The airbag indicator light on the instrument panel has been alight for sometime. I'm not certain if it's an airbag failure or whether it's on the drivers or passenger side. I was surprised not to find my auto included in the takata airbag recall list event. Can you shed any light on this matter? If so, many thanks in advance.
BMW Z3 airbag light comes on
30 of the 206 owner complaints about the BMW Z3 describe airbag warning light, most of them for the 1997 model year.
- owner complaints
- 30
- worst model year
- 1997
- typical mileage
- 56,423
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
By model year
Often reported together
What owners say
Passenger air bag light stays on when engine is on.
Air bag light stays lit
The passenger air bag light is on and stays on. Whether car is stationary or in motion.
Driver and passenger seats move forward/backwards during acceleration and breaking at any speed, gas gauge reads empty on full tank or fluxes on dash and air bag light stays on for 3-5 min. At a time when starting up ignition.
Tl* the contact owns a 1996 bmw z3. The contact stated that the air bag warning light illuminated. The contact also stated that the seat belt could not be unlatched when the driver would depress or add any pressure to the brake pedal. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection and they stated that the air bag sensor and the seat belt assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 75,000.
Upon starting the car the air bag light came on and stayed on. This is the third time this has happened. The first two time it cost approximately $350 to repair. For this to happen a third time is indicative of a design fault.
My 1997 bmw z3 had the airbag light come on 2 years ago. The technician said it was caused by the seatbelt tensioner. He replaced it and all was fine. It's back on again. If this is as common to these models as I've heard why hasn't bmw had a recall to fix the problem. This is getting expensive.
Air bag light on. Shop mechanic stated "retrieved dtc code for drivers seat belt switch open or short circuit. Cleaned connectors, cleared dtc info operational check ok. If fault recurs, recommend replacement of drivers seat belt latch assembly." problem fixed june 18, 2008. Now problem with air bag light on is back. There seem to be a lot of problems with air bag sensors and seat belt latches on various bsm vehicles according to internet searches.
Passenger got into front seat and adjusted it down and back with the power seat controls. Airbag light illuminated and has been on ever since. I checked for broken or damaged wiring but found nothing obvious. Bmw is recalling many of their new cars, but it seems their old ones exhibit the same failures.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the BMW Z3 airbag light
Why does the airbag light come on in the BMW Z3?
Owners who report it most often also describe seat belt won't latch or retract, wrong fuel gauge reading and check engine light.
Which BMW Z3 years have airbag warning light problems?
The model years with the most reports are 1997 (10 complaints), 1999 (7 complaints) and 1996 (5 complaints).
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