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danielsmith6

VW Caddy SRS Light Fix: Common Causes & Solutions

Looking for help with my 2002 VW Caddy SRS warning light issue. The airbag warning lamp stays permanently illuminated in the instrument cluster. Already checked the obvious, no visible damage to seats or trim, and battery was recently replaced. Has anyone experienced similar automotive safety issues with their Caddy? Specifically interested in how the restraint system fault was diagnosed and what parts needed replacement. Did you need special diagnostic tools, or was it a common fault like a crash sensor? Please share repair costs and workshop experiences if you had this fixed professionally.

4 comment(s)

magdalenaschubert82

Had a similar airbag repair situation with my 2004 VW Golf (2.0L gasoline). The SRS light came on and stayed on, just like yours. With some experience working on VWs, I first thought it was a major issue, but it turned out to be relatively straightforward. After seeing the warning light, I took it to my regular workshop. They found a loose connection in the wiring harness under the driver seat, pretty common issue with these models. The airbag system is pretty sensitive to any connection problems in the restraint system wiring. The repair took about an hour. They had to: Scan the SRS system with their diagnostic tool, Locate the exact connection issue, Fix and secure the wiring, Clear the fault codes, Test the system Total cost was 95€ including diagnostics and labor. Much better than replacing entire components. To help you further, could you share: Has the SRS light been flickering before staying on permanently? Did you have any work done under the seats recently? Are there any other warning lights active? Does your model have side airbags? This kind of airbag recall or warning light issue needs proper diagnosis, best to have it checked soon since it affects vehicle safety.

danielsmith6 (Author)

Latest service was done at 107000km. You perfectly described my exact issue. Mine also started flickering before staying on permanently. No recent work was done under the seats. The crash sensor diagnostic definitely sounds like a good starting point. One question about your repair, after they fixed the wiring harness, did they need to recalibrate the entire airbag deployment system? I heard the restraint system needs special reset procedures even for minor fixes. Also wondering if its worth checking the front airbag clockspring while the system is being diagnosed. At my mileage, these parts often need attention and Id rather fix everything related to car safety at once.

magdalenaschubert82

Since you have similar experience with the vehicle safety systems, addressing those concerns is important. After my wiring harness fix, no complete recalibration of the airbag deployment system was necessary. The workshop simply cleared the fault codes using their diagnostic tool, and the system reset itself. Regarding the clockspring, absolutely worth checking while they are doing the airbag repair work. In my case, the technician inspected it and found it was still in good condition, but given your mileage, its preventive replacement might make sense. The crash sensor diagnostics showed everything else was functioning correctly after fixing the wiring. Your thinking about addressing all airbag sensor related issues at once is smart. Labor costs are often the biggest part of these repairs, so having everything checked during the same visit is cost-effective. The workshop should do a complete system scan to ensure no other components of the restraint system need attention. Key checks they should do: Full diagnostic scan, Wiring harness inspection, Clockspring condition assessment, Crash sensor validation, Connector cleaning and securing After all repairs, make sure they test the system thoroughly. My warning light has stayed off since the fix, about 30000km ago.

danielsmith6 (Author)

Thanks for the detailed feedback. Learning that no full recalibration was needed after your repair is encouraging. Makes sense about checking the clockspring during diagnostics, the labor overlap could save me money. Just booked an appointment with a local workshop that specializes in VW airbag repair work. They quoted 120€ for initial crash sensor diagnostics and said they can do a full automotive safety inspection of the restraint system while the car is hooked up to their scanner. I will ask them to pay special attention to the wiring harness and connections under the seats since that sounds like a common failure point. Great suggestion about having them check the clockspring condition too, better to know if it needs replacement before it causes airbag deployment issues. Will update once I get the results of their diagnostic tests and find out exactly what caused my SRS warning light to illuminate. Hopefully its just a loose connection like in your case rather than a major component failure.

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