# What happened to this dash board?



## jmcs23 (Sep 7, 2010)

Hello,

Here's the picture of the dash board, take a look at the passengers side.









It looks like the airbag tried to go off???

Can anyone explain what most likely happened?

What would need to be fixed?

Thanks in advance!


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## Taxciter (Apr 18, 2005)

IF it was slightly melted, focused sun rays COULD be the cause. I've seen sun at exactly the right angle and focused by a windshield do similar damage on a motorcycle. External things can also focus sun via reflection and refraction. A laser prank would also do this, as would some chemicals. If you suspect melting, test the idea with a hot air gun and see if your new melted spot looks the same.
I can't tell much from the photo...
Take it to your dealer for an opinion!


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## konorza (Sep 7, 2005)

*oooops!!!*

your air bag is swelled or need to be repaired....... look on your steering wheel and you'll see a hidden square little door,,,,,, open it and unplug your air bag inflation connector...... but disconnect you battery first..... because if not your passenger side air bag will probably end up hurting or even killing whoever sits on the passenger side.:waving::balls:


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## jmcs23 (Sep 7, 2010)

konorza said:


> your air bag is swelled or need to be repaired....... look on your steering wheel and you'll see a hidden square little door,,,,,, open it and unplug your air bag inflation connector...... but disconnect you battery first..... because if not your passenger side air bag will probably end up hurting or even killing whoever sits on the passenger side.:waving::balls:


By doing this, would it make both airbags inoperable?


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## konorza (Sep 7, 2005)

yes .. but the way you have it now it's dangerous... they can either go off/inflate or may do nothing at all.....
50/50 chance....
but whenever i do electrical work on my car, i disable the airbags for safety's sake because eventhough it's rare...some people have experienced air bags deploying for no reason or even if they barely bump a curve.
but this happens not just to nissans on all cars.
personally i always have mines disable because i tend to drive safe.... but i don't recommend that you do what i do,,,, but just whenever you work on electrical parts on your car, always disconnect the battery followed by disabling the air bags.. and do the reverse when reconnecting it......because if you forget and connect the battery first and then the air bag, you risk the possibility of the air bags deploying due to the sudden power surge..
but if i were you i would take the car to a dealer and pay them to take a look at it because it my be more or less serious/safety-wise..... don't take it to a regular garage unless the specifically specialize in air bag installation/removal.... the Nissan dealer will point you into the right direction....
but they will probably wanna charge you 3 arms and 17 legs to fix it .... this is where you question them on how they would fix it....... ask many many questions because you only want them to diagnose the problem ... not fix it... you can take what they told you and either have it done cheaper somewhere like pep boys etc. or do it yourself if you're into extensive research......
This is a great forum for nissans... you can also use youtube.com/ google images/ or take a picture of the dashboadr and go to several nissan dealers and see if a mechanic will volinteer information......but remember if the part is too expensive then go to places like pick-a-parts or ecology... it will cost pennys to a dime.... i get 90% of my parts there ...example >> an ignition coil from dealer>> 150.00-298.00 each.....an ignition coil from a very clean nissan engine from a junk yard >9.00< each....
it is best to remove the part yourself at the junkyard ,because if it is already removed by them an they try to sell to you then you don't know what was the condition of the car that it came from..... hope this helps.:thumbdwn::fluffy:


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## jmcs23 (Sep 7, 2010)

OK thanks for the advice!


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

Looks like the air bag cover deformed due to heat from the sun. It's probably not unsafe, but would recommend you take it to a dealer to have it checked out and hopefully they'll fix it under warranty.


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## jmcs23 (Sep 7, 2010)

smj999smj said:


> Looks like the air bag cover deformed due to heat from the sun. It's probably not unsafe, but would recommend you take it to a dealer to have it checked out and hopefully they'll fix it under warranty.


The car has 120,000 miles on it, do you think it's still under warranty?
Thanks!


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