1996 Honda Civic

I OWN HONDA CIVIC EX 1996 VIN [XXX]. THE SRS LIGHT TURNED ON AFTER REPLACING THE BATTERY. WHEN I TOOK IT TO DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTICS, THEY SAY THE COMPUTER IS FAULTY AND IT NEED TO BE REPLACED TO FIX THIS AND TILL THEN, THE AIRBAGS WON'T ENGAGE. MY CAR WAS NEVER EXPOSED TO ANY ACCIDENTS OR ABNORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS. HONDA HAS A FAULTY COMPUTER SRS SYSTEM AND THIS CAUSES SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE WHERE AIR BAGS WON'T ACTIVATE. *JB UPDATED 07/17/2012 *JS INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

THE SRS LIGHT ON THE DASH OF MY 1996 HONDA CIVIC HAD COME ON 5 TIMES THE PAST 18 MONTHS. I HAD TAKEN IT TO A HONDA DEALERSHIP IN SAN BRUNO, CA ON ALL THESE INCIDENTS. THE FIRST TIME I TOOK IT TO THEIR SHOP, THEY TOLD ME THAT IT WAS THE CAUSED BY A WEAK BATTERY. THEN ON THE SECOND AND THIRD INCIDENTS, ALL THEY DID WAS RESET THE ALARM CODE. ON NOVEMBER 24, 2004 I TOOK THE THE CAR BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP AND COMPLAINED, AGAIN, ABOUT THE SRS LIGHT COMING ON. THIS TIME, I HAD BEEN TOLD THAT THEY PULLED OUT AN ERROR CODE OF DTC 8-5 AND HAD RESET THE ALARM CODE. I HAD BEEN TOLD TO TAKE THE CAR BACK TO THEM IF THE SRS LIGHT COMES ON AGAIN. I TOOK THE CAR BACK TO THE SAME DELAERSHIP TODAY BECAUSE THE SRS LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN ON JANUARY 27, 2005 (5TH TIME). THE DEALERSHIP TOLD ME THAT THEY PULLED UP THE CODE DTC 8-5 AND CLEARED THE CODE. HOWEVER, THEY WANT ME TO SPEND $600 (PARTS AND LABOR) TO REPLACE THE SRS UNIT THIS TIME. I BELIEVE THAT THERE IS DEFINITELY A FACTORY DEFECT WITH THE SRS SYSTEM OF MY 1996 HONDA CIVIC.*AK

1996 HONDA CIVIC EX SEDAN, SRS LIGHT STAYS ON. APPARENTLY, THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH MANY HONDAS (ACCORDS, CIVICS FROM SEVERAL YEARS). DEALERS CHARGE $90+/- TO DIAGNOSE AND RESET, OFTEN DUE TO FALSE CODES. OR, WORSE YET, THEY MAY RECOMMEND VERY COSTLY REPLACEMENT OF SENSORS, COMPUTERS, ETC. AFTER WHICH THE LIGHTS COME BACK ON ANYWAY. MANY WEBSITES BLOGS, POSTS, ETC. INDICATE OWNERS ARE RESETTING THEIR OWN SRS LIGHTS, OR SIMPLY IGNORING THEM. SOUNDS LIKE A MAJORITY OF 90'S HONDAS & ACURAS ARE DRIVING AROUND WITH POTENTIALLY DISABLED AIR BAGS. HONDA AMERICA HAS AVOIDED RESPONSIBILITY TO THIS POINT. WE DRIVE WITH THE LIGHT ON, ALWAYS USING OUR SEATBELTS, AND HOPING THE AIR BAGS DON'T DEPLOY BY MISTAKE. SAD, FOR SUCH AN OTHERWISE EXCELLENT COMPANY.*AK

THE SRS LIGHT ON MY 1996 HONDA CIVIC REMAINS ON. I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO THE DEALER TWICE DURING THE LAST TWO WEEKS. THE FIRST VISIT THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT CHARGED ME $89.00 TO RUN A "DIAGNOSTIC". I WAS TOLD THE SRS WAS "RETOOLED" AND THE SYSTEM SHOULD BE OKAY. TWO DAYS LATER THE SRS LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN. SERVICE PERSONNEL TOLD ME I NEEDED TO BRING THE CAR IN AGAIN SOON. THERE WAS NO CHARGE, BUT I WAS TOLD IF THE LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN, THE MODULE WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE COST IS USUALLY $460.00, I WAS TOLD. ALSO I'D NEED TO CALL AND MAKE AN APPOINTMENT IN ADVANCE SINCE THE DEPARTMENT DOES NOT STOCK THE MODULE- IT WOULD HAVE TO BE ORDERED. WHEN I ASKED IF THE CAR WAS SAFE TO DRIVE, SERVICE PERSONNEL ANSWERED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE. TWO DAYS LATER THE LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN. THAT WAS LAST WEEKEND. I HAVE NOT TAKEN THE CAR IN FOR SERVICE. AN INTERNET SEARCH I PERFORMED HAS TURNED UP QUITE A FEW CONSUMERS WHO ARE EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEM AS WELL AS SIMILAR RUN-AROUNDS FROM DEALERS: HTTP://WWW.AUTOFAN.COM/FORUM_THREAD.ASP?MESSAGE=7364 WILL THE AIRBAGS WORK ON IMPACT? IF I HAVE THE MODULE REPLACED, WILL THE SYSTEM WORK? THESE ARE MY CONCERNS. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY HONDA IS NOT BEING REQUIRED TO ADDRESS AND REMEDY THIS SAFETY ISSUE. *AK

THE AIRBAG/SUPLEMENTAL RESTRAINT SYSTEM CHECK LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE CAR WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND THE LIGHT WAS RESET. A CHARGE OF $90.00 HAD TO BE PAID FOR THE LABOR COST. THEY SAID THE PROBLEM COULD HAVE BEEN BECAUSE I HAD JUS REPLACED THE CAR BATTERY. THEY FOUND NOTHING WRONG WITH THE SUPPLEMENTAL RESTRAINT SYSTEM AND RESET THE WARNING LIGHT. I WAS OF THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE SUPLEMENTAL RESTRAINT SYSTEM HAS A 10 YEAR WARRANTY, THEREFORE I DON'T BELIEVE I SHOULD HAVE BEEN CHARGED. THE DEALER IS ADAMANT THAT THEY PROPERLY CHARGED ME.