2008 MINI Cooper: airbag warning light

Filed Dec 7, 2022 · Airbags · MN

Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) Airbag Warning Light has come on indicating a malfunction with this safety system and consequently that the airbag safety system may not deploy in the event of an accident. This problem is not unique to my specific vehicle and appears to be a very common issue amongst BMW Mini vehicles as evidenced by much discussion on forums across the internet.

Filed Sep 23, 2022 · Airbags · VA

This vehicle just went over 66,000 miles and the airbag warning light started appearing. An independent mechanic and dealership both diagnosed and said it's a defective front passenger seat occupant detection mat and I'd need to replace the entire system/seat. Several other vehicles with the same part have recalls however my specific 2008 model is not included in this recall. I believe it should be included in the recall as this is clearly a known issue and an obvious safety system/design flaw. No sort of crash or collision occurred and now the vehicle will not pass safety inspection and is unusable because of this until I spent roughly $2000 on the repair.

Filed Mar 24, 2021 · Airbags, Seats · WA

My air bag warning light is always on. The machanic said I need to replace the whole passenger seat to replace the airbag sensor. A new seat will cost $1500 and labor will cost $500. I was not in an accident.

Filed Mar 3, 2021 · Airbags · AZ

Passenger seat airbag occupant sensor/mat failed causing airbag light to be on and for airbags not to deploy incase of a accident . Mini did not recall this issues but put a warranty extension for 10years for this defect they are aware about. This has expired for many vehicles including mine . This is safety issue that's a potential risk of injury or death incase of a accident and the fact that mini cooper does not recall this matter is inhuman . Please help with this matter.

Filed Jul 16, 2019 · Airbags · 92,000 miles · NH

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 mini cooper. While driving, the passenger air bag warning indicator remained illuminated. The contact was concerned that the air bag might not deploy in the event of a crash. The vehicle was taken to mini of bedford (located at 209 s river rd, bedford, nh 03110, (833) 785-4497) where it was diagnosed that the air bag sensor needed to be reprogrammed. The contact also was informed by the technician that the passenger seat would need to be replaced if they removed it to reprogram the air bag sensor. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure and provided a case number. The approximate failure mileage was 92,000.

Filed Jul 15, 2018 · Airbags · 112,000 miles · CA

Air bag warning light on speedometer is on. I have had it reset and it comes back on. The failure code is "93b1 head airbag, front passenger." what has failed has not been determined yet. The vehicle mileage is 112,000 miles. This warning came on while the vehicle was stationary, parked.when the code is reset, it will stay off for awhile and then return.

Filed Sep 26, 2017 · Airbags · 59,500 miles · GA

Passenger airbag sensor malfunctioning with airbag light on and not certain what will happen if airbag needs to deploy. This seems to be a widespread problem based on internet search. Mini recalled first generation models for this issue but did not include the second generation vehicles (mine).

Filed Aug 4, 2016 · Airbags, Seat belts · 90,000 miles · VA

Srs computer and sensors are failing. No accident, no flooding just failing sensors and computer. Mini claims this is a "maintenance" item, yet there is no documented maintenance protocol for these items. Vehicle has less than 100k miles and air bag system components are failing. Hence we don't know if the system will work or not and the vehicle will not pass our state inspection.

Filed Jul 27, 2016 · Airbags · 98,000 miles · FL

Passenger side air bag light started by intermittenly turning on> now its is on all the time. Same issue as other mini coopers that have been recalled. Was told I have to replace the sensor seat mat. This repair should be covered by mini (bmw).

Filed Jun 22, 2016 · Airbags, Electrical · 88,000 miles · VA

Airbag sensor mat does not recognize whether a person is sitting on the passenger side thereby not activating the airbag; this has been happening on & off for months; passenger airbag light comes on immediately despite occupancy while parked and during driving (all conditions-highway, city street, turning; etc. Started approximately from 75k miles; now constant from 85k on

Filed Apr 26, 2016 · Airbags, Seats · 88,000 miles · VA · crash

My 2008 mini cooper was in accident in jan 2016. The (passenger) light came on and it was immediately take to autobody shop. The passenger airbag warning light was evaluated and added to repairs. The seat map sensor is the chief problem. The car is undrivable. The dealership in sterling indicated that it would take 15-30 day to received the part. The part was delayed until march 24,2016. Three days prior to delivery it was updated to jul 13, 2016. At this point my rental car from the insurance company ran out. I contacted customer care but was not able to receive a date nor assistance about my part and lost of vehicle. After conversation with liberty mutual, auto shop and dealership, we were told that the vehicle was safe to drive without a passenger in the seat. No resolution has been made, many individuals ( consumer, insurance company and auto shop) involved in the situation stated it was not safe nor could loss be guaranteed. As of the 4/18/2016, the part has been put on indefinite back order. Currently there is no known time frame return of vehicle. I am without transportation and I will need to purchase another car. Additionally I have heard from other repair facilities, mini's passenger seat occupancy sensor affects far more model years than those for which bmw has already announced recalls. I am also aware that more than 60 mini owners are waiting on this part as well.

Filed Apr 16, 2016 · Airbags · 100,000 miles · TX

I purchased my 2008 mini cooper brand new from mini of the woodlands in texas. About a year ago, the passenger airbag warning light started illuminating randomly, which disables the passenger airbag while it is illuminated. This happened more and more frequently, until it stays illuminated most of the time now. I brought it to mini if the woodlands for evaluation, and was told that the seat sensor had gone bad, and it would cost $1,900 to replace it. I find this failure to be a little odd, considering that my mini's passenger seat has almost never had anyone in it! Also, sliding the seat forward/backward seems to affect the frequency & duration of the sensor failures; though the overall frequency & duration continues to increase. From what I've seen online, and heard from other repair facilities, mini's passenger seat occupancy sensor affects far more model years than those for which bmw has already announced recalls. I'd even be happy if mini could just circumvent the passenger seat sensor, and have the airbag deploy in an accident whether or not there's anyone in the passenger seat. That's a far better option than having it deactivated whether or not there's a passenger in the car! But mini of the woodlands told me that there's no way they can do that.