parents have 03 sable and they hit a pretty large pothole on fwy. right after that the car died just shut off. they had it towed it to the dealer and the dealer says he wants to do a diagnostic. and charge them to flip some switch can anyone tell me whats the problem the dealership (victorville) says that if you hit something there is an automatic shutoffof the fuel pump. if this were the case would the air bags have not deployed? any information on this would be greatly appreciated

sounds like the large hole triggered thr inertia switch. it is a safety device that shuts downthe fuel pump usually in the caseoff in case of a rollover or a bad collision. or in your parents case, a freakishly giganticfreeway crater. airbag deploymentis triggered by sensors mainly in the bumpers, or in newer cars with side curtain bags, in the doors.trust me, you would rather the dealer charge them to reset or replace the inertia switch than to replace deployed airbags. that can run into thethousands of dollars. but if you think your parents are being swindled by overcharging techs, by all means get a second opinion on the price from another Ford dealership. good-luck. Edited by: conan312

thanks for the info appreciate it