SRS Light is On - Took to Dealer - Need Help to Decide on Repair!
 

:eek: Need help really fast .. really bad. I had the SRS light come on in my 1996 E320 with 52,000 miles on the odo. Asked my independent mechanic for help .. he said take it to the dealer, they have the only diagnostic tool he is aware of.

Dealer said I need to replace both of the seat impact sensors for a cost of $905. Is this reasonable? :confused:

sensors...
 

in many other situations...this is the contact ring at the steering wheel that needs to be cleaned......

srs
 

ask them to see the printout, from there diagnostic tool. they can give you one. the price seems reasonable, but the cause doesn't. was the car recently wrecked? if so they may have deployed in that collision

The car was never wrecked .. never hit anything. I'll ask for the printout when I go pick up the car.

Are there impact sensors in the seats? If so, how much can these cost? I thought it might be the ring contact in the steering wheel .. but the car only has 52,000 miles and its always been garaged .. can't imagine such a low mileage car with a dirty SRS contact. Doesn't make sense.

contact ring
 

armor all and other chemicals contaminate it, they get inside during application, if it is the contact ring remove the steering wheel and clean with steel wool.

Seat recognition switch?
 

I am assuming it is the "seat recognition switch" sensor that tells the air bag module whether or not to ignite the pass. side air bag. They are very common fault in the SRS system for 210 vehicles.

That price seems normal - not high or low.

As for cleaning the contact ring. The steering angle sensor provides continuity for the drivers front air bag. It is encased in plastic and can not be cleaned as could the contact ring on a 124 body style E.

If it is the pass. side seat recognition switch, the pass side seat cushion will need to be disassembled. Call and upholstry shop, many times they are a lot cheaper in labor - but you'll need to supply the part.

contact ring
 

he is correct, that is the newer style without the brass contacts, it is the clock spring type

MB hasn't used the contact ring and brush system in years. cpiad2005s' car has a clock spring to make the connection to the airbag. Since there's no contact brush riding on a moving conductor the possibility of wear or contamination is eliminated. They do fail though, so checking which trouble codes were found is a good idea.

The sidebag sensors are mounted to the body-shell crossmember beneath the front seats and towards the outside. They don't supply the power to ignite the airbags, they just send information to the SRS control module, such as impact severity. In the event of a crash resulting in side airbag deployment they don't need to be replaced unless they're physically damaged. However, they can fail electrically, but they're easy to replace. Just unbolt the seats and tilt them backwards. Lift up the carpet at the area of the front seat mount to expose the cross-member and you can't miss them. They're not much bigger than a stick of gum. It's an easy DIY job. No special programming is necessary. Whoever does the job will need to know if the sensors were made by Temic or Bosch. They must be replaced with the same ones. The trouble codes for these sensors are B1310 or B1311, depending on left or right. Good luck

thanks to all
 

Really appreciate the guidance. Thanks to all who responded. :hair:

SRS light coming on can be caused by many things, you really need to get a copy of the fault report and post that.

There's only one sensor (Passenger seat recognition sensor) and that’s fitted under the passenger seat squab.

rusty conections
 

I had an SRS light on my '98 C230 about a year ago. Turned out that the pin connectors on the side airbag sensor (on the crossmember, beneath the seats) had rusted right off. Check yours, if not rusted right off maybe they could be cleaned to save some $.

Cheers,
Matt