What 117 owners told NHTSA about the 2017 Land Rover Range Rover Sport (5 Seat)

I own a 2018 Land Rover Range Rover where the airbag warning light remains illuminated at all times on the dashboard, even when the front passenger seat is empty and no cargo is present on the seat. The warning light for airbag indicatesthat the air bag is not activated and will not work in a collision. The passenger air bag has been inoperable for over 2 years.This issue has persisted for several years, with documented dealer service records dating back to before my warranty expired. The dealer (Land Rover of Palm Beach) diagnosed it as resulting from the front passenger seat movement causing detachment or strain on the wiring harness/connector for the occupant classification system (OCS), which detects passenger presence and controls airbag deployment. The Passenger seat air bag sensor or wiring harness is defective and needs replacement for the passenger side air bag to function. They said that all 2018 Range Rover air bag harnesses are too short and are prone to being detached by seat movements / adjustments. They have repeatedly reset the light and reconnected the harness, but the warning recurs shortly after, indicating an unresolved design or manufacturing defect in the under-seat wiring that is prone to failure from normal seat adjustments. This prevents reliable operation of the passenger frontal airbag, posing a serious safety risk as it may fail to deploy (or deploy improperly) in a crash, endangering occupants. The dealer refuses to install a new larger harness or provide a permanent fix, despite this being a known recurring problem reported by other owners of similar L405 Range Rover models. They say that Land Rover corporate is not providing a newer replacement harness and is not paying for the repairs despite this being a serious safety issue. I request NHTSA investigation into this potential widespread defect to determine if a recall or safety action is warranted. This may be the same problem as reported in NHTSA Campaign # 11500093 & 11693335.

NHTSA ODI 11711243

The contact owns a 2017 Land Rover Range Rover. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the driver's side air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with driver's side air bag failure. The contact was informed that the driver's side air bag needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11693335

The Passenger seat air bag sensor is defected and needs replacement for the passenger side air bag to function. The passenger air bag has been inoperable for many months. The estimated cost to repair is $1,800.00.

NHTSA ODI 11500093

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 LAND ROVER RANGE ROVER. WHILE DRIVING BETWEEN 45-60 MPH, THE AIR BAG WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED INTERMITTENTLY. ALSO, ON A SEPARATE OCCASION, THE ENGINE REVVED WITHOUT THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL BEING DEPRESSED AND THE TRANSMISSION WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO HENNESSY JAGUAR NORTH ATLANTA (1505 MANSELL RD, ALPHARETTA, GA 30009, (770) 587-2000) TO BE DIAGNOSED, BUT THE MECHANIC COULD NOT REPRODUCE THE FAILURES. AFTER FURTHER INQUIRIES, THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED OF SEVERAL FAILURE CODES INCLUDING THE AIR BAG CONTROL CIRCUIT OPEN FAULT, RETRAIN CONTROL MODULE FAULT, AND ABS CONTROL MODULE FAULT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DIAGNOSTIC CODE READER SHOWED A TOTAL OF 28 DTC FAULT CODES. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE CONTACT WAS ALSO INFORMED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS SAFE TO DRIVE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 22,000.

NHTSA ODI 11123387