless the car is returned to her forthwith. The letter should cost her around £30.....

Seriously, this dealer is trying it on, if your girlfriend had been meddling with the vehicles wiring, it night have upset that, but the genuine warranty returns I've seen from most of our european manufacturers are very, very low. If the car is newer than the warranty period, they should honour the warranty. Replacing the airbag is a 'just try it' stab at fixing it as most dealers are petrified at the prospect of actually testing the actual circuitry within the airbag's gas generator. I'd guess you may have 2, 8 gram or 11 gram generators in your airbag module.

It is more likely that the wiring is dodgy, or possibly the link with the car's seatbelt pretensioners (PBPs) have dodgy connections, especially if the seats have been slammed forwards/ backwards by children accessing rear seats. Have you/ her been hoovering around under the seats? (Near the connectors)

The dealer is taking the mick (Probably) and, given the right equipment, (A little electronic box about the size of a small mobile phone, with a connection lead and one push-button switch) would be able to verify the airbag unit in-situ within 10 minutes.

Don't forget - nil illigitimum, carborundum....

Artie

Just to clarify a point, the dealer claims that the airbag must have been damaged by one of the cars occupants, kneeing or kicking the dashboard, causing the crack and damaging the airbag. I think it probably happened on closing the glove box, but I would classify closing the glove compartment door as normal usage and not something which should be able to cause £660 worth of damage!

The dealer does not have the car, she collected it from the garage after being told the price.

Mark Hewitt ( snipped-for-privacy@markhewittDotCoDotUk.spammers.will.die) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Not to the extent of cracking the dash.

Was the dash already cracked when she collected the car?

I don't think so but I can't testify to that with any certainty. I didn't notice it when I've been a passenger in the car, but then I didn't notice it when it was cracked until she pointed it out to me.

The message from "Mark Hewitt" contains these words:

I think that's where she went wrong. Cars cost money to run and the firms that offer the warranty insurance are aware of that and make strenuous efforts to exclude as much as possible.

Save the trouble - it's a french car - peugoet dealers are s**te. Just set fire to it now and cut your losses - it's altogether a lot easier.

Cheers dan.