2006 Malibu LS - Seat belt pretensioner & Air Bag light question

[PackLeader]

Greetings all,

Todays challenge is my wife's 2006 Malibu LS - 2.2L 4cyl; 30K miles. Am hoping you kind folks can help with some information and guidance here.

This vehicle was driven into a curb after being run off of the road. Both front wheels & tires were damaged and had to be replaced, but the majority of the impact was to the passenger side front wheel, tire, steering and suspension. I replaced the control arm, sway bar link, inner steering shaft and wheel hub on the passenger side. The vehicle also received a minor frame straigtening and front/rear wheel alignment.

After this incident, the "Service Air Bag" light came on even though no air bags deployed. Also, the passenger-side front seat belt locked in it's retracted position. (there was no passenger present at the time) It's locked about as tight as a guitar string under high tension. In addition, the driver's seat-belt pretensioner/retractor appears to have failed. It won't retract at all.

I put a scan tool on it to see if any codes were set but there weren't any. So here's what I'm wondering....

1) How can I turn off the "Service Air Bags" lamp since they didn't deploy and no codes are set?

2) How can I release the locked seat belt (passenger front)?

3) What do you suppose could have caused the drivers seat belt retractor to fail? This was not a high-speed incident.

4) Does anyone know the GM part number for a drivers front pretensioner for this vehicle, color:titanium? I know I have to replace at least one but they're really expensive. I've had quotes from $171 - $234 but would love to be able to search online by part number.

Thanks in advance folks! Really appreciate your help.

[MARTINSR]

What you have is a "blown seat belt" in laymans terms. The seatbelt has a tensioner that pulls the slack out of the belt in a collision so the occupent doesn't fall forward. It uses a "charge" exactly like the air bag, and it pulls the belt tight in a fraction of a second. The belt needs to be replaced, period.

As far as your codes, I have seen every end of the gambit when it comes to seat belts, nothing surprises me. Go to the "just talk" forum and see the thread marked "Quess the price of this estimate" to see an example of a little dent in the door blowing both drivers and passengers side air bags and belts!

Brian

[200horse]

What you have is a "blown seat belt" in laymans terms. The seatbelt has a tensioner that pulls the slack out of the belt in a collision so the occupent doesn't fall forward. It uses a "charge" exactly like the air bag, and it pulls the belt tight in a fraction of a second. The belt needs to be replaced, period.

As far as your codes, I have seen every end of the gambit when it comes to seat belts, nothing surprises me. Go to the "just talk" forum and see the thread marked "Quess the price of this estimate" to see an example of a little dent in the door blowing both drivers and passengers side air bags and belts!

Brian

well said the newer air bag systems are getting only harder.On some codes the dealer cant tell you exactly what it is.

After installing new seat belt the light may go out on its own not 100% sure.

[sein706]

hello this is my first post been doing a lot of reading on the site just bought a plus gun from len . you will need to replace both front set belts they are bad. if the air bags did not go off you can re use srs module the module is set up so that it will withstand two separate set belt tension er deployments before you will have to replace it. the module needs to be replaced if there was a air bag deployed. depending on how much frame damage you might have to replace the cash sensor on that side i would replace both set belts then clear the codes and then see what happens you might get a crash sensor cod then just replace that side its giving you on

[PackLeader]

hello this is my first post been doing a lot of reading on the site just bought a plus gun from len . you will need to replace both front set belts they are bad. if the air bags did not go off you can re use srs module the module is set up so that it will withstand two separate set belt tension er deployments before you will have to replace it. the module needs to be replaced if there was a air bag deployed. depending on how much frame damage you might have to replace the cash sensor on that side i would replace both set belts then clear the codes and then see what happens you might get a crash sensor cod then just replace that side its giving you on

Hi, and thanks for the info. I replaced both seat-belt/retractor assemblies and had the SDM reflashed, but the ABS light remains on and the "Service Air Bags" message still appears on the dash. You mentioned possibly having to replace a crash sensor. Is it mandatory to know the codes in order to be sure, or is there another way to tell? My scan-tool doesn't read ABS/SRS/SIR codes. Actually, I never realized that different scan tools were needed for ABS/SRS/SIR codes. Do you have any suggestions for an inexpensive scan tool that will pull these codes?

Any additional info is sincerely appreciated. Thanks again!

[MARTINSR]

Hi, and thanks for the info. I replaced both seat-belt/retractor assemblies and had the SDM reflashed, but the ABS light remains on and the "Service Air Bags" message still appears on the dash. You mentioned possibly having to replace a crash sensor. Is it mandatory to know the codes in order to be sure, or is there another way to tell? My scan-tool doesn't read ABS/SRS/SIR codes. Actually, I never realized that different scan tools were needed for ABS/SRS/SIR codes. Do you have any suggestions for an inexpensive scan tool that will pull these codes?

Any additional info is sincerely appreciated. Thanks again!

I am thinking you would be money ahead to have a air bag specialist run the codes for you. We all want to save money, but when it comes to these computer control systems many times you are simply "throwing money" at the problem until something sticks!

If you call a body shop and ask them for the company who services their SRS systems most will be more than happy to give you the name. We have a guy called "Air bag services" who comes to your location and is VERY good.

Brian

[PackLeader]

I am thinking you would be money ahead to have a air bag specialist run the codes for you. We all want to save money, but when it comes to these computer control systems many times you are simply "throwing money" at the problem until something sticks!

If you call a body shop and ask them for the company who services their SRS systems most will be more than happy to give you the name. We have a guy called "Air bag services" who comes to your location and is VERY good.

Brian

Ok, cool. Fair enough. Somthing else just occured to me as well. The collision shop that straightened the frame might have one as well. That may be a good place to start. Thanks.

[sein706]

you need to know the code if you post the code i may be able to point you in the right direction