AIRBAG light on 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe stays on

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Guys,

Starting yesterday, the AIRBAGS light in my wife's 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe started staying on. Apparently, this means that there is potentially a fault with the system--or at least it threw a fault once and the code needs to be cleared. I'm curious if anyone out there has had something similar happen with their Hyundai or other vehicle and what it was that fixed it. I plan on taking it to a mechanic at some point, I'm just trying to get an idea of what I'm dealing with. Thanks!
 
Likely candidate would be a clock spring (mechanical part), a bad sensor or electrical connection is another possibility but less likely if the car is undamaged or didn't go for a swim.
 
Originally Posted By: mrdctaylor
Hmmm. Thanks. Ever had a clock spring replaced? I'm curious about price.

No but i have changed a few over the years. This seems to be a known issue with this car.
Read the second post..

http://www.arfc.org/complaints/2003/hyundai/santa_fe/air_bags/problem.aspx

How to do the job..

http://www.hyundai-forums.com/196-veracruz-forum/137595-clock-spring-replacement-campaign.html

I would contact Hyundai first there may be some sort of recall on this thing or maybe a good will fix.
OWNERS MAY CONTACT HYUNDAI CUSTOMER CONNECT CENTER AT 1-800-633-5151.

To answer you question i would guess about $200 including the clock spring.
 
It could be anything, only with the scanner you can begin to diagnose and repair.

one time by mistake I pulled the fuse for the instrument panel with the switch on, I turned off the car and up the fuse back, when I restarted the car the airbag light was on and disconnecting the battery had no effect, only with the scanner it revealed a "communications failure, intermittent" code, clearing the code and the light went off.
 
Thanks for the tip. On the phone with them now. No recalls, but still on the phone while they check on some things...
 
In my ford f150 it was just a light bulb that made the air bag light come on. Finely replaced bulb in dash it went out
 
Ok. After reading about random electrical connections causing issues, I did lots of googling. Someone else with a Hyundai mentioned wiring under the passenger seat that was causing his problem. We did take our teenagers out to eat last night. My horse of a son hates riding in the back seat and it looks like his size 13s kicked trash (including 2 water bottles) underneath the seat. I clean it out and firmly pressed in on the several electrical connections underneath the seat and...the light actually went off. I'm not sure if I have a loose connection or if it was just a connection stressed by a full water bottle wedged in there. Regardless, I'll keep an eye on it.

PS. It is a good reason to tell the wife to keep her car clean. It drives me nuts! :)
 
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scan it first sometimes after a repair the system needs to be reset.. If you don't have the equipment to check and reset go ask a reliable body shop, most body shops can do this as they do it all the time.
 
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