2005 Toyota Matrix

THE AIR BAG LIGHT STARTED COMING ON IN MY 2005 TOYOTA MATRIX - I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND THEY CLEARED THE CODE, BUT "FOUND NO PROBLEM." THE LIGHT CONTINUES TO COME ON AND OFF AND HAS BEEN RESET SEVERAL TIMES. AFTER NOTING SIMILAR PROBLEMS REPORTED BY OTHERS AT WWW.CONSUMERAFFAIRS.COM, I EMAILED TOYOTA REGARDING A SOLUTION. THEIR RESPONSE IS TO TAKE IT TO THE DEALER. IT IS OF CONCERN TO ME THAT THE AIR BAGS MAY NOT DEPLOY IN AN ACCIDENT AS HAS BEEN REPORTED BY OTHERS, AND IT MAY BE A MANUFACTURING DEFECT FOR WHICH TOYOTA NEEDS TO BE RESPONSIBLE. *TR

THE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT STARTED COME ON MY 2005 TOYOTA MATRIX ABOUT 2 YEARS AGO, AND THE WARNING LIGHT USUALLY WENT OFF IF I RE-STARTED THE ENGINE. I BROUGHT THE CAR TO THE TOYOTA DEALER TO CHECK THE AIRBAG SYSTEM ON 2007, BUT THEY COULD NOT FIND ANY PROBLEMS. MY CAR ALREADY HAD OVER 36,000 MILES ON THAT TIME, THUS THE WARRANTY WAS EXPIRED. THE WARNING LIGHT STILL CAME ON AND OFF OCCASIONALLY THEREAFTER. IN MARCH 2008, I HAD AN ACCIDENT WHEN I LOST THE CONTROL OF THE CAR DURING THE SNOWSTORM, AND I HIT THE FIRE HYDRANT AT A SPEED OF 35 MILES (MY CAR HAD 42000 MILES ON) THE CAR SUSTAINED A SEVERE FRONTAL DAMAGE, BUT THE AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOYED AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT. IT COST MY INSURANCE OVER $9000 FOR THE REPAIRS. I IMMEDIATELY SUSPECTED THAT THERE MUST BEEN A COMPLETE AIRBAG SYSTEM FAILURE ON MY CAR SINCE THE WARNING LIGHT HAS BEEN COME ON/OFF , SO I CONTACTED TOYOTA CUSTOMER SERVICE IF THEY CAN FIX THE FAULTY AIRBAG SYSTEM UNDER THE POWER TRAIN WARRANTY. I HEARD "NO" AND TOLD THAT I HAD TO PAY FROM MY OWN POCKET IF THERE WAS A PROBLEM. THE LIGHT SOMEHOW DISAPPEARED SOMEHOW SINCE THEN, SO I DID NOT BOTHER TO BRING THE CAR TO THE DEALER. HOWEVER, I HAD ANOTHER ACCIDENT IN APRIL 2009 WHEN I HIT THE DEER ON THE GARDEN STATE PARKWAY IN NJ. THE CAR SUSTAINED ANOTHER FRONTAL DAMAGE, AND CAR WAS NON-DRIVABLE. ONCE AGAIN, THE AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOYED AT ALL ALTHOUGH I WAS DRIVING AROUND 55 MILES. IT COST MY INSURANCE OVER $4000 TO REPAIR. MY AIRBAG WARNING LIGHTS STARTED TO COME UP AGAIN RECENTLY, AND IT GOES AWAY IF I RE-STARTED THE ENGINE AGAIN. I CHECKED MANY CAR SITES ON THE INTERNET, AND IN MY SURPRISE, I READ SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE EXACT SAME PROBLEMS ON THEIR VEHICLES (05 MATRIX). I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT THERE IS AN ISSUE WITH TOYOTA'S AIRBAG SYSTEM, AND I'M NOT FEEL SAFE TO DRIVE THIS CAR ANYMORE. SOMEONE REALLY NEED TO INVESTIGATE ON TOYOTA VEHICLES AND ISSUE A NATIONAL RECALL ON THEIR VEHICLES BEFORE SOMEONE GETS HURT. *TR