Airbag Warning Light

[JoeS]

Thanks to all for the advance warnings regarding disconnecting anything related to that "touchy little thing".

In siai47's case, he disconnected the connector under the seat and forgot to plug it back in when he activated the car and thus got a latched airbag warning light.

In MLucas' case, it sounds as though all the wiring was reconnected before the car was turned back on(?).

I have this vision of our iMiEV computer stalking us and recording everything we do...

 

[GdB]

I had to take my i to the dealer to clear the airbag light. The only possible thing that I can think of was maybe the 4 rear light fuses I pulled to try and find the license plate light fuse. Kind of annoying to have to go to the dealer.

 

[wmcbrine]

This just happened to me (airbag light lit for no apparent reason). I guess I'll call the dealer tomorrow <sigh>.

 

[fjpod]

My airbag light has been on for some time. I did not hit anything, nor go over any big bumps that I can recall. I went to the original dealer, who is great by the way, about a month ago. They ordered and installed a new left front sensor, but that did not solve the problem. They then ordered a "new computer" for the car, which I am supposed to have installed this week.

I'll let you know.

 

[JoeS]

A couple of weeks ago I drove my wife's i-MiEV Mitsi and noted that the airbag warning light is lit - it has over 38K miles on it and a couple of years ago had been recalled for whatever the airbag problem the car supposedly had then. She allowed as the light had been on for a week or so…

My airbag light has been on for some time. I did not hit anything, nor go over any big bumps that I can recall. I went to the original dealer, who is great by the way, about a month ago. They ordered and installed a new left front sensor, but that did not solve the problem. They then ordered a "new computer" for the car, which I am supposed to have installed this week.

That's another reason I really hesitate to take in a vehicle to be worked on by 'professionals', as I worry about inadvertent damage or simply eventual missing hardware as they hunt-and-peck to find the problem.

As I recall, airbags came into use because people were refusing to use their seatbelts, so these were the next-best thing, especially for head-on crashes. Never wanted them as my cars had the old-fashioned harnesses which keep one strapped in tightly to start with - I even installed a racing harness in one of my Sparrows. Now, the airbags have evolved into these must-have things which, guess what, are now the subject of the largest recall in automotive history. I don't know if our i-MiEV is affected, and hadn't looked it up yet, but that recall has nothing to do with our warning light. Since I live in a low-humidity environment, I'm rather unconcerned.

fjpod and wmcbrine, keep us informed on what the root cause of the problem turns out to be.

 

[wmcbrine]

fjpod and wmcbrine, keep us informed on what the root cause of the problem turns out to be.

I finally took my car into the dealer today, and they're attributing the problem to the 12-volt battery.

 

[addseo1115]

useful information.
Glad to see your solution in here.
I have enjoyed with your posts.

 

[JoeS]

My wife's i-MiEV Mitsi inexplicably lit the airbag light a few weeks ago. I took it to the dealer for a routine recall and asked them to check it. They found nothing wrong and simply reset the light, allowing as this freebie reset would normally incur a cost as the car is out of warranty for this.

Hmmm, I thought we had five years for these safety related items.

I had removed the passenger seat in Mitti and had disconnected the airbag connecter and used supposedly a special jumper before activating the car. Well, the airbag light set and latched, but the dealer graciously reset this light also as a freebie after I explained to him what I had done.

So, the question on the table: does disconnecting the 12v battery and then reconnecting it latch the airbag light?

 

[PV1]

I've heard that disconnecting the 12 volt battery will latch the EMU Warning light. I know for sure that if the 12 volt battery goes flat the EMU light comes on.

I've only had my airbag light come on due to a faulty impact sensor, replaced under warranty.

OT:
Addseo is appearing to be a spammer.

 

[wmcbrine]

In my case, the code also indicated a bad sensor, but the service manager said that wasn't the real issue, because if it had been, the airbag light would've come on again right away, which it didn't, and hasn't so far. So it seems like the issue was running in accessory mode for too long, one night -- only long enough to rip a few CDs, but I guess that was too much. (At first, I was thinking it was due to the months the car sat on the dealer's lot, but the timing fits better with my use of accessory mode.) Anyway, I guess there's basically no real reason to ever use accessory mode with this car, so I won't in the future. (I'm kind of wondering why it's even there, now.)

 

[PV1]

My light first came on in September and was reset after diagnosing and ordering the part. It took a month before it came on again. I haven't seen it since the sensor was replaced, so not always true that a bad sensor will immediately trigger the light.

Wasn't there a recall early on for an airbag sensor needing replaced? There are a few of us that have had an impact sensor replaced.

 

[JoeS]

Dang, that warning light is getting repetitive. I was just at the tire place (Yokohama problem, a separate topic) where they lifted the car conventionally, but when I drove off the airbag warning light had come on. As someone who doesn't like airbags in the first place (just recently a friend's elderly mother was significantly injured (broken ribs) when the airbag went off during a really minor fender-bender) not having airbags doesn't bother me much, but it's still an irritant. The whole problem first started after Mitsu had the sensor recall a couple of years ago, and I'm not up to driving our otherwise-maintenance-free i-MiEV 25 miles to the dealer to have the thing reset, again. Another reason to have one's own MUT-3.

 

[fjpod]

I don't recall if I got back to the group about my air bag light situation. I finally had it fixed by the dealer under warranty. First they thought it was a bad sensor for the driver's side rear....but replacing that sensor didn't solve the problem. They had to replace the whole computer module that controls the entire air bag system.

...either they did that or cut the wire to the dashboard light....because the light has gone off. (no, I'm sure they did the right thing)

 

[BenBrown]

I also had to have my whole module replaced as well before the problem was fixed... Seems to be okay now..

 

[Lithim]

Electronauts,

After driving my 2012 for over 20,000 miles the SRS red light has permanently lit up my dash. Has anyone else recently had problems with this item? I did a search on this forum and it seems that a collision sensor in the front of the car may be the problem. Also, there was a suggestion that this issue may be covered under a recall notice. I guess this means a visit to the dealer.
I wonder if this will be covered under warranty for a car that's just over 36 months (Aug, 2012) young?
Stay charged my friend.

 

[PV1]

Being within a month of the end of the warranty, you might get lucky that it'll be covered.

I would push the early recall if they want you to pay for it, even though the dealer couldn't find it when I had my car in to replace the sensor.

 

[wmcbrine]

If I can believe my dealer -- and based on my circumstances, I kind of do -- this can happen just from the 12V battery going too low. Anyway, it's trivial for them to reset it. If it doesn't come back... no repair needed.

 

[ed5000]

My silver 2012 ES had the same problem a couple months ago and the dealer replaced the collision sensor up front. Check your warranty. My warranty says "Restraint system coverage (air bags, seat belts)" are covered for 60 months/60,000 miles. At least here in California anyway.

 

[Lithim]

Greetings,
Follow up on the initial post.
Went to the dealer today and they reset the code for the SRS (airbag) light. The Assistant service manager said that if it occurs again they would most likely change the left front impact sensor.
I asked if there was a recall notice on the sensor and was told "no".
He said that even though the code was reset, the computer keeps track of the initial illumination history. Interesting.
Let's hope it stays "off".
Stay charged my friend.

 

[JoeS]

Lithim, thank you for the follow-up. I took the liberty of merging these two threads on the same topic.

...Went to the dealer today and they reset the code for the SRS (airbag) light. The Assistant service manager said that if it occurs again they would most likely change the left front impact sensor.
I asked if there was a recall notice on the sensor and was told "no"....

Of course there was an airbag sensor recall! :evil:
Details here: http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=680

Incidentally, the warning light has lit up again on our original Mitsi. Has anyone confirmed that a low 12v battery can trigger this?