Air Bag Not Deploy problems of the 2002 Mazda Tribute

I have a 2002 Mazda Tribute with a flashing air bag light. It has been diagnosed as a defective seat belt pretensioner. I called the local dealer and they will charge me for the repair. I called Mazda USA ( case # [xxx])and they will not help. This seems as though it is a common problem with these vehicles. There are 2 safety issues 1) the seatbelt is defective and 2)the air bag may not deploy in the event of a collision. Is NHTSA going to address this safety issue and can you help me get this resolved. Thank you information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The contact owns a 2002 Mazda Tribute. The contact stated that the seat belt wiring was faulty, causing the air bag warning light to illuminate. In the event of a crash that the air bags would not deploy. The dealer was unaware of the issue and did not offer any assistance. The manufacturer advised the contact that there were no recalls and that since her vehicle was no longer under warranty they would not be able to provide any additional assistance. A local mechanic informed the contact that a new restraining kit would need to be installed. The current mileage was 95,000 and the failure mileage was 70,000.

The contact owns a 2002 Mazda Tribute. The contact was involved in a head on crash and the air bags failed to deploy. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to a body shop. The manufacturer stated that they were not responsible for the air bags not deploying. The contact sustained major chest injuries. A police report was filed. The speed was unknown. The failure and current mileages were 110,000.

: the contact stated the air bag light illuminated consistently and flashed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who determined upon investigation that the air bag and seatbelts were affected and needed to be replaced because the air bag would not deploy in the event of a collision.

There is a well documented and common problem on 2002 Mazda Tributes where the air bag failure light comes on. Several people have documented this problem and also indicated that their air bags failed to deploy in serious accidents. My air bag failure light comes on intermittently. The Mazda dealership indicated that they are aware of the problem. Amazingly, no safety recall notification has been issued for this problem, although I thought it would surely be issued after all these years and reported problems. Here is just one url with some of the documented problems. . Read more...