Why Is My BMW Airbag Light On? Is It Dangerous? From Certified Experts in Santa Barbara Nowadays, due to the advancement of technology all the vehicles you see on the road are coming equipped with various safety features that are essential for keeping the driver and occupants’ safe. Now, if you are driving a luxury car, then its safety mechanisms are the best in the class. Among the various luxury cars that one gets to see, the BMW stands out from the rest due to its powerful performance and advanced features. The popularity of BMW can be gauged from the number of these cars that one gets to see while driving through Santa Barbara. The safety features in your BMW are robust and there is seldom any instance where you have to worry about their functioning. However, of late, certain BMW drivers are complaining about the illumination of the airbag warning light on the dashboard of their car. Now, there is nothing to worry about if you see the illumination of the airbag warning light. There are certain factors that can cause this problem. Here in this article, we will discuss the issues that cause the airbag warning light to illuminate on the dashboard of your BMW.
Damaged Clock Springs The airbag safety system in your car contains various components that help in its smooth deployment whenever the need arises. One such important part is the airbag clock spring in your vehicle which is located between the airbag of the driver’s seat and the steering wheel. The proper functioning of the airbag during a collision depends on the response of the clock springs. Due to years of usage, the circuit bands might wear out or become brittle. This often leads to the illumination of the airbag warning light as it triggers a soft-code error. The airbag warning light in your BMW is controlled by the airbag control module. Whenever the module gets the softcode error message it triggers the warning light. Now, issues with the airbag are very complex to deal with & you should not try it by watching some DIY videos on YouTube. Just take your BMW to a certified mechanic who will be able to use the right tools to determine what is wrong with the airbag system.
No Battery Backup Now, many vehicle owners are surprised to learn that the airbag system of their car has its own battery backup for its operation. The battery of your car is the main source of providing the required charge to all the components and whenever there is any kind of problem with the battery it affects all other parts related to it. A simple problem like battery drain has the potential of impacting the functioning of the airbags in your vehicle. There is nothing to worry about because when the battery gets fully recharged, the problem gets solved on its own. You can also try to remove the soft-code error with the use of a scan tool. Nevertheless, if the problem persists, then either the fault lies with the battery or the airbag system needs to be inspected.
Failure of the Sensor There are various sensors in your car that are responsible for monitoring the functioning of important parts in your vehicle. These sensors are connected to the onboard computers in your vehicle and whenever there is anything wrong with your vehicle these onboard computers will trigger the check engine light.
As you are driving a high-end car whenever the sensor monitoring the functioning of the airbag system encounters a problem, then along with the check engine light you will also witness the illumination of the airbag warning light.
Recent Collisions Well, did you have a recent collision lately after which the airbag has been fixed? Most of the time it is seen that after an accident when the airbags are reset then due to the improper setting of the airbag or its systems the airbag warning light flashes on the dashboard. The SRS system in your vehicle consists of components that can be used only once and need to be replaced every time they are deployed. If anything like this has occurred, then you need to replace the SRS system components.
Finally The above-discussed factors are some of the leading causes behind the illumination of the airbag warning light on the dashboard of your BMW. Now, you should take this problem lightly because it directly affects your safety and that of others. Thus, take your BMW to an experienced garage for diagnosing and fixing the issues.