How To Get Service Airbag Light Off

(Updated on March 21, 2022)

There are a diversity of different alert lights on the dashboard of a vehicle. Nearly people will only see them illuminate when there is a particular problem with their vehicle that is indicated by that light.

Whether yous know it or not, you have probably already seen the airbag light illuminate without even realizing it. For instance, when you get into your vehicle and showtime up your engine, you may come across a alarm light that is reminding you lot to put your seat belt on.

In some model cars, the seat belt lite is the same as the airbag light. This means people are familiar with seeing this lite as a alarm about their seat belt. They are not used to seeing it as a warning well-nigh airbags. Every bit a upshot, they may want to only ignore this calorie-free if it comes on without realizing that information technology is referring to a problem with the airbags and not the seat belt.

If you have your seat belt on and the airbag light is even so lit upwards, then you shouldn't ignore this light considering it likely means you lot have at least one not-functional airbag in your vehicle.

It's disquisitional that yous fix whatsoever problem at that place is with your airbag system because airbags are what may save your life if yous get into a machine accident. You don't want to find out the hard way whether your airbags piece of work or not.

What Tin can Cause the Airbag Light to Come up On?

Below are 5 common causes of an airbag light coming on:

1) Airbag Deactivated

The most common cause for the airbag light coming on is that the airbag system is deactivated or turned off. In that location may be a few reasons for this which you had no command over.

There may be an event with a crash sensor, SRS module, or other airbag component. Alternatively, the sensor in the passenger seat that determines whether that airbag should be agile or not may exist faulty.

ii) Seat Belt Effect

Like previously mentioned, not putting on your seat belt could crusade the airbag light to come up on. But there could be other seat belt issues that may cause this light to come up on also.

Possibly your seat chugalug does not snap deeply into the buckle and stay in place. Mayhap there is a trouble with the sensors in the buckle and they don't accurately tell the computer that you have attached your seat belt.

Alternatively, there could exist a problem with a seat belt pre-tensioner that may need to be repaired or replaced.

3) Small Accident

It is possible to go into a minor motorcar accident (aka fender bender) that doesn't deploy your airbags, but it even so causes the crash sensors to actuate. This means your airbag low-cal will stay on until you go to an auto repair store or airbag specialist and take information technology repaired and necessary parts replaced.

A small blow may be a situation where you hit something with the front end of your vehicle while you're driving at under viii mph. The crash sensors tend to exist sensitive to whatever type of accident no matter how big or small.

4) Water Damage

If the internal components of your vehicle take water harm for whatever reason, then corrosion may course on the crash sensors of your airbag arrangement.

This corrosion will distort their power to function properly and it could result in the airbag lite coming on.

5) Airbag Arrangement Not Reset

In one case you're in an blow which causes the airbags to deploy, only replacing the airbag is not enough. Crash sensors, clock spring, seat belt pretensioners, and other SRS components must also exist replaced. In addition, the airbag monitoring unit (the brains of the airbag organization) will need to be reset or reprogrammed.

You will need to take a qualified mechanic or dealership reset/reprogram the SRS module so the airbag organization can exist used again. Alternatively, some companies allow you to ship them the airbag monitoring unit of measurement, they reset it for a fee, then ship it dorsum to you ready to install.

See As well: Average Airbag Replacement Costs

Minimum Speed for Airbag Deployment

Airbags are designed for deployment when the front (or most front) of your vehicle collides with another vehicle or solid barrier. However, in gild for the airbags to deploy, the minimum speed that you lot need to be driving during your collision is betwixt viii mph and 14 mph.

Most people are driving way higher up these speeds when they crash, ordinarily between 35 mph and threescore mph. The faster you're going during a collision, the more that you'll demand an airbag to salvage your life.