Troubleshooting for illuminated airbag and ABS warning lights in the Renault VelSatis from 2003

Hello, I have experienced a similar problem with my 2002 Renault Laguna. However, I'm more of a car enthusiast, so I have little experience. My ABS control unit was defective. I went straight to the garage and they replaced it quite easily. However, I had to pay a hefty bill of 1000 euros. If you could give me more details about your car - gearbox, horsepower, mileage and so on - I might be able to help you even better. Hope that helps for now!

(Translated from German)

Hi, thanks for the quick response. So, my VelSatis is an automatic and has PS 150, it's now on 135530 kilometers and the last service was about five months ago. That is indeed a hefty bill you got there. I hope I can find a cheaper solution. In your experience, would it be worth changing the sensor yourself to save costs?

(Translated from German)

Hey, first of all, your car has quite a bit of mileage on it. Of course, with such a high mileage, such faults can occur from time to time. As for changing the sensor... I'm no expert either, as I said. In my Laguna, it was the ABS control unit and not the sensor. But I also did some research at the time and read that not every lateral acceleration sensor can be replaced just like that. It depends on the exact type and the connection to your car's electronics. So it could well be that you need special tools or even have to recalibrate the car. In this case, it would be best to leave it to the professionals in the workshop. After all, it can be quite expensive if a fault you cause yourself causes even more damage. But perhaps you can have the fault memory read out first, as this often helps and is not that expensive. Maybe it's a completely different problem. I hope this helps you a little.

(Translated from German)

Hello, thank you very much for the detailed reply and the valuable information. Your point about the special tool and calibration makes perfect sense, I hadn't thought about that at all. Your advice to have the fault memory read out first seems sensible to me, I will probably do that next before I take any major steps. I was really hoping to be able to handle this myself somehow, but it's probably better to leave it to the professionals. Thanks for your help!

(Translated from German)

Hello everyone, Another thing that could be broken is the steering angle sensor located behind the steering wheel. The sensor is there to "measure" which steering angle is currently present, the value needs the vehicle for the ABS and the airbag system. To do this, however, the airbag must be removed, which should only be done by people with the appropriate training.

(Translated from German)