Hey everyone,

Getting a little frustrated lately. Spent ten hours fixing my oil leak last weekend (heat exchanger gaskets) and was sitting pretty for.... 6 days. As of this morning the Red Airbag light came on and will not go off!

I have not made any changes to anything that would do with those sensors and I understand the following things:

-It can be the seatbelt tensioner or something in the airbag system
-The current lights on are the Red Airbag light in the speedo, the seatbelt light constantly on on the speedo, and the tach display shows the Airbag light.
-From what I have read, the only thing that can remove the code is a shop or dealership (which is cost I wasn't really hoping to have right away)

I looked under the seats and from what I could see all the connections are solid. Both of the seatbelts seem to be working when it comes to the auto tension feature.

Just wondering if there are any ideas on the most common issue for this? I have searched around and found some threads, but most of them seem to state that the Airbag lights on the overhead console are on as well, which mine aren't. I am really hoping to get this solved as quickly as possible (and cheaply) because from what I can hear it disables my airbag system which obviously isn't safe. Was hoping to avoid getting the main problem solved myself, then getting a shop to just clear the code.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance

 

year make model?!

 

Whoops!

Sorry thought I had a signature haha.

2007 Mini Cooper S, 6 Speed

 

I've seen where the seat position sensor under the driver's has failed which will cause this problem, a fairly common problem at that. About a $40.00 part and easy to replace.

 

Does anyone know what the cheapest tool for R56 would be to pull that code and clear it? I want to ensure it is the seat position sensor before I start ordering parts and replacing it. I will be going out in the morning to see if I can find any frayed wires in there. I looked earlier but wasn't 100% sure what the sensor looked like. Now that I have seen the pictures on the How To, at least I have an idea.

Cheers, and thanks for everything so far

 

Do you live close to the dealer? How much would they charge to read it?

 

I live relatively close to one, not sure on how much they would charge me, but looking at the quote for a carbon cleaning I am tempted not to take it there.

I am thinking ill call an independent shop or two around town and look what they charge. I went out and checked the cables and really couldn't see any issues with either wire, though it is pretty dark out there even with a couple of handheld lights.

Thanks

 

So, took it to a shop today. They pulled and cleared the code today. Looks like it is the Clock Spring Sensor behind the steering wheel, and it has tripped the fault 27 times or so. Got it cleared and going to monitor to see when it comes back on, as a replacement part is apparently over $800 canadian. The tech ran the full resistance check through the sensors, and nothing came up, so not really sure what is causing it.

Definitely not what I wanted to hear, but I guess I will be keeping an eye on it.

 

So, light came back on 6 days later... woo..

If the tech was right, it was the clockspring sensor that went off 27 times before. If that is the case, then the part I need to order is

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/Stee...umn/ES2217859/

Has anyone had any luck replacing this themselves? I am assuming it shouldnt be too hard. Also, the tech was not 100% sure it was only this piece, he just suggested it as the first step in hopefully fixing the problem. $500 for a hopeful fix worries me. Has anyone else pulled the "Stage 2" Drivers side airbag code? And if so, what was the cause.

Thanks

 

Anyone have any input on this one? Just wondering if someone has had the same code happen and if replacing the steering column switch unit as linked above fixed the issue.

Thanks

 

Having same problem. Just heard back from local shop that codes are indicating the Clock Spring Assembly is bad and needs to be replaced. He mentioned that locale Mini dealer has part in stock ($675) and apparently is a common issue with the R56. I'm researching now to see what my options are and will let you know what I find. Nice surprise in addition to airbag light was that codes were indicating an ignition system failure requiring replacement of 2 coils.

Only have 60k on the 2007 R56 and can't believe the number of repairs I've had in the past 2 years. This one may be final straw that ends my Mini adventure.

 

Thanks for the update MarkinMd. I will be ordering my replacement part in the next couple of weeks I think, let me know how yours turns out.

 

Well I ordered the replacement switch unit from ECS. Will update when I replace it. I know it's pretty easy to get the steering wheel off, so hopefully this doesn't take too long!

 

Well, replaced my switch unit today with the OEM part number 61319253770. This is supposed to be the updated replacement for my car, which has the rain sensing wipers and DSC.

Replacement was fine, took about an hour, but after starting it back up I am getting the Airbag light as before, but I am also now getting the DSC Off light, and cannot turn it back on. I am hoping that I just need to take it to a shop and get it calibrated for the new part or something... Anyone have a similar experience with this part?