Someone Illegally Tampered with my Auction Escalade's Safety Systems

[@Samcrac]

Next up on my Clickup schedule: Manual Swap the Ferrari 😏 Go to bit.ly/3JOPxmL and use code SAMCRAC to get 15% off ClickUp's massive Unlimited Plan for a year!

[@barryfarmer8589]

Brand: Kikerike Terminal Removal Tool Kit 82 Pcs Depinning Tool Electrical Connector Pin Removal Tool Kit Pin Extractor Tool Set Wire Terminal Release Tool for Automotive Car Household Devices

[@barryfarmer8589]

Samcrac:👋 I hope it helps you 👇

[@demetri1651]

Wow awesome and incredibly informative video!!

[@Thelongmanable]

*_Sad that beautiful suv was treated like that.._*

[@dylanlindsay1993]

ive heard of airbag scams but ive never seen one in person.... u should try to find out what shop did this to your car and get them shut down and charged with airbag tampering crimes! thats a shame! shame on that shop!

[@joshuawood6244]

This is criminal. Literally the difference between life and death for someone. So thankful samcrac got ahold of this one before someone else could. Kudos for the emphasis on safety.

[@disneyfan9099]

This was at a auction. It’s not the sellers issue.

[@MrTommyboy68]

@@disneyfan9099 But it IS a sellers issue. They KNEW the car was unsafe and hacked, but to eliminate THEIR liability, they shipped it off to auction. They probably got paid from an insurance company to make repairs and decided to hack it and pocket the money.

[@mikestechtalks6781]

@@disneyfan9099 You sell the car 'as is'. Yet you are making a representation of the vehicle. If the seat belts were broken, that would have been obvious and it would have indicated that it was involved in an accident. This would effect the price of the vehicle. The fact that they tampered with the belts so that the diagnostic reading wouldn't show an problem is illegal. It is the sellers issue. You start with the auction house which has some liability. They pass most of their liability back to the seller. (Indemnification) The seller is the one who makes statements about the vehicle. So yes, they can be sued for misrepresentation and fraud. Then there's the criminal aspect. They tampered with a federally mandated safety system. It would be difficult to get someone thrown in jail, however they could at a minimum be shut down.

[@Samcrac]

@@disneyfan9099 I am half and half on this. The seller definitely messed with it. At the auction I bought it from, there are specific disclosures. Say that the seat belts were already blown; and I found them that way. This would be obvious and I would've approached the car in a different fashion. Deliberately installing resistors to hide an airbag light is bad. If they would've left the airbag light on, at the very least I could've pinpointed exactly what was wrong, quicker and addressed it. Initially this thing was kind of being sold as just a normal car with a repainted front bumper and a missing radar sensor.

[@oliknow]

nah. it is a cheap auction car with low rating sold as is. nobody should drive it, common sense. it is a parts car and everybody seeing it should know

[@Al3xTrucho20]

They didn't do a hack job, they literally went out of their way to make it unsafe for the next person. That's insane.

[@Gunbudder]

it almost looks like a repo house. i've seen people completely destroy a house they are being evicted from because the bank took it back. its criminal vandalism to do that because you don't own it at that point, but people get emotional and just hulk out

[@manchesterexplorer8519]

Scumbags at auctions will also do things so various maintenance lights go off on the dash so the vehicle sells for a lower price .

[@WeakestofWeeks]

It's terrifying how much effort they put into tampering with that SRS system. No way that was their 1st time doing that.

[@1vsme]

@Sean _ 💰

[@cannafarmer]

No and people could die but nothing will happen

[@louskunt9798]

Exactly! He needs to call the cops on this one.

[@bwohlgemuth]

I'd have a conversation with the auction house.

[@bradhaines3142]

@@bwohlgemuth highly doubt the auction house cares enough to look at it. they buy it, say what they were told about it, and sell it. if something illegal happened they wouldnt care enough to find out to begin with

[@mohawkgarage]

I've watched soooo many of your videos and I've learned a lot. This, in my opinion, is the most important video you've ever done. To think that an unsuspecting family could have had a crash in this Escalade is terrifying. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[@shockracer]

It seems this tampering should be turned into a federal agency, this wasn't their first time and they are probably continuing to do this.

[@nehemoth]

Would like to see if Sam do a report on this.

[@jlongjr27]

Absolutely, hope they can track down who did this and find out how many other cars they've done this to. Can you imagine how many hundred or thousands of people are driving cars that were tampered with, not having any clue they are driving unsafe cars. Let's hope they were unsuccessful with this and haven't done this to any other cars.

[@tilexceramics]

Agreed. I would go a step further and suggest Sam has an obligation to take it to the proper safety authorities and report the previous vendor for tampering. Sam is a great guy and trusted KZbinr in the community and certainly doing a great job on this Escalade for the next person to drive this beautiful SUV safely.

[@jlongjr27]

@@tilexceramics Absolutely, since he's planning on keeping it! Pretty sure he said that.

[@tatsuo91]

They are sending cars like this to other countries, in my country (Nicaragua) a lady sued the seller of a car over this issue, all safety removed and very poorly fixed from a front end colition

[@aleksandergeiger6025]

Max from my airbags did a great job explaining everything that was wrong. It was really cool to see the tampered parts compared to the good parts.

[@mclarenjohnf1]

Who ever did these seatbelt systems could have killed you or anyone who drove this car, I think you should call the auction and let them know they should be banned. Glad you and your family are safe Sam, Is your step mom ok too.

[@marcusdaviso]

Hmmm, Sam's stepmom. Grrrrr.

[@wileecoyote5749]

Relax

[@BLX187]

i agree.. but theyll easily be able to find a way back in to sell another

[@jonathan_herr]

@@BLX187 but still, that's time and effort on the scum-dealer's part that they'll have to sink? (e.g. you may be playing whack-a-mole, but every 'whack' means it'll take that much longer for them to get back in (if they get back in)

[@dougowens2686]

Auction houses don`t care

[@JP.Danny007]

Same feeling as many other people here, maybe consider reporting this to the authorities... I wouldn’t say I’m a super law abiding citizen but this is quite aggressively putting people in a dangerous situation!! Great job Sam👍

[@miztatone918]

hope there wasn't too much damage on the farm and everyone you know was safe

[@Samcrac]

thank you. we really lucked out here

[@southwest7977]

Yep. That last day move east saved me from a direct hit. Weather channel had 4 people in Clearwater for a few days leading up.

[@organiccold]

@@Samcrac happy to know that :)

[@burtony3]

@@Samcrac How's your Stepmom?

[@3rdworldgarage450]

We really dodged a bullet here in the Tampa Bay area. I spent about 20 hours preparing for it but don't feel like I wasted my time. It could just as easily hit here.

[@niveknospmoht8743]

As a retired ASE Master Tech this was an excellent video. I don't get the opportunity to work on theses systems now-a-days to 'keep up' so to speak.

[@billhe372]

This episode has to be one of the most informative videos I’ve seen. Going behind the scenes to see how the seatbelts are rebuilt was a learning experience.

[@nomebear]

The complexity of newer cars limits when and where they can be used. They aren't practical, and will find their way to the crushers far sooner than simpler cars. Can you imagine owning and maintaining one of these in a remote location? While working in remote bush villages, I saw a lot of masking, where dash security and warning lights were drilled out with needle drill bits to extinguish them. To fly a car into a major repair center would have been $8000 round trip plus the cost of repairs and parts. It was crazy! The shipping costs on a replacement windshield was more than the price of the windshield. Simple, good running cars were selling for a premium. I air freighted an old Isuzu Trooper that I paid $600 for about 1500 miles because it was worth it. The air freight was $3000+.

[@phil4986]

One of the most instructive videos on dangerous car safety defeats ever done. Well done to SamCrac and the people at MyAirBags for their amazing work.

[@mcbobly]

Absolutely ridiculous this sort of thing happens and to unsuspecting people too. There should be a way to turn this in for legal action. On a different note, very happy to see you and the family are ok and didn’t suffer any serious damage or loss.

[@Smart-Towel-RG-400]

5:35 im pretty sure it's a serious federal crime to tamper with a safety system like this ...like years in the federal pen serious

[@Un-CommonSensei]

It is, plus a sales tactic like this is fraud amongst other things!😅

[@moochiekk]

I hope you reported the safety hacks to the auction place, they will know who is the scumbag and hopefully don't buy anything from them again.

[@disneyfan9099]

They can’t prove anything

[@mechanoid5739]

@@disneyfan9099 No, but they can still refuse to sell anything for them in the future. Once that message starts filtering through then this would reduce similar things happening. it won't stop it but it is better than doing nothing!

[@miscbits6399]

In Europe, this kind of tampering voids the sale and results in criminal charges for the seller _regardless_ of how long after the sale it's discovered

[@tanhelmet]

You're like a reserve criminal pathologist. You take the time and attention to guide us. Phenomenal work Sir.

[@ebrahimbali2474]

That means that he done this before and he know how it works

[@TK-ff5kc]

What's stupid is the amount of time and effort they made to hide the damage when it was only $250 to fix it properly.

[@42luke93]

smart people with limited willpower to do things right

[@ParkerOviedo]

It was probably on backorder. That’s why they did this lol “they did this hack to save money on parts that are cheap. I’d have ordered them but It isn’t possible” Pretty obvious this corner was cut because the belts weren’t able to be ordered

[@cornfed123567]

@@ParkerOviedo exactly, it wasn't the cost of the repair or difficulty to do it. Was the fact that it was back ordered. Obviously this vehicle was wrecked at one point, alot of luxury vehicle owners won't keep a vehicle after an accident. Could have been sold as is wrecked and someone bought it and couldn't get the parts and decided to rig it. A very stupid move to sell a vehicle you did that to, but they also probably thought the dealer would have repaired it and sold it off the lot, but the dealer probably saw the back order and didn't even check it further and sent it to auction.

[@2H80vids]

@@ParkerOviedo Sam managed to get the parts and didn't have to pay a premium price for them. Anyone who watches YT knows these components can be repaired cost-effectively; anyone "in the trade" will know too. The idea of saving a few days and a few hundred bucks was just too tempting.

[@louskunt9798]

$350. He clearly said $350. And I agree 100%!

[@ianmcclory9297]

Surely these people who hacked the seat belt system making it dangerous should be found and prosecuted

[@blessethishe]

I seen a person post on his previous video for this car saying they designed the system and code. Could this passively been the culprit? He said he's an engineer so he could afford one. And maybe some sick attempt to get money back after he crashed the car. He cut wires and redid codes, took back to dealer and claimed the car had issues and money back. Sickening

[@RSMegaMillions]

Yes yes! Get on it Ian McCrory!

[@deViant14]

Surely they have lemon laws in the state where he bought this and so the sale was illegal and the cops can take it from there easily.

[@deViant14]

If he wasn't busy creating content from it

[@thecman26]

That's a great idea! Don't call me Shirley.

[@Sheepdog70]

Fantastic episode! Thanks for showing us what to look for. I hope you and yours are doing well and are safe from the devastating storm. You're in our thoughts and prayers.

[@Samcrac]

Thank you we managed really great!

[@mikeabbott7931]

This is one of your best videos ever. I hope it gets viewed by more than automotive enthusiasts for the sake of education and awareness. Could Samcrac become the next Ralph Nader...? Well done!

[@P__Star]

Samcrac hope you and your family are good following Ian's landfall. Glad to see you're posting again already.

[@___asd159gh43]

Could be a good thing if he loses a couple cars and insurance takes over. I havent seen a finished build yet :D

[@Samcrac]

thank you very much, we got very lucky

[@matthewcrabtree4675]

@@Samcrac If your stepmom needs checked on, I’d be happy to do it.

[@dragnet53]

@@Samcrac I have been through Hurricane Ike and Harvey. They are indeed not fun to mess with.

[@Praise___YaH]

Guys, Here is The Savior HalleluYAH translates “Praise ye YaH” YaH is The Heavenly Father YaH arrives via the TENT OF MEETING YaH was Who they Crucified for our sins YaH was Crucified on an Almond TREE Ancient Semitic of Moshe (Moses) Isa Scroll (The Original Isaiah) Isaiah 42:8 "I am YaH; that is my Name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.” Isaiah 43:11 “I am YAH, and there is no other Savior but Me.” Isaiah 45:5 “I am YaH, and there is none else.”

[@ericprice3225]

Loved watching the work by My Airbags. I know who to contact if I ever need that sort of work done, and I’ll still be looking at their website to see what else they do. I love your investigative videos. Thanks for posting and keep up the good work.

[@davidlam6177]

WOW… this is beyond criminal what they did. Someone could have seriously been killed. Unbelievable

[@MaryMaguire01]

Great video, I hope you do follow up with the Auction house or the police on the seatbelt issue. Who ever played with the seatbelts should be held accountable, you could be saving someone else's life if they have done this to another vehicle.

[@artlayton1425]

I hope ;you let the auctioneer know what you found so that in the future you can warn any buyers. And it just makes me nervous about buying any car from a private seller.

[@wileecoyote5749]

Its an auction. As Is snapperhead

[@davedammitt7691]

Buying from a private seller is a LOT safer than buying from an auction. There's literally no where you're more likely to get a wrecked/ flooded / whatever car than at an auction. Anybody that buys a car in an auction and is shocked to find problems is delusional. Easy to run a carfax. People can hide damage and repairs from a carfax, but they can't hide ownership changes. If a car has had several owners within a short period of time, it's probably junk. There's a reason that it's at an auction, and not being sold on the open market.

[@artlayton1425]

@@wileecoyote5749 Using that logic, it would be okay to put an explosive in a car sold at auction? There is an ethical consideration when you deliberately hide a problem.

[@miscbits6399]

@@davedammitt7691 this is undisclosed damage to a federally mandated safety system. It's a criminal matter and the sale is void due to vendor fraud

[@tamiibrock6176]

Yes some people do this to many cars. Sometimes they hide the keys or says key missing to sale cars. It happened to me couple times from IAA.

[@gar24407]

I used myairbag guys a few years ago. The airbag module on a GT3 was fried after a crash. They reprogram a salvage one for me. Great folks.

[@forestpagan4813]

As a novice mechanic who might be inclined to go to public auction and get a cheap vehicle that looks like an easy repair, I probably wouldn't have even noticed, or looked for these hacks.. thank you for this video and giving me something more to be aware of

[@ColeSpolaric]

Find the connectors at a junk yard and cut those out with enough wire to put heat shrink crimp on butt connectors to connect to the cut wires

[@sferg9582]

Never apologize for calling out those people tampering with the SRS as being "hacks". They are the dregs of society when they will take profits over someone's safety. These people are worse than hacks. Good to see you taking responsibility to get it done correctly.

[@billpar]

Sam first and foremost you and your families safety and I loved this whole Cadillac repair , followup , more of these would be great, thanks for a great video

[@harrowtiger]

Very good Samcrac showing us the seat belt resistor cheat, and also very good to see the seatbelt repair expert rebuild and fully explain the top & bottom seatbelt tensioners, full marks Sam!

[@ooglek]

Thanks Sam for educating us on the scammy McScammers who have their own financial interest in mind ahead of the safety of others. Thrilled that MyAirBags can rebuild safely! Seems like an excellent business. Cheers!

[@liamcinq]

Really like when you collab with a repair place who gives you content back like this, very interesting thanks Sam.

[@vaibhavdlv]

Hey Sam, I was always curious to know what-all is inside the pre-tensioners. My budget hatchback luckily has all these safety features. Thanks for showing all this and highlighting the safety functions to all.

[@cousinjohncarstuff4568]

Thankfully Sam bought this one! Imagine a Dealer buying it, doing what it takes to turn off the lights, clean it and sell it! Could be a death trap! Sam got it done and fixed properly! Thank goodness!

[@davidfrank2824]

I figured that only thing that could have been wrong with the controls had to be the clock spring. I still remember going to the auto parts store ordering one. I've known all those guys for a lot of years they even give me a preferred customer discount. None of them knew what a clock spring was they thought I was fixing a clock. So in the middle of the day I'm standing there with a crowd of people around me explaining what it is and what it does. Then I went on to explain how you diagnosed if yours is bad. A few days later the guys that were there the day I picked up my part told me three people had came in and purchase clock springs. One was a guy that was standing there and heard how I told to test and figure out if that's what it is. The other two was from the guys behind the counter when customers came in with the airbag light no horn no cruise control. Before me the guys behind the counter didn't know what to tell the customers about that issue. I really think you ought to contact somebody on that Cadillac. There has to be a paper trail of who touched that car. Somebody could have been killed in that car since the body shop or repair shop or some guys backyard decided to rip the seat belt guts out. Whoever did it wasn't their first rodeo. That just makes me angry that somebody could have died because somebody didn't want to spend $700 or if they had your connections 250

[@markjohnston2675]

I love small company's like Myairbags....People who know their business and don't rip you off....Excellent.

[@zeala53]

This seems like something that should be reported to some form of authorities, This is the type of thing that can kill someone....

[@jackblakeney2452]

I've been watching your videos for a long time, and this was probably one of the best, not only for the whole process and the amount of super-valuable information you shared. I was also kind of amazed at the calm and patient demeanor presented the whole time, and the matter-of-fact way you laid everything out. I was pissed off FOR you, and wondering if you were going to take legal action, or at least notify the auction house that they had a bad actor who is on track to get someone hurt or killed. Parts not working? Fine. That's what an as-is auction is for. Active Concealment of disabled or removed safety equipment? That's a whole other story. Somebody probably needs to go to jail over that one.

[@windronner1]

I’m always amazed how well you are able to Diagnose the most obscure problems that are in obvious areas everyone would think or just plain gremlins exclamation great video

[@vicenteparrilla7999]

I like what you did safety is number one and thanks to you you believe in safety God bless you and good looking out for the people

[@freddythefrog70]

Well done Sam! It's great to watch your videos when you fix things! Airbag techs ROCK!

[@MyAirbags]

Thank you rock too! 😊

[@SK-xv3hn]

This is why vehicles are sold so cheaply with salvage titles at auctions. I had a dealers license for over 20 years for friends, family, and co-workers, and we bought many dozens of great deals over the years. I even had a JerrDan Rollback with a stinger on the back for towing 2 cars. Some vehicles like Porsches we bought for engines, etc. Regarding this video, it's unusual to find vehicles seriously tampered with from insurance company write-offs. Many of these rebuilds from salvage title auction cars end on on eBay. The profits are enormous but buyer beware. It's not easy in many states to turn a salvage title into a road worthy rebuilt title to get plates and make it drivable again.

[@russellhltn1396]

"National backorder" That's probably what happened. Someone was trying to fix it for sale and ran into parts unavailability. Rather than wait or take a hit for the SRS light, they fudged it. It would be interesting to see if any officials start asking questions to see if they can identify who did that.

[@REALBanannaman]

This country is falling apart

[@PaendaTube]

​@@REALBanannaman it was probably cheap labor that doesn't identify as American. any good Samaritan American wouldn't risk the livlihood of a random person for a quick buck.

[@marvindebot3264]

@@PaendaTube LOL, riiiight . . . I do hope that was sarcasem.

[@thelarry383]

@@PaendaTube nice joke

[@normandothegreat]

I have 30 years of dealership experience, not much surprises me anymore 😕 Whenever purchasing a used vehicle, it's a good idea to make sure that airbags are actually in the vehicle. I had a customer visiting from out of state years ago that was curious about her lumpy steering wheel pad, upon further examination I noticed that the pad had extensive vinyl repairs performed. After removing the airbag I noticed that the wiring and connectors were missing, and where the airbag should have been was now stuffed with shop rags! Subwoofer voice coils were used for 2 Ohm resistance to pacify the SDM. When it comes to safety, the only stupid questions are the ones not asked. 🤷‍♂️

[@dakotaslt232001]

I am amazed by how upfront this guy is. Being straight and to the point is my type of subscribed.

[@jobanski]

Tampering to cover up damage is one thing, but removing the safety features on the seatbelts is entirely another! That really got me fumed! Im sure since you bought it “as is” no legal action can be done, but damn that could have been someone’s life! Thank you Sam for showing this.

[@Ferretsnarf]

Legal action can absolutely be taken in cases of fraud. "As-is" doesn't cover activities taken to deliberately cover up issues in an effort to deceive the buyer. Like he said in the video, if that light had been on in the dashboard no one would have bought it. As is sales are for when the seller doesn't want to bother trying to figure out the issues of the vehicle or knows what the issues are and isn't trying to sell it as a "good" or usable vehicle. Since these actions were taken to deliberately cover up issues, "as-is" doesn't protect the seller. That said, proving it was the seller who did it and not whomever the seller bought it from is an entirely different matter, ultimately, it's not worth what it ended up costing him, though it likely got a higher price than it would have if the coverup hadn't been done.

[@donnaclayton8644]

OMG! Whoever did that better hope Karma doesn't get them. Plus they should be prosecuted for that

[@ardie72]

Karma isn't real.

[@michigan_supercars6569]

They'll be lucky if Sam doesn't go after them, which he should. Someone needs to sue their asses. This sort of thing makes me fume!! So angering!!

[@fredflintstone8048]

Finally a case where resistance is NOT futile.. Of course it could be legally damaging for the perp when the vehicle happens to fall into the hands of a skilled investigator like SamsCrac.

[@shawnmartin1306]

What was the name of that dealership that sent this to auction?

[@jayshilling9894]

thanks love learning a ton from you and you make it fun as well BIG THANKS

[@ernstoud]

Wow. This would count as serious fraud. And MyAirbags showed real craftsmanship. Impressed.

[@kingrexmma4387]

Your boy Max at my airbags is the Lebron of the seat belt game

[@dekkerlundquist5938]

It astonishes me that there are people who are so irresponsible as to disconnect the safety systems in a car. If you were driving this car and had a collision the lack of functioning seat belts could result in a serious brain injury with lifelong consequences.

[@bewernia]

Wow, man. Your channel is so enlightening. Really good info.

[@tzed2509]

Did you report the car to the authorities? If whoever did this is that good at it maybe they've done it before and there are people driving around in totally unsafe cars!

[@mesocyclone2004]

I love these videos even though I am not a mechanic and no longer do my own repairs on my vehicles. It’s just fascinating seeing how modern vehicles work and what it takes to fix them. And I had no idea that there was a company that repaired self belt tensioners!

[@darkestgooner9887]

The seat belts were shocking 😢

[@petrirantavalli859]

I agree with you Sam who ever did that tampering knew exactly what they were doing for example that resistor value needs to be quite exact and you need to know what you're tampering with or the air bag may even blow up on your face the next time you start the car.

[@ludicrous7044]

If this had been repaired by a body shop they must do a post safety and repair check before it’s returned to the owner!! If the car was sold as is why was the safety devices defeated? Maybe so it would run and drive?? How many cars like this are being sold as is and being driven when unsafe?

[@BlakeASwift]

Great video! Crazy to think of how many cars could be out there with this hack done and the owners have no idea

[@Erikvanderpol]

Dude, are you okay, with the storm and all?

[@Samcrac]

Very good, thank you for asking!

[@luiscastillo7009]

the level of ingenuity and engineering to design and build solutions for all these needs like seatbelts is just amazing.

[@StatueCollecting]

Please tell me you reported this to the auction (manheim) I believe. They don't care but since your a big youtuber it gives you more pull when reporting this issue. Regardless of how big Manheim is they should NOT be letting this stuff slide, they barely are implementing OBD2 codes in some auction listings and only in some states. They should be transparent and stop letting scum bags get away with these sorts of things. I can't even tell you the scummy things I've seen done to cars at these big auction houses like Manheim. Like unplugged ignition coils so the car misfires and nobody bids on the car when its driving in the auction lane only to find out it was just a simple plug and they do this sort of scum bag crap so nobody bids and they win the car for cheap. These auctions are full of deadbeat scum bags doing mickey mouse tricks so cars can be sold in the auction only for the buyer to end up fixing their scum bag trickery. They steal knobs, nav discs and any small pieces they can to fix another car they own, it's well known but they don't care until it starts to hurt their bottom line.

[@alexiocatan5602]

i think it’s sold “as is” need to read the paperwork

[@Samcrac]

You know I did call and talk to a rep. Their answer was, email another person. Honestly I don't think they even understood what I was explaining to them. It's just insane that I'll have this issue fixed for about $300, and some person decided it was worth cutting up the wires and hiding it.

[@lasskinn474]

Its probably illegal to sell the car like that

[@forgetn]

@@Samcrac sam talk to the owner of the dealership because "as is" doesn't absolve them in the event of an accident. Because its evident that the objective of the repair was fraud. As is does not protect the seller from engaging in fraudulent behavior by specific action. At the very least they will put that repair shop on a black list

[@fuffoon]

This is the first video like this that I have seen. My 2012 wagon is fully equipped with SRS and I never knew what all of the bells and whistles were doing. I purchased the car because I liked it. I am keeping it because it is very safe, robust, and it just had the entire rear suspension and subframe replaced on warranty.

[@Ratarossa]

You need to get one of the reliable British Range Rovers …. Ohhh wait a minute 😫😫😫

[@aguilarcreative]

Clearly Samcrac have no idea of the issues a crashed or salvage vehicle would have. There are million vehicles every year acquired by the Insurance companies, how? Well when you have fender bender or someone scratched your door and you make a claim and opt for the payout then the Ins Company sells that vehicle on an auction whether in Copart, IAA and some other salvage auction. If a seatbelt goes off and locks it’s ruined and need to be replaced. Once you replace it the Air Bag dashboard light will not turn off. The SRS system is designed in a way that if any seatbelt sensor, airbag, crash sensor activates then the whole system need to be replaced, ALL, airbags and seatbelts and crash sensors and the most important thing: the SRS module that is in the center console and controls all sensors. This SRS module need to be disassembled and replaced but before you put it in it needs to be reprogrammed to that specific VIN number, and this is something only a dealer will do, but only if you purchase and install the SRS module with them, so your are looking at about $6,000 for the air bag light to go away. For a new Escalade obviously should be more than $6,000. OR you replace the seat belt or the air bag and add the resistor to it to trick the SRS module into thinking hasn’t gone off. That does not mean the new seat belt or air bag would not function in case of a new crash but it’s only there to trick the SRS module into thinking it hasn’t gone off and avoid a whole system replacement. This time the body shop that did the restoring did a sloppy and incomplete job and left some Escalade specific codes in there, probably lack of experience, time or money, who knows. The resistor was put in there because of the un feasibility of the existent process to repair an SRS system, to force you to replace the whole system of airbags and seatbelts along with the SRS module because an airbag went off or a seat belt locked making the cost of repair un feasible is the tap and dance the government and dealerships do while allowing those crashed vehicles to be sold by multiple auction companies and collecting billions on sales and taxes. To put it in context it would be as if you have a punctured tire and instead of just fixing or replacing that tire the government and the vehicle manufacturers would make you buy a whole new set of tires because of the tire that blew out, but now imagine that every tire costs $1500-$2500 depending of the model/brand of the vehicle. And that is the SRS system in a nutshell.

[@freddiejones4598]

Very common to drop the auction price

[@williambalazs]

I was told when the LED brake lights go out you have to replace the whole unit the only bulbs you can replace are the reverse light bulbs. Swing your brake lights go out it's $750 for the whole unit

[@johngoogle7626]

Tampering: can you go back to the auction to EXPOSE these snakes, so maybe they will be barred from submitting vehicles to the auction??

[@jpsalis]

they need more punishment than that, they need prison time. This breaks federal law

[@jasonlayman8817]

Great video, I like the break at the company on fixing it

[@ronsloan7662]

I've always wondered how the pre tensioners work. Thanks for this really interesting video. Keep up the great work!

[@PhilDagostino]

every video of yours has some valuable lesson for DIYers. I continue to be brave when working on my modern cars with you as an inspiration. Most anything is fixable, just need tools and confidence. Thanks Sam!

[@jonfomaw756]

I’m stunned at the level of thoughtlessness and lack value these kind of people hold for human life. How do they sleep at night? Good work Sam for shining the light 💡 for trusting good people whom this kind deception wouldn’t never even enter our minds. Thanks 🙏

[@AnontheGOAT]

My Airbags guys are legit! They rebuilt the tensioners and belts on my Expedition!

[@mikethebike6018]

Great video on seat belt repairs. My Airbag are so professional.love the content and glad you found out what was done.

[@theepicricemaker6611]

Hey Sam, please file a lawsuit and get the feds involved. People can die because of this, and the wrong shops may be blamed and lose their livelihoods due to a dishonest shop.

[@johnmatusewic]

Glad you found that and were able to correct it. The idea of sending loved ones out in a vehicle you believe is safe but isn't makes my stomach drop.

[@Dex99SS]

Yeah..... Till the day I die (and I realize this will get harder and harder to live by as time goes on) I will REFUSE to go newer than GMT800. Everything got worse after that... Displacement on Demand, or AFM, whatever acronym you want to give to the GM developed "great engine make bad" device, came at that point. VVT came at that point... GMT800 had/has canbus, modules for seats, doors, SRS, ABS, ECU, etc... They have all the same meaningful amenities from heated and cooled seats, cup holders, steering wheels, cameras, proximity sensors, etc... they literally have ALL of the GOOD if not GREAT features, but NONE of the overboard, over complicated, breaks ALL THE TIME, while new rpl parts are NEVER AVAILABLE issues that anything newer has. I mean, how fkn ironic is it that you can FAR more easily get parts for an 05 Escalade EXT, ESV, etc than you can for this... this MUCH newer truck. Trucks that haven't seen assembly in near 20 years have new parts readily available, while trucks made 5 years ago don't... and probably won't ever again, unless some third party wants to replicate them at a questionable quality. Literally every single thing about the older units operates better.... I'd NEVER want screens for gauges, I'd NEVER want infotainment to control all of my systems... making a bad touchscreen render me unable to control ANYTHING ever again, and then have no parts available to fix it, lol.... it's just nuts. And it's only gonna get orders of magnitude worse when everything is an Ewaste... err... I mean... EV. Literally won't even be a used car or truck to buy, let alone complain about. Only new at that point.... as just like any phone, laptop, hybrid tahoe of the 07-10ish era, etc. Once those batteries die, the car/truck is done for... literally ewaste, even if every other item on it is perfect, once the EV batt sled is dead, it's gonna be some $20k-$40k to swap that, and anything it's in is gonna be totalled, and immediate ewaste. There will be no used anything, at least not older than 2 years or so. Not unless you want it to take two days to charge the car, just to have it piddle out from "100%" in some ten minutes / ten miles, whichever comes first. As any battery eventually does. Eventually being a bit of a misnomer, as it happens pretty quick, and even faster the more you use it or the harder / faster you charge it. Don't even get into the issue where most folks won't be able to charge at home. Without a garage or driveway that can have a dedicated ckt ran to it... or the folks who park on street, in a park garage, etc... who will all have to charge at rapid charging station, which will still take some 20-30 min... hardly akin to a fuel up at a gas station, taking about 1 min to 5 min tops, then having anything from 300-500 mile range again. But the folks who do need to "rapid" charge like that, away from home, will likely see their batteries die in less than 3-5 years. Probably 2-3... And then EWASTE. Goodbye whatever you paid for that thing new, the year before last. You now literally have to pay some hazardous waste disposal crew to tow it away and dispose of it, as the battery is literally hazardous waste, and can't just be crushed like typical old scrap value cars... So, you won't even get scrap on your 2 year old ewaste, you'll have to pay a grand or so to get rid of it. Then turn around and buy another brand new EV, which will be ewaste in another 2 years. Rinse, repeat.

[@bakerwannabe4435]

This was very interesting. I don’t have an Escalade and I don’t work on cars but there are several things that need to be fixed on a used car we recently bought. I look forward to watching more of your videos. You share great information like the My Seatbelt company- thank you!

[@marksantos2276]

This is what we enjoy Sam. You rebuilding and then getting to see the seat belt company show us what was wrong and the dangers involved.

[@philb707]

Wow I knew the seatbelt mechanism/ system was complicated. But wow this was very informative. Good video Sam.

[@AN55535]

I can confirm, guys from My Airbag are really GOOD. I was dealing with them on a couple jobs and the took care of my SRS module and buckles as well. Recommend them . They are in Atlanta

[@wethepeople7629]

Shame on those crooks that did that!! I’ld look into it and turn them in.

[@USA01930]

SamCrac your the man thanks for all the content, one thing I can say is you've been the same through this KZbin journey , haven't sold out or found mechanics to do all your work. got a lot of respect for that and appreciate your videos. Stay safe with the Hurricane

[@gagamba9198]

That explanation from MyAirBags was excellent. Thank for recording it and discussing the issues.

[@billmorgan9731]

Send my love to your step mom. Great vid as always Sam. You are so smooth, and your common sense approach is extremely welcoming to see, Great work brother.

[@cdawg9149]

How you figured that out is beyond me. You have great skills.

[@drockjr]

This level of detail you discussed was brilliant. I subbed and I've only seen your Escalade videos. You probably saved a life point out this flaw (so other used car buyers know what to look for)

[@Drewmk-sc9zv]

This was a great one Sam ,Max really explained what this rogue had done and how he would rectify it .Good job my friend .

[@deezznts]

One of the better videos on this channel because of the seatbelt issue and how to fix it. Well done!

[@doogmar19]

Really enjoyed seeing how the seatbelts were fixed. Always have wondered what was inside them, and it was far more complicated than I would've thought.

[@OmarGimenez]

Hey , few month ago I've started buying cars on auctions and repair them encouraged by your videos.It's been really fun, and I'm making some money selling them. Thanks!

[@billlittle8080]

Sam, thanks for the heads-up on the seatbelt pretensioner repair. I had a 2015 Volt set off the seatbelt system and MyAirbags are rebuilding them. Saw your Blue vette a while ago on 41 in Land o… sounds great!

[@diesel4618]

Whenever your steering wheel airbag goes off, the heat produced by the back of the airbag (metal part facing the clockspring) has a tendency to melt the wires on the clockspring. It would make sense since a new clockspring = working steering wheel controls. I had an F150 where this happened and luckily got the clockspring along with the used steering wheel airbag from a recycler... Also, depending on what state you're in, its illegal for anyone (including the seat belt repair shops, I use Safety Restore on my projects but to each their own) to tamper with the internal working components of the pretensioner. Here in PA, I can only either buy new airbags/belts or get them from a recycler unblown, we can't install 'repaired' SRS equipment due to liability issues and laws.

[@wyattfamily8997]

Isn't there any means to report both the previous owner and "repairer" regarding their illegal repairs, if they suffer no penalty they will continue to do this type of thing possibly at the cost of lives.

[@MATANLEVI]

When any part of the SRS system deploy, you need to follow the manufacturer SRS guide for mandatory part replacement. Some manufacturers require front impact sensors and the SRS control module to be replaced when the seat belts deploy. Even if the light goes away, the system may not function properly in another accident, if you don’t follow the manufacturer replacement requirements. You should be able to access the guide from any collision estimating software. Good video, good luck.

[@thhomasmarks]

Comprehensive - the world needs more articulate, prying safety advocate hero's like you - inspirational.