Air Bag Light On problems of the 2003 Mercury Mountaineer

My 2003 Mercury Mountaineer has a solid air bag light on. It has a code of 33, when you turn the car on, the light goes on and blinks 3 times then 3 more times. This indicates a code 33. Ford has a technical letter about the issue. The letter states there is a kit for this problem. 1l2z-78610e22-aaa is the kit for a medium dark parchment kit. This should be a recall item as it is a known defect. Ford wants to charge $281. 00 for the part. Outrageous. I would be forced to pay or not get my state vehicle test passed. Defective part should be covered under safety recall ! see information : 2003 Mercury Mountaineer build date 09/02 VIN===4m2zu66k23uj02270 below is a copy of a technical service bulletin regarding your concern. You can buy the kits through any Ford dealer, that's about the only place to get them. You'll find the build date on the VIN tag on the driver's door. Ford:2002-2003 explorer Mercury:2002-2003 Mountaineer issue: some 2002-2003 4dr explorer/mountaineer vehicles may exhibit an air bag warning lamp illuminated with diagnostic trouble code (dtc) b2292 and light flashing code (lfc) 33 (driver seat pretensioner fault), or lfc 34 (passenger seat pretensioner fault). This may be caused by intermittent pretensioner connection at either seat belt buckle. Action: install pretensioner kit for affected side(s) by build date/color. Refer to the following service information for details. Service information obtain correct service kit and refer to instruction sheet included with kit for installation instructions. 2002 model year through 3/3/02 build dates medium dark parchment 1l2z-78610e22-aaa 2002/2003 model years 3/4/02 through 1/17/03 medium dark parchment 1l2z-78610e22-baa robert d. Mandarino 3865 n sonoran hills mesa, arizona 85207 480 789-0773.

The contact owns a 2003 Mercury Mountaineer. While driving approximately 25 to 30 mph, the front driver and passenger side air bags deployed without warning. The contact sustained lacerations to the left cheek that required medical attention. The air bag light remained illuminated and flashed a code thirteen. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 120,000.