Passenger seat airbag sensor failed.

- Geneva, IL, USA

The airbag light saying that the airbag is turned off has been turning off and on for a while. Probably several years. In the last few months, the seat belt signal will activate even when no one is seated in the passenger seat. It usually happens right after the passenger has exited the vehicle. The only way to stop it is to buckle the seat. Then the airbag warning lamp on the dashboard will turn on as well as the "airbag light is off" signal. Sometimes both stay on for a while. There is no way of knowing when and if the airbags are actually working when I have a passenger in my car, which is frightening to me. I had my mechanic run diagnostics and he found that there's a tsb for this very problem on 2005 minis. It requires replacement of the sensor mat. I called the dealership where I bought the car to verify whether such a key safety component of the car shouldn't be under some extended warranty and was told no it wasn't. the only way to repair the issue is to replace the bottom seat of the passenger side which I was told would cost $650 + labor of $400 or so. They also told me that if I ordered the new seat and had it replaced by my mechanic and that didn't resolve the problem, they would not take back the seat. The only way it would be covered is if I had them run the diagnostic for $95. I think it's outrageous that with so many people experiencing this same key safety problem with their car that they can get away with not extending the warranty to this model or else recalling the item. And what's worse, there is no way to be assured that even when the lights are not on, that the airbags will actually deploy properly in the event of an accident.

- Chicago, IL, USA

The airbag sensor in the passenger side seat does not correctly detect a person sitting in it. When a passenger is in the seat, the airbag sensor stays "off".

- San Diego, CA, USA

Very disappointed to find out that a vehicle I have taken exceptional care of to avoid costly repairs has also had the occupancy mat go bad out of the blue.... I wasn't even driving the car! I held out hope that the repair would be covered under warranty, and was told off the record by the service advisor that this issue has been one of the biggest complaints he receives and in his opinion has cost MINIa tremendous amount of repeat business. It is very hard to swallow the $1400 repair when it is evident that this is a manufactures problem which will cost someone their life one day; maybe then they will do the right thing and fix their problems. Like Toyota; it took people dying for them to address the accelerator problem. Sad, very sad.

- Tampa, FL, USA

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 MINICooper 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. MINIshould issue a recall and replace the defective sensor under extended warranty as their parent company BMW has done for various models affected by the same defect.

- Vestal, NY, USA

The passenger airbag SRS floor mat sensor is damaged and may cause the passenger airbag to not deploy in the case of an accident. The SRS airbag light is illuminated.

- Granada Hills, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2005 MINICooper S. while driving approximately 35 mph, the passenger side air bag warning indicator illuminated until the engine was turned off. The failure occurred whenever the engine was in operation. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who stated the front passenger seat sensor pad was faulty and would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the problem in which there was no resolution. The approximate failure mileage was 41,000.

- Hudson, OH, USA

The contact owns a 2005 MINICooper convertible. The contact stated that the passenger side air bag light warning light illuminated upon starting the vehicle. The failure recurred on an intermittent basis with and without passengers seated in the seat. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and the contact was informed that there was a wiring failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 34,500.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

4/10/2008 airbag light on dash came on intermittently - MINIdealer could not duplicate problem 9/23/2008 airbag light on dash came on and stayed lit - MINIdealer found micro-cracks in OC3 seat mat fault code FC71 stored in mr55K checked faults replaced OC3 seat mat installed seat and enable seat mat with GT1 cleared faults summer 2011 - airbag light on dash came on intermittently October 2011 - airbag light on dash came on and stayed lit 11/15/2011 - MINIdealer refuses to cover under warranty, despite known issues with this component having a history of being defective.

- Morrow, OH, USA

Passenger air bag light reads "off" and center console alert is lit. Getting various diagnoses from shops, but no one really knows how to fix the problem. No one will definitively say, "yes, your passenger airbag is off" or "on." This is a known problem with minis and there should have been a recall.

- Boulder, CO, USA

2005 MINIcooper 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.

- Albany, NY, USA

The airbag light for the passenger seat comes on intermittently when someone is sitting in the seat. Also, the light which indicates the passenger side airbag is off comes on when someone is sitting in the passenger seat. Certainly, this is a safety issue and we believe BMW/MINIshould fix this at no charge.

- Little Rock, AR, USA

Passenger airbag system failure--passenger airbag off light illuminated and won't go out. According to web-forums, part failed is a seat sensor. Dealer wants close to $2K to replace it, but it failed a long long long time ago. I would think it should last longer than 2 or 3 years. Can find tons of the same problems at www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/stock-problems-issues-9-2.html.

- Lincoln, CA, USA

The airbag light on the dash came on while driving. There was no accident or incident that prompted the light to come on. Apparently, minis produced three months after this vehicle are included in a recall or "extended warranty" by the manufacturer for airbag sensor lights, but not this specific vehicle. Based on discussions with dealer service, it could be a very costly repair, estimated at $1200. It seems very strange that vehicles manufactured so close to the covered time period are also having issues. Perhaps MINIneeds to consider expanding the scope of the airbag sensor extended warranty.

- Monrovia, CA, USA

I have a 2005 MINIcooper. The airbag sensor in the passenger seat failed around 50,000 miles. I was told that the passenger seat had to be replaced at a cost of $1400. This is a know issue with this year of MINICooper S. dealships need to be aware of this problem and MINIBMW needs to have a recall.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

The airbag sensor light on the center dashboard and "airbag off" light above the rear view mirror turn on when a passenger is in the car. It appears as the passenger airbag sensor is failing to properly detect the passenger's weight.

- Sunnyvale, CA, USA

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.

- Houston, TX, USA

The air bag light comes on for no reason. This has been happening since I got the car and I read that it had to do with putting bags on the seat. I later discovered that it does not matter if there is a bag, a person or an empty passenger seat.

- Casper, WY, USA

MINICooper 2005: At 60,000 passenger side air bag sensor malfunctioned. Light stays on no matter if someone is in the seat or not. MINIservice says it will cost $1,000 plus to repair sensor, and that the bag will not deploy if sensor is malfunctioning.

- Plainville, CT, USA

I have a 2005 MINIcooper. The airbag sensor in the passenger seat failed around 66,000 miles. I was told that the passenger seat airbag and both door sensors had to be replaced along with the battery cable at a cost of $4000. Sounds as if BMW still has real electrical problems in their cars and are sticking it to consumers to fix it instead of fixing these problems themselves. The car has never been involved in any accident.

- Portsmouth, VA, USA