I have a 2005 Crossfire LTD with 47,261 miles on it. Another driver failed to maintain their vehicle in their lane, thus the other driver side swiped my driver side. She got a little part of the mirror, the door, and 4 panels total. I took my crossfire to the dealer for the repairs. Upon picking up the vehicle, I noticed approximately 1 mile down the road after leaving, my airbag light came on.

I returned to the dealership. They sent the car to the collision center, which concluded the problem was not accident related. After charging me $85.00 to diagnose the problem, they have informed me they have found, "Internal failure of the airbag control module." They have recommended an "Occupant restraint controller" and the part alone is $1,900.00 and with labor my estimate is $2,372.00.

The accident was just a side swipe. No big repairs needed. I just needed a few dents pulled out and the car repainted. I just find it odd that the light came on coincidentally directly after leaving the dealership.

Does anyone think something happened at the dealership while they had my car in for the repairs? And is the pricing for this justified? I am a college student and I feel unsafe, however, I can't afford this repair.

Thanks for any help.

 

It is possible that they took an interior door panel off, and took out the air bag without using the correct procedure. The battery must not be connected when removing air bags or the light comes on. I would see if it can be reset.
Or

It would appear strange that a part that operates in collisions fails when you have an accident, I do not believe in such coincidences. The insurance money may not have covered this as it was missed for some reason, I'd be getting the insurance company to reevaluate the case.

 

I agree with Dave 100%. I had a door repaired. My body shop did remove my side impact bag without disconnecting the battery. The dealer has to reset the light with their star diagnostic software. Now they are saying you have something altogether different than just a code thrown. I would go to another dealer for another opinion. Don't tell them about your repair. Just ask why the light is on.