Audi Airbag Warning Light: Common Fixes & Costs

I had a very similar issue with my 2003 Audi A3 last summer. I have some basic experience working on cars but always leave safety systems to professionals. The airbag warning light came on suddenly during normal driving. Since car safety systems are critical, I took it to a workshop right away. They diagnosed it using their diagnostic tool and found that the crash sensor had a faulty cable connection. The wire harness to the airbag sensor was damaged, causing intermittent connection issues. The repair involved replacing the damaged wiring and ensuring proper connectivity to the airbag system components. Total cost was 95 Euro for parts and labor, which seems reasonable for automotive safety work. Before I can offer more specific advice for your A2, could you share: Have you had any recent work done near the airbag components? Did the warning light appear suddenly or did it flicker first? Are there any other warning lights active? Has the car been in any minor accidents or bumps recently? These details would help determine if your issue is similar to what I experienced with the wiring harness.

Last service was at 112000 KM. The airbag warning light appeared without any prior flickering. No recent accidents or repairs near airbag components. All other dashboard indicators work normally. Thanks for the detailed response about the wiring harness, thats helpful to know. Ive noticed the warning stays on even after restarting the car, which seems to suggest a persistent airbag sensor issue rather than a temporary glitch. Going to schedule an airbag repair inspection soon. Before I do, wanted to check if anyone knows if theres an active airbag recall for this model year that might cover the repair cost?

Thanks for those additional details about your A2. After getting my own A3s wiring fixed, I learned a lot about the SRS light behavior. The fact your warning stays on after restarts definitely points to a permanent fault rather than just a glitch, which matches what I experienced. One thing to note, I first tried checking for recalls before paying for my repair, but there wasnt any active airbag recall coverage for our generation of Audis. The airbag deployment system in these models is generally reliable, but the wiring and crash sensors can deteriorate over time. Since your symptoms are nearly identical to what I dealt with, including the constant warning light and no prior warning, theres a good chance its also a wiring connection issue. The mileage you mentioned is also in the range where these problems typically start showing up. Getting it checked soon is the right move. The diagnostic scan will quickly show if its a similar wiring fault. Just make sure they thoroughly check all the crash sensor connections, as sometimes the issue can be misleading if they only look at the most obvious spots. The total repair costs should be similar to what I paid unless they find additional issues with the airbag system components. Keep us posted on what they find during the inspection.

Thanks everyone for the helpful replies on the airbag sensor issue. Just wanted to close the loop, took the car in yesterday for diagnosis of the restraint system warning light. The technician found exactly what was suggested, a damaged wire harness connecting to the crash sensor. The total repair came to 120 Euro, slightly more than expected since they had to replace a section of the wiring rather than just repair it. But the automotive safety system is now working perfectly and the warning light has stayed off. They also performed a full diagnostic on all airbag components while they had it apart, which gave me good peace of mind. Really appreciate the advice about getting it checked promptly rather than waiting. For anyone else who runs into similar airbag warning light issues, definitely worth having it inspected right away. The wiring problem was relatively straightforward to fix once identified, and its clearly a common issue with these older models. The crash sensor connection issue seems to be quite typical based on everyones experiences here. Good to know for future reference. Thanks again for helping me understand what I was dealing with.