Went to pick up new 2009 with 2 miles on the odometer and lo and behold, the overhead passenger airbag light lights up with adult passenger in the seat. We rejected the car.

 

I know this has caused me HELL when installing the audio system. Always make sure the seats are connected (don't have to be bolted in, just connected) whenever you connect the battery to the car. Even if its just to test something, always have them in the car!!!

Oh yeah, and if the dealership asks why the error is there, just say that you saw a yellow connector come out of your seat one day and decided to plug it back in! Or else, it's a $100 service fee to clear the error!

 

It seems this issue should have had an APB (all points bulletin) put out and MINI should just recall them and fix it once and for all. I feel for you all having been there and done that. Thankfully, my 2009 was fixed initially and hasn't had a problem since.

 

Happened to my car on the way home from dinner last saturday. It seems really random at this point and rarely does a passenger sit in my car so I will try to line it up with a day off to go down the 120 miles to the nearest MINI dealership. I can't wait for the one in austin to get built. I didn't think I'd have to take it in so soon.

 

Good Luck and let us know how it goes.

San Antonio said they couldn't find a problem with ours...

 

I have a 2003 MINI with 32K on the clock and I just got the dreaded airbag warning light. I checked the fault code and it is the tensioner(positioning) belt drivers side. I contacted MINI USA with my VIN and mileage and they claim my VIN is not covered my the exteneded warrenty for this fault. I thought the entire year of 2003 MINI is covered? I think the MINI responder is confusing this fault with the seat pad fault in the 2005 MINI. I have responded to MINI with the correct NHTSA service bulletin and I'm awaiting their response. Anyone else have trouble with MINI covering this fault?

 

my 2008 MCS has been throwing intermittent airbag warning light on the speedo & tach; the 'passenger airbag off' light; and 'seatbelt not buckled' light on the speedo, when i have a passenger.

it's been intermittent, but it did it all weekend and the warning stayed on the entire time. i took it to the dealer yesterday to drop it off, and of course, the light was not on when i left it. I left it overnight.

Waiting to hear back from the dealer. I'm almost positive that they'll say they were unable to duplicate it and, thus, can't do anything about it....

 

Add me to the list. Mine has been doing this intermittently over the past five or six days. I thought it might just be a temporary glitch, but apparently not.

 

what is the weight of the passenger? with this info i may be able to help as there are some odd things that happen depending on the exact circumstances. Certian weights and shapes of weight will cause different sensors to engage and cause different indications. Like when i have my laptop on the passenger seat and it causes the belt not buckled warning but when i buckle the belt it then causes the "passenger air bag off light" to light up becuase there is not enough weight and it thinks there may be a small child there so teh air bags should be turned off and is automatically.

Of course that happens. You need it fixed.

Hopefully they do more testing than most dealers will.

 

the weight of the passenger is either me or my husband.

i got a call from the dealer. they actually found something! they've ordered an airbag module. said they were getting it overnighted. So maybe it will be fixed tomorrow, but either way I'll need to bring the loaner in tomorrow and pick up my car, fixed or not.... Kinda crappy, as I got no guarantee that a passenger airbag would deploy in a collision, since the warning lights and the 'passenger airbag disabled' lights being on.

i'm pretty unimpressed with my mini over these 2 years. i spend most of my time wondering when the next problem is going to be on mine or my husband's r56 MCS. we got into motorcycles since we bought these cars and honestly the coopers have become fancy grocery-getters....

honestly, i think we will be looking into a subie or honda or something before the warranty is up. i don't see keeping these cars outside of the warranty.

 

It's good to hear that I'm not the only one who has so many problems.

 

Hopefully that fixes the problem, I have heard of others having the module changed as well.

Sorry to hear that. My MINI is not the best car i have ever owned but it is much closer to the top of the list than the bottom.

Hopefully you do not get one of the bad ones of those either.

 

This is scary. I just dropped off my Mini for the broken airbag. Its a week turn around time. If this happens when I'm out of warrantee and it takes forever to get the part, I'll be SOL without wheels for a week (or more). I'm afraid to see how much the sensor/module will cost as well... why isn't this part stocked stateside? I can see parts going bad, but to have to wait a week to get them installed is not looking too good, especially if this is going to be a long term car. Is this common in the BMW/European car world? This is my first Non-American car.

 

My Intermittent Airbag Light Has Not Returned After Replacing By Burnt Out Glovebox Light, Go Figure. Check All Your Bulbs!!!! Possible Simple Fix For Some People's Problem. Good Luck!

 

My Intermittent Airbag Light Has Not Returned After Replacing By Burnt Out Glovebox Light, Go Figure. Check All Your Bulbs!!!! Possible Simple Fix For Some People's Problem. Good Luck!

 

I will join the club! I've had this issue for a while but it only happens occasionally. The passenger airbag OFF light will turn on while an adult is sitting in the passenger seat. I have asked my MINI dealer to take a look at the problem multiple times and the answer has always been the same - we could not duplicate the problem and there are no error codes stored in the computer so there is nothing we can do. This time, the warranty is almost up, and they have been able to duplicate the problem. However, there are still no error codes so they don't know what to fix. The SA said they couldn't do anything and I got into a bit of an argument with him and spoke to one of the techs who said they will take a deeper look on Monday. I will update this thread accordingly.

Is there a bulletin for this issue??? I will call Meg from MINI tomorrow as well.

 

My 03 airbag light came on a couple winters ago after driving over my front valence that was torn off by a block of ice which fell off a truck on the highway. Still lite up today.

 

I found this forum looking for a fix/reason on my own intermittent airbag light. I just bought a used 2005 JCW convertible and all was fine for about 200 miles. Then the passenger airbag light came on while a passenger well over 50 pounds was sitting there. It went off later then back on. You apparently know the drill. I went to the NHTSA web site after reading all the complaints here and elsewhere yet nothing comes up. Nobody complained? I looked under complaints, defect investigations, safety recalls and found nothing.

Love the car otherwise but reading this forum so far and the others I hope it is not like my Moto Guzzi Norge in that parts are hard to get, expensive and it has intermittent problems that the manufacturer refuses to talk about.

Rudy

 

Posting this here to document my expereince for others.
My MINI is 2005 MCS with a Feb 05 build date. Presently 92000 miles.
CEL light came on in early May. Scanned and is a bad O2 sensor. After a search on line I called the dealer and yes it's covered out to 10 years or 100,000 miles.
In discussing this with a friend on Friday night he says that anything with the airbag system is covered as well.
Now last night when I went to pickup my daughter from work guess what light decides to pop on? Yep, the Airbag warning light. Let's see what happens.

 

I'll really be curious to hear what happens. I just bought mine and my closest dealer is over an hour away.

 

As of Sunday, it looks like I'm officially part of the Airbag Light Club. My car isn't even a month old, still bone-stock.

I get the Red Airbag Guy on the tach LCD, and Seatbelt Guy on the speedometer (top center). I'm pretty disappointed at how many MINI-related problems have been around for years now that MINI still hasn't fixed (especially safety related problems like this).

I have an appointment scheduled in a week -- My dealer is 80 miles away, so I have to be extra careful not to die on the way there

 

just popped up on my 2007 MCS last night. talked to the dealership and they are going to look at it Wednesday (and give me a loaner...)

while i've had a couple problems with the MCS I don't think its any less reliable then the other cars i have owned. heck, i went through 2 A/C compressors on my wife's honda CR-V.... which is why she drives a VW now!

i have full faith in my local dealership, they have always treated me fairly and the service has been great. i just hope it continues that way.

B.

 

Mine turned out to be a 20A fuse. Luckily no major surgery to the car had to be performed.

I was a bit relieved until the parts department screwed the order up on my driving lights. Now I'm mad again

 

mine was a direct result of the TSB for the wiring harness rubbing and shorting out. happened on the driver's side seat so they did both.

it's in the wash bay right now and i'll be picking it up in a bit. Barron MINI has got to be one of the best dealerships, they always do it right! got to drive a convertible as a loaner and my last loaner was a clubman, so now i just need a countryman and I'll have the full set

b.

 

My car is 6K out of warranty. The airbag and seatbelt lights have been stuck on for two days. Funny thing is, nobody has sat in the passenger seat in weeks.

Do you know what the TSB number was?