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.

mmanter

I'm not sure about the seatbelt issue but it's possible there is a damaged airbag sensor. I hate to say it but your best recourse is to take the car to the shop to have the airbag system checked out. If the light is staying on that is indicating there is a problem in the airbag system and it is very possible it could go off suddenly.

PackLeader

Hi again,

Well, 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.

Is there an alternate method of troubleshooting without knowing what codes are set or am I pretty much stuck without them? Someone mentioned that I might need to replace a crash sensor but I hate to replace things that aren't proven to be defective. Do you have any suggestions for an inexpensive scan tool that will pull these codes? My Actron won't pull ABS/SRS/SIR codes. Any additional info is sincerely appreciated. Thanks again!

Jonny1478

My car was in an accident and both airbags deployed and the seat belts locked. I have replaced the airbags and the seat belts and had only one code B0051 left. I have sent the airbag computer module to www.myairbags.com for reset and that code was cleared and light turned off.

OnDaGround

You need to call chevy and check to make sure it does not have pyrotechnic seat belts. Some new models have pyro seat belts so when you get into an accident a little charge of explosives shoots these ***** back the opposite way to tighten the seat belt when you get into an accident. I would imagine the belt would have to be replaced in that scenario.

The parts guy should know if he is an actual expert, like myself . lol