The Harness will to all intents & purposes to the observer seem perfectly Fine.
What happens is that, it usually needs only a momentary slightly loose connection for it to send a signal to the airbag computer which then puts the Fault light on.
It doesn`t matter what you do to it afterwards, as the fault light will remain on until the computer is reset by special equipment usually only found at BMW.
And of course, during this time, ALL the safety systems, thats ALL the Airbags & the Seatbelt pretensioners will fail to deploy in any subsequent crash
If you have not spoken to a dealer to see if they will voluntarily fix the problem, I would hope that you do this BEFORE you sign a petition. Give MINI a chance. In jairfraz case, he has tried and met resistance. However, some dealers are better than others and will acknowledge that there is/was a problem. Call them, talk to them, and let them know that you are well advised of the American recall. If you are calm about it, they may just say "bring it in and we'll check it for you". After all, they really don't want to lose you as a customer.
Hi This is the first time i have joined in the discussions but this is a topic dear to my heart . I too have had problems with the warning light on my 02 Cooper. in fact this is probably the 4/5th time . They have replaced an air bag ,replaced a seat, replaced the seat belt tensioners and the wiring looms and still the light has come back on !! I am about to go back again but have little faith as they said they would see what the problem is this time ,look at the age of the car etc but probably wouldnt take much notice of the history. It is sad that they wish to compromise safety and i cant afford just to pay for this. I agree they should recognise the US warranty mentioned by others.Here's to more heated discussions any advice welcome but i'm not holding my breath !!!
I've tried to sign the petition as I've had the problem but got into a paypal page. Is a donation necessary in order to sign-up? This could be discouraging people.
How many have signed so far?
And my dealer told me that even with the fault light on, the airbags would still deploy in a crash, which kind of makes sense as the default option.
Incidentally, dealers will not fix out of warranty issues since BMW will not pay them. This is a BMW issue, not a dealer one. The USA extended warranty on this issue is supported by BMW not USA dealers.
Not necessarily true. A dealer can and will step up if they want to keep you as a customer. Sure, not all dealers will help, but there are a few out there that will even go to bat for you and contact MINI to try and help you.
I assume that you are one that hasn't even tried....
Hi
Many thanks to all who have SIGNED the petition, a few people have put anonymous as their name and left the comments field blank!!! If we are going to make any headway with a petition we will require at least a) your name and b) a description of your fault and what your dealer has done (or not done) to rectify the problem. As of today there are only 18 signatures and 3 are from anon! You DO NOT require to make ANY donation of ANY kind when adding your name to the petition - PLEASE look VERY carefully at the page and below the "Yes - i want to support ipetitions......" is "No, I don’t wish to donate at this time. Maybe later, though. Continue to the Control Panel" PLEASE CLICK ON CONTINUE TO THE CONTROL PANEL!!!!
May I take this opportunity to wish you a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and lets hope we can get this problem rectified asap.
I have spoken to many people that have had courtesy repairs all across the globe. The fact that you keep posting this tells me that you haven't even spoken to a dealer about your problem. MINI has often given out courtesy repairs, especially on items that have been known to fail (airbag light). All I would do is carry in a copy of the forum posts along with a copy of the US recall letter and I'm pretty sure you would get some action. If not from the dealer than contact MINI directly. This is a clear safety issue and as long as you keep cool and speak to the proper people, it should get resolved with minimum out of pocket.
I live in Germany, so me posting anything would be pointless, but all you have to do is search the forums. (I have worked with several people on warranty issues here in Germany as I speak German and my friends do not... Two out of warranty items were resolved with NO problems.
If you don't try, you will never know.
You should always try the dealer FIRST and then MINI and then petition if you haven't gotten a solution. My point is not to bash the peition but rather to keep people from simply signing it because... Companies do and will read these things and it could actually make it harder on you as you could come across as a trouble maker.
I've dealt with MINI enough to know how the system works...
Your assumptions are incorrect - I have a very co-operative dealer in Coopers Reading who I have of course spoken to re this issue. They are aware of the USA warranty extension. BMW will not move on this issue in the UK. I do not believe you will find anyone in the UK who has had this work carried out free of charge outside the warranty.
According to my limited research into this, & what I was told by the mechanics at my dealership:-
In some cases where the airbag warning light has come on, it has been found on investigation, that the system would still have operated normally ...& in others it Wouldn`t.
My airbag warning lamp recently came on when adjusting seat positions. (Mini One March 2002 37500miles.) Some of this info I found may be of interest:-
1. "Excerpt from the letter sent out by MINI USA (earlier in thread) :-
“We have found and repaired cases in which a wiring harness connector for the side air bag and safety-belt pretensioner as partially loosened. When this occurred, the increase in electrical resistance causes a red airbag warning lamp to light up.”
In cases we have seen so far, the airbag and pretensioner would have operated normally, HOWEVER, ANYTIME AN AIRBAG WARNING LAP IS ON IT MEANS THE SYSTEM MUST BE CHECKED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.”The last sentence is probably the most important one here. Those worrying that this will effect the safety of their MINIs need not be concerned. That said it would be irresponsible if MINI USA didn’t strongly encourage people to bring their cars in for the issue for a proper fix."
Note the above quote from BMW :-
“In cases we have seen so far, the airbag and pretensioner would have operated normally"
(ie. It IS possible for the airbagsand pretensioners to work normally even if warning light is on.)
2. BMW list the repair cables and connectors for the seat airbags and pretensioners under the following part no.s:- (a set for each seat).
61-12-6-937-521 Repair Cable Front Seat Side Airbag and Ctrl unit
61-12-6-937-522 Repair Cable Belt Tensioner and Ctrl unit
61-13-0-141-326 Cable Strap
61-13-0-149-205 Cable Connector
61-13-0-149-206 Shrinking Hose (Heatshrink Insulation sleeving)
61-13-0-302-824 Cable Strap (Ties)
(see diagrams on realoem link) Air Bag Repair Parts
3. Interesting uk MINI customer quote on MotoringFile:-
September 26th 2006
Just had our Mini fixed for Airbag warning light problem. ‘02 but only done 30k miles. Had to pay 50% labour (£40.00), Mini paid for parts (wiring loom). Got nowhere pointing out MINI USA extended warranty, got the impression USA is a different planet as far as Mini UK was concerned and their Mini’s come from outer space so the warranty rules are different. Utter tosh of course but who wants to bang their head against a brick wall for ever?
4. Will let you know what my uk dealer (Coopers Thames Ditton) says........have signed the petition also.
This warning light has just come on in my 2002 one, still done under 20000 miles, the car is going into Robert Stern Worcester on Saturday 30/12 for investigation. Any ideas how i should play this ?
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Air Bag Warning 
