Ok I posted this in the general tech section as well but I think I may get more advice and more hits here...so here goes.

I bought my B5 S4 Avant about 6 weeks ago now. When I bought it maintenance and reliability were my key issues. I asked the lot dealer for the service records, he assured me that he could get them as the car belonged to a friend, and he assured me that the timing belt had just been changed and that everything was in working order. Before I bought the car he called the owner to verify that the work had been done and he faxed the records to me. Now the airbag light was also on, and since the car did not come with a manual I did not know what that meant. Again I was told it was fine and that the airbags worked but that a wire under the seat must have gotten jostled. I was told it was a simple reset. Well I took it to two auto parts shops and neither could reset it. So I contacted the dealer and told him that he needed to fix the problem as it was advertised as having airbags and it was implied that they worked properly. He said to take it to his friends shop and have it checked out. I did and the code came up that it was a faulty airbag control module. He tried to reset it but his computer said it could not connect with my computer due to the error. SO....I contacted the dealer again and he said he would make an appointment to have it checked out again, but that he would need me to drop the car off at his lot at like 10am so HE could take it in because he told the mechanic it was HIS car?? HE said if the mechanic could not clear the code we would take it to Audi. I told him that there was no way I could drop the car off and that the car had already been diagnosed and now needed to be fixed. I told him that we needed to take it to Audi now and he said no "those guys are crooks". He said he would order a module from California have it installed and then he would take it to a shop to have it reset. After some prying I discover that he will be the one installing it.

So my question is this...given the history (him telling me it was ok and that nothing was wrong) does he have a legal obligation to repair this. If so do I have the right to request Audi, or at least an ASE mechanic work on it? Or is this guy going beyond what he has the responsibility to do and I should just suck it up? Would you let some used car lot mechanic work on your airbags?

Thanks for the advice all I really appreciate it.
K
ps I also submitted this to legalguru.com Will let you know what I hear.

 

I don't think he has an obligation to turn the airbag light off as it can happen any time like if the battery was disconnected or run down ( you could simply ask him if he will check it out for you ) you should get better results that way rather than try to claim from him.


with the airbag light on its shut down the system so they wont deploy in an accident ( then again I have seen many newer car in an accident and the airbags failed to deploy ) and in the UK its not a requirement to have them on at all insurance companies don't take them into account because they cant be guaranteed to work

 

Yeah I tried the asking him to check it out thing, took 3 weeks and he wants 3 different confirmations about the code (already have 2). Now he wants to instala used modulehimself. I seriously doubt this guy has any training with Audi, or airbags. And the DIY's I saw said it was easy tobreak trim pieces and scratch things up.Maybe I'll ask him if I can do some work on the mercedes or BMW's he has on the lot!?

My wife works in a Law firm and one of the lawyers said that she believes that this would fall into the consumer protection law. I left the dealer a message saying (calmly and nicely) that I spoke with a lawyer and her recommendation was to get a estimate from Audi (780 for the part, 420 for the instal) and have him cut me, or Audi a check for the repairs. Otherwise, she said, I could hold him liable if we were in an accident and something went wrong.

Who knows eh? His move now.
Cheers!

 

hmmmm what was the code that's what you need to know because if it were the airbag ECU this would be a concern because it would/could mean the car has been in an accident? next is "was the light on when you bought it?" if not then you could have triggered it by cleaning the carpets under the seats as that where most problems come from ( people pull the connector of with the hoover very common problem ) so down to you,

have it checked with a VAG unit and pinpoint the fault otherwise you might just end up with a large bill if he checks it and repairs it and discovers it was your fault,

it might just need resetting and VAG will confirm that but it will pinpoint the problem at least

 

Light was on when I bought it, he said it was just a sensor wire due to their detailing it, but I took it in almost immediately after that and it would not reset, took it to another place same thing. Took it to a mechanic and he got the code and could not reset it. The code it gave was 65535. Oh yeah I also bought the radio code from Audi (lame, but luckily it was only $35) and disconnected the battery for about 1/2 hour, hooked it back up and the light was still on.

 

yes 65535 is the (SRS ) airbag control module defective,
correct way to reset the airbags
1, remove the ground wire from the battery
2, switch the ignition on and close all the doors ( no one in the car of course )
3,leave it for a few minuets and reconnect the ground wire
4, look to see if the airbag light goes off

module is near the passenger airbag so shouldn't be that hard to replace but it will need reprogramming regardless if new or used which doesn't matter as long as it works

 

Why would this code come on? I am assuming a simple reset would not get it to go away forever.

 

SO for anyone who cares...which I am not even sure I do anymore ......

He got my message and said that if I wanted to, he would buy the car back from me. Um...yeah I know for a fact that he has been kicking himself for selling it to me at the price he did....so no. I expressed my concern about his expertise on this module install and said I would prefer it if Audi installed it. He said that I could take it to Audi after he did the install and that if anything was wrong that he would pay for it. I Told him that he would be paying for the inspection and he said ok. So my next step is to write up a contract stating that he will replace the part free of charge.It will also say that hewill be responsible for any damage to the interior of the vehicle, like trim and scratches ( I will take pictures before I give it to him). Also, he will pay for a full detailed inspection of the airbag system (he will give me a check based on Audis estimate before I schedule service). And if Audi finds anything wrong with the system they will repair it as his expense. Oh and I get to keep the old airbag module (souvenier paper weight/proof that he did not just mess with the old one)

Man I sound like the biggest untrusting d!ck! Oh well, airbags are kinda important. I know a lot of people who were saved by them and who would have been saved by them. Besides I hate feeling like I got screwed over on the price of a 6'er of beer let alone a $13k car!!

Again I appreciate the advice and the chance to simply vent/get my thoughts together.
Cheers!