can disconnecting a battery for approx.5 minutes cause the air bag light to suddenly start staying on?
Hello, I'm Jason. I will do my best to answer your question quickly and accurately using the information you have provided.
was the key turned on at any point when the door wiring was disconnected?
Do not know. The battery was unplugged by a neighbor the night before I had the wiring harness replaced. After connecting the battery back he had me try the driver side buttons to see if any would work and they still didn't but now the air bag light was coming on. I was quoted an amount of 1800 to fix the air bag problem but I think it is too coincidental that the problem did not begin until that exact time.
How was that estimate determined? Meaning, was the airbag computer scanned? If so, do you happen to have the list of trouble codes available?
just disconnecting the battery and reconnecting will not turn the light on by itself
supposedly yes. no i do not have the codes. i had read a thread of something that battery issues could cause this to occur but cannot find the exact post again. I am just concerned about the timing of this problem and the high cost of fixing it and am looking to other causes and solutions. I just find it hard to believe that this repair could cost so much and am not sure i am 100% confident in the service i am receiving.
Unfortunately, without knowing the trouble codes, there's no way for me to determine the possible cause of the fault, or the estimated cost to repair it. I also do not know if there was an attempt to turn the light off, and if so, did the light come back.
however, again, a simple battery disconnect and reconnect would certainly not cause this
if you're able to retrieve and post the codes for me, I can certainly help further
i am trying to obtain the codes and am expecting a call back. they did say they did not clear the codes to see if that would clear the problem. all they had at the moment without checking with the technician was that it was a right side seat module.
at the same time, I can't imagine any one part in the system that would cost $1800 to repair/replace
to be exact the quote is 1805.38. so you can understand my frustration. we purchased two used certified VWs for our children a few years ago and I must say we have been greatly disappointed in what that certification represented. We have had to have numerous repairs on these cars compared to my higher mileage Nissan. I feel like VW has me over a barrel like with the wiring harness, my son could had driven the car without the driver side window functions disabled and the trunk not being able to open from the inside button, but we could not access the gas tank so we had no choice but to replace the harness. And once again I have no choice I cannot send my son out to drive a car in which the air bags may not work. While the malfunction is on the passenger side the service department said they had no assurances that the drivers side bag would still deploy.
My only suggestion at this point is to do a search in your area for a good independent VW/Euro shop who can give you a second opinion on what is really necessary to repair your car. If it's a simple seat occupant sensor, or even a seat airbag, the cost of replacement should be less than half of the estimate given
What exactly do you mean by independent VW shop? These figures came from a VW dealership service department.
correct, and in my experience as a service manager and dealer technician at a VW dealer service department, often the diagnosis is nothing more than throwing parts at a problem hoping that their "hunch" is right
a good independent VW/Euro car shop will often have the correct diagnostic equipment, and take the time needed to perform a proper diagnosis on the problem, rather than throwing parts at it
try doing a google search in your area for "vw service", "vw repair" or "european car repair", and you might find a good qualified shop
Thank you I will try looking for an independent shop.
glad to help