When no passenger,no warning light. When passenger in seat, warning light is flashing.
BMW dealer advises (after code interrogation) that new seat sensor is required. The associated cost would buy a fairly decent holiday to Fiji.
To me, this seems odd because the fact that there is a difference between someone in the seat and no-one in the seat suggests that the sensor is OK.I assume that the sensor is a simple make/break switch!
Any advice would be appreciated.
andy61,
Jan 13, 8:47am
Is the airbag light on!,fairly common fault on these BMWs,have replaced a few seat sensor pads,no it is not a simple make/break switch,its a pad that almost looks like a seat heater pad.You dont have to get the BMW dealer to changeover pad and clear the memory,but you may need to get the sensor from BMW.Sometimes the sensor has been damaged by liquid being spilt on the seat.
supernova2,
Jan 13, 9:29pm
Can you just unplug the sensor or will that upset the airbags etc!
saxman99,
Jan 13, 10:26pm
Use this online catalog to find the part number (same as what BMW uses)
Then use the part number to buy the part (might be a cheaper aftermarket/OEM alternative available too) from the likes of eBay.If you can fit it yourself you will have saved Algeria's national deficit.
I do this reasonably often and have never struck a problem.
Good Luck!
kev3110,
Jan 13, 11:32pm
There is a company called Pan Pacific in nz that supply these aftermarket (from memory they actually might be genuine rebranded) not to sure if you can buy direct off them or you have to be in the trade.your local auto electrician will be able to source one from them though.
sjo,
Jan 14, 7:43pm
It's my car that owene was asking about, and your comments are all very helpful. I do minor repairs on my car all the time and have a manual to help so I'll source the part myself and install as suggested. Quoted $600 upwards from specialist BMW mechanic. Feeling this is a little bit high to turn off a light!
Thanks all, Sarah
saxman99,
Jan 14, 8:29pm
Good stuff.
Be warned, there is a chance that even after you replace the faulty part the light will remain on.If this is the case it will need a reset from somebody who has a bmw srs computer. There will be a charge for this, I would use an independent garage who specializes in bmw.Then, provided there are no other faults you should be all good to go.
andy61,
Jan 14, 8:44pm
The Airbag/SRS light will remain on after the repairs to the seat/sensor have been done until the memory has been cleared by a plug-in scanner-many garages and auto electricians have these scanners.No need to go to a BMW agent.
peril787b1,
Jan 15, 8:50am
It's not just a light though, it's what tells the airbag that there's someone in the seat so in the event of a collision, the airbag will deploy. Admittedly, it's not cheap but it could save a life.
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