The Cost of Ignorance

A few weeks ago the SRS airbag light on our Honda Civic remained lit. I didn't think much of it until Julie opened the car manual and read that it means the airbag is disabled. Although I don't plan on getting into an accident soon, I figured it was still best to get it fixed. Some online sleuthing revealed that its a common thing and that for some makes/models the warranty has been extended on the parts. A number of online sites also suggested a way to resolve it yourself using nothing more than a single piece of wire. I'm all for the DIY kind of task, but figured if it happened to be under warranty I'd let the dealer handle it. So I contacted by local dealer to set up an appointment. Dealer: You'll have to bring in your car for the entire day and it may cost up to $107 to diagnose the issue. Me: Really?!?! An entire day? And risk shelling out $100+ only to have you tell me, "Sir, there's an issue and we know how to fix it for another $$$." No thanks. The exchange actually happened via email so my response was more tactful. Anyway, I still needed to fix the car so I went with the DIY approach. Armed with nothing more than a paper clip it took all of 5 minutes to reset the airbag computer so the light shut off and the system was reenabled. As I was walking back to the kitchen to tell Julie, I was struck by how large the disparity was between outsourcing the fix versus doing it myself: $100+ and 8 hours without a car versus $0, 5 mins of my time (less than it takes to drive to the dealer), and an irreparably bent paper clip. The cost of ignorance can be very high.