7 On Your Side helps woman get refund after airbag replacement caused more problems

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Millions of airbags are under recall because they might explode and injured passengers in their cars.

One Bay Area woman took her car in to replace her recalled airbag but says it came out with new problems. 7 On Your Side helped her out.

This repair shop didn't charge her any more money for the new airbag, but she wound up paying hundreds of dollars to fix problems she says never existed before.

Mamie McCardell, 88, drove the same car for 10 years until she got a recall notice. The passenger side airbag could be dangerous, she was told.

"Do not let anybody sit on the right side, where all my grandkids sit," McCardell said she was told.

McCardell took the car to Oakland Mitsubishi, which replaced the airbag right away. However, she says the car hasn't been the same since.

"They kept the car a month and some," she said. The car stayed in the shop for four weeks last December.

"During that rainy season, they might have left the car open all that time," she said.

McCardell sajd when she picked up the car, the floor was soaked and rust had collected inside and out.

Not only that, the repair shop charged her $929 to repair water damage, the horn and driver's side airbag.

McCardell said none had been a problem before. "The car is worse off, I'm telling you."

A friend contacted 7 On Your Side on her behalf. We called Oakland Mitsubishi, asking what caused those problems and why she had to pay.

No one at the facility responded.

"They are legally responsible to respond to us," Bureau of Automotive Repair spokesperson Dan Breitbach said.

At 7 On Your Side's request, the state's Bureau of Automotive Repair looked into her case. "We went to the repair facility, addressed what her concerns are," Breitbach said.

Breitbach said he is legally barred from revealing the bureau's findings. "We didn't find anything that showed the repair facility did anything nefarious, basically we mediated the case," he said.

The result? Oakland Mitsubishi agreed to refund all of McCardell's money.

Owner Chris Kwei did not respond to 7 On Your Side's many requests for an interview or statement for this report.

When he was finally reached by phone, he said he had no information about McCardell's case and refused to comment.

However, he did refund her money - all $929.