Warning Light On Problems of Mini Cooper S - part 2

Passenger seat occupancy sensor is defective. The passenger seat air bag light illuminates after engine start along with the red air bag failure warning light. Doesn't matter if seat occupied or not. This is a safety hazard due to disabling air bag. Mini dealers deny this is a manufacturing defect or design problem yet there are over 40 complaints on this forum. Repair costs are substantial to replace bottom seat cushion. A modification kit or retrofit to replace defective seat mat is needed.

See all problems of the 2006 Mini Cooper S 🔎.

When passengers or items were placed on the passenger seat the seatbelt and airbag warning lights would illuminate on the dash, but would go out after passenger or items were removed, and/or seatbelt was fastened. As of now both the airbag warning and seatbelt warning lights are illuminated, at all times, on the dash and will not return to normal state whether seatbelt is fastened or not. The airbag safety system is now disabled under normal driving operation due to these failures (airbag/seatbelt not ready state).

See all problems of the 2007 Mini Cooper S 🔎.

Issues with airbag light in 2006 Mini Cooper S, when someone is in the seat if they are not sitting just the right way the light will go on, warning us the airbag is deactivated, sometimes the airbag light will go on for the passenger seat with nobody in the seat. Sometimes the seatbelt warning light will come on with no one in the seat as well. Moving the seat will sometimes correct the issue. Complaints to Mini and dealer were on deaf ears. I copied and pasted the complaint, but my problem is exactly the same.

Unfastened seat belt warning light stays on and airbag off indicator stays lit at all times, with or without a passenger riding in the seat no matter the weight of the passenger. Unfastened seat belt warning bell/ding does not chime.

The air bag light came on for 2nd time. The 1st. Was 08-11-10 @ 81,539 miles. The control unit for the air bag was replaced. 65-77-184-432. Cost for the module was $507. 00. Part has a 2 year warranty form BMW. Started car Friday morning to go to work and the warning light came back on. Will take back to dealer. Part should last more than 1 1/2 years. This is a expensive part and labor was $400. 00 the last time it was replaced. Am I the only one to have this air bag problem. I do not think the air bags will work with the light on. This is a safety problem to me.

Passenger seat occupancy sensor/mat failed causing airbag "off" warning light and possibly (conflcting info from publicly-avaialble sources) turning off passenger seat airbag triggering function. The cost of replacing this component is such a large portion of the airbag system purchase price and the fact that it may also be essential for the system's proper functioning, make it seem reasonable that it should be warrantied for the life of the (airbag) system itself, or a "fix" engineered and installed at no cost to a vehicle owner.

See all problems of the 2005 Mini Cooper S 🔎.

Passenger airbag, front seat, sensor has a fault or short in it. Intermittently, while adult passenger is in seat, the warning light turns on, and passenger airbag "off" warning light comes on--thus shutting off the passenger airbag. This a known issue with the 2005 and 2006 Mini coopers and a serious safety issue. In this past month the frequency has increased to approximately 99% where the passenger has no safety protection as air bag is shut off. To date Mini is not warrantying this defect and it is a very expensive repair. I think a safety recall should be issued ASAP.

The airbag sensor in the seat cushion has failed and a warning light now permanently shows on the instrument panel. The passenger airbag may not function as designed.

See all problems of the 2002 Mini Cooper S 🔎.

The airbag warning light comes on intermittently. The repair shop says the sensor under the passenger seat is bad. BMW has known about this issue for several years and issued a 10 year 150,000 mile extended warranty and recall for approximately 150,000 vehicles over model years 2004 - 2006. For some reason they refuse to include the 2005 Mini Cooper S in the extended warranty and want ~$2,000 to replace the entire seat bottom for the defective sensor. This is a safety issue caused by a known and admitted defective part. Mini should issue a recall and replace the defective sensor under extended warranty as their parent company bwm has done for various models affected by the same defect.

The airbag warning light came on in my 2002 Mini Cooper S. The Mini dealer service department said that the airbag control unit was faulty. . . That the "mrs control unit shorted". Since this is a piece of safety equipment, and since it is not a mechanical device that would be subject to wear, I believe the dealer should have replaced this unit at no charge. . . And/or an alert should go to other Mini owners. I have since had the control unit replaced (at considerable expense) because I felt unsafe driving without airbags.

Passenger airbag lights on, the dealer said airbag works fine. I feel there is problem with air bag otherwise warning light should not be on.

See all problems of the 2008 Mini Cooper S 🔎.

While driving the airbag warning light came on and passenger air bag light turned off. At the same time the seat belt light came on. Had both checked and when car was returned both lights were out. Passenger seat bottom was replaced. I was told that this is common problem with the seat bottom. No problem noted for the seat belt light. 1/2 mile from dealer both warning lights again turned on and the passenger air bag light turned off. At this point I am not sure if the car is safe to drive or not.

Air bag warning light stays illuminated after passenger seat was moved. Light will not turn off.

Passenger seat oc-3 air bag sensor failure: I have had this problem sporadically since I bought the car but recently, I've been getting both the yellow overhead airbag off light (above the rearview mirror) and the red warning light on the center dash turn on and stay on. This happens several times a week now whether the seat is occupied or not. It causes the seatbelt alarm to go off and I have to buckle an empty seat. My main concern is it jeopardizing the passenger airbag function.

2005 Mini cooper warning lights indicated the passenger side air bag turned off while an adult passenger was in the passenger seat. Issue started during a cold NY winter after 5 yrs of fault free operation. Normally the passenger seat will sense the weight of a passenger and automatically adjust the force of a deploying airbag. Dealer reported faulty seat mat sensor with a replacement cost of $1300 which is not covered by warranty. After extensive internet search for similar problems, these sensor mats fail at a regular rate, and are not covered by any recall. Due to the high cost and repeated failure these repairs are not being performed.

Airbag warning light indicates system is either off or inoperative - it does not matter if someone is sitting on the seat or not. The airbag light is always on. After reviewing numerous complaints on Mini forums, it appears that the problem is common and due to a defective sensor under the seat cover. Since I rarely carry passengers, this condition is definitely not due to wear and tear. As it stands, I have no way to ascertain if the air bag will deploy in an accident situation. This could cause serious injury to anyone riding in the passenger seat or even the driver. A low mileage vehicle or even an older vehicle should not have this type of safety issue.

On 2005 Mini Cooper S with 13,000 miles the passenger airbag warning light came on. Mini diagnosed reason as failure of the sensor in the passenger seat, which would require $1100 repair. Mini will not fix because car is out of warranty. Mini did not state whether the airbag will or will not function. Passenger seat has rarely been used. Mini denies responsibility.

The red airbag warning light in the speedometer area came on at approximately 99,450 miles. It came on after driving across a city railroad crossing at low speed. I took the vehicle to the dealer and asked about the light, and they indicated that it would require additional investigation but could be a faulty seat sensor which would cost approximately $1250 to replace. They also indicated that they were not sure whether or not the airbags would deploy properly in the event of an accident. Further research indicates that this model and year may also have problems with the wiring harnesses and connections, and that only the dealer can reset the warning light. As of December 2 2010 the vehicle has 113,000 miles on it and the warning light is still on. I believe this is a safety related issue that should be addressed by the dealer as a warranty issue as I am not comfortable with the current situation but do not want to pay for an expensive safety related defect. I am the original owner of the vehicle and still have it. Thanks.

Issues with airbag light in 2006 Mini Cooper S, when someone is in the seat if they are not sitting just the right way the light will go on, warning us the airbag is deactivated, sometimes the airbag light will go on for the passenger seat with nobody in the seat. Sometimes the seatbelt warning light will come on with no one in the seat as well. Moving the seat will sometimes correct the issue. Complaints to Mini and dealer were on deaf ears.

"srs" warning light (passenger airbag off) blinks on and off in a 2005 Mini coopers with less than 60,000 miles on it. The warning light only triggers when there is someone sitting in the passenger seat. Was told by Mini dealership that it would cost $800 for the part and +$200 in labor to fix this safety issue. Not an acceptable answer.

The warning light indicates that the passenger air bag has been disabled when a full sized adult is in the passenger seat.

The contact owns a 2002 Mini cooper f. The contact stated that the air bags warning lights are illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local shop who diagnosed that the driver side air bag and attention to harness. They also, advised her to contact the manufacturer because their was a recall for this specific failure. The manufacturer was contacted and they stated that the vehicle identification number was not included on the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 20,000 and current mileage was 54,000. Updated 3/28/11 updated 12/20/11.

Several, the air bag warning light has illuminated more then ten different times, each time it was repaired by the dealer (westchester BMW/westchester Mini) the last fix was after the normal warranty had expired and required much fuss to get it repaired for free. The power steering pump suddenly stopped working while driving on the highway. The radiator fan was replaced two times by me (car out of warranty) even though I complained to the dealer when the car was still quite new about the frequency of the fan motor's starting and stopping which will severely shorten the life of any electric motor. The windshield stress cracked while under warranty and was repaired. The windshield wiped motor has just failed during an incredible rainstorm.

Tl the contact owns a 2003 Mini Cooper S. The contact stated that on three occasions the mat occupancy sensor on the front passenger's seat was replaced due to the warning light being illuminated. The vehicle was taken to Mini of birmingham located at (2001 tom williams way, birmingham, al 35210, 205-267-4505. The contact was informed that the mat sensor needed to be replaced at a cost of $1,200. The contact was also informed that the part may also be available at the local junkyard. The mat sensor was replaced however, the failure recurred. The contact was informed that the seat should be replaced which was still pending. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 79,000.

See all problems of the 2003 Mini Cooper S 🔎.