An essential component of your vehicle’s safety system, the airbag plays a crucial role in protecting passengers during accidents. It is the primary safety feature that directly interacts with occupants in the event of a collision. Many vehicles are equipped with a designated indicator on the dashboard that illuminates when the airbag is deactivated. Although this signal might go unnoticed by many, it’s important to remain attentive to all safety-related signs, including those associated with vital safety mechanisms.

However, it is very important to reset the airbag light to prevent your vehicle from a severe damage. This article describes the airbag light meaning and causes.

Causes of Airbag Light

The airbag light appears due to one or more of the below given causes:

1) Faulty Sensors

Several sensors collaborate to guarantee the operational status of the airbags, encompassing sensors integrated into seats, seat belts, and the vehicle’s body. If any of these sensors experience a malfunction, the airbag indicator light will activate. This stands as a prevalent cause for the light’s illumination on the dashboard.

2) Dead Backup Battery

In instances where your vehicle’s battery has been recently drained, it could also lead to depletion of the auxiliary battery responsible for powering the airbags.

While this issue might rectify itself upon full battery recharge, if not, recharging the backup battery coupled with a sensor reset becomes necessary.

3) Wet Airbag Module

In the event of water damage to your vehicle, the airbag module situated beneath the driver’s and/or passenger’s seat could have been adversely affected. If this module becomes short-circuited or corroded, its proper functionality might be compromised.

4) Seat Belt

Whether the airbag warning light illuminates due to an inadvertent activation or as a result of these common triggers, its presence holds significant purpose. Should the light activate, it’s crucial to promptly address repairs for both the airbag system and its associated sensors.

Furthermore, the airbag light can be triggered by improper fastening of the seat belt. Even after securing the seat belt, if the light continues to flash, potential issues with the buckle or the seat belt sensors, which are interconnected with the airbags, could be at play.

5) A Small Collision

Frequently, minor incidents like gentle collisions during parking or in congested traffic might occur. Even if these incidents don’t trigger airbag deployment, the sensors are attuned to sense such impacts, potentially leading to the activation of the warning light.

6) Damaged Airbag Clock Spring

Functioning as a crucial link between the vehicle’s electrical wiring and the driver-side airbag, the airbag clock spring ensures uninterrupted connectivity. As the steering wheel turns, the spring coils and uncoils. Over time, it can naturally deteriorate, resulting in diminished connectivity and the risk of airbag malfunction.