Air Bag Warning Light - Any suggestions!

[SuzeM]

Hello

I have a T5 Cali. 12 plate.
My airbag warning light keeps coming on when I swivel the passenger seat.
It clears on a diagnostic - and I am taking it in to my independent VW garage next week to get it looked at.
However they don't deal with many california's - so I wondered if anyone had any knowledge on what is best to do to sort the issue.

Thanks loads
Suze

 

[WelshGas]

It is the Airbag Plug/Socket connection under the seat..
1. Check that it is not under stress when swivelling the seat.
2.If there is the slightest hint of the connection being under tension then you could get the wiring length extended. Not an uncommon problem apparently. Some have suggested VW even had an extension cable to fix the problem, but I cannot find any more info.

 

[cozmo1589]

Yeah I had this on wire loom under passenger seat. It was about £10 for modified wire connection and an hours labour at my local vw dealer so all in with fault code reset for around £100 as I remember

Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk

 

[SuzeM]

Thank you very much. I will pass this on ))

 

[SuzeM]

Hi Cosmo.

Yeah I had this on wire loom under passenger seat. It was about £10 for modified wire connection and an hours labour at my local vw dealer so all in with fault code reset for around £100 as I remember

Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk[/QUOTE

Don't spose you know the part number of the wire connection??

My garage have called vw, but they weren't aware of it?

 

[AlanC]

I don't think there is a formal VW part for this repair

My dealer fitted a new plug, (mine had been damaged) and spliced in a longer piece of cable. This allowed the seat to swivel without triggering the warning light.

BTW if the ignition is not on when you swivel the seat, the computer does not sense the momentary break due to the movement of the cable.
Not a lot of help if it comes on while you are driving though

Alan

 

[pingpal6]

Our California was in VW Bilston Edinburgh today for the airbag warning light. A recurring fault, 1st time when it was new. It appeared again, prior to it going to Benfield for the roof problem and they cleared the problem. This time they replaced 6x connectors p/n 000979941 under both seats due to high resistance in the plugs and carried out repairs to the wiring. Obviously a design fault, hopefully a permanent fix

 

[jet4415]

We had the same problem recently:
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/anyone-else-had-this-problem-by-any-chance.14576/#post-155797
All sorted by VW Preston who diligently tried umpteen things to resolve it and finally succeeded in locating a loose wire under front carpet. Thumbs up to this dealership. Good luck.

 

[Rozzie50]

It is the Airbag Plug/Socket connection under the seat..
1. Check that it is not under stress when swivelling the seat.
2.If there is the slightest hint of the connection being under tension then you could get the wiring length extended. Not an uncommon problem apparently. Some have suggested VW even had an extension cable to fix the problem, but I cannot find any more info.

Hi, which cable would I be looking for? Mine has gone on and I'm not at home. Want to have a quick look....

 

[snowy55]

Hi, which cable would I be looking for? Mine has gone on and I'm not at home. Want to have a quick look....

It's the wires that go through the centre pivot of the swivel plate underneath the seat.

 

[motacyclist]

Dealer replace the loom free on my previous Cali, even though it was out of warranty.

 

[Chainline]

Has anyone had this as a recurring fault and any new insight beyond the wiring plug and extending the harness. 1st time it was an airbag (out of warranty, 2010 model, so £400) since then have had lots of plugs and wires replaced, tightened up and extended, up until now gratis even out of warranty as it seems to be ongoing. It seems to recur about every 6 months whether the seats have been swivelled or not and is driving me nuts as the starting point is £330 for a 'service' then we wait to see if it is or isn't related to previous work which is under warranty or if it's indeterminate. Plus it keeps taking time out of my days. It just seems random to me! Listers Coventry have been very good about it so far but I'm sure they would also like it not to keep happening. The seat gets moved fore and aft a lot as my wife is 5' and i'm 5'10" but there seems to be plenty of free wire available.
I just need to fix the roof/heater control unit screen then (was replaced under warranty, but failed 'lines' again and keep trying to get the roof fixed. I love this van, I hate this van, I love this van.....

 

[Meoncoast]

Has anyone had this as a recurring fault and any new insight beyond the wiring plug and extending the harness.

In warranty had some part to do with air bag sensor / unit in front seat replaced found after 2nd warning light came on sorted by Breeze Totton seat skin taken off repair/replacement part seat good as new no issue after that.

 

[Loz]

On the Touareg there is a wire that runs under seat cushion to the seatbelt pretentioner, as the seats get older and the foam starts to sag it stretches the cable until the wire pulls out of the plug, this may be same issue on the Cali seats hence the extension mentioned above. If it's intermittent and going to the dealer is a hassle it might be cheaper to buy yourself a Carista unit and just reset it yourself?

 

[Honorianfrance]

I’ve the same problem...3 times it’s happened in 12 months. My local dealer is a fair distance away. With the warning light on, does this mean the airbag won’t function?

 

[Azteccamper]

I’ve the same problem...3 times it’s happened in 12 months. My local dealer is a fair distance away. With the warning light on, does this mean the airbag won’t function?

I believe the airbag system won’t function. What model do you have?

 

[TripleBee]

I believe the airbag system won’t function. What model do you have?

It is more of a warning light. The system detects a problem, and because it's a safety feature, it can only go away if you erase the fault, and fix the problem.
If there is a wire disconnected, then the airbag concerned won't work, but otherwise, there will be no problem.

 

[Honorianfrance]

I believe the airbag system won’t function. What model do you have?

2008 T5.

 

[B J G]

Even if you find a wiring fault and repair it you will need the fault clearing, Carista can do it or any garage with a laptop diagnostic.