mylangrace

Our airbag light just started flashing in our 99 Nissan Maxima GLE. Any suggestions on how to get it turned off?

thebigsadler

iTrader: (4)

reset your ECU.. search for reseting ECu or look for stickies on it..

95emeraldgxe

how did it turn on in the first place??? if it turns on again even after u reset the ECU you should have it checked out......it could mean airbag failure

mylangrace

I don't know how it came on. We were out of town and driving down the road when it just started blinking. My husband pulled to the side of the road and turned the car off and on and it continued to blink.

What is an ECU?

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

Don't reset the ECU, reset the AIRBAG ECU. Do that like this;

Open the driver's door
Turn your key to the ON position (as if the car is running, but it's not)
Push the driver's door dome light button at least 7 times within 10 seconds (the button that turns on the interior lights when you open the door.


That last part, 7 times pushing the button, may be the diagnosis mode for the airbag computer. Doing this from memory.

DW

SC99MaxSELmtd

My airbag light was on when I bought my maxima. I thought it was a short, but resetting the ECU did not help. It turned out the jerk that owned my car previously had cut corners on fixing the car when he wrecked it and I had to replace the whole passenger side air-bag module. Cost me $500 - Ouch!

Riot^

I have the same problem. It went off for no reason after 8 months of me as an owner.
I reset it, it went away for a week or so, and it is back now. Doesn't reset anymore. I got used to it, and I am not gonna bother getting it fixed. I am a good driver, so I don't plan on having my airbag deployed. If it does deploy by itself... well... too bad for me. I am just sick of all the little mishaps with the Maximas (airbag light, leaking trannis in 5spd, wobbly high speed steering).

Just my 2 cents.

multiplexor

hey! i'm also a good driver! woohoo! hehe... oh wait, i should be worried about other drivers hitting me.. damn!

mylangrace

Hello there,

I just wanted to tell you guys that pressing the button 7 times worked. We did it 3 days ago and it has not come back on yet...fortunately. It went off immediately. I don't think it will come back on because nothing happened to the car to trigger it (at least to my knowledge).

Just wanted to say Thanks Again.

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

Thats probably the most stupid comment I've ever read. It's not you that you should be worried about on the road, It's the A$$hole that hits you!

Get your Air Bag systems fixed. They JUST MIGHT save your live some day.

Riot^

I don't have $500 to blow on my airbag. I'll take my chances.

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

To some extent, you're right. The safest thing you can do is wear your seatbelt. Airbags are more glamorous.

DW

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

You're welcome

DW

hockeyghst

same here...i got use to it blinking now and i already tried reseting the ecu i just gave up on it

clee130

Make sure you're resetting the airbag ECU and if you did and it's still blinking, I suggest a trip to the dealer.

Frank Fontaine

Do you simply want the light to go off or do you want the problem, if any, corrected? Air bags are covered under the powertrain warranty, ie 5yr/60k fyi.

Mine started flashing this past summer. The dealer showed me a printout of the diagnostics--the side air bag harness needed replacement. They fixed it free of charge under the powertrain warranty.

thebigsadler

iTrader: (4)

maybe i am retarded, but which is the driver's dome light in my 98??? i tried the dome light switch in the middle of the roof and the one by the sunroof controls and neither worked..

Riot^

You are retarded... lol, I am just joking
The dome light that they are talking about the is switch that controls the light when your door opens. That switch is located at the bottom, where the kick plates are.
When you open your driver door, on the car frame that is now exposed, you will see a black "pimple" at the bottom. It is in a rubber coating. Push that switch and the light goes off. It controls the light and functions as a sensor when the door is open.
Look near the controls for your seats, eventually you will find it.

99MaxOnDubsSE

i've had to take my car back to the dealer twice because the airbag module keeps going out.... just hope it doesn't happen anymore. my warrenty is almost up!!

Frank Fontaine

I hear you, we're too used to seeing n/c on our invoices......

humaras

I had some problem with my airbag light of the late--reset it about 5-6 times. Had a new battery too, but now the light just won't reset...so I am not sure what it is. Btw, how much was it for the airbag module charge? expensive? My 5yr 60K just passed. looks like I have to fork over the $$

99MaxOnDubsSE

figured this would be kinda cool to reply to my own post,... on friday my friend was driving through a 4 way stop sign. a drunk driver ran the sign to my left and smashed my whole driver side. BUT!!!!! the side airbag DID pop out. i wouldn't have needed it anyways but it's still reassuring.

Ben

anb957

There is a TSB on 98-99 Maxima's for the R and L Side airbags. From reading the TSB it appears that the wiring harness connecting the airbags was too short and becomes discontinuous at some point due to seat movement. The first TSB said to replace the harness. Another TSB superceded this one recomending airbag module with harness replacement. The dealer and the TSB state that if this is your problem, the ENTIRE repair will be COVERED by Nissan. I just dumped the code on my mom's '99 Max SE with 53K and got the code for the right hand side airbag. I will be dropping it off at the dealer monday.

the procedure to get the code:

turn ignition to on. Press the driver side door pin switch five times within ten seconds. The air bag light will now display the codes.

for the R side side airbag:
1.) On (7 seconds)
2.) off ( 2 seconds)
3.) On (1.5 seconds)
4.) off (.5s)
5.) On (1.5s)
6.) off (2s)
7.) Flash on (very short)
Then it goes back to step 2 and repeats.

If the left one is bad step 7 will occur twice (there will be two short flashes)

So if you get one fo thee codes, it is very likely a TSB problem and will likely be covered by the dealer.
Good luck.

Ashok Babu
ashokbabu@md.northwestern.edu

Dreizehn

iTrader: (4)

I can't get mine to reset. Am I doing something wrong?

this it my procedure...

-Turned ignition on but didn't start the car

-Pushed black door button 7 times within 10 seconds

-Watched the light continue to blink

Why didn't this work?

My car is a 95, is there a different way to reset it?

humaras

hey thanks for this info.
Unfortunately I have a 97 and the warranty forit has expired.
I was able to reset the light again using the same technique with the rubber pimple on the door.
I was just wondering--the airbag light is somehow connected to the seats?
is there a way to check if the light is going off for any other reason?
thanks for the info again.
Brian

anb957

The 99 Max mentioned is also out of warranty (at least the 3/36) because it has 53K, but the TSB applies to 98-99 with the side air bags--not sure if they had that in 97. That's why the seats are involved, the side bags are in the sides of the two front seats. As far as I know, the door pin switch puts you into diagnostics mode. I think the dome light procedure is what resets the airbag ECU's codes. I may be mistaken though.
But yes, there are multiple codes that the light could kick out--I only listed two. You can get these from the shop manual if your dealer is nice enough to let you look at it. I personally do not have one. I looked at the dealer's ALLDATA DVD--an amazing resource for almost any car.