$911 to fix airbag light problem with bad ground

The airbag light came on awhile back, so I finally decide to get it looked at. It is the same problem that most 996's have with the bad ground on the seat belt. The dealer say's "Yea it is the same problem with all of them, it is $911 to fix it." I think that is rediculous for a problem that they are having with a lot of the 996's. You would think they would have a recall on it. Is this the price that you guys have paid to fix the problem? Thanks Rob

that's absolutly outragous. when i cut my stock seats out and put aftermarket buckets in my airbag light came on. i took it to the local uber porsche tuner and he spliced the wire back in for 20 dollars. no airbag light, everything works fine. just one more reason why i avoid the dealer like the plague.

There is an official PCNA/PAG TSB on this problem, and the dealer knows it. They are stealing if they charge for this fix. Have the GM contact your DSM and make an appointment with him when he comes in to discuss. I'll bet your Service Manager will take care of the problem no charge once this is set up. Ridiculous.

$911? Sounds like a sick joke.. considering it's a 911 and all. Just bring it to an independant porsche svc center. same thing happened to me and i got it fixed for 1/3 that price..

I just went through the same thing with my '99 C2. The local dealer quoted $700. I quoted all the stuff I've read here and had them ask Porsche to fix it under the 'goodwill' policy. The so called official response was no. I honestly wonder if the dealer actually asked Porsche. I was assured that this (fault code 45 I think) does not in any way affect the airbag itself. Not wanting to spend $700 for the wiring harness and new buckles, I found little felt black circles at my local supermarket that you use for putting under things so they don't scratch. Anyway, they are the exact size of the airbag light. Problem solved. I guess.

I had the same problem. The dealer wanted $250 and my car is a certified pre-owned car. I went to another dealer and they took care of it at no charge. Morale: shop around. A dealer that wants your business will get it done. Let us know what happens. Good luck.

I was told that if you don't fix the airbag problem with the seat bealt, that potentially in a crash the airbag(s) could not function correctly. Anyone know any validity to this or was this just a scare tactic to make me pay?

Bob, good question. The dealer assured me it was a problem with the buckles and not the actual operation of the airbag system itself. I personally don't trust the dealer that they even asked Porsche for the fix. I guess if they said the system might malfunction I would have fixed it. Who knows!

Rob, I just got my car back from the Porsche Service center 2 days ago for the same problem. TSB 6924 which involves replacing the Seat Belt Receptors 996-803-183-10 and Harness 000-043-206-06 should fix it. The airbag system includes the harness(seatbelts). Airbags deploys faster if seatbelt is not engaged, hence the failure light if the belts have problem. Mine is still under waranty though so it was no charge. BUT, I think that the restraint sys is 5 yr or more on the waranty isn't it?Correct me if I'm worng pls, so you should get your's done free of charge. Good luck ~Mike

honestly, this is one fix that i would definately do, regardless if you think porsche is negligent, wrong, or whatever.. you can let your car drip for miles with rms, but imho, it's not worth it to risk your life or your passengers if any of the airbags don't function like they are intended to upon a serious crash... it's one of those things.. if you get really hurt.. you'll be thinking.. "why the hell didn't i just fix it.." personally i don't trust anything porsche tells me.. all i know is, if i see a warning light with an airbag on it, i'm not one to trust porsche to tell me "not to worry about it" if that's what they tell you.." considering their response about rms, one should be leary of anything they tell you.. sure you might get some money in a lawsuit if they malfunction, but is it really worth it if you don't have a face to see the road with in the end? <g>

THE SEATBELT UPDATE KIT IS AN EASY FIX.THE KIT FOR EARLY 996'S(IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY AFTER 1999 MODELS ONLY GET THE SEAT BELT BUCKLES)RETAILS FOR SOMEWHERE NEAR 200.00,THE INSTALL TIME IS APPROX.2HRS.I HOPE THIS HELPS.

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index...t=0#entry13363

perhaps a bit off topic, but many BMW M Coupes suffer from a very similar problem and the local stealer here told me that the airbag light on means that the airbags would not deploy in case of an accident. Local stealer, only one in the country, wants close to $1K to fix this known problem. Someone told me to just replace the passenger side belt buckle and problem solved.

Gus B., Republic of Panama?

yes TD, Republic of Panama (ya know, that little country in Central America with that "big canal" through it)! Sometimes people get confused and think its Panama City, Florida. Reading my post, I should clarify that its the BMW dealership who wants $1K to fix my airbag light problem, not the local Porsche dealer.

"I found little felt black circles at my local supermarket that you use for putting under things so they don't scratch. Anyway, they are the exact size of the airbag light. Problem solved. I guess." path-- I remember reading that the airbags deploy at different rates of speed if the the sensor thinks the seat belts are not connected properly. Using that logic, if the airbag light is on, and if the computer senses that the seat belt is disconnected, the air bags might deploy at a substantially higher rate than they would if the circuit were completed through the seat belt and the air bag light. Might be a bunch of hog wash.... but the [impact] deployment numbers I saw (2000 psi if the sensors think everyhting is ok and something like 4000 psi if the sensor thinks the seat belt is not connected) makes me think twice about doing anything that might disturb the airbags. Any discharge of an airbag is going to hurt.....I don't want it shooting outward toward my face any faster than is absolutley necessary to keep me from getting killed or maimed.