The air bag light illuminated on the car spontaneously and stays lit at all times indicating a fault in the system. From all reports on various Porsche discussion forums (thousands of incidents that have been reported and discussed), this is a common problem in the first generation Porsche Boxsters. It is a defect in the seat belt buckle and seat belt ground caused by corrosion of the contact points for the seat belt that triggers the light. The purpose of an air bag light is to inform you of a defect in this safety system and to notify you that the system will not operate as it should. While there is apparently a tsb that was issued by Porsche, once your vehicle is out of warranty they will not repair it under the tsb for free. This is a widespread and common safety defect that doesn't appear until after the car is out of warranty. The cost to repair this problem is approximately $1500 through Porsche. Considering most Porsche Boxsters from 1997-1999 suffer from this problem, it should be a safety recall and repaired by Porsche at their expense.

- Fredericksburg, VA, USA

1998 Porsche Boxster airbag light, related to seat belt buckle, known issue with a fix that has a part number, but Porsche never had a recall so the only way they will replace it for free is if the light came on within the warranty time. Cost out of warranty $500 to $1500. This should not be a warranty issue but a safety issue, if they knew that the part was faulty they should have recalled the part and fixed every model that came out with the old design. There are many reviews all over the internet by 97' to 99' Boxster owners. 99' is this year they came out with the fix, but if you kept your Porsche clean and garage kept it would be well past the warranty before the wires faulted and the light come on. Although they say it is not a safety issue and that the airbag will still deploy, by having this fault active, you will not be able to tell if a true airbag fault that will affect the airbag operation really went off.

- Humble , TX, USA

I have a 1998 posche Boxster. The car has a problem in that the airbag light will come on and the owner will not know if the airbags are working properly or not. Porsche has had over 7 fixes on this issue and none have worked to date. They have not replaced mine under warranty. I have been informed by my local Porsche dealer this is an on going problem. Porsche North America refused to fix this problem because the car is out of warranty.

- Homer Glen, IL, USA

1998 Porsche Boxster air bag warning light illuminated over a year ago. The consumer contacted the dealer and was told that there was a know corrosion problem with the contacts in the air bag electrical system. The dealer told the consumer that the front seats had to be removed to correct the problem and that the wiring harness had to be replaced. The consumer believes the manufacturer should be responsible for the cost of the repairs but was told that since the vehicle was out of warranty the he would be responsible for the repairs. The emission warning light illuminated. It was determined that the gas cap was defective.

- Dayton, NV, USA

Porsche started selling Boxsters in 1997. The car has a problem in that the airbag light will come on and the owner will not know if the airbags are working properly or not. Porsche has had over 7 fixes on this issue and none have worked to date. They have replace mine under warranty, and it has failed again. I have been informed by my local porache dealer this is an on going problem. Porsche North America refuses to fix this problem sine the car is out of warranty.

- Scottsdale, AZ, USA

While driving, airbag light stays on, and it can be useless in event of a crash. Cause unknown. Dealer notified. The air bag light illuminated and the dealer refused to fix without cost ot the consumer. However, consumer mentioned it to the home office of Porsche and they agreed to repair the vehicle at no cost to consumer. Also the driver side belt buckle switch needed wiring modifications. Because of price, consumer declined repairs at the time.

- Johns Island, SC, USA

The airbag warning light came on and the dealer stated the left and right seatbelt need to be replaced to correct the problem. The dealer stated that they could not gaurantee that the seatbelts and airbags would deploy correctly if the vehicle was in an accident. Porsche has issued a technical service bulletin on this problem. The question is how many vehicles have the same problem and should this be a recall if it is widespread.

- Moorpark, CA, USA

The airbag warning light came on and the dealer stated the left and right seatbelt need to be replaced to correct the problem. The dealer stated that they could not gaurantee that the seatbelts and airbags would deploy correctly if the vehicle was in an accident. Porsche has issued a technical service bulletin on this problem. The question is how many vehicles have the same problem and should this be a recall if it is widespread.

- Moorpark, CA, USA