2000 ML430. Recently the SRS and Airbag Sensor light has been illuminating for periods of time. Highly frustrating and annoying. I also know that the dealer will charge me to check it out. Any thoughts or advice based on your own experiences.
I've narrowed it down to the light only activating when the passenger is a man. Does not activate for girls. Can it have something to do with the angle of the seatbelt or is there a faulty sensor activated by weight?
Sounds like a faulty sensor...I know some years (not sure which) have an automatic sensor that if it sense the equivalent weight of a child + a car seat, it will disable the airbag on the passenger side and the light will come on.
mine is in the dealer for the third time, every 2 to 3 months the light appears again...this time they say who ever installed my after market radio cut a wire and decided to cut another wire to connect the radio. i dont know how true this is but they are charging me $900 to change the whole system. $700 just to fix the old wire but not guarrantee. so im going back to who installed my radio and see if they can fix that problem. i hope they will!! [B)]
mine is in the dealer for the third time, every 2 to 3 months the light appears again...this time they say who ever installed my after market radio cut a wire and decided to cut another wire to connect the radio. i dont know how true this is but they are charging me $900 to change the whole system. $700 just to fix the old wire but not guarrantee. so im going back to who installed my radio and see if they can fix that problem. i hope they will!! [B)]
Sorry to hear that man. I hope that you don't have to spend $900... because the idiot cut the wire. [:(!]
We have the booster seat made for MB by Britax. In our case there is a sensor in the seat that looks for a signal from the device( a magnet) in the booster seat. When it sees that signal the SRS is automatically turned off for the front passenger area.
I know you are a long term member with tons of knowledge, but I am pretty sure that the Babysmart system is activated only by babyseats or booster seats that comply with the Babysmart system's electronics on board the truck in the seat's sensor. I looked at the wiring diagram on this a few years ago and it only showed the Babysmart sensor in a 99 ML 430. Nothing else in the circuit that would use weight as a means to shut off the SRS.
The Babysmart system is in many vehicles like BMW, Volvo, Saab and others. At stores that sell car seats or boosters it is very hard to find the Babysmart compliant seats, but they are out there.
Here is one tidbit of safety info on the system.
http://www.idph.state.il.us/webapp/SRSApp/servlet/SRS.getProductDetail?nProductID=1923
Now here is where the weight of a passenger comes into play on different "smart systems.
"Next is, don't put your kids in the front seat. Since the most common type of crash is frontal, the rear seat is the safest place for children to ride. A study by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) showed that children under 13 are up to 36-percent less likely to die if they are seated in the rear seat. Despite this, an estimated one-third of children ride improperly restrained in the front seat. Front airbags don't protect children, either, because they were designed for adults. According to the National Safe Kids Campaign, 141 children have been killed by passenger airbags as of January 1, 2004. The federal government now requires auto manufacturers to begin phasing in "advanced," or third-generation, airbags that deactivate if the front passenger is too light. But this is intended more to protect smaller adults. So don't give in to the whining of your "I'm too big to sit in the back" kid." (source Edmunds.com)
i have that same problem my SRS light comes on and off. When I took my ML to the dealer, to seewhat was wrong with my navi, the gy pointed the SRS light going on and off and he said i should be more concerned with that. I read the driver's manual and it said that the airbags could deploy randomly. I don't wanto spend a whole lotta $$$$$$$$$$ just so the dealer can diagnose the problem, i know a euro car specialist, but i'd like to know what they he'lls wrong with my car lol.
Thanx
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