Why is my airbag light on?

Asked by hoppy0420 Sep 02, 2012 at 02:06 PM about the Hyundai Elantra

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

went over railroad tracks a bit too fast and the light has been on since then, but the bags have not deployed.

53 Answers

570

I've had the same problem on my 2013 Elantra. I got a run-around answer about my bag being in the passenger seat & it being too heavy. Neither of which are true. I will definitely keep on them about this. Thank you for your answer, Js08016! Do you know if it is a common problem?

39 people found this helpful.
440

Looks like it's a common issue, i have the same problem on my Hyundai Elantra

44 people found this helpful.
570

I called and took it in because that whole not deploying part was a little unsettling. It turns out the scale was not calibrated correctly. At least that's what they said. Either way the issue was resolved.

18 people found this helpful.
420

We have the same problem with our Elantra...we had some electrical problems and after having to disconnect the battery the airbag light comes on all the time.

42 people found this helpful.
250

Just brought our 2011 Elantra in for airbag light on & they said it's the clockspring & want $250 to fix! Ugh

25 people found this helpful.
280

We have a 2010 Elantra Touring. The air bag light is in constantly. Took it in to the dealer and my regular guy, both said it was a "switch" in the passengers seat that required the entire seat bracket to be replaced. Both quoted $2,500 +/-. Any advice for a less costly solution would be appreciated... PS- both said the light would not prevent deployment, so JS08016's comment is a bit disconcerting.

28 people found this helpful.
190

Another air bag light intermitent. Called deaaler and they said could be weight switch, seat belt issues, computer issue, and $120 just to run a diagnostic. Hyndai has such a good reputation, something that has to do with Safety like this should be covered for at least 5 years, hard to believe after 4 years so many people are having this issue

19 people found this helpful.
170

My mother and I both have 2010 elantras and the airbag light has appeared on both of our cars. She had to pay $250 just to fix the issue. I have yet to get it done. I was thinking about trading it in for a newer model but there always seems to be issues with this car.

17 people found this helpful.
160

2003 airbag light on .....it will be a bad connection if you have airbag under the seats check the connection first .......thank you..........................................by mr kevin b-k-a-dj red

13 people found this helpful.
160

2003 Elantra airbag light on .....it will be a bad connection if you have airbag under the seats check the connection first .......thank you..........................................by mr kevin b-k-a-dj red

3 people found this helpful.
710

People really need to call NHTSA about this: This is a safety system defect and should be fixed for FREE under a recall for all of these vehicles.

70 people found this helpful.
240

I have 2012 Elantra and my airbag light stays on...they said it's the clock spring..cost $395.really???? This shouldn't be.

24 people found this helpful.
170

so any responses that help? Lots of complaints, I also have an out of warranty 2012 elantra and would like my airbags to work if I'm in an accident, paying 99 to "evaluate" the light and no clue of what it will cost AND having to leave my car at least a day with them and get a rental does not seem like an option and YES seems as though this should be a recall issue!!!

17 people found this helpful.
320

My 2012 Elantra also has the air bag light on and is out of warranty period. Took to the dealership and had to get a diagnostic done (cost $99.00) was told it was the clock spring needed to be replaced (cost $385.00). I declined to have the work done as the dealership cost is always outrageous. Everyone really needs to report this to NHTSA as this should be covered at no cost to be fixed. https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/

32 people found this helpful.
120

same here with my 2011 Elantra, out of warranty after 5 yrs and 3 days, Airbag light on, steering wheel controls like car volume, mute, scan, fwd/back, cruise control, etc.. not working anymore. At first it was intermittent for 1 month, works here and there 1 out 5 tries, but now 100% dead. I was shopping for a new car for my daughter over the long Labor Day weekend, I was about to get another Hyundai Elantra (2016), sales rep offering me 1k off from msrp as a return customer. 19k otd and all. I decided to walk away. Too risky for loved ones to drive a Hyundai.

12 people found this helpful.
270

2005 Elantra had airbag light on after an frontal collision but before it was on and off. Will get a scanner to read the code.

8 people found this helpful.
270

If you get codes B1448, 1449, 1450, then call your dealer and they will reprogram it for free.

19 people found this helpful.
250

I have 2013 Elantra and all of a sudden Airbag lights popped up. I notice if I lock the seat belt on rear seat it goes off and lights up again.

14 people found this helpful.
120

i have a 2006 and my driver side airbag light is on hope it is a simple fix

12 people found this helpful.
220

I have a 2012 Hyundai Elantra with the very same issue. Any hope of it being fixed for free?

22 people found this helpful.
190

Also 2012 Elantra. Went over some brick pavers and it now blinks on and off intermittently, but is mostly on. Interestingly, the other person who had steering wheel accessory control issues may also be on to something, as I've had those pop up a couple times as well.

7 people found this helpful.
180

If lights on means air bag is disabled.thats good.Don't have to worry about fixing it soon.It can;t hurt the car being on.Thanks a lot for the advice.

12 people found this helpful.
180

My husband sprayed t he wires to air bags and the light went off.No worries anymore.It's on a 2003 cadilac.

6 people found this helpful.
2,970

Good news I got a letter from Hyundai in the mail 2 days ago saying they have extended the warranty on the steering clock spring (what may cause the airbag to light up)to 15 years and unlimited miles for elantras. I'm going in tomorrow to get mine fixed. the light randomly turned on a couple months ago, I have a 2012 Elantra limited. If anyone is interested in the letter i can post it

214 people found this helpful.
250

@Taku yes please post the letter. And it will be appreciated if you can email at coolaliahmed@gmail.com

7 people found this helpful.
2,970

Here is one of the Hyundai letters, I hope it helps

54 people found this helpful.
2,970

here's another one for the steering rubber coupling (which may cause a click if its damaged)

21 people found this helpful.
50

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/ Above link is mainly for US country. May I know is anyone have Malaysia link to file a similar complaint for Hyundai Elantra?

5 people found this helpful.
120

I opened the Hyundai Elantra Extended Warranty on 07/03/17 and thought, wow that was nice of Hundai to automatically extend the warranty on the clock spring and steering rubber coupling. I kid you not that my wife texted me a picture of the airbag light being on in the dash as she pulled into work the morning of 07/05/17. Uncanny the timing of it really. I just found this string of question/answers and feel like it is 99.9% the clock spring mechanism as it has come up with other 2012 Hyundai Elantra owners. Ours also happens to be a Limited Edition, so I don't know if those are more prone to the issue. We have roughly 68,000 miles on the car. We will be going into the dealership this afternoon to have it fixed as the issue of the airbags not deploying in the event of an accident is worrisome. Thanks to all those who have posted in the last few years and have probably contacted the NHTSA and or Hyndai about this problem so that they would do something about this safety issue. I guess they don't technically have it listed as a safety recall at this point, but it should be made a safety recall issue. I think the warranty letter just says to bring it in only if it experiences the issue, but it sounds like a good percentage of people are experiencing this issue as of the last 4 years.

12 people found this helpful.
70

Thank you everyone!! I have a 2013 Elantra with the intermittent air bag light also. Plus my cruise control no longer works, I wonder if it's all electrical?? I thought Hyundai was supposed to be a better car than average???

7 people found this helpful.
40

I have 2002 elantra ,gals original owner one hundreds,and thirty miles,air bag on constantly,also cracked dash board,pretty bad,is this a defect.

4 people found this helpful.
190

Debbers411, those are the exact symptoms of a bad clock spring. Hyundai extended the warranty. I like to think it is because of my very we'll received NHTSA complaint, but even though the timing was within a couple months of my filling, many others had done the same. Take it in to the dealer and have them check it. It takes only minutes to diagnose. Then, they file with Hyundai to get the part and about a week later you can make an appointment to have it installed. Takes less than an hour labor to do.

12 people found this helpful.
160

I just wanted to thank the individual or group of people that did the leg work to get Hyundai to take ownership of this safety issue. Great job, I brought my car in today for the airbag light. You're a life saver!

14 people found this helpful.
120

How do I get a letter from Hyundai extending the warranty?? I have the same issue with the air bag light.

5 people found this helpful.
160

GuruD7H2Q there is a letter posted in this message stream, that's the proof you need

2 people found this helpful.
120

So I just print it an take it to the dealer with me?? I don't have to have an actual letter from Hyundai??

2 people found this helpful.
2,970

Yeah as Tim mentioned, just use the letter i posted earlier on the forum and that will be fine. My sister has the same Elantra as mine and she didn't get the letter, but was able to use the info from mine to get her repairs paid for.

8 people found this helpful.
120

Ok. I will print the letter and take it to the dealer. Thanks for the information!!

5 people found this helpful.
250

To be frank dealership did not even ask me for the letter. When i said that they have extended the warranty they did it for free.

4 people found this helpful.
110

I have same problem when my air bag light went on while driving. My cruise control also stopped working and this was because of clockspring in steering. Hyundai has recall for clockspring. Below is the link and all you need to do is to provide VIN number and it will take you to the page. https://autoservice.hyundaiusa.com/CampaignHome/Campaign/Index

11 people found this helpful.
50

Have an extended clock spring warranty repair appointment set for Monday. Thank you to all of you folks who made waves with the NHTSA. Glad I waited before paying to have it repaired.

5 people found this helpful.
20

I have a 2014 Elantra with air bag light on. When I put in my vin only the extended warranty for the steering wheel comes up not the clockspring. Doesn the warranty not apply to 2014?

2 people found this helpful.
60

I just started having the same issue - bought a used 2012 Elantra seven days ago - has 68000 miles - airbag light came on 2 nights ago - took it back to the dealership today - culprit was that clockspring - they didn't even request the letter from Hyundai that poster Taku so helpfully included - they repaired it - no charge - drove home and it's all good - thanks for sharing all posts - really helps!

6 people found this helpful.
110

You can also go to this Hyundai site and check with your vehicle's VIN if your car is covered in the extended warranty program for the clock spring: https://autoservice.hyundaiusa.com/TXXA/MicroSiteTemplate/MicroSiteTemplateVINValidate/ 2880

11 people found this helpful.
50

Wow, so helpful and glad I did a search to find out a out this. I have a 2011 elantra and my cruise control and air bag light both malfunctioned today. Calling Hyaundai to get it fixed.

2 people found this helpful.
30

How convenient that my car has the 2 issues listed above, red airbag light is on and issues with the steering coupler. My Hyundai is not in the extended warranty for either issue! Not happy. 3rd Hyundai I've owned. I have a 2013 Elantra GT. The steering coupler cost me $395 dollars a few months ago and it still makes a rubbing noise. My airbag light just started. Not a happy owner.

3 people found this helpful.
50

Dadecarlo, File a complaint and maybe they will add more years to the extended warranty. I took my car in today and the clock spring and coupler were both replaced at no cost.

3 people found this helpful.
10

Great thread. Just came on in on our "new" 2012 Elantra. My vehicle qualifies. Will post how it goes after contacting dealer.

1 people found this helpful.
10

If anyone have letter please can you send it to me I have 2013 elentra they willing fix it for free ?

1 people found this helpful.
10

My 2010 Elantra wagons airbag light came on. The dealer recalibrated and reset it. No issue now after four months.

1 people found this helpful.

My 2013 Elantra has the airbag light on. Sometimes it goes off but when I turn the wheel it will come back on. Also, my left side audio controls do not work most of the time. Do you think it's the clock spring?

My 2011 elantra is playing up. It's booked to have it's steering done Monday that will cost me $400 Now the air bag light won't go off. Had to get the back suspension done 3 weeks ago. Sound like my front right is leaking too.(going on what the back use to sound like.) My radio has just started doing this thing where I turn it on and no sound comes out till I turn it off and back on again. Was fine last year then just just with problem after problem.

My Hyundai i20 2013 model did the same thing after going around a round about. A mechanic tried re-setting with a code but it took away the airbag light only for about 5 minutes then I drove over a small speed hump and the light went on again. I hope the don't charge me as it is not an Elantra. This should not be happening and Hyundai need to fix this flaw..

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