Prudence or Criminal Child Endangerment?

You Decide.

The bright red warning light said SRS, and of course I looked in the manual right away, or at least within a week, to find out what that means. Like its owner, my aging SUV (yes, I drive one of those, but that's another post) was developing a few quirks, and for the most part, like most drivers I was adapting to them. But I don't want to mess with new dashboard flashers. I get visions of a sprocket rod popping through the hood, or the transmission falling out at speed and flipping the car. Too many movie crashes, I guess. My manual said it had to do with a malfunction in the airbags.

Ed, the Service Representative at the dealer, had somber news. I can remember when a greasy mechanic would point out the problem in the deep recesses of the engine compartment, but now he has an interpreter, which doesn't help me understand most issues anyway. Ed told me that all airbags were ready to deploy as designed, but that the sensor that would warn me if the passenger side airbag went on the fritz wasn't working. So if I needed it the airbag would perform just fine, but sometimes a warning light would tell me the airbag wasn't really going to do the job. It was likely lying, though. Maybe. Ed said I could solve what was probably a non-problem for $500. Pretty hard to digest.

As a parent, I drive carpool three days a week, as well as ferry kids and friends around regularly. What's the likelyhood I would ever need the airbag? In maybe half a million miles I never had. Even so, if I knew the airbag would not work, I would surely repair it pronto. Better safe, etc. But do I fix a warning light for a device that is almost certainly working properly, that I most likely will never need anyway?

So far, no. But the seatbelts work fine.

Can I give you a lift?

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