Help required. MY 07 FR Passenger Airbag

[devopuk]

precisely the problem chris.

baby expected in October. that's why we sold my wifes 330 M-sport convertible.

I don't fancy waiting another 3 months for a factory order car.
I hope they come up with a good alternative.

We have a 3 year old already and my wife is definitely going to want the baby in the front of the car when she's out and about on her own.

This has been one of the worst car buying experiences ever (and i've bought a lot of cars) c**k up after c**k up. this is the final straw.

I've now got a car that my wife has gone from being really excited about to not wanting it and in tears. She's hormonally challenged at the moment but it's still not a great situation to be in as i suspect they'll say it's the salesmans word against ours as to wether or not we mentioned the airbag requirement and to top it all he left/was pushed shortly after we ordered the car!

Exactly the same thing happened to us with the FR, baby due etc. specifically said to the dealer that we wanted the PAD (Passenger Airbag Disable) option - and was told that it was "Standard" fit. Car came - no PAD.....
To cut the story short after 3 months of the dealer trying to sort the problem (salesman thought they could retro-fit, workshop disagreed!) I gave them 3 options: -
Full Refund as car not fit for purpose
A replacement car with PAD
Retro-fit by Seat

They went for the replacement car option, so ended up with a free FR for 3 months (also saw sense and took the opportunity of speccing bluetooth and 18" alloys!), luckily they had one already at the port so only had to wait a couple of weeks.

To be honest they didn't put up much resistance (Colliers in Birmingham) as they knew the error was theirs. Your leverage is the fact you are expecting a baby so why wouldn't you specify PAD?

 

[k4ith]

are you allowed a car seat up front? i got pulled over and had to move it to the rear of the car.

 

[chrisboyle999]

i agree with devopuk.

these are your 3 options, other than sticking with your car and getting some form of compensation (even then i dont think retro fit is an option).

To cut the story short after 3 months of the dealer trying to sort the problem (salesman thought they could retro-fit, workshop disagreed!) I gave them 3 options: -
Full Refund as car not fit for purpose
A replacement car with PAD
Retro-fit by Seat

They went for the replacement car option, so ended up with a free FR for 3 months (also saw sense and took the opportunity of speccing bluetooth and 18" alloys!), luckily they had one already at the port so only had to wait a couple of weeks.

To be honest they didn't put up much resistance (Colliers in Birmingham) as they knew the error was theirs. Your leverage is the fact you are expecting a baby so why wouldn't you specify PAD?

if it was me i'd also stick it out for a replacement car. if i went to a sports shop and orderd a newcastle football shirt, would i accept it if the salesman expected me to put up with a sunderland one? i very much doubt it.

the sooner you set the ball rolling the better. dont live with it for now and then complain when the baby arrives as they might say it was your oversight when you ordered.

good luck.

 

[chrisboyle999]

are you allowed a car seat up front? i got pulled over and had to move it to the rear of the car.

k4ith CLICKY HERE mate. you may have been rubber-dicked! :w4nk:

 

[AttyNW]

The same thing happened to me with my FR. My 1st brand new car so I did my homework and knew exactly what I wanted. I specifically said to the dealer that I wanted the PAD (Passenger Airbag Disconnection) option - and was told that it was "Standard" fit. Car came - no PAD.....
The dealer then checked the order form and tried telling me that since it wasn't on the form i obviously didn't ask for it. I knew it wasn't on the form at the time of ordering because I pointed it out to the salesman who said it wasn't needed as they all came standard with it on!
They refused a refund or to replace the car..... all i managed to get was an ISOFIX child safety seat free of charge and 15% off my 1st service.

There loss though as I wouldn't recommend the dealership or buy a car of them again.

 

[chrisboyle999]

attynw, name and shame.

 

[AttyNW]

Erm....... OK

L C Charles in Crewe

 

[Haddock]

Its a big shame the switch isnt standard as other cars in the VAG group, but Im amazed it cant be retrofitted - It must be just a case of finding the right auto-electrician?

Chris

 

[af210368]

i'm going to try the devopuk approach.
I had already been speeking to the director at the dealership on saturday about how it was the worst car buying experience i'd ever had and that was before i discovered what they'd done about the airbag switch.
rang as soon as they opened today and spoke to him again and he's going to be talking to seat tomorrow morning.

i'll let you know how i get on..... in the meantime if anyone doesn't feel like waiting for a candy white fr and doesn't want to wait, i know where there might be one with 100 miles on the clock!

 

[devopuk]

Its a big shame the switch isnt standard as other cars in the VAG group, but Im amazed it cant be retrofitted - It must be just a case of finding the right auto-electrician?

Chris

In reality I think it can be retro fitted but the dealerships don't want to take the responsibility of it going wrong - they couldn't afford the legal claim, whereas Seat could.
They tried to palm me off with just disabling the airbag but told them no chance.

 

[af210368]

thanks, i'm not happy to accept simply disabling the airbag.
that would mean that anytime when we're out without the baby the passenger wouldn't have the protection of the airbag. not expecting to need it but that's not the point. we were specifically told it was standard and therefore didn't even think to say should it be on the order form or not.

 

[the old man]

I have An FR TDI I have the airbag disable switch in the Glovebox. I did NOT specify it.

We also have another Leon "in the family" (not an FR a Sport I think) and this also has the airbag disable switch again as far as I am aware Not specified.

I also bought the car from the same dealer LC Charles Crewe

My FR tdi is an 07 plate

 

[chrisboyle999]

i'll let you know how i get on..... in the meantime if anyone doesn't feel like waiting for a candy white fr and doesn't want to wait, i know where there might be one with 100 miles on the clock!

any joy

 

[af210368]

so far.....
despite being told it's standard dealer is sticking to salesman left therefore no record of conversation. signed order form with pad not specified....that's because we were told standard.....therefore nothing they can do about it. my problem.

so.....
spoke to seat customer care about why this will be the last seat i ever buy... quoted precedent set by devonpuk's dealer and they have opened a case and will look into the whole issue. I am not the first to raise a complaint about the dealer in question but still had approach that the contract of sale is between me and the dealer rather than with them. waiting to see what they come up with and decide where to go from there.

Solicitor has advised that on the basis of a pregnant wife and a 3 year old it would be obvious and therefore treated as resonable probability that we would have wanted the pad therefore if i'm prepared to fight in civil courts we would have a very strong case.

 

[af210368]

latest update

So... having got nowhere with the dealer and seat uk saying it was the dealers word against ours we got nowhere with this.

but....... finally got round to doing some tidying in my home office and found the original seat config printout from when i first specced up the car we ordered. has website details, pics, spec options etc.. and omg what's this i see written in the standard safety equipment section...... Front passenger airbag disconnection!!!!! in my book that now makes Seat UK back in the "misleading the customer "camp and i'm going to go back round the customer care and dealer loop once again and see what they have to say now. it's even dated so they have no argument that it was an old spec!

 

[Rampage]

Good Luck!

 

[JonTelfer]

Don't want to pee on your bonfire, I think what you're doing is worth pushing for, but be prepared for them to point out a little asterisk and footnote saying something along the lines of "Sepecification subject to change without notice".

It would be nice if the specs were a little bit less fluid, rather than a "let's just fit what we can find lying around" approach.

Jon

 

[needacupra]

I am having the same problem. I specified that we needed the disable airbag key (since we had it on a Touran) when I looked at two ex demo's. Tested a 2007 Leon FR, liked it, checked with the salesperson that it had it and put the deposit down.
Contacted two days later by the salesperson to say that they checked and it doesn't have it and as stated here in the forum, its a factory only option.

Obviously, if you happen to have laptop, VAG software and cable you can go in and turn it off on demand but hardly a practical solution for the wife and three kids.

Does anyone know if the airbags have dedicated fuses, in which case you could simply remove it to prevent it firing?

Failing that, anyone know if you can get a baby seat and two boosters across the back of a new Ibiza?

Cheers