Warranty Coverage? Front Left Safety Restraint System Fault (RCM_a027)

[OGM3]

Others have posted about their many visits to the SC to get the Front left safety restraint system fault fixed. I, too, have experienced the same. It’s an error that won’t go away, even after I spent $300 to have SC replace my wiring harness.

Now the SC is saying they want $2100 to replace the seat. Trouble is that my M3 is over 4 years old, so that’s up to me to cover the cost….or is it? I found on Tesla.com that the Tesla Limited Warranty covers the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) for 5 years or 60k mi.

Tesla service has mentioned nothing about this warranty covering my safety restraint fault. My car is 4.5 yrs old with 45k mi. Has anyone in TMC had luck in getting it covered under the SRS warranty?

 

[EVRider-FL]

Did you already refer Service to the warranty info you found online?

 

[stopcrazypp]

Others have posted about their many visits to the SC to get the Front left safety restraint system fault fixed. I, too, have experienced the same. It’s an error that won’t go away, even after I spent $300 to have SC replace my wiring harness.

Now the SC is saying they want $2100 to replace the seat. Trouble is that my M3 is over 4 years old, so that’s up to me to cover the cost….or is it? I found on Tesla.com that the Tesla Limited Warranty covers the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) for 5 years or 60k mi.

Tesla service has mentioned nothing about this warranty covering my safety restraint fault. My car is 4.5 yrs old with 45k mi. Has anyone in TMC had luck in getting it covered under the SRS warranty?

Point them to that section in the warranty and see how they respond. Note people saying they have gotten it covered under that section won't necessarily help your case, as the SCs do not take prior cases as a precedent (even if you send them a copy of invoice).

From a quick google, I found a case there where the error occurred when the cable was not plugged in all the way.
Tesla Owners Club New York State - Front left safety restraint system fault - Contact Tesla Service (Repost from M3)
This site has other troubleshooting steps:
Moving seats all the way in both directions to see if it changes things when the seat is in different positions.
If seat ever got a spill, drying out the seat with a hair dryer or the seat heaters.
Understanding Tesla Message: Front Left Safety Restraint System Fault - enrg.io

 

[ThomasD]

Vehicle Warranty | Tesla​

https://www.tesla.com › support › vehicle-warranty



The Supplemental Restraint System Limited Warranty covers your vehicle for 5 years or 60,000 miles, whichever comes first. Battery and Drive Unit Limited ...
Missing: equipment ‎| Must include: equipment

 

[tezworth]

I have the same problem, front passenger safety restraint error. Out of warranty, they fixed a sensor under the seat a year ago. Now they want to charge me the $2100 to replace seat that won't even be available until July. They did not mention the supplemental restrain warranty. SC have admitted it's a safety issue but cannot explain why it is not a general recall. Shouldn't a safety issue trigger a federal recall given the frequency of the issue?

 

[ODWms]

If it comes to it, there are Model 3 seats online you can order for way cheaper than that.

 

[OGM3]

Did you already refer Service to the warranty info you found online?

Yes, I tried a couple times with one Service Center to no avail. Because the tech wanted to replace the entire seat, they felt it wasn’t an item covered under SRS.

However, I then took it to

Point them to that section in the warranty and see how they respond. Note people saying they have gotten it covered under that section won't necessarily help your case, as the SCs do not take prior cases as a precedent (even if you send them a copy of invoice).

From a quick google, I found a case there where the error occurred when the cable was not plugged in all the way.
Tesla Owners Club New York State - Front left safety restraint system fault - Contact Tesla Service (Repost from M3)
This site has other troubleshooting steps:
Moving seats all the way in both directions to see if it changes things when the seat is in different positions.
If seat ever got a spill, drying out the seat with a hair dryer or the seat heaters.
Understanding Tesla Message: Front Left Safety Restraint System Fault - enrg.io

Thank you for the recommendations. I worked with a local Tesla guru/tech to try some options, which included the troubleshooting you mentioned. Unfortunately, no luck fixing it.

 

[OGM3]

I have the same problem, front passenger safety restraint error. Out of warranty, they fixed a sensor under the seat a year ago. Now they want to charge me the $2100 to replace seat that won't even be available until July. They did not mention the supplemental restrain warranty. SC have admitted it's a safety issue but cannot explain why it is not a general recall. Shouldn't a safety issue trigger a federal recall given the frequency of the issue?

I would think so. Some other car manufacturers provide a lifetime warranty particular safety-related components.

 

[OGM3]

If it comes to it, there are Model 3 seats online you can order for way cheaper than that.

That’s my backup option. I found a supplier here in Phoenix (Henry) who will get me a used seat in great condition.

Even that cost is several hundred $$. But certainly cheaper. My concern is: “what if they’re wrong?” What if I replace the seat and it’s still an issue. Heck, SC already replace the wiring harness and that didn’t fix it.

 

[afadeev]

I would think so. Some other car manufacturers provide a lifetime warranty particular safety-related components.

How quant of them.
All those "old" car companies care about their reputation and customer satisfaction - that's so yesterday.

Tesla is the future.
We all saved money by bypassing the dealership model mark-up, so now we get to see the other side of the coin of dealing directly with a capricious auto OEM without an intermediary. If they refuse to honor a warranty claim, it's final. No appeal, no dispute resolution.
Except a lawyer and a lawsuit.

Cheers!

 

[KenC]

I got that alert. It occurs when my seat moves from its driver setting to Easy Exit, which I have set to move up. It clearly was related to the seat connector being stretched as the seat moved. I figured some zip tie was too tight, and needed to be snipped. I let the Service Center do it, but I would have tried it myself if I was out of warranty. Good to know there's a SRS warranty that's longer.

 

[robertxchen]

How quant of them.
All those "old" car companies care about their reputation and customer satisfaction - that's so yesterday.

Tesla is the future.
We all saved money by bypassing the dealership model mark-up, so now we get to see the other side of the coin of dealing directly with a capricious auto OEM without an intermediary. If they refuse to honor a warranty claim, it's final. No appeal, no dispute resolution.
Except a lawyer and a lawsuit.

Cheers!

We should write to NTSB. It's a known problem to them, right on the repair invoice. The old style harness has this problem.

 

[OGM3]

Others have posted about their many visits to the SC to get the Front left safety restraint system fault fixed. I, too, have experienced the same. It’s an error that won’t go away, even after I spent $300 to have SC replace my wiring harness.

Now the SC is saying they want $2100 to replace the seat. Trouble is that my M3 is over 4 years old, so that’s up to me to cover the cost….or is it? I found on Tesla.com that the Tesla Limited Warranty covers the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) for 5 years or 60k mi.

Tesla service has mentioned nothing about this warranty covering my safety restraint fault. My car is 4.5 yrs old with 45k mi. Has anyone in TMC had luck in getting it covered under the SRS warranty?

To give you all an update on this….I ended up finding an SC that covered the seat replacement under the SRS warranty. The SC service rep didn’t know that SRS warranty existed. I had to show him on Tesla’s website. He then spoke to his manager and they covered it.

So, I got a new driver’s side seat. But the saga continued because the error persisted. I returned it to the SC and they replaced the controller. That did it! Problem solved at no $$$ cost to me.

 

[stopcrazypp]

To give you all an update on this….I ended up finding an SC that covered the seat replacement under the SRS warranty. The SC service rep didn’t know that SRS warranty existed. I had to show him on Tesla’s website. He then spoke to his manager and they covered it.

So, I got a new driver’s side seat. But the saga continued because the error persisted. I returned it to the SC and they replaced the controller. That did it! Problem solved at no $$$ cost to me.

So the same trick of finding a different "dealer" works for Tesla too.

 

[Hypertrev11]

Others have posted about their many visits to the SC to get the Front left safety restraint system fault fixed. I, too, have experienced the same. It’s an error that won’t go away, even after I spent $300 to have SC replace my wiring harness.

Now the SC is saying they want $2100 to replace the seat. Trouble is that my M3 is over 4 years old, so that’s up to me to cover the cost….or is it? I found on Tesla.com that the Tesla Limited Warranty covers the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) for 5 years or 60k mi.

Tesla service has mentioned nothing about this warranty covering my safety restraint fault. My car is 4.5 yrs old with 45k mi. Has anyone in TMC had luck in getting it covered under the SRS warranty?

I'm having the same experience. Quoted $2100 to replace seat with a $225 Diagnostic fee. I first had the OCS filter installed while under warranty. I waited too long to bring it back in. Didn't know that repair came with a 1 year warranty. This morning SC told me no chance it will be covered under an extended warranty. I was upset to find the youtube video here...

 

[Falkirk]

I just got the error twice now. Mobile service is coming this week to check it out. My car is 4.5 years old now so I'll see how they position it as out of warranty or covered under the SRS.

 

[Falkirk]

To follow up on my issue, it was a paid out-of-warranty item when the tech came to my house. After talking about it and the manager it was done as goodwill. Great to see they stand behind the early build quality and make it right.

 

[RBELIA2]

I am out of warranty. I was charged $175 which I do think it is outrageous as a known problem related to seat belts.

 

[Waqasi85]

I had this error pop up for the front driver side seat. Service estimated me $450 to fix the issue since I am out of warranty and I thought screw them. So did some research and found out they are installing noise canceling ferrites to fix the issue. So I bought a pack of ferrites from amazon and installed a bunch on every cable. This kinda fixed the issue. It was only occurring when the seat switches to easy mode. I discovered that the error would only pop up when I move the seat up or down. So I removed the vertical movement in easy mode. My conclusion is that there is some electrical interference between vertical movement motor cable and seat pressure sensor. Fingers crossed the issue has not come back so far.