airbag light on a 2001 VW New Beetle?

[turbo_wagon]

So a friend of mine has a 2001 New Beetle. Airbag light is on. He had taken it to the dealer (it's under a Certified Pre-Owned through VW w 56k miles). Dealer said it was a bad seat belt switch and said everything still works fine and that airbag(s) would deploy as necessary.

I scanned with VAG-COM and got the results below.

I don't think the airbags would fire in an accident. I also thing VW should fix it under warranty. I haven't read his warranty so I don't know exact terms but they usually don't mess around with airbag lights, I thought? What do you guys think?

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Address 15: Airbags Labels: 6Q0-909-605-VW5.lbl
Part No: 6Q0 909 605 A
Component: 25 AIRBAG VW5 0E 0006
Coding: 12853
Shop #: WSC 00066

1 Fault Found:
00591 - Seat Belt Switch; Driver (E24)

32-10 - Resistance too High - Intermittent

[Big Morgan]

I don't mean to sound snide, but why not post in the MkIV or NB forums?

[turbo_wagon]

Quote, originally posted by Big Morgan »

I don't mean to sound snide, but why not post in the MkIV or NB forums?

I like the collective wisdom of the car lounge. Plus, I'm particularly curious about the dealer's recalcitrance to address this problem.

Do airbags sometimes fire if the airbag light is on? What about on other makes / models ?

[Zba]

Did the dealer order a seatbelt and ship your friend until the part comes in?
Don't take my word as ultimate truth BUT I highly doubt the airbags will self deploy because of this faulty switch. Maybe if the control unit was under water, but otherwise it should be fine

[kraut_pauer79]

the airbags will function just fine in the even of a collision. The wonky signal from the seatbelt buckle will not hamper their function.

Those buckles are a pretty high-failure item, and I'm trying to recall from my service advisor/parts guy days if they were a covered item are not, I want to say they were. But your friend can also contact VW Customer Care if he really wants to get to the bottom of that.

It's a Beetle, and I'll tell you right now, your friend had better get used to that airbag light being on. Just like every bulb burning out, the airbag light is part of life with those cars.

[turbo_wagon]

[QUOTE=Zba]Did the dealer order a seatbelt and ship your friend until the part comes in?
[/QUOTE=Zba]
nope

Quote »

Don't take my word as ultimate truth BUT I highly doubt the airbags will self deploy because of this faulty switch.[/QUOTE=Zba] I asked it wrong. I'm wondering if the airbags will still function properly, which kraut_pauer says they will [QUOTE=kraut_pauer79]the airbags will function just fine in the even of a collision. The wonky signal from the seatbelt buckle will not hamper their function. Those buckles are a pretty high-failure item, and I'm trying to recall from my service advisor/parts guy days if they were a covered item are not, I want to say they were. But your friend can also contact VW Customer Care if he really wants to get to the bottom of that. It's a Beetle, and I'll tell you right now, your friend had better get used to that airbag light being on. Just like every bulb burning out, the airbag light is part of life with those cars.

Good stuff; thank you.

here's a pic of what is supposedly an AWD 1.8t Beetle from Seattle:

[Big Morgan]

NB rally cars = hawt.

[tjl]

Quote, originally posted by kraut_pauer79 »

the airbags will function just fine in the even of a collision. The wonky signal from the seatbelt buckle will not hamper their function.

But if the seat belt switch causes the air bag controller to believe that the seat belt is not buckled when it is (or vice-versa), could that cause the air bag to deploy incorrectly? Some air bags deploy at different crash thresholds or explosive power depending on whether the seat belt is buckled.

If it is under a bumper to bumper warranty, an air bag light problem should be covered under it. Read the warranty fine print for more information.

[turbo_wagon]

Quote, originally posted by tjl »

air bags deploy at different crash thresholds or explosive power depending on whether the seat belt is buckled. If it is under a bumper to bumper warranty, an air bag light problem should be covered under it. Read the warranty fine print for more information.

I thoguht sometimes they wouldn't deploy at all if the system thought that the seatbelt wasn't fastened. I had cleared the code, but it comes back every time it's activated. I, too, believe that it should be fixed -- he doth protesteth too little.

[VW1.8Tsunami]

I have a persistent airbag light...I'd try checking the connection and putting that electrical connector gel in it.

I had one for 10k miles and would periodically scan it and try to clear it. One day it cleared and stayed off for 15k miles...It came on this weekend

Also, I was told that if the airbag light is on, the airbags will not deploy.

[Ben010783]

I had the same thing happen to my GTI. I got a seatbelt switch for something like $60. The hardest part was finding a triple square so I could remove the seat to change the switch.