alexismreyes

Hi, i've a Civic EX 2012 showing a "Passenger Airbag Off" Warning on MID.....this Warning shows every 2 or 3 seconds and it's very annoying.....I bought the car as used (crashed in accident and repaired ) so it appears passenger airbag already used and that's why it shows the warning......question is how can I turn that warning off?? Reading on Internet I see most frequently answer is to address the car to dealer to fix this issue....in my case I can't use this option because there is just one Honda dealer in the whole country and this dealer doesn't fix cars that wasn't bought to them (that's my case). Just as additional data I remember I saw another civic 2012 with same problem when I was looking to buy my car, however they fix the problem pressing the info button on steering wheel every time they stars the engine, pitifully I haven't been able to contact that person to ask him how he fixed it.....but at least I saw there a solution......additionally I've seen some Honda HDS on eBay but sellers are not sure if this problem can be fixed with it.....hope anybody here could help me......thanks for your time and forgive my English because Spanish is my main language but frequently better help is found on English phorums....

jordan1794

Do you know if they replaced the airbag after the accident?

alexismreyes

Hi Jordan and thanks for ur response.....in both cases (the car I bought and the one I saw fixed ) airbag was not replaced.

ezone

My guess: A dealership (or a very well equipped shop) needs to initialize (program) the seat weight sensors and ODS/OPDS systems for the passengers seat.
The HDS scantool (or equivalent) is needed to complete these operations.


The repairers probably just bolted the new SRS unit (airbag control unit) into the car but had no ability to do this programming.

Another thing: There is a service information bulletin (for the USA) stating the 12m.y. cars could have had SRS parts from either of 2 different manufacturers (due to supply disruptions after the 2011 Japan Tsunami), and all parts are supposed to be ordered only after checking who the manufacturer of the SRS system was. Use of the wrong manufacturers' parts can cause serious problems, they are not interchangeable.


HTH

alexismreyes

Hi ezone......so getting Honda HDS will allow me to reset the Airbag module and turn Off that annoying warning on MID??

ezone

Yes, if my guess was correct. If I wasn't, then you should be able to read whatever the faults are so you can come up with a good answer.

And IF I am correct about the problem, it's not just a matter of resetting or erasing codes, it's a whole process to allow the passenger detection system do its job, but it's all done using the scantool.

If so equipped with seat weight sensors, the only additional equipment needed is a "weight of known value" to calibrate the seat weight sensors. In our shop we have a 13KG weight from a barbell set for this.


At the dealership level, the HDS diagnostic program itself is installed on a laptop ---but that's not the only part of the scantool. We also use the Modular Vehicle Communication Interface (MVCI) unit in order to connect the HDS equipped laptop to the car, either wired or wireless. And a subscription to the services through Honda.



Maybe non-dealership shops can use different equipment, but I'm not familiar with what's available for independent shops and non-USA areas...
I don't know if it will help you, but
here's a link to Honda Service Express <--click! (works best with Internet Explorer)

Look under the heading: Diagnostic Tools for some more info.

If your car was built as a USA market car, this may work.
If your car was built for a different market country (i.e. Brazil/S.A.), this may not work at all.




And hope the repairs were done using the correct parts.
I had issues on a car not long ago... when I received a Canadian market airbag control unit for a USA market car, it almost worked except for a few details. Something to do with meeting a different set of regulations for a different country made the seat belt warning light never go out until both belts were fastened no matter if someone was sitting in the passengers seat or not.
The warehouse sent me TWO of these incorrect control units before we figured out why they were not working correctly!



HTH

IvanFM

Hey man, i have the same issue.
Did you solved it?
thanks