Issue caused by Volvo workmanship..
 

Hi All,

Just after some advice, my XC90 went into Volvo to have the steering angle sensor replaced under warranty, but since then I’ve had an urgent airbag service warning come up. The same workshop pulled the codes and it says the driver airbag needs replacing....

It cannot be coincidence that they replace a sensor in the steering wheel and now the airbag needs replacing...?

Any advice on how to deal with them? Airbags are not covered under the warranty (volvo non selekt).

Kind regards,

Jamie

Was the light off when you took it away ? How long before it came on ? They did not plug in the airbag properly hopefully ...

It came on within a few miles of driving it, it has been back to them twice to be checked and the codes reset, but it has come back on.

I've spoken to an airbag specialist who is very surprised that an airbag can have an internal fault, it is almost always the control module. I think they didnt leave enough time between disconnecting the battery and disconnecting the airbag so the control module has logged a fault which requires a hard reset.

The service manager is adamant that the issue is with the actual airbag and wants to charge me £850 to replace it!

I have never heard of an internal fault either , have they rechecked the air bag connector ? There is a test tool they have to plug in to simulate a good air bag have they used this to prove the air bag is defective 100% ?

If the air bag is faulty I would not hesitate in getting a used one . £50 maybe ?

Once the SRS light comes on it will stay on until reset at the garage again . maybe it is an intermittent fault . They must have reset it otherwise the light would have been on when you picked it up ...

Yes they must have cleared all the codes, they have cleared the codes twice now, and the light comes on within about 20 miles of driving.

I have just spoken to another volvo specialist who has never heard of this issue before and says it is almost certainly the control module that has sensed something happen to the airbag, probably because they didnt leave the battery disconnected for long enough before starting work.

So my question is, if the service manager digs his heels in, what would be my next step..?

as long as the battery is disconnected no problem .
next is the test tool that will tell 100% if the air bag is faulty , it could still be the contact reel you had fitted ...

I will see what they say this afternoon, but the codes have already said airbag internal fault. The volvo specialist also said it could be the SAS that was faulty when fitted.

We shall see!

Just been to the dealer, fault codes are:

SRS-0012: Driver airbag stage 1 capacitance too high
SRS-0015: Driver airbag stage 1 capacitance too low

They have reset it, and I've driven 12 miles without the light coming back, the dealer who did the steering angle sensor is saying it has nothing to do with them (even though they removed it.... :shocked: ) and is saying to contact the dealer which I bought the car from at the end of April.

Anyone had these codes before and maybe shed some light on it? Perhaps a Mod could move this thread for me into the XC90 group as it is starting to get a bit more XC90 specific?

Thanks again

so they still have not diagnosed it properly with the volvo special resistor tool that is the only way to condemn it .

I am not particularly impressed with them to be honest. I will call them tomorrow and ask about the resistor tool, I am beginning to suspect it could be the clockspring on the SAS having an intermittent connection to the airbag? I just dont understand why it doesnt come on again straight away, if there was an issue with the airbag it would surely flag it up almost instantly?