Recently, I've been getting both the yellow overhead AIRBAG OFF light (above the rearview mirror) and the red warning light on the center dash. This happens several times a week with my wife in the car, sitting as she's sat since we bought the car 2 years ago.

My '05 MCS is out of warranty. Is this viewed as a safety issue that will be covered even though the warranty has expired, or would I have to pay for them to fix it? (I might bring it to an independent shop (ORR) instead of Motorwerks MINI if it won't be covered.

Matt Braun
'05 MCS, EB/W/W
Saint Paul, MN

 

Bueller? Bueller? Anyone???

 

my 06 does the same thing, only when someone is in the seat otherwise the lights stay off. when occupied the yellow overhead and seatbelt light come on some times off and on, but not with bumps...

gonna take it to the dealer soon... i want that airbag to go off is someone is sitting there.

anyone had these symptoms and got it fixed?

 

Here is the deal. The OC-3 matt(ribbon) in the passenger seat is rather delicate. It is susceptible to cracking and causing problems with the air bag sensor indicating the seat is either occupied or unoccupied (under 25 lbs). The result is if you are in an accident, the passenger dash air bag may not deploy with as much force if the sensor indicates the seat is unoccupied, yet you have an adult passenger present.

The problem of the sensor in the seat is a well known issue to BMW, which extended the warranty period and initiated a recall for BMW's. See Reuters article http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLE72003720080814. Various Bimmer forums are filled with discussions of this issue. And you can find it on the NHTSA - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration site.

MINI however has yet to be willing to admit that there is an issue with the seats in it's 05 & 06 models. We have an 06 just out of warranty. Our 1st quote to fix it is 1,000. Some people have had it replaced multiple times. So far we have not pushed this issue with MINI, but expect to do so in the next month. The NHTSA has about 17 complaints registered for this particular problem. Please register your situation. As this is a safety issue, an investigation of the problem by the NHTSA can lead to a recall or MINI at least deciding to cover it on an as needed basis.

If you don't want to pay the money or do any of this and you are the only occupant of your MINI. There are some aftermarket / do it yourself options to defeat the sensor. I do not recommend it, but in certain instances it might make sense. The car is used at the track. Need to install other manufacturers seats. Etc… Note using the defeat components usually results in either no deployment or full force. Do your searches using BMW rather than MINI.

Good Luck, Hope your area dealer is reasonable and wants to fight for the customer.

 

yep just got back from clear lake MINI where i was quoted $1578.12(no labor) for P.N. 52106972304 which seems to be the entire seat bottom..... is there know way to purchase the sensor alone and install it myself?

 

just filed my complaint to THTSA

 

I have an '02 mini and the airbag light is on constantly, the car has about 78K miles on it. From when we got it in '03, the car has been problematic electrically. The problems I've always been able to track down except for two:

-after new hinges on the hatch, it now leaks in the rain, the seal doesn't leak and it's driving me CRAZY!

-the other and far more worrisome one is the airbag light has been on for the last month. Since I"m the only one who drives it and my wife only occasionally rides with me, I haven't been too worried about it. But, she is in the habit of "jamming" stuff under the seat and I wonder if that may have damaged something under there?

Can anyone help?

No, I haven't talked to the dealer about this, the nearest one is about 20mi away in Hartford, CT.

All help is appreciated.
J

 

no help....

dealer quoted me 2000 some odd bucks for a new one, i allso called bmw america and talked to them, they got back to me and said me local dealer would give me a new discounted price for the repair, but i havent checked to see what that is yet...

other options is to find a junk yard seat pull the sensor out of that and have a trim shop install it for you.

or there is a way to bypass the sensor but then you will iether get only no airbag deployment, or allways a full force deployment(not good if you have a tiny girlfriend).

 

To Jays100
The 02 & 03 models had issues with a too short wiring harness under the seat. Quickly moving the seat back and forth in the track seemed to loosen the connection and result in the situation you are experiencing. Have the dealer check it out for coverage under the extended warranty.

Motoringfile covering the MINI Press release on the Tech Service Bulletin follows below.

MINI Extends Warranty for Airbag Issues
Sections: Faults & Fixes | Official News | Recalls/Campaigns Mar 26th, 2006 31 Comments

MINI USA is extending the warranty for specific air bag warning lamp issues on some MINIs sold in the US. This will surely come as a welcome surprise to anyone who has been greeted by the dreaded glowing airbag light over the years. Here’s an excerpt from the letter just sent out by MINI USA:

“We have found and repaired cases in which a wiring harness connector for the side air bag and safety-belt pretensioner as partially loosened. When this occurred, the increase in electrical resistance causes a red airbag warning lamp to light up.”

“In cases we have seen so far, the airbag and pretensioner would have operated normally, HOWEVER, ANYTIME AN AIRBAG WARNING LAP IS ON IT MEANS THE SYSTEM MUST BE CHECKED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.”

The last sentence is probably the most important one here. Those worrying that this will effect the safety of their MINIs need not be concerned. That said it would be irresponsible if MINI USA didn’t strongly encourage people to bring their cars in for the issue for a proper fix. That’s where the extended warranty comes in….

“In the interest of customer satisfaction, we are extending the warranty coverage of the vehicle for defects that may occur, for this specific air bag warning lamp issue, on your vehicle for 10 years / 150,000 miles, whichever occurs first. Under terms of this warranty coverage, MINI will cover all necessary repair costs related to this action.”

Along with the letter MINI USA is also sending out a sticker to be placed on page 25 of your Service and Warranty booklet for your reference and for your service advisors reference. It’s worth noting that we do not know yet if this is intended for all MINI owners are just a specific build period. However it would seem that the issue has plagued cars from every model year since the beginning.

 

Thanks for your help, I'll contact my local Mini dealer Monday.
J

 

Any updates on this. Is that article correct? They are fixing it?

 

I'm interesed in if Mini will warranty it or not, and also interested in what resistance range this output wire is looking for to trick the SRS module into thinking someone's in the seat.

 

If you have a 2002/2003 MINI, the dealership should replace the short length wiring cable which can lead to the fault at no charge. If this is not the source of your issue, MINI is not covering the repair work at this time to the best of my knowledge. Maybe some day BMW will stop treating MINI owners as a less important class of owners.

 

To firehawk618. I do not know the resistance range this output wire is looking for to trick the SRS module. If you have one of the older MINIs, I think you might be able to find some information on BMW or MINI web sites. I do remember coming across information and modules someone had built to defeat the sensor. Of course if you do manage to deactivate the sensor, then you face not having the airbag go off or it goes off at full force no matter what. If you look at deactivating it you may wish to look at the options some racing teams have pursued to allow for the swapping in of alternate seats and deactivating the system.

 

I will update my sig, mine is a late 05, built 1/05.

It has 3 wires going to the passenger seat sensor and I'm pretty confident a resistor isn't going to do the trick like the older 2 wire seat sensors. :(

I looked at the schematic and verified the following:

1 wire is 12v+
1 wire is 12v-
1 wire goes to the SRS module.

There has to be some kind of logic chip or something in that sensor, MAYBE if one were to take that sensor out and try to trick the sensor itself VS trying to trick the SRS module........

 

Any new updates on this issue? Both airbag lights on my '06 started coming on recently with an adult passenger in the seat.

The really sad thing is that I rarely have a passenger...so the sensor mat must be a real POS for it to have worn out with maybe 50 front passenger seat rides over a five year period.

Also, how do I register my complaint with NHTSA?

 

Anyone have a junk seat I could rob the sensor from? Ideally it would be a good sensor so I can reverse engineer a replacement. Even if you have a dead sensor I'm interested in getting my hands on one.
TIA
ndale

 

How can I report a safety problem to NHTSA?

If you think your vehicle or equipment may have a safety defect, reporting it to NHTSA is an important first step to take to get the situation remedied and make our roads safer. If the agency receives similar reports from a number of people about the same product, this could indicate that a safety-related defect may exist that would warrant the opening of an investigation. In order to make it convenient for consumers to report any suspected safety defects to NHTSA, the agency offers three ways to file such complaints.

Vehicle Safety Hotline
NHTSA operates the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Vehicle Safety Hotline telephone service to collect accurate and timely information from consumers on vehicle safety problems. You can call 1-888-327-4236 or 1-800-424-9393 toll free from anywhere in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands to register complaints or receive recall information about a vehicle. The Hotline also has Spanish-speaking representatives and offers a dedicated number, 1-800-424-9153, for use by persons with hearing impairments.
When you call the Hotline to report a vehicle-related safety issue, you will be asked to provide certain critical information that agency technical staff needs to evaluate the problem. The information you provide is filed on a Vehicle Owner’s Questionnaire (VOQ), entered into the agency’s consumer-complaint database, and forwarded to NHTSA technical staff for evaluation.
VOQs filed through the Hotline will be mailed to you for verification of data. In addition, you will receive an explanation of how your report will be used, as well as a request for written authorization allowing NHTSA to provide your personal identifiers (e.g., name, address and telephone number) to the manufacturer of the alleged defective product you own. Note that you are not required to provide such authorization. However, sometimes sharing this information with the manufacturer can help facilitate the recall process.

Safercar.gov
You can also report a vehicle safety issue to NHTSA online at our vehicle safety Web site: www.safercar.gov. Select “File a Complaint” within the Defects and Recalls section of the home page. The information you submit via the Web site is recorded in VOQ format, entered into our consumer complaint database, and provided to our technical staff for evaluation.
When you fill out a VOQ online, you will be given the option of checking a box to authorize or not authorize the release of your personal identifiers to the manufacturer of the alleged defective product you own. Again, while you are not required to provide such authorization, doing so can sometimes help facilitate the recall process.
Actual Link - https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/

U.S. Mail
To report a safety complaint to NHTSA by mail, send your letter to:
U.S. Department of Transportation
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Office of Defects Investigation (NVS-210)
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE
Washington, DC 20590

 

Well It looks like mine has started to show th esame issues. Stared atfter the first cold night this year. Dont know if that helped it along but ? SRS light on dash is on and if I put my laptoop bag in the passanger seat with the seat belt. I get the yellow air bag light with the #2 lit up.

 

Not sure whether anyone watching this thread wishes to attempt this, but a solution to turn off and disconect the sensor mat has been found. It appears to also change the air bag activation to a always at full force, though to my knowledge it has not been tested.

 

Did you get any help with this problem? I just left the dealership and they said it is not covered and would cost about $1400.00 includes 2 hours of labor. So I am trying to find a recall, but so far no luck.

 

This is so crazy. There are so many people having these defective airbags. MINI should replace them. This is a safety issue. I don't like driving around with no airbag for my passenger. I have filed my complaint with the Transportation department for my 2005 MINI.

 

When I went to the dealership they told me there hasn't been very many. I should call Mini USA and see if they would help pay....I think they should do it for free. I agree it is a safety problem! I haven't had a chance to call them yet. But I plan on filing a complaint as well.

 

No, we have not resolved the issue. Our MINI usually does not have passengers. It is really just one of the repairs to do sometime in the future.
Recently saw a post on the Bavarian Autosport blog about the possibility of a faulty seat belt latch for MINIs. Although I have not seen any tsb's related to this possible failure, it might be a less expensive option to check out first.

 

Thanks for the info. The dealership said to call MiniUSA to see if they would help out with the $1400.00 repair (2 hours of labor). This is ridiculous, it is a safety issue and should be covered. According to the dealership opinion, it isn't that prevalent of a problem! How convenient for them! Mine is 2006 MCs, my husband rides in the passenger side, and the light on dash and over mirror stay lit.

I haven't called MiniUSA yet, so to be continued.......we will see