[Blau]

I kept getting airbag warnings so I brought the car in. They said it's the occupancy mat and want like $1600 to fix it.

I can get an entire interior for far less than that on the eBay. Could I just swap the seat out for a different one and be all set? Would it need to be coded?

$1600 seems like an awfully high amount of money. I've seen seats for like $400. This seems like a no brainer.

Opinions and suggestions welcome.

[mwat]

On my E46 M3 I had the same issue, there was some chip or whatever you want to call it that plugged in under the seat that got rid of the error. I think it was like $10...

Not sure if such a thing exists in your scenario but something to look into... cheaper than anything else.

And to answer the question of "what happens to the airbag then?" It just goes off whether there was someone in the seat or not... allegedly

[Blau]

Originally Posted by mwat

On my E46 M3 I had the same issue, there was some chip or whatever you want to call it that plugged in under the seat that got rid of the error. I think it was like $10...

Not sure if such a thing exists in your scenario but something to look into... cheaper than anything else.

And to answer the question of "what happens to the airbag then?" It just goes off whether there was someone in the seat or not... allegedly

I actually almost bought the gizmo to defeat the light but can't bring myself to use it. I have no clue if it's been tested and documented and I really don't want to be the test dummy.

[Blau]

Bumping this. I'd like to see it anyone else has tried this before I go out and buy a used X3 seat.

2013 X3 28i base
Seat occupancy and airbag mat failure at ~ 111k

[Opie55]

Originally Posted by WeShallCallHerBlau

Bumping this. I'd like to see it anyone else has tried this before I go out and buy a used X3 seat.

2013 X3 28i base
Seat occupancy and airbag mat failure at ~ 111k

Tried what? Was this supposed to be a link? Anyway, if it were me I'd just DIY a new part. There would be a lot of labor to pay for because taking the upholstery off a seat takes time, and dealers probably don't like to do it because they don't do it often and it's a different skill set than using a wrench. But I've done it and it's not too difficult.

[Blau]

Originally Posted by Opie55

Tried what? Was this supposed to be a link? Anyway, if it were me I'd just DIY a new part. There would be a lot of labor to pay for because taking the upholstery off a seat takes time, and dealers probably don't like to do it because they don't do it often and it's a different skill set than using a wrench. But I've done it and it's not too difficult.

I meant has anyone tried replacing their seat with another one. They're super affordable on eBay and it seems like a lot less trouble than gutting a seat.

[Opie55]

If you can get a seat in as good a condition as yours, I doubt it will need coding but cannot say for certain. The problem with ebay interior parts is that they often seem a bit beat up.

[stefertje]

The dummy you can mount on the cable of the seat sensor is just a simple way to let the car think there is always somebody seated on your passenger seat.
Used this quite a lot on older cars.
Be aware that if you have an accident your airbag system thinks your passenger seat is occupied so all airbags on passenger side wil go off as well. This wil put your car more easy on a total loss.
If you that changing the mat is too much money go for the dummy. Interior change is way more work.
Please also bear in mind: people driving with a larger handbag on the passenger seat can easily activate this sensor.

[Blau]

Update on this. Not sure but I think the seat must have gotten pretty wet. I never saw evidence of it, but it's my partners car and who knows...

I let the seat dry out using the cars own heat and leaving the windows open. The problem seems to have corrected itself. I've checked codes a few times and nothing is popping up. No lights or warnings.