Of course...airbag error 4 days after warranty ends!
 

sigh...no luck here. Mfg coverage on my '04 X5 just expired and what's really ironic is that I signed up with Warranty Direct for aftermarket warranty but with no airbag coverage. :(

Anyway...I disconnected the battery overnight, on the first start the airbag error went away for 5 secs and came back on.

Any advice before I take it to a dealer? It's all out of pocket at this point so any help is greatly appreciated.

Could be something as simple as a seat belt receptacle error. I would take it to a good private shop for diagnosis.

first, don't worry, not yet. It could be a module failure or a loose connection. As Wagner stated, it could be just a simple error. Do you know how to remove airbag and check the connectors to see if they are still good, loose? or burned out? You can have the error read by a shop, and this is exactly why you need a scanning tool. I always have mine on my car.

When i had disconnected my battery, after i started it the DSC light was on and it said it needs to be checked out. Then i phoned BMW service and they told me that it will go out by itslef over night becuase the Bmw will go into sleep mode and it will reset itself.

I suspect that this is something BMW would step up and goodwill because of the safety nature. Worth having your dealer try.
FWIW- the airbag light in my 528i comes on periodically, stays on for a few weeks, then goes out again. Dealer says its the passenger seat sensor, and probably becuse someone put their weight on the seat with their knee which will damage the sensor.

I think if it's few day after Warranty BMW will still fix it free of charge.

:iagree:

Check with your SA.

Ditto what others have said. Try to get it covered under goodwill, but make sure you clearly establish that with the dealer beforehand.

Do you have a good relationship with your dealer? Talk to the dealer either way, I'd say 4 days is 4 days. They should step up to the plate. They have the power to push stuff through. Good luck.

thanks guys, will try both the dealer approach as well as reading the code at a private place. I've never messed with airbags before so I'll skip any DIY repair attempts, hopefully it's just a sensor or module connection problem.

Today we got a decent amount of snow in NJ, first time I hesitated to take the X5 for a drive in 4 years. Will go for service tomorrow and let you know how it goes.

thanks again