SRS light permanently on after service?

memorex

Hi - has anyone encountered this before?

I have just bought a second hand Honda Civic 1.4i 1997. Before I picked it up, the garage (a Subaru dealer) gave the car a full service. When I collected the car he told me up front that the SRS light had come on during service but not to worry. He said it was only due a combination of the battery being disconnected and the car being up on the ramp. He said that it should go off 'by itself' after a week or two and if it doesn't, not to worry, come back and they'll hook it up to the computer and turn it off manually.

Does this make sense to anyone knowledgable in this area? Should I just go straight back and ask him to turn it off now? I guess it's a sensitive area - if there is genuinely a fault with the SRS I'd like to know too. The car only has 57K on it and is in great nick.

Thanks for any info.

-mem

JohnCleary

Check your seat belt pre-tensioner cables under the driver and passenger seat, could be possible that one of those came loose

memorex

Thanks - will do. It being a civic there's a large diy community on the web (that I've just discovered) including details on how to turn off the SRS yourself (http://www.emotors.ca/Articles/article.aspx?id=144). I am no mechanic so probably wont be attempting this however.

It definitely happened between the test drive and pickup, so unless the dealer has taken out the airbags (arrrgh), I hope it is just down to his explanation of battery disconnect.

AMurphy

If you (or the garage) reset it and it remains off, good, If however, it comes back on again later, I'd certainly have it checked to insure the airbag is still installed. it should be possible for a dealer to do that vis the ECU.

Frankly, I'd suggest you have them switch it off. If it is so easy to do as they suggest, then they should have done it at the time of service. it only takes a few seconds with the right equipment.

Our man in Havana

Get it sorted asap. The same happened to me with a ford. I was involved in an accident and the air bag did not deploy for 15 secs after impact which was totally useless. Check it out! +

x in the city

hondas of that era got a srs fault which arises from the battery being disconnected, jump starts, or general things like that which causes the srs to light up

it means your airbags wont work. i would take it to the dealer, pronto. you paid for a service and he is responsible for it.

its not a big issue and only 5 mins to fix. if you got the equipment.....

but ya, still a bytch of a prob.

zapata

I had the same problem on a 96 civic. The previous owner let the lights on one night and drained the battery. The srs light was constantly on. I drove into the Honda dealer on the East Wall Rd and a young apprentice reset the electrics with some gizmo. Took 20 seconds and no charge (even though i bought the car privately). He plugged the gizmo into a socket under the passenger dash. Never a bother since. I wouldn't attempt a diy job - you never know when you need those airbags....
Solution - ask a honda dealer 'nicely'.

unkel

Bond-007 wrote:

The same happened to me with a ford. I was involved in an accident and the air bag did not deploy for 15 secs after impact

OMG :eek:

I hope you confronted your garage with this. Case of shocking incompetence imo

Captain Trips

memorex wrote:

Hi - has anyone encountered this before?

He said that it should go off 'by itself' after a week or two and if it doesn't, not to worry, come back and they'll hook it up to the computer and turn it off manually.
-mem

He is full of ****. Why would a light go after after "a week or two". Technology doesn't work like that, except maybe my old Windows 98 box that would sometimes work okay for no apparent reason.

SRS lights come on when starting the car for a varying amount of seconds - this indicates that the system has checked itself. They go off within usually when the rest of the oil pressure/battery and so go off (i.e., within seconds).

If the light remains on it's a general rule that the SRS system has an error and will not function. Don't get them to disable the SRS light , get them to actually prove on paper and get it signed that it's been tested and confirmed working.

They have obviously feckered something and don't know exactly what it is. Would you drive away with a windscreen wiper not working but that "it should start to come if it rains in a week or two and if not bring it back". THat is garage talk for "you are a sucker".

Take the car back, the light is not there to light up the dashboard and if you are in an accident and injure yourself, e.g., and need to claim or someone else does from the insurance, it may even be invalid (passenger injured, insurance companies ask why is his skull imprinted on the windscreen, etc., .).

bazz26

I agree, the SRS light is there for a reason. If the light is on then there is an issue with the SRS system and one or either of the airbags may not deploy in an accident. Do you or a loved one want to take that risk?

Bring it back to the garage and insist it be checked and fixed. Get a signed letter from them saying that the issue has been resolved (not just that the light or system has been disabled). It was working before they serviced the car so it should be working afterwards also. We are talking about a safty device which could save your life not something like a stereo or cigarette lighter!

stratos

Yes I agree with the above the srs light won't go out untill the fault has bee'n repaired and the airbag system reset. Srs or airbag warning lights tend to come up when cars go into garages. The seat gets moved and it damages some of the wiring harness, which will have to be replaced.

Ratchet

don't play with safety and get the garage to repair it

memorex

Thanks for the opinions. Yes I agree, it'll have to go back to get repaired. I am annoyed that I left the garage without getting it resolved but the dealer knew only too well that I was on my lunch break (he'd already left me waiting for most of it) and that I was under pressure to get back to work. I know that's not a vaild excuse though.

So my thinking is: get the light reset by the garage - verify that its off - see if it comes back on - if it does that would indicate there is in fact a problem with the SRS - proceed to get that resolved.

-mem

test999

That light means your Safety/Supplemental Restraint System (read airbag) has failed a startup diagnostic test.

This means, your airbag will *not* deploy when it should, i.e. during an accident, or might deploy when it should not (equally annoying).

Try to reset the car, disconnecting the battery/clock-fuse, usally does it for civics.

Anybody on this board suggesting you should just disable it, is full of ****.

Get it investigated/fixed by a skilled mechanic.

memorex

So to recap, there are two possible faults here:

1) Some part of the SRS componentry such as the airbags is faulty - thus the light is on.

2) No part of the SRS componentry is faulty and the light is on due to some issue with disconnecting the battery on old Hondas.

In an accident (touch wood) and if 1) is true then I am probably screwed.

In an accident and if 2) is true then I would expect my SRS components to do still their job. I.e. I would not expect the light being on to stop components working - as the fault is with the light etc.

I am not going to mess with this - and will get it fixed. Just that won't be for a few days. I am trying to convince myself that in the intervening time 2) is the case and I am not taking a massive risk driving.

test999

It's safe to say Honda can making a reliable dash warning light.

So, let's assume the srs is faulty.

If the light is on, the airbag could deploy while you are driving,
resulting in minor burns, abrasions, and possibly face smashing.

vishal

test999 wrote:

It's safe to say Honda can making a reliable dash warning light.

So, let's assume the srs is faulty.

If the light is on, the airbag could deploy while you are driving,
resulting in minor burns, abrasions, and possibly face smashing.

yeah sit well back from the stearing wheel to be sure. my mum broke her nose only due to an airbag deploying in an accident where the passenger compartment was undamaged. they kill some people u know. i would rather drive without an airbag than with one or failing that sit well back from the wheel and ALWAYS BELT UP and fully tigten the belt so u dont move forward in an inflating airbag.

Father Hackett

agree with the above; SRS light comes on (power up self test) when starting; it does this every time on startup (checks pre tentioners/airbag/sensors).. anything fails this test; SRS system (including Airbag) is disabled and light stays on.
If it was a once off fault (failed test); turning off/on the int would re-run the power up self tests and pass (light goes out)... this also applies to the ECU [engine management]; ABS; immobiliser.
These warning lights are not due to faulty contacts etc (for open door etc); it is a specific condition as in; did not pass self test if on after 5secs so... IS NOT WORKING