*sigh* Seems like it's never more than a month or two before the car decides to take a little extra portion out of my paycheck. :wacko:

So, anyways... yes - I know about the infamous "Passenger Restraint System" malfunctions. The recall, etc. Searched around quite a lot.
This may still quite be the case for me, but I'm not fully convinced yet.

This is what has happened so far:

I got in the car this morning, burn my rear off on the black leather seats that've just been in direct sunlight for a few hours... turn the car on, and I see this pleasant message:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-a...513_133247.jpg

I hooked up my laptop, fired up INPA, and start trying to get some more details on any stored errors. It looks like the Passenger occupancy sensor is still functioning as expected.. I verified by getting up and sitting down a few times, and each time the sensors picked up a correct reading. See screenshot #1 below:
Attachment 166055

Belt buckles and all are also reporting proper readings:
Attachment 166056

I did manage to get this error code reading. If someone here knows some German, a summarized translation could be quite helpful :) Otherwise I'm just going to retype it into Google Translate and go from there.
Attachment 166057

Though probably the most telling of the screens I got was this....
Attachment 166058



What is "Ignition Circuit 0"? Below that it says... Airbag Driver Position 1. Is that... my steering wheel's airbag? I sure freaking hope not.
I'd like to get some ideas/suggestions/etc before I start taking things apart.

:help:

I have the same error, so I'm interested in what you find out!

Same error - or same diag information?

If you search around, there is a lot of information about the Passenger Restraint System failing. BMW even has a recall (US only) for it. However... That's for the passenger seat mat. But from what I saw on INPA, the passenger mat is still reporting just fine.

Have you pulled any diag info from INPA for your situation?

I'd like to see what other people have seen as well.

Here's the text of the screenshot of the error code readout.

Figured if anyone on Google comes across this in the future, it'll make discovery easier.

And an English translation via Google Translate:

Dude, if you find out a coding solution to turn off this whole system plz let me know!

I have this same error...

Just check with BMW, you may be qualified for a free replacement of your passenger restraint system, my 545i was covered. There is a 10 year warranty on them.

I checked at my old dealership in the Detroit area, they told me to kick rocks with no socks...

That's what my dealer said too, but I called Transport Canada who then called BMW to clarify the situation and voila, it was replaced free and with a smile.
Not sure in the US if you have a transport safety agency who take customer complaints and works with dealerships for a solution. Basically the passenger restraint system is a major safety issue, you can't be sure if you have a passenger and god forbid you get into an accident, you are ok, but your passenger isn't. Of course if your car falls under the warranty, which mine did.

I would file a complaint and get it done. BMW acknowledged the issue and extended the warranty to 10 years, just like the HPFP on the 535's.

Good luck.

I'm trying to do as much diag before I give the BMW dealer a call. However, from what I've read, the recall is on the passenger seat mat. From what I've pulled from INPA.. the seat mat is working just fine. Reports on when sitting down, off when not. Meaning, it might not be an issue with what the recall was about.

I'm still going to give them a call and have them run my VIN to see if they'll look at it. But if they want $175 for diag fees, I'll be telling them to kick some rocks and continue searching on my own.

@umichchris: I'll probably investigate more into coding the warning away once I can know with confidence what exactly is causing it. If it is legitimately a faulty airbag or similar... that's not really something you wanna bury. https://5series.net/forums/public/st...fault/nono.gif

Status update!

I'm putting my "solution" near the top, since you should probably try this before anything else:

While I was previously reading the codes, I tried to clear them from within the INPA screen for the specific module (Airbag ACSM, menu shown below):
Attachment 166053

When I hit clear.. It would go back, say all codes were cleared... but not really. Everything was still there, and no luck.

While poking around (and doing lots of internet searching) I went into the "Functional Jobs" menu:
Attachment 166054

From there, I was able to click the "Show EM" (EM = Error Memory) that displayed *all* of the codes stored on *all* of the car's computers. I clicked the Clear EM button, and it wiped everything. I powered off the car, turned it back on.. drove around the block back and forth... and all seems well. No codes came back, no warnings on iDrive, and no lights on the dash.

I'm had "solution" in quotes above because I'm not completely sure that this actually fixed anything. It's possible that this may have been a false positive from the seat mat (something could've been jostled, or it could've not liked being in direct sunlight for an entire morning, or whatever). But I have no way of confirming anything unless a code comes back (which I'm perfectly fine if it doesn't!). We'll see how it goes commuting back and forth to work tomorrow.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, prior to all the above, I tried some other things:

While doing a lot of researching, I've found a few possibilities for this error:

• Passenger Seat Mat going bad - probably most common, usually resolved by BMW's recall on the mat sensor. From what I gathered online, if they say your VIN isn't in the recall list, bitch and moan, call the NHTSA and file a claim, etc until they fix you up.
• Bad Positive Battery Cable - I saw this one a few times while researching. I noticed a pattern between this and non-OEM batteries. I also found some cases of people saying this failed, and they noticed water in their trunk/battery compartment. Check for water around your battery.
• Bad module in the driver's door - for some reason, this threw this error for someone. I only saw one posting for this though.
• Snapping the ribbon cable in the steering wheel slip ring - If you turn your steering wheel far beyond what it should go, there's a chance you'll snap the ribbon cable that winds and unwinds with the wheel. This cable connects the buttons on the wheel, as well airbag. Breaking it will throw the airbag light.

So, while #1 there is by far the most common... it's not always the case.

In my case... before I managed to clear codes properly through INPA, I pulled the negative plug to my battery and left it for a few mins, then plugged it back in. Errors were still there. But... I did notice something about my battery. It's not OEM! At least, I really don't think it is. It's a DieHard (american-made) battery in there. I don't have much other info on it, but it hasn't given me any issues, but I can't completely discount this as not being a partial culprit to the restraint errors.




Anyways - I rambled a little bit, but I'm trying to be descriptive as possible. Perhaps it can lead someone else in the right direction.

I'll report back either tomorrow or in a few days to at least say if the error message resurfaced itself or not.

first U R A GREAT MAN..for "digging" so deep to find/fix this issue that bother ALL OF AS
second..if there will be a way to fix this .without going to the STEALERSHIP I WILL MAKE a tiny :) donation..:))
please let as know..

HATS DOWN TO U..
RESPECT..STELI

Well I am surprised that you actually hadn't tried to clear it via functional jobs until now. From what we vaguely know, there are occasions where this error pops up as a glitch and once cleared, it goes away. I've had to do this for a couple people, and none have come back since.

Heh, yeah, took me a while to think of/find the Functional Jobs clear. Finally came across that option while digging around a bunch of old threads. I think one of them might've actually been yours :)

But from the looks of it... so far so good!

When I cleared the error, it came back a week later. Give it some time :)

Hi OP, you need to clear IM and EM. From what I am seeing there is no error but you have error stored in EM. Could have been a water bottle stuck under seat or the connector was not seated correctly. I found out 7 BMW's later. Or it could simply be that you accidentally unplugged something while messing around adjusting steering wheel. seriously. lol Good luck.

Hi, if you don't mind - can you list the path you took in the INPA to get to that option? I just install my bypass sensor to fix this thing but I think I need to clear the codes after.

I just cleared all the error codes in the car with "Functional Jobs" (INPA 5.02) and the error came right back virtually immediatley. Ugh, I guess I need a new door module.

Clear IM and EM. Go through BODY to get to AIRBAGS

Yep, I cleared both IM and EM. After clearing, the airbag and seatbelt lights goes off very briefly and immediately I get the fault warning gong and the light back on along with the iDrive message. When passenger in seat, the "airbag off" light extinquishes and if seatbelt not latched the gong will sound repeatedly. This tells me two things: the occupancy matt and seatbelt buckle are working fine. I suppose the belt tensioner could be faulty, but most likely it is the DRIVERS door module as the dealer service department indicated.

Check out this thread one of the members here stated it was the BST cable on his car. My link, at least for me I'm going to have the dealership investigate exactly what the problem is and attempt to have BMW NA replace under the recall that they had for this problem Here --> Recall info for passenger seat mat sensor

lllmmaaoooooo!!! :D

Battery cable was replaced under recall, no change in SRS system malfunction. Occupancy sensor matt had been replace under recall by PO.

ah okay where you able to figure out what the problem was?

Not yet, Dealer says it is the driver side door module.

So, minor status update...

This came up again yesterday.

Already having an idea of what to do, I plug my laptop in, fire up INPA, and clear the error memory..... but the codes are still there. I clear again, still there. I repeated numerous times throughout the day.
Today I decided to unplug the battery, wait a bit, plug it back in. Codes were still there - cleared them yet another time, and this time they disappeared! I guess you have to remove power completely, then clear the codes for it to truly clear properly.

Not sure if it's coincidence... but last time I got this error it was on a very very hot morning. Sun was shining directly on the car, inside was scorching hot, steering wheel and seats almost untouchable. Yesterday morning when the code came up again... same conditions. I'm not sure if it's related, but it's definitely something curious. It could be a wire or sensor that's almost loose and expands a bit too much in the high heat and breaks the circuit temporarily.

I also posted on your accident thread...Sorry man. However, just wondering...did the front passenger airbag go off in your accident?

Just wondering if despite the error would the airbags deploy as a failsafe.

so have you been able to resolve the ' restraint systems malfunction' issue ? What year is your car? Mine is a 2007 and the delaer is charging me $1400. the SA & BMW NA told me there is no recall for my VIN.

I'm able to shut this code off for most. It does not affect airbag deployment only the illuminated error. of course, BMW's differ but all in all it works the same.

How Was This Ever Resolved?
 

Does anyone know how this was ever resolved.

I have a similar issue and am very curious to know!

I have had the error for over a year. The occupancy sensor is fine. I used DIS recently and got an error for passenger side front airbag sensor. I changed the sensor cleared codes with DIS and INPA but the error is still there. I have no clue what to try next.

No Resolve Then
 

I resolved read post below!

Replacing parts on assumptions and guesses is a wrong way, IMHO. Easily accessible part may/may not be the root cause of the issue.

Airbag System Timing Errors
 

For my particular airbag issues I apparently had airbag system timing errors.

The airbag system needs to be able to synchronize a certain timing value. This can happen after programming and coding airbag ECUs.

I resolved my issue by using BMW Tool32 and selecting individually each airbag module affected (the correct .prg file from the correct ECU family) and then going to systemzeit_lesen (system time write) and inserting the value of 1. You then need to execute the job.

Move to the next affected airbag module and repeat process.

I don't believe all of the modules (the SZL) in my case had the system time write function, so skip it and do everything else.

Best of luck to anyone with similar issues! This was a real "bear" to resolve, but the "bear" has now been slayed!

Don't forget to wipe all errors in INPA and perform a system pre-drive check as well in your main airbag module, if necessary!

Get this out on the internet!

Has anyone had success getting recall/warranty work done for this issue on a 2006 530xi?

I spoke with BMW NA and they are showing no open recalls for my vehicle and nothing related to passenger restraint system.

I had the same warning code, after a $110 inspection from the STEALER, they claimed it is the BST cable. I did not pay to do what they told to do. I am still researching on what I can do to fix it. I might try cleaning IM/EM while I can. My 08 535i is not covered by the recall, said by my STEALER...

way to go to solve this...

BST would list in INPA
 

If you have INPA software the issue will show itself in the airbag gateway module as BST bad. Either the voltage or BST "bad" will display in INPA.

At least you can verify the issue that way. Get a list of error codes (a print out) from the dealer as well to verify against your web research of the error(s).

Voltage/resistance, system timing errors, bad force limiter sensors, seat mat sensors are typical airbag issues, unless one of the modules is just bad or the connection is not sat properly.

I know all diagnostic software can sometimes relate bogus or actual unrelated to issue errors. The system was telling me I had resistor issues and all kinds of weird stuff on mine. I was confused, so I just started checking everything.

Basically to resolve my issue, I just reset the timing while trying a myriad of things and the issue cleared. Phew!

I was getting desperate on my end, but yeah the BST could very well be the issue.

You just need to verify it.

Will this warning, restraint system malfunction, disable my airbag, when accidents occur? Thanks.

You won't believe this "

Arrugh .. I had a guy go crazy cleaning my passenger seat and of course after I drive off
my light started firing up.

Finally I get the mother of all lights ... 'Passenger Restraint Light ON!'

So I go on line to fine some easy shit I can do.... What the HELL I found is this brain surgery and 'Total Recall' of some cars... Come on MAN!!!

Then I get to this one 'Tech Answer' and he say's this:

NO BULLSHIT

Clean the hell out of your seat with 'Saddle Soap' then apply a Conditioner .... "WHAT!!!

Yup so I go out and get some Saddle Soap $9.50 (ouch) Conditioner ($8.50)

It 'FREAKIN WORKED !!!!

He says that the sensor stick to the leather when either to damp or wet (whichever) but say the Saddle soap cleans the leather and the conditioner shrinks it taunt ... which picks it off the sensor ......

It worked for me today. Too funny! B)