Problems with 2006 MINI Cooper S AIR BAGS

The passenger's seat mat airbag sensor has failed in my car and the airbag light remains lit at all times. this has happened twice now, the first time at 28801 miles and now again at 52300 miles. i paid $1200 for a full seat bottom replacement at the mini dealership to correct the problem and now, 3 years later, the new seat has failed in the same manner. bmw has issued a recall for the exact same issue for their cars from the same year which use the same malfunctioning parts and mini needs to do the same for their customers. this is an expensive and recurring known safety issue that consumers should not be held responsible for. i have had 2 different mini dealerships acknowledge that they have had to fix this problem in countless 2005 and 2006 model year minis, yet there is no offer to rectify the issue despite the fact that i already had to pay out of pocket once. *tr

I complained with mini cooper back in 2011 when my warranty expired and dealership said that replacement will be done out of pocket. i have been driving my car at risk; more often that not, i do not drive my car with a passenger in the front seat. fast forward to 2015 with recall but unable to execute the recall due to lack of parts. nhtsa should investigate what the cause of delay and since the original part works albeit bad durability, force mini cooper/bmw to perform stop gap repairs with older parts, bypass sensor or change software code to disregard bad sensor input. the burden is too great for me to use my car with no passenger or passenger at risk. stop gap repairs, including changing the software code and eliminate sensor input to disable the airbag can be a temporary repair. how hard is it for bmwq to short or "fake" the sensor signal, so the system would not disable the airbag; hence it would deploy when there's a passenger onboard. put a sticker on the dashboard that says airbags are temporary active and child seats not allowed. my safety instinct tells me it is preferred to have the airbag active and deploy when needed. the number of potential child seat is most likely a very low number that most owners would prefer to have an active airbag. it is unacceptable that this is taking so long, and putting the owners at risk when there are stop gap measures available. bypassing the sensor and having the airbags active seems to be the most logical one except nhtsa may be the problem for coming up with auto-sensors to prevent child seat activation. nhtsa should make a choice and decide what is more important, safety of the passengers, or having to give bmw instruction and waivers to allow stop gap and not put me and my passengers at risk.

Air bag failure lamp light on. 2006 jcw mini cooper. on startup, lamps all go through startup illumination then go dark. airbag failure lamp relights 1 second later and remains on. no interior wiring done, car is as was received new from dealer. *tr

Passenger seat oc-3 air bag sensor failure: i have had this problem sporadically since i bought the car but recently, i've been getting both the yellow overhead airbag off light (above the rearview mirror) and the red warning light on the center dash turn on and stay on. this happens several times a week now whether the seat is occupied or not. it causes the seatbelt alarm to go off and i have to buckle an empty seat. my main concern is it jeopardizing the passenger airbag function. *tt

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 mini cooper s. the contact stated that the front passenger side air bag light illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the passenger seat air bag sensor needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included in any recalls. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileages were unknown.

The car is a 2006 mini cooper s coupe. the car has less than 57,000 miles. the airbag sensor light remains on even with a passenger in the seat which shows the airbag is not employed. the dealer cost to repair was $900 as quoted on 1/3/11. the airbag light goes on and off randomly. it is not clear that the airbag would function in the event of an accident. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 mini cooper s. upon starting the vehicle the contact noticed that the front passenger side air bag light was illuminating on the dashboard. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where they were unable to diagnose the failure because the light was no longer illuminating. the contact was told the failure was most likely due to the air bag sensor failing. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure continued to occur. the failure mileage was 60,000 and the current mileage was 61,000. updated 12/14/11 *cn

Airbag warning light indicates system is either off or inoperative - it does not matter if someone is sitting on the seat or not. the airbag light is always on. after reviewing numerous complaints on mini forums, it appears that the problem is common and due to a defective sensor under the seat cover. since i rarely carry passengers, this condition is definitely not due to wear and tear. as it stands, i have no way to ascertain if the air bag will deploy in an accident situation. this could cause serious injury to anyone riding in the passenger seat or even the driver. a low mileage vehicle or even an older vehicle should not have this type of safety issue. *tr

Airbag deployment passenger seat sensor mat defective.this sensor turns off passenger side airbag intermittently and without warning before driving.mini will not correct the safety issue on vehicles out of warranty. *tr

The passenger seat airbag weight sensor has gone bad and as a result, has rendered the entire airbag system inoperable. the vehicle is out of warranty by 4k miles and the local dealer and mini usa have become non-responsive about fixing an obvious design defect. the replacement part plus labor and factory resetting were quoted at $1900. searching other online postings reveals that this is a known problem not only for mini coopers but for parent company bmws as well. *tr

My 2006 mini cooper s has a defective passenger seat air bag sensor, that i was quoted 16,000$to replace it. this is the exact same part that bmw recalled in 2008. bmw recalled around 150,000 vehicles in north america to fix a possible defect that may keep the front passenger airbag from opening in a crash, the recalled cars include 2006 3-series, 2004-06 5-series and 2004-06 x3 vehicles. mini uses this same recalled part(mini being made by bmw), yet has not recalled the part. i know many people that have had this part replaced at there own expense several times. it is a huge safety hazard. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 mini cooper s. the contact stated the air bag warning indicator was illuminated. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. the technician diagnosed that the passenger seat sensor mat was faulty and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 80,000.

Issues with airbag light in 2006 mini cooper s, when someone is in the seat if they are not sitting just the right way the light will go on, warning us the airbag is deactivated, sometimes the airbag light will go on for the passenger seat with nobody in the seat. sometimes the seatbelt warning light will come on with no one in the seat as well. moving the seat will sometimes correct the issue. complaints to mini and dealer were on deaf ears. *tr

My 2006 bmw mini coopers passenger air bag light is showing that it is deactivated regardless if there is a full sized adult or no one in the passenger seat this has been a problem for about 4 months. it appears to be a problem in the seat sensor or wiring because it will go out at times when i hit a bump or move the seat then it will come back on. this has been a on going problem/concern will my passengers be protected in the event of a crash since the air bags are showing that they are shut off will they still work? *tr

Passenger airbag failure sensor show failure. have had it "repaired" 3 times. sensor shows problem within 3 weeks of repair each time. does the passenger airbag work? *ln