2002 Carrera 4 Cabriolet 996 Airbag warning light

[jmustakas]

The airbag warning light came on in my 2002 996 Carrera 4 Cabriolet. I've heard a number of speculative reasons but does anyone have a fix before I spend the $$$ to hit the dealership?

[RFM]

It should help if you post the fault codes which push you on the right direction, you can also use the SEARCH button for the more common airbag issues.

[Orient Express]

Funny you should mention this, I just reset my AB light yesterday.

The majority of Air Bag warning lights are because of intermittent Seatbelt buckle switch issues with the microswitch (gunk or lint in the buckle) or a loose ground. Usually just buckling and unbuckling the belt cures the problem, but you still have to use either the Factory Porsche tester or a Durametric tester to reset the light. If the fault is in the buckle, blowing compressed air into it can clean out any lint or debris that might cause the switch not to close. One less common problem with the buckle is if the connectors under the seat have come apart, but this is less common.

Hopefully, your Dealer, will do a goodwill reset of the fault.

[Benjamin Choi]

Funny you should mention this, I just reset my AB light yesterday.

The majority of Air Bag warning lights are because of intermittent Seatbelt buckle switch issues with the microswitch (gunk or lint in the buckle) or a loose ground. Usually just buckling and unbuckling the belt cures the problem, but you still have to use either the Factory Porsche tester or a Durametric tester to reset the light. If the fault is in the buckle, blowing compressed air into it can clean out any lint or debris that might cause the switch not to close. One less common problem with the buckle is if the connectors under the seat have come apart, but this is less common.

Hopefully, your Dealer, will do a goodwill reset of the fault.

based on my experience/research when my airbag light came on, it came down to replacing the passenger side buckle. i had tried to avoid the expenditure by resetting the light a couple of times at the deadership, but it always ended up coming back on.

i believe the updated buckle has some sort of gold plating, not sure, but i remember the job was more expensive than i though it'd be. i had the dealer help me find out which buckle was triggering the light and just replaced that one side. if it comes on again and the driver side buckle is causing the airbag light to come on, i'll deal with it if and when that time comes.

i also believe porsche released a service bulletin around this issue. i'm not sure exactly what years it impacts.

[Loren]

Funny you should mention this, I just reset my AB light yesterday.

The majority of Air Bag warning lights are because of intermittent Seatbelt buckle switch issues with the microswitch (gunk or lint in the buckle) or a loose ground. Usually just buckling and unbuckling the belt cures the problem, but you still have to use either the Factory Porsche tester or a Durametric tester to reset the light. If the fault is in the buckle, blowing compressed air into it can clean out any lint or debris that might cause the switch not to close. One less common problem with the buckle is if the connectors under the seat have come apart, but this is less common.

Hopefully, your Dealer, will do a goodwill reset of the fault.

based on my experience/research when my airbag light came on, it came down to replacing the passenger side buckle. i had tried to avoid the expenditure by resetting the light a couple of times at the deadership, but it always ended up coming back on.

i believe the updated buckle has some sort of gold plating, not sure, but i remember the job was more expensive than i though it'd be. i had the dealer help me find out which buckle was triggering the light and just replaced that one side. if it comes on again and the driver side buckle is causing the airbag light to come on, i'll deal with it if and when that time comes.

i also believe porsche released a service bulletin around this issue. i'm not sure exactly what years it impacts.

Ben - Yes, Porsche issued a TSBs on this (which you now access to as a Contributing Member).

They are:

TSB 1/04 6924 Airbag Warning Light Comes On: Fault Codes 45, 46, 48 and 49 -- dated Jul 21, 2004

and

TSB 0201 6924 Seatbelt Buckle Airbag Warning Light -- dated Oct 11, 2002

Buckles need to be replaced and ground solder joints need to be re-done.

[jmustakas]

Funny you should mention this, I just reset my AB light yesterday.

The majority of Air Bag warning lights are because of intermittent Seatbelt buckle switch issues with the microswitch (gunk or lint in the buckle) or a loose ground. Usually just buckling and unbuckling the belt cures the problem, but you still have to use either the Factory Porsche tester or a Durametric tester to reset the light. If the fault is in the buckle, blowing compressed air into it can clean out any lint or debris that might cause the switch not to close. One less common problem with the buckle is if the connectors under the seat have come apart, but this is less common.

Hopefully, your Dealer, will do a goodwill reset of the fault.

based on my experience/research when my airbag light came on, it came down to replacing the passenger side buckle. i had tried to avoid the expenditure by resetting the light a couple of times at the deadership, but it always ended up coming back on.

i believe the updated buckle has some sort of gold plating, not sure, but i remember the job was more expensive than i though it'd be. i had the dealer help me find out which buckle was triggering the light and just replaced that one side. if it comes on again and the driver side buckle is causing the airbag light to come on, i'll deal with it if and when that time comes.

i also believe porsche released a service bulletin around this issue. i'm not sure exactly what years it impacts.

Ben - Yes, Porsche issued a TSBs on this (which you now access to as a Contributing Member).

They are:

TSB 1/04 6924 Airbag Warning Light Comes On: Fault Codes 45, 46, 48 and 49 -- dated Jul 21, 2004

and

TSB 0201 6924 Seatbelt Buckle Airbag Warning Light -- dated Oct 11, 2002

Buckles need to be replaced and ground solder joints need to be re-done.

[jmustakas]

Thank you for the wisdom. Do you know if Porsche will honor the TSB's as a recall or warranty issue even though my car is an '02? Can I purchase a code reader/ resetter and do the reset myself?

[Loren]

Thank you for the wisdom. Do you know if Porsche will honor the TSB's as a recall or warranty issue even though my car is an '02? Can I purchase a code reader/ resetter and do the reset myself?

On a 6-7 year old car - I doubt it. But then, if there was a history of problems they could do it for free.

[jmustakas]

Thank you for the wisdom. Do you know if Porsche will honor the TSB's as a recall or warranty issue even though my car is an '02? Can I purchase a code reader/ resetter and do the reset myself?

On a 6-7 year old car - I doubt it. But then, if there was a history of problems they could do it for free.

[1schoir]

Thank you for the wisdom. Do you know if Porsche will honor the TSB's as a recall or warranty issue even though my car is an '02? Can I purchase a code reader/ resetter and do the reset myself?

You can reset the airbag light yourself, but not with an ordinary code reader. The least expensive tool that has the capability of resetting the light is the Durametric unit. IIRC a little less than $300, and it has quite a number of capabilities for diagnosing what might ail your 996.

Regards, Maurice.

[911h20]

Funny you should mention this, I just reset my AB light yesterday.

The majority of Air Bag warning lights are because of intermittent Seatbelt buckle switch issues with the microswitch (gunk or lint in the buckle) or a loose ground. Usually just buckling and unbuckling the belt cures the problem, but you still have to use either the Factory Porsche tester or a Durametric tester to reset the light. If the fault is in the buckle, blowing compressed air into it can clean out any lint or debris that might cause the switch not to close. One less common problem with the buckle is if the connectors under the seat have come apart, but this is less common.

Hopefully, your Dealer, will do a goodwill reset of the fault.

It must be the pollen in the air. I had to reset mine about two weeks ago.