Expert: Douglas Gan - 1/7/2010

Question
my airbag light is flashing after near accident & braking hard,

am I in danger of it releasing while driving?   (Mazda Protege 2002)

Answer
Hi Elie:
The flashing light on your car is telling there is a problem.  On your vehicles, the light is flashing a two digit code.   For example, flash, flash, flash, pause, flash flash is a code 32.  It will repeat this sequence 3 times and then remain lit until you start the car again.  Here's a site that will explain everything you need to know about airbag lights and reading the code to find out what is wrong and what it will need.   Once you know the code, you can most likely repair it yourself.  There are fairly easy procedures that most people are capable of repairing.  
Airbagsolutions.com has the fault code charts to tell you what is wrong!  Although it’s a pay site ($14.95/day), it’s a lot cheaper than going to the dealer.  

http://www.airbagsolutions.com/
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/scanlist.aspx

I hope this helps
Doug