i have a 2000 s70. yesterday the area of the steering wheel where the airbag is was HOT. the weather here in the NE is moderate, the car was not parked in the sun...i have been driving this car for 10 years, i am used to it. so i touched the area where the air bag is housed and it was terribly hot....so hot i took my hand off and it hurt and was very red.... i sat in a shady area for awhile thinking maybe the sun added to the hot feeling...nothing changed. is there anything electrical in there that could have caused this problem?

 

There should not be any electrical parts in there. It has something in there that will cause the bag to fill with air in under 1 second.

If I were you, I would take it to have it checked out immediately.

 

Yeah, that's a very strange thing to have happen... Please note that the chemical reaction that occurs in the air bag inflator to generate the gas that inflates it is exothermic- meaning it releases heat. It's possible that something happened in the airbag that is causing the chemicals to react slowly- they need a fast source of heat from the igniter to react instantly- maybe the internal seal that protects the gas generator from moisture has failed and is allowing humidity and air to get in. Regardless, this is a VERY dangerous issue. Get the car to a dealer right away, and don't drive it- the airbag could inflate at any moment without warning, or if the chemicals react entirely and are spent, the airbag won't work if you ever needed it. I'd have the car towed to a dealer ASAP. Good luck!