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BMW Z3 Airbag Warning Light - Passenger only?

I've read over all the previous messages regaurding this topic and it seems the Airbag warning light will stay on.

Well, in my 2000 Z3 it doesn't, it only comes on when my wife is riding in the passenger seat with the seatbelt clicked in. It will also go off with just the seatbelt in and no passener, so I'm down to a couple choices: Pressure mat under the seat Seat belt sensor

At first I just believed it must be the seatbelt, but now I'm not sure. Perhaps when it does it's check, it notes the seatbelt is in, indicating a passenger, then checks the pressure mat which throws an error. Does anyone know the logic that the airbag sensor goes through or has had a similar problem?

Patrick

Reply to
patrick.rinckey
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Between the two, I'd bet it's the pressure sensor, and it isn't registering sufficient passenger weight to activate the bag.

But isn't there also a seat position sensor? On my cars if the passenger seat is too close to the dash the bag on that side is disabled...

/daytripper '00 s4 6spd

Reply to
daytripper

Or the passenger air bag is faulty, but it only tells you when you have a passenger.

Reply to
R. Mark Clayton

Does your car have a switch that is activated by the key to disable the passenger side airbag? If so, then the light is telling you that the seat is occupied but the system is off.

If there is a fault that is triggering the light, that fault can not clear itself.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

And if you want to play parts roulette - I suppose just replacing parts willi-nilly is fine, but gets expensive. Once the light goes on it can't be turned off without some sort of tool - either the dealers GT1, or an aftermarket tool.

If it was me - I'd buy the Peake Research SRS code reader/reset tool and find out WHAT the actual problem is. Be cheaper in the long run rather than just shotgunning it with parts in the hope it gets fixed (plus you'll have to visit the dealer to have the light reset AFTER installing EACH part..)

Reply to
admin

He _claims_ the light turns off when the seat is empty. If this is true, then the light being on is not a fault report. You are 100% correct, if the light IS a fault report, it can not be turned off except by the appropriate diagnostic equipment.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

I've decided to purchase the PEAKE so I can clear the error and see if that fixes it. Thank you all for the excellent response. The one tidbit I left out is the whole airbag sensor unit was replaced by the previous owner, and I believe afterwards he never had a passenger that would throw the error. Therefore, the error was created when I drove it with a passenger, and just needs to be reset. If not, I guess I'll use the Peake to figure out what's wrong with it.

Patrick

Reply to
patrick.rinckey

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