Airbag warning

The supplementary restraint system has found a fault in itself. One or more airbags or seatbelt pretensioners may not deploy in a collision. The system covers the belts as well as the bags, so the fault is not always in an airbag.

• A seat or seatbelt connector disturbed, often after seat, carpet or valeting work
• The clock spring in the steering column
• A crash or occupancy sensor
• The airbag control module
• Low system voltage after a flat battery

There is nothing useful to do at the roadside, and nothing you should poke at. Drive normally, wear your belt as always, and understand that you may be relying on the belt alone.

Do not fit seat covers, and do not have work done around the seats, pillars or steering column while the light is on.

Promptly. Airbag systems store their own fault codes and need dedicated equipment to read and reset. These are pyrotechnic components with their own handling rules — this is not a job to attempt at home.