Help with Resetting Air Bag Light

[Skers 05]

Last weekend I got curious and wanted to take a look at the subs underneath the front seats. In order to get to them, I took out the passenger seat and disconnected the airbag module which is attached to the underside of the seat, here is where the problem starts.

After gathering the necessary info about the stock subs, I put the passenger seat back in and connected the module exactly the way I found it before disconnecting. When I turned the car on, I recieved an air bag indicator message on the gauges. Hoping this was not a major problem, I took my 1er into the dealer the next day to see what the problem was. I entered the dealership thinking this was going to be a short visit as I had it in my head the only thing that needed be be corrected was to reset the on-board computer. I explained to the service desk what I did to the car and told them that I thought the computer just need to be reset. They explained to me that this was true and set up a time for me to come in today to resolve the issue.

As of now, I just got back from the dealer and am still with faulty passenger side air bags because they wanted $130 just to reset the computer and ensure that the computer was talking to the module correctly. I thought this was the biggest load of shit and walked out seeking advice from fellow 1ers.

Does anyone have any suggestions to resolve my problem, or has anyone had a similar problem? Any advice/suggestions will be of much help!

Thanks Guys,

Josh

[rudyv1]

I have the same issue. Were you able to fix your problem?

Thanks

[dragon1761]

have u tried waiting until it is time for an annual or 12000 mile oil change? I think they have to check for updates on the system, maybe they can reset it then with no fee??? Another thing you can do is try to disconnect the battery. Maybe hopefully that would reset the on board computer.

[pdq62]

I had a similar problem when replacing the window regulator in my X5. I made the mistake of disconnecting the side air-bag to gain access to the regulator, and then drove the car to the dealership to get the new regulator. Once the ignition was on, the SRS system sensed the airbag circuit was open and threw the fault code. These codes can only be cleared by the BMW diagnostic or BMW-specific aftermarket OBD diagnostic tools.

The advice about trying to get the dealership to clear the codes during a service visit for other items is good -- that's what I ended up doing and the dealership did not charge to clear the codes. Hope it helps!

[Skers 05]

pdq62 your advice worked well! I went into the dealer this weekend for my 15,000 mile oil change. I found out upon droping my car off that I was in need of new software update. The dealer couldn't get the new software to load until the airbag light was cleared, so that's what they did; reset the air bag light free of charge!!!

Thanks for the help man!

Also put winter tires on this weekend and had a kind of a freek accident occur. When the tire shop was removing the stock runflats, they some how managed to crack my wheel stock wheel. Has anyone heard of anything like?

[pdq62]

Glad to hear it. Props to dragon1761 too!