I recently had work done on my car- airbag recall- a few Days later my daughter spilled some water on the instrument cluster. A few days after that the lights on the dash were flashing on and off and there was a weird noise. Brought it back to the mechanic he is saying that I need to replace the whole cluster but can't seem to tell me what diagnostics he did. He said the spilled water destroyed the cluster. Does this sound likely? Or is it more likely that the cluster was damaged when they fixed the airbag? What should I ask him to check? Is he ripping me off?

If the water caused the problem, it probably would not take several days to manifest. I'm sure, people spill all kinds of fluids on their dashboards, all the time, e.g., water, soft drinks, coffee, beer. The actions, of the previous mechanic, are far more likely the cause. However, the failure could be completely independent, i.e., the proximity in time is mere coincidence.

I suggest, you take your car to a couple of different shops, a dealer and an independent, and see what they say. I recommend, you not relate the history as you did here. Just see what they come up with on there own. You might find it interesting.

Please, let us know what you discover. I think, we all could benefit from it.