Faulty air bags prompt alarm

Angela Soo

Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2001 | 9:30 a.m.

Nevada Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa warned consumers of a growing scam in which auto repair shops turn a huge profit by installing faulty air bags that are often stuffed with beer cans, pieces of cardboard and hamburger wrappers.

"With new air bags costing up to $3,000 to replace, it can be a very lucrative scam," Del Papa said. "Failing to properly repair air bags is a crime that threatens the lives and safety of automobile passengers."

While Nevada officials haven't received any reports of improper air bag installations, the state attorney general's office sounded the warning because authorities in Florida and California have found some auto shops performing the scam.

"We don't want to scare anyone," said Deputy Attorney General Gianna Orlandi of the Bureau of Consumer Protection. "We just don't want people to take it for granted that everything is OK."

Greg Hanuscin, a service adviser at Findlay Toyota in Henderson, said drivers should always doublecheck to see if their air bag light is working when they start their cars. Air bag indicators may vary, but all lights should come on momentarily when a car runs through its diagnostic test.

"The light will either say Air Bag, SRS for Supplemental Restraint System or have a picture of a person with an air bag," Hanuscin said. "If it doesn't come on at all or continues to stay on, there might be a problem and you should bring it in to a dealer."

Defective passenger-side air bags are more difficult to detect because there is a cover that is separate from the bag, which would conceal any unlawful installations, said Findlay Toyota body shop manager Jose Gutierrez. The driver-side bag is usually a one-piece unit in the steering wheel.

"The driver's side would have a noticeable seam running down the middle of the vinyl or leather exterior if it was used," Gutierrez said. "That would show that the repair shop sewed back the part that ripped when the air bag exploded, instead of replacing it."

Five states have passed laws that make it a misdemeanor if a person knowingly installs, reinstalls or distributes a faulty air bag, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, a nonprofit group that researches state laws. A person would have to pay $5,000 or spend one year in jail or both.

There is currently no statute in Nevada that targets air bag offenders, but Del Papa said she would take "severe action against any Nevada auto repair shop that engages in such practices."

Gutierrez said auto repair shops that install defective bags are putting people in danger. He recently serviced a car that was bought at an auction and found that the air bag was taped shut.

"They're playing with people's lives when they do that," he said.