Last week my air bag light came on in my 2002 C4 Cab. Dealer diagnosed a air bag module malfunction. Needs a new module which is covered by CPO Warranty. Dealer says I also need new seat belt buckles in addition to air bag module which will cost around $250 each and are not covered by CPO Warranty. Dealer says new module will not work with existing seat belt buckles.
Has anyone had experience with this? Is the dealer selling me a "bill of goods"?

 

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My airbag light came on as well and I read that one of the fixes is a new seat belt receptacle on the side that shows the code (not both) also read that the contacts on the receptacle can be cleaned which sometimes make the problem go away... I am getting the codes read in a couple of days and will probably take a step by step approach rather then replace the whole shabang

 

Also got this problem currently. Anyone with first hand experience or a write up on how to replace said buckle would be great.

 

amazing the you need to go to the dealer to reset this light... Some forethought on generating revenue went into this decision for sure.

 

I doubt they designed the seatbelt to fail. Looks poorly on quality of a high end car. And they replaced it with a better one in later years once the issue started.

 

mine when on to last week! WTF?????

 

You are local to me - please post what you find out (and which shop you took it to)

 

im probably going to take it to the dealer ship, but ill let you know.

 

Actually, you are correct. The newer belt buckles have brass connections/wiring. However, a friend of mine told me that the existing buckles can be cleaned and used with a new airbag module. I'll probably replace the module and the buckles and put the squeeze on the dealer for price. At the very least, I'll get a 10% PCA discount on the parts.

 

not true, one can be replaced without the other.

 

My light came on last year, I had it read and it was a seat belt buckle, drivers side I think. I ordered the part and replaced it. Not a hard job, it also gave me chance to deep clean around and under the seat. I put it back together and a month or two later the light comes on again. Back to my indy and they said now the passenger seat belt latch was sending the code. Ordered the part, deep clean and back for a reset no more problems. If you guys were close we could have a tech day and replace em.
Moral of this story, if you are doing it yourself go ahead and do both.....or not. your choice. It would of saved me a second reset fee.
While I had the seats out I cut a peice of old floor mat and used it to cover the hole under the seat where there is no carpet or insulation. Just because......

 

It would be great if you could just do a quick step by step off of memory. I dont think it would be all that hard. Do you actually have to remove the entire seat? Then after that is it just a few screws and disconnecting of the wires to the belt?

Thanks in advance!

PS: How much does a new seatbelt run?

 

I think the new belt buckle runs just under a hundred dollars for each seat.
As far as R+R
It has been a while. It was not hard but here goes.
Remove the front and rear bolts, nuts holding the seat frame. Tilt seat forward to unplug any connections. Remove seat. (Remember to not put the key in and turn the car on...well I guess it does not matter too much if your light is already on....). Find the connections to the seat belt buckle and carefully follow them back to under the seat. I think I had to cut a cable tie to remove the wire. Remember how the wire was run and reinstall your new one in the same way. Unbolt and remove reinstall the new part and rewire. While the seat is out is a great time to clean the car....It might help to have a friend to help with the lifting. I had some old worn carpet floor mats that I cut to cover the oval in the center area under the seats. Not sure if it helps but I feel better.
I would consider doing both sides.
Hope this helps.

 

I just changed seat belts (to red) and you guessed it...Air bag failure light....

 

When I first bought my 1999 C2 Cab, the air bag light went on.

I bought this: http://www.durametric.com/default.aspx

A little pricey but it lets you read all kinds of error codes and car data AND reset the airbag light.

Mine showed a fault with the passenger side buckle. Reset the light and it was good for a year. Went off a second time, reset the light and it's been about another year.

If the failure increases, I'll replace the buckle. The error code is for the buckle, not the airbag module itself.

Hope that help.

J.D.