Hi all,

My airbag light is on. I took my '08 G35X Sedan to an Infiniti dealership and they told me the problem lies in the passenger seat bottom assembly. The OCS sensor is faulty. They also told me that replacing this system will cost me $6,000.

"DTC B1018 OCCUPANT SENSOR UNIT FAILURE"

The Infiniti mechanic also told me:

"Yes the pass seat bottom that has all the air bag items in it needs to be replaced. There is a failure in there. It is federally regulated so you cannot get the specific items you have to get the whole seat bottom with the air bag stuff installed."

I am wondering-- is there a cheaper way to fix this problem?

EDIT: I do not have a warranty.

 

Oh jeez, that pricing is pure insanity!

Just keep your eye out for a good used seat. You can readily find one at a local wrecker, from someone parting out a car on Craigslist, or on ebay. If you look around enough, you should be able to find one with the exact match to your car's interior. Front seats typically sell in the $200-300-ish range. Here's a complete, but overpriced, set of front seats from an '08 sedan for just $750 (including shipping!) on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/2008-08-INFI...-/271639123096

Good luck!

PS, you can also just buy seat bottoms for even less, but you'll likely have a more obvious color/wear pattern mismatch than if you just went with a whole seat.

 

I'm not 100% sure, but wasn't there an Infiniti recall on 08 sedan passenger air bags?

 

Good call JP. Looks like you're right. It was voluntary recall, but the fact that it was an actual recall and not just a tech service bulletin should mean that they will pay for it even out of warranty.

http://www.infinitig37.com/TSB/1SD17.pdf

Hopefully, that should cover the OP's issue. Although, I can't imagine that a dealership wouldn't have known to look for this, so perhaps it doesn't apply to his particular failure.


EDIT: Also notable in the text of that recall is that the factory now stipulates that in spite of the FSM statement to the contrary, the seat bottom frame can now be serviced/replaced discretely, so on that count at least, his dealer was FOS.

"NOTE: The Service Manual may caution against disassembly of the passenger seat cushion from the seat frame. It may also instruct that the cushion and frame be replaced as an assembly. Due to changes in parts manufacturing and availability, the seat cushion can now be replaced separately from the seat frame on Model and Year vehicles affected by this campaign."

 

Great. Thank you all for your insight

Regarding the recall, it seems as though that only applies to DTC B1022. Unfortunately I'm getting DTC B1018, which isn't covered. I did some prior research and brought it up with them already. Think I'm out of luck there.

 

I suspected that your fault might not be covered. However, there is still good news in that the seat bottom frame can indeed be replaced discretely (as per that recall info), and there is always the used source, which will most likely be your cheapest solution. You may even be able to DIY.

 

I have the same problem with 2008 Journey at 93K miles. Light has been flashing for a few months and gradually got used to it. But went to dealer for oil change and asked them to see what's wrong. They charged me $145 for diagnosis without a fix. I think they knew I would not agree to a fix because they said the passenger sensor is bad and it requires replacing the full passenger seat for $4500 parts/labor. I'm putting electrical tape over the light instead.

I asked it this means the passenger airbag will not deploy at all? Or if it means the passenger airbag will deploy at full force instead of a reduce force if it thinks a child is there? Service advisor didn't know and I didn't have time to chase them for an answer.

Apparently the recall is not meaningful, but I'm considering complaining to Infiniti Consumer affairs to see what happens. I've heard this passenger sensor is problematic across multiple vehicles.

 

There is no such thing as a "reduced force deployment". The occupant classification switch will disable the airbag entirely if not enough weight is pushing it while the seatbelt is latched shut.

When the ignitor receives the signal it lights off a chemical reaction similar to how gunpowder fires a bullet, you can't slow it down.

Typically the passenger seat airbag DTC is because of the harness developing surface corrosion on the pins in the harness and is made worse by years of vibration where the wires go into the harness.

The usual fix involves this:

-disconnect the battery,

-unbolt the seat and rock it back onto the rear seat so you can access it from the front, be careful not to strain the various wire harnesses.

-Next locate the SRS harness which will be bright yellow or orange, unplug it.

-Mix epoxy and place some on the back or the harness where the wires go into it (not the front where they plug together...) Allow the epoxy to dry.

-Plug the harness back together, unplug, replug, unplug, replug, like 5-6 times or more, this will remove surface corrosion on the pins.

-Plug them in a final time, use cable ties to thoroughly secure the harness so the wires can no longer both nce around.

-Bolt the seat back down, torque to 36 ft/lbs

-Plug battery in, reset SRS system.

 

To reset the SRS diagnostic module:

-Turn key to on, SRS light will be illuminated for about 4 seconds,.

-As soon as the light turns off, turn key to OFF and back to ON within 1 second.

Repeat this process 4 times, start the car, airbag light should be off but will quickly illuminate again if a problem is still present.

 

Thanks Cleric, great info! I had done the reset steps before and it only worked temporarily.

The other steps may be beyond my skill set but there is a good independent shop in town who may be able to do your suggested fix. I debated whether to go to them or the dealer..... should have skipped the dealer per diagnosis fee.(but also thought it might be a quick reset with consult). Oh well. At least I know what it is and what to expect if I'm in an accident. Drive solo most of the time, but won't let passengers skip on the seatbelt!

 

Ok a little more research into this shows me your vehicle is probably covered under a voluntary recall for this EXACT issue. Call Infiniti and ask them about a recall for your vehicle, it should be covered under the voluntary recall. Here's the documentation for it, they might need the NHTSA reference number or campaign ID off the top of the page.

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/200...8V521-8978.pdf

If the local dealership isn't cooperating then call Infiniti Customer Service at 1 (800) 662-6200

 

You can probably also get a refund on the initial diagnosis for the problem since it's due to a NHTSA recall action.

 

Hi sir, what's the reason for applying the epoxy?

Can you be more specific about how to do that step? It's like glueing the wires together?

 

The back side of the harness where the wires go into it is where the epoxy is placed. What happens is there is a slight amount of movement when the car is bouncing down the road and it wiggles the wires around and they break contact. Epoxying them into the harness prevents ANY movement. There's also a bunch of locations to add tie wraps (zip ties) to the wires to minimize any movement due to vibration.

 

I have the same car and issue. They want to charge me $8000 to fix it which is more than my car is worth. The recall on this car and issue doesn't include my VIN. This is happening to alot of people. I live in an inspection state and this problem will cause it to fail inspection rendering the car worthless. Someone please help me with advice. Will it have this code and still possibly be that the connector just needs to be adjusted?