MBNiko

Hey guys,

I saw that many people here have had SRS issues and I happen to be one of them. I have the child seat recognition error that triggered my SRS light. I am wondering where is that located? I read that many people have just disconnected and cleaned and reconnected the plug and it worked fine after! Can anyone tell me exactly where that is located?

MB-Dude

If you have the same error as I had, the culprit is the sensor array located under the passenger seat cushion. The array is roughly the size of the seat cushion and detects weight in the passenger seat. The connector to be 'cleaned' (didn't work for me) is yellow and somewhat accessible from the rear of the seat, along the floor. I tried taking a picture of the location, but none of the pics came out even remotely viewable. With a flashlight and looking forward (under the front passenger seat) from the rear seat foot well, you should see an assortment of connectors under the seat, depending on seat configuration. One of them should be yellow and is the one that connects to the array. Good luck.
Cheers,
Jeff

MBNiko

Jeff, thank you so much for the response with such great detail! Tomorrow in the morning I will check it out and post back the results.

What did you end up doing to resolve your issue? Paid a hefty price of $1800 from the dealership?

Vabene7

As Md-DUDE stated, I tried the unclipping of the connectors under the passenger seat as well, cleaning the connections, and reclipping back into place. That didn't work for me either.
I have also read spraying (carefully) that same contact cleaner into the feamale side of the seatbelts could work, as there is a sensor there that get dirty and can display an SRS code. Didn't work for me either. Brought it to an MB dealer and they confirmed it was the SRS sensor and it needed replacement.
As for it's location, I'm not sure since the dealer did the work.

MBNiko

Vabene I guess there are different malfunctions that an SRS light can stand for. I believe the one I have, child safety recognition etc... is exactly where Md-Dude said it was. Im not sure if the seat belts have anything to do with my particular isssue, but then again I have no clue either! I dont have kids and will probably never have a child seat in my car and I'd rather not fork over the $2k that it costs to replace this irritating malfunction! Hopefully cleaning it out works for me, I am kind of optimistic because my light doesnt stay on consistently. It flashes on and off ALL the time, sometimes. Other times it comes on and stays on. Other times it just doesnt come on at all. The joys of the S Class I still love her though.

MB-Dude

To enhance the knowledge base further, there are 2 SRS sensors that are rather notorious in the S-class. I have experienced both failures, in 2 different motorcars. The one I discussed above is the main seat sensor array (MB p/n 220.821.16.81) and I had the dealer replace it a couple weeks ago. List cost was $280.00 for the part. Not bad, considering it's a rather large electrical sensor array. Labor was $690.00 as the seat has to be disassembled.

The second SRS failure does involve the front passenger seat belt lock/latch assembly. There is a sensor in there that detects the presence of the seat belt. I had that one replaced by the dealer years ago in a '94 S320. Cost was not nearly as bad as the sensor array, though I do not recall exact prices. I do not know of any special way to 'clean' this sensor/switch, though I suppose you could try cleaning the associated connector.

To my knowledge, the only way to tell which is causing the SRS fault is either trial-and-error through DIY fixes, or have the dealer do a diagnostic test. They can determine exactly which part is the issue. Both causes will give the owner the same fault and I believe the passenger air bags are disabled since the system does not recognize whether there is an adult or small child in the front seat. Driving with a bum SRS system would not be my first preference.

Cheers,
Jeff

MBNiko

I am assuming mine is a seat sensor array issue. The dealer did run a diagnostic test and did tell me it was the child safety seat recognition. I am not sure if that helps you decide which of the two issues you listed is my issue. A related issue ( assuming) is that my pre-safe is disabled as well. I want to get these things fixed ASAP because I hate the defect light coming on with a passion

MB-Dude

FWIW... My Pre-Safe was also disabling due to the passenger seat sensor array. I, too, hate having any red idiot light on and having to clear those messages.
Cheers,
Jeff

Vabene7

My Pre-safe was disabled as well with my SRS sensor failure.

Twins05

I had the same problem es you guys have with SRS warning .I went to the dealer and after a Diagnostic Test , which coasted me $ 148, He told me that the problem is the Child Safety seat recognition and I have to replace the sensor. It is going to cost me $ 600-700 because they have to get away the passenger seat. What I am thinking to do is to buy the sensor and to install that by myself. Please can somebody tell me , or even better, if someone has any pictures How to disassemble the front Passenger Seat ? Is that difficult, is any difficulty to replace the old sensor with the new one ? Do I need any special tool to install the new sensor ?

Thank you

benzat17

i have the same problem when i took it to the dealer for them to see what is the problem the service guy said its high resistance ! i asked what does he mean where is it and why he couldnt answer me because the guy who worked on my car left they did pull up a code too if anyone can help i would really be appreciated also when you talk about the plug that is under the car what am i suppose to do with it ? how do i clean it ?

thank you

flva2000

Just wondering though...i think this SRS issue is safety related item..how come MB USA doesn't have a recall on it?...i just got the fault and it is driving me crazyyyyyy..