E39 air bag light has come on

[Tazar]

My air bag light has come on so first thing I do is Google e39 air bag and lots of posts about a recall for faulty air bags exploding and shrapnel hurting drivers. Lots of these were in the States.

I phone my local dealer in Dorchester in Dorset and service guy says no recalls for your car. We can have the car in for an appraisal and see what the problem is and give it a wash for £159. My car is immaculate so giving it a wash isn’t a priority.

Any ideas and have any of you experienced this?

I’v got RAC cover, is it something they can just turn off ?

[Austin_Metro]

Has yours ever been changed? I’m going back a while but my 2002 e39 did have a new airbag fitted for free by bmw as a recall sometime between 2012 and 2017.

I was astonished that they did it for free. Can you check the “outstanding recalls” thing on the gov uk mot checker site.

Others will know if there is another way to check.

If it has already been replaced - then I think this ones on your account.

[Jordie Barretts sock]

First thing I would check is the wiring under the front seats.

Give it a jiggle and see if the light goes out. Something as simple as adjusting the seat or someone in the back with their feet under the seat in front can cause a slight canbus fault.

Used to happen in an old Saab of mine on a regular basis. Also had it once in my Range Rover. Just moved the wiring under the passenger seat and it's been fine ever since.

Obviously do the jiggling with the ignition off, otherwise the car will still 'see' the problem.

[d_a_n1979]

Airbag lights are generally a fault seatbelt tensioner in E39s; rarely is it the steering wheel airbag

If your car has no recalls then your airbag must be one of the later ones

See post no.20 here: https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?...

Both my UK E39s had the airbag recall and had the new ones fitted; both my Jap import E39s didn't have the recall as they had the latest version of the airbag

Your SRS lights need to be checked with a proper code reader (ie. INPA ideally) to see which module is at fault; no point in guessing until you've done this really

[S. Gonzales Esq.]

I’ve previously had to bypass the passenger seat occupancy sensor, and now the driver’s side tensioner puts the airbag light on if I move the seat with the ignition on.

In each case, I had to reset the light by plugging the car into a laptop running INPA.

If it is the passenger seat sensor, a bypass can change whether the airbag fires so research your options.

[Tazar]

It’s a car built in February 2000 so before the update. No mention of a recall or air bag change in the service book so I’m presuming it is the original one still.

[d_a_n1979]

Tazar said:

It’s a car built in February 2000 so before the update. No mention of a recall or air bag change in the service book so I’m presuming it is the original one still.

Remove it and have a look; disconnect the battery and remove the airbag.

Compare it to the pics in the above link

[Googie]

There was a recall in May 2019 for E39 M5 drivers airbag-don't know if this applied to all E39s

[d_a_n1979]

Googie said:

There was a recall in May 2019 for E39 M5 drivers airbag-don't know if this applied to all E39s

It was the same right across the board; I'd only had my Jap import E39 touring from March 2019 and it was recalled in that until realised that it'd already had the latest airbag

[Tazar]

I spoke to BMW Customer Services in Farnborough a couple of hours ago and the lady there said my car isn’t and hasn’t been due any recalls.
Five years ago I changed the steering wheel to a M Sport wheel but it’s never presented a problem before.

[d_a_n1979]

Tazar said:

I spoke to BMW Customer Services in Farnborough a couple of hours ago and the lady there said my car isn’t and hasn’t been due any recalls.
Five years ago I changed the steering wheel to a M Sport wheel but it’s never presented a problem before.

As said; it won't be the steering wheel airbag; it's likely to be one of the seatbelt tensioners

You need to get it plugged into decent diagnostics which will tell you which SRS module is at fault

[Higgs boson]

My e39's air bag light comes on a couple of times a year.
I plug in my kit, and turn it off.
'might be worth a try.

[d_a_n1979]

This Creator code reader will turn off SRS warning lights

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Creator-C310-System-Engin...

A handy tool for the arsenal

[Sebring440]

d_a_n1979 said:

This Creator code reader will turn off SRS warning lights

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Creator-C310-System-Engin...

A handy tool for the arsenal

Yes, and the light will come straight back on again if the fault hasn't been fixed.

[d_a_n1979]

Sebring440 said:

d_a_n1979 said:

This Creator code reader will turn off SRS warning lights

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Creator-C310-System-Engin...

A handy tool for the arsenal

Yes, and the light will come straight back on again if the fault hasn't been fixed.

We all know that; but simply offering the OP another option for a simple to use code reader if they haven't got access to INPA etc

And sometimes the SRS lights in E39s can just come on and then be cleared; more so if something has been moved/bumped