Ok, so my drivers side seat bolster has collapsed. I figured it would be a broken clip or something, so I whipped the seat cover off (I say whipped, it took me a while...)

Low and behold, the clip that has broken appears to be part of the airbag unit. So that needs replacing. Also, the pad is deformed where it has been sat I the wrong place for so long, and the wire that holds the seat cover on has been pulled out of the foam.

My real question is replacing the airbag. I am happy to buy the genuine parts from Skoda (can't find them anywhere else anyway). Can I just plug the new airbag in (having disconnected the battery first of course) or does it need to be registered with the VCDS?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Jason

From what I know airbags don't need coding, as long as the part numbers are the same its just a plug and play.

But as you say, for safety disconnect the battery before messing with them

Check the plugs under the seat haven't been cut off and soldered together.

Cheaper to buy a second hand seat with a good airbag and parts you need from a breakers?

Yea definitely cheaper. I spoke to Skoda about the parts and the airbag was £300 + £100 for the seat foam *gulp*.

Second hand seat it is.

Will give it a go and see what happens. I'll aim for a similar age car so hopefully everything will tie up.

Cheers guys!

A similar age car is likely to have the same problem, the airbag bracket breaking is a design problem.

Newer seat, and your covers?