Hi Guys,

I've recently bought a 3rd party VAG-COM scanner from ebay, which came with the lite version of Ross Tech's scanning tool. So I've scanned every module I could to see if there are any errors and now I have the air bag warning light on.

I've found a feed in the Octavia I forum and found a post by 'Railroad' giving a link to this site about the possible firmware problems with the air bag module when scanned with a 3rd party VAG-COM.

I've read the page and it only makes reference to what to do to fix this. But its one of those comments that sound like one of them over the top DON'T DO IT OR WORST CASE YOU HAVE TO REPLACE IT!!!!

My question to you all is, will a professional VAG-COM tool, that a garage would have, be able to clear the code or is a replacement module the only option. Also in the mean time what are the effects on the air bags if I was in a crash that needed them. Would it stop them going off or what? I know its something I need to get sorted sooner rather than later but I still need to use my car.

Thanks in advance.

Crikey, I used a third party interface with VCDS-lite and there were no such issues. I believe 65535 will be a spurious/meaningless error code as it's the highest number that can be represented by a computer binary system in 16 bits. I guess you must have used an old version on a cd and ticked the scan airbag check box.

Edited 16 August, 201015 yr by anewman

The fact it's forced the airbag warning light makes me think it's not something I can ignore. Besides the program states something like 70000+ error codes loaded.

I have a feeling the program was so old the issue had not been brought to Ross Tech's attention and so the warning messages had not been put in place.

Has anyone else had this before, is it possible to have it fixed or should it be replaced? If a replacement is needed what sort of price should I expect to pay?

Thanks

screw it......I'm just going to replace it.

I would hope that Rosstech would provide info on a repair solution if one was possible. I'd hazard a guess that the airbags would function fine in the event of an accident, although not sure on whether a car with an airbag light on would get through an MOT - and probably not a guess you'd want to stake your life on. I think the ECU is under the centre console somewhere.

Edited 20 August, 201015 yr by anewman

The third party VAG-COM cables from ebay have NO support from rosstech since they did not make the cable. The issue is that you have scanned the controller using a very old outdated version of VAG-COM with an unknown cable. You are lucky the airbags did not deploy, which would cost you 000's to fix. With VAG-COM (has been called VCDS now for years) you really need the correct updated version. The latest versions only work with supported Ross Tech cables.

Scanning of the airbag controller with VAG-COM is not recommended, and I suspect it may now need to be replaced.

The best version to currently use with a third party usb cable is VCDS-Lite, this can be upgraded to a full version for about £100 which is a saving on the full one with cable and then you would get support from rosstech. If you're serious about using it though I'd start with the tenner cable and shareware version as that's just £10, then I'd suggest the full genuine version as that can be used on a wider range of cars etc.

Had my 'faulty' unit repaired by crashdata.co.uk

Very impressed by their service. Sent the unit to them by special delivery (had to SD it to insure it for the cost of a new unit) had it repair and sent back before Royal Mail could update their website with a delivered status.

Unit went back in and would you guess, warning light is off! So I recommend crashdata.co.uk if you need to repair an airbag ecu!

Thanks for the update and info. Better than buying a new unit.

Had my 'faulty' unit repaired by crashdata.co.uk

Very impressed by their service. Sent the unit to them by special delivery (had to SD it to insure it for the cost of a new unit) had it repair and sent back before Royal Mail could update their website with a delivered status.

Unit went back in and would you guess, warning light is off! So I recommend crashdata.co.uk if you need to repair an airbag ecu!

I might have to do the same. Exactly where is the control unit located and how long time did it take to take it out?

Cheers