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Side Airbag Fault

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Rajini98

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Location
NC
I took my car in to the dealership for an airbag fault that I assumed was part of the passenger seat clip TSB that everyone seems to have problems with. It turns out that this was not the case and the side airbag itself has the problem and I was quoted about $500 for parts and labor.

Has anyone else had this problem? The service advisor himself said that the airbag was probably fine and would still go off in the event of an accident. There were just some wiring problems. Makes me think that this could be fixed with some simple rewiring. I was thinking of following this diy to take apart the seat and soldering the connection similar to the seat harness diy. It just depends on whether or not the cloth seats come apart as easily as the leather ones seem to.

Just wanted to see if anyone else has had this problem or something similar and what they did about it.
 
loccusst

loccusst

FIA GT Champion
Location
IA
Car(s)
MKV GTI
My thought is VW needs to recall the whole damn lot of em. This is of course from someone who bought their car brand new in 2006 and has had nothing but problems with my airbag in the passenger seat.

You can skin the seat and the cloth is going to give more than the leather. If it is a simple wiring issue you may be able to fix it but the problem with our system in these cars is that any slight variation in voltage causes the light to come on. So if it is a loose connector in the assembly you may not be able to fix it. You could replace it yourself though.
 
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Rajini98

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Location
NC
loccusst said:
My thought is VW needs to recall the whole damn lot of em. This is of course from someone who bought their car brand new in 2006 and has had nothing but problems with my airbag in the passenger seat.

You can skin the seat and the cloth is going to give more than the leather. If it is a simple wiring issue you may be able to fix it but the problem with our system in these cars is that any slight variation in voltage causes the light to come on. So if it is a loose connector in the assembly you may not be able to fix it. You could replace it yourself though.
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for sure. $200 to pay an upholsterer to unclip the cloth from the seats is a bit much. id understand if it were to cut the stitching and restitch the seat.

I have no issues taking things apart and soldering them, its just a matter of "will it work?". i guess as long as i can take everything out and put the new piece back in without any problems after trying to repair the original, I should be ok. I've considered just desoldering the LED in the cluster and dealing with a ding every so often :biggrin:
 
loccusst

loccusst

FIA GT Champion
Location
IA
Car(s)
MKV GTI
I'm so used to my light I think I would worry if it went out lol.
 
16whitemk7

16whitemk7

Another Addict
Location
Miami
Car(s)
2016 GTI SE 6mt
loccusst said:
I'm so used to my light I think I would worry if it went out lol.
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Same here lol...dealer fixed it once for free when I first got the car, but now they are quoting me about $500...so yea. I'll live with the light. Is there any way to kill that light? Vagcom?
 
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Streetstyle55

New member
Location
Medford, NY
I just re wired the wires in the my door the other day to fix my windows. Couple of days later I get the same issue your getting. Airbag fault! 1/1

2007 GLI 2.0t
 
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pb4ugoout

Ready to race!
Location
Anderson, SC
I'm having the exact same problem with mine. Light has been on for about 2 months now. Dealer says it's a failed airbag in the passenger seat. I have an extended warranty and they are checking with the company to see if it's covered. Honestly tho, I would contact the regional service manager. Ask him/her if they have an unposted warranty for airbags or safety equipment. I highly doubt VWoA would want to take on a lawsuit from a customer who couldn't afford to fix a failed airbag and had a fatal accident because of it. I know Honda will fix an air issue regardless of warranty within I think a 10 year period. Hopefully my extended warranty will cover it and I won't have to worry about it anymore.
 
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Rajini98

.
Location
NC
pb4ugoout said:
I'm having the exact same problem with mine. Light has been on for about 2 months now. Dealer says it's a failed airbag in the passenger seat. I have an extended warranty and they are checking with the company to see if it's covered. Honestly tho, I would contact the regional service manager. Ask him/her if they have an unposted warranty for airbags or safety equipment. I highly doubt VWoA would want to take on a lawsuit from a customer who couldn't afford to fix a failed airbag and had a fatal accident because of it. I know Honda will fix an air issue regardless of warranty within I think a 10 year period. Hopefully my extended warranty will cover it and I won't have to worry about it anymore.
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not a bad idea. i'm still going to take out my seat and see if its just a clip. i've reset the code twice and each time, its taken around a month to come back so I'm thinking its just a loose connection. I'll take pics and stuff so in the event it does end up fixing my recurring fault(it'll take a month to know for sure), i'll make a DIY for it. It might be what everyone's problem is that has the recurring fault.
 
Tooly

Tooly

Drag Race Newbie
Location
Kelowna, BC Canada
Car(s)
2018 GTI Autobahn
I'm not too familiar with this issue but have you guys checked the wiring going into the seat? I recently picked up a set of front seats for my rabbit out of an 06 GLI and while I was checking out the wiring, I noticed that they did a splice at the factory to change the wire colors for some reason. Butt connectors aren't the most reliable at the best of times.

 
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Rajini98

.
Location
NC
thats actually the TSB that's common for our cars. I do agree that the butt connectors arent as great of a connection as solder but it was much better than what came from the factory. I already have that fix. my issue is either the fix or something inside the seat.
 
Tooly

Tooly

Drag Race Newbie
Location
Kelowna, BC Canada
Car(s)
2018 GTI Autobahn
Ah I see, so whoever owned the car these seats were out of might have had the TSB done. I might ask my friend who's a VW tech about this when I take my care in this week.
 
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pb4ugoout

Ready to race!
Location
Anderson, SC
Rajini98 said:
not a bad idea. i'm still going to take out my seat and see if its just a clip. i've reset the code twice and each time, its taken around a month to come back so I'm thinking its just a loose connection. I'll take pics and stuff so in the event it does end up fixing my recurring fault(it'll take a month to know for sure), i'll make a DIY for it. It might be what everyone's problem is that has the recurring fault.
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I have also had the tsb done. And I can't clear my code anymore. It is no longer an intermittent fault and is showing as a static fault. Is there a connection under the seat cover that you are speaking of? Do you just remove the seat cover and reconnect? I'm a little leary of messing with it. Guess I'll have to wait and see what the extended warranty ppl say.
 
R

Rajini98

.
Location
NC
pb4ugoout said:
I have also had the tsb done. And I can't clear my code anymore. It is no longer an intermittent fault and is showing as a static fault. Is there a connection under the seat cover that you are speaking of? Do you just remove the seat cover and reconnect? I'm a little leary of messing with it. Guess I'll have to wait and see what the extended warranty ppl say.
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from what i've seen, its a plug in the floor to a plug under the seat to a plug on the airbag. if any are unplugged, obvioiusly you'll get the fault. if the connector under the seat is bad enough to require a TSB, i could imagine that the others are just as bad. I just need to get the bit to remove the seat. maybe there should just be a recall on the passenger side airbag. obviously a lot of us are having the problem.
 
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