Airbag warnings that disappear after 10 mins

[aidan]

[ Moderator: there is a solution for loose connectors in another thread here.]

I've had my used MG4 Trophy Long Range 2023 for a month now and, aside from a few niggles with the infotainment system and the issue I'm about to discuss, I'm very happy with it.

This airbag warning issue has happened twice since buying it. In the car the yellow warning light comes on and the red airbag symbol appears along with a warning message.

On my phone and app I get alerts flipping between
"Airbag warning: The airbag of your vehicle has triggered an alarm" and
"Security alarm cancelled: The security alarm is released. You can now drive your vehicle"

This goes on for about ten minutes, then everything clears and it's all fine again.

I've read about people having problems with airbag warnings but not something like this specifically (I searched the forums but I could've missed something).
It was serviced at the MG dealer where I bought it so it should have the most up-to-date software.

Has this happened to anyone else? Does anyone have any idea what could be causing it? Thanks

 

[Alb]

Possibly a bad contact on one of the connectors.
Does it give you a clue which airbag it's talking about?

 

[aidan]

Possibly a bad contact on one of the connectors.
Does it give you a clue which airbag it's talking about?

Bad contact on the 12V battery? It didn’t say anything more. It’s difficult, because the problem has disappeared both times before I had a chance to properly investigate

 

[okohll]

This was one of the things I told MG at the first annual service. It turned out it was a known fault and was repaired under warranty. Although I didn't get the flipping alerts, just one on and one off immediately after each other. Still sounds like the same thing though.

Apparently there's a mis-designed part somewhere under the drive mode selector that can cause a short circuit when pressed. They ordered a new one (took a few weeks) then had the car in to replace it.

So it might be worth reporting to the dealer and asking them to look at it. Obviously if the airbag system isn't working properly that's a pretty major issue.

 

[YaR]

This has just happened to me with a MY23 Trophy. Can't say I'm happy as real airbag faults are a serious, not fit to drive issue...

 

[Deleted member 11291]

Bad contact on the 12V battery? It didn’t say anything more. It’s difficult, because the problem has disappeared both times before I had a chance to properly investigate

Did this happen at start up as you selected gear or as you were driving along?
If at start up, it can be because the system had not had time to complete all its checks prior to you selecting gear. I have had this happen a couple of times, because I was too eager to get going! All sorts of warnings would pop up, others have had the same issues.
Now I just let both screens fully load up and then select gear. Of course this may not be the issue you have, but worth remembering.

 

[AlunJ]

I had this fault, very intermittent, some days it would ping on and off over and over and over. Other days it wouldn’t happen at all. Took me over a year to get it sorted properly with various connectors being replaced over several visits, turned out it was a duff seat airbag, once they actually took time to look into the fault properly instead of rushing to tinker with the connectors and ring me to collect it and replace the airbag it’s been fine.

 

[aidan]

To follow-up on this, I found some videos about this problem in cars generally and ended up trying to push the yellow airbag connector under the driver's seat (as described in the video below) to ensure there is a good connection.



I'm not 100% certain that this has fixed the problem because it didn't turn off the airbag light instantly when I tried it a month ago. However, since the light went off by itself after the most recent occurrence (After I tried the technique described in the video) it has not happened since. This is the longest period since I bought the car that the light and warnings have not returned (It was happening roughly once a fortnight and it's now been a month since the last time).

Of course, it could be that some other coincidental set of circumstances has caused the problem to go away, but it's worth a try if you're having the same issue.

If the problem does reoccur I'll come back and let everyone know!

 

[YaR]

This has just happened to me with a MY23 Trophy. Can't say I'm happy as real airbag faults are a serious, not fit to drive issue...

And this has gone from being an intermittent fault to one that occurs every single time I drive the car, often multiple warning/cancellations over the first 20 mins of any journey. Car is booked in for a service in a couple of weeks. There will be a lot of recurring faults to look at... seems like after a year of ownership the user experience is starting to degrade quite significantly. Even stuff like the DAB radio not working has gone from infrequent to happening about half the time.

 

[crowe99]

To follow-up on this, I found some videos about this problem in cars generally and ended up trying to push the yellow airbag connector under the driver's seat (as described in the video below) to ensure there is a good connection.



I'm not 100% certain that this has fixed the problem because it didn't turn off the airbag light instantly when I tried it a month ago. However, since the light went off by itself after the most recent occurrence (After I tried the technique described in the video) it has not happened since. This is the longest period since I bought the car that the light and warnings have not returned (It was happening roughly once a fortnight and it's now been a month since the last time).

Of course, it could be that some other coincidental set of circumstances has caused the problem to go away, but it's worth a try if you're having the same issue.

If the problem does reoccur I'll come back and let everyone know!

Hi Aidan,

Does it look like this fixed your issue. I've just had it come on, go off (no driving or gear selecting involved) and when I opened the car again just now it has come on again.

No extra information is provided at all so I am at a loss as to whether it is dangerous to drive or not. For what it's worth the warning is Yellow and not Red but normally I don't drive when anything to do with airbags is wrong!

Anyone else got any hints please?

Just came across this as well.

Anyone else been plagued by Airbag Warning messages?

[ Moderator: If you are getting intermittent air bag warnings especially after bumps or moving seats, there is a solution in this post. Edit: Note that there is a clip that can get replaced by the dealer. ] MG4 trophy warning messages. I seem to be getting air bag and tyre pressure warning...

www.mgevs.com

Just to let you know I have followed the video instructions and the error has cleared. Will drive a bit later and check if it comes back!

 

[aidan]

Hi Aidan,

Does it look like this fixed your issue. I've just had it come on, go off (no driving or gear selecting involved) and when I opened the car again just now it has come on again.

No extra information is provided at all so I am at a loss as to whether it is dangerous to drive or not. For what it's worth the warning is Yellow and not Red but normally I don't drive when anything to do with airbags is wrong!

Anyone else got any hints please?

Just came across this as well.

Anyone else been plagued by Airbag Warning messages?

[ Moderator: If you are getting intermittent air bag warnings especially after bumps or moving seats, there is a solution in this post. Edit: Note that there is a clip that can get replaced by the dealer. ] MG4 trophy warning messages. I seem to be getting air bag and tyre pressure warning...

www.mgevs.com

Just to let you know I have followed the video instructions and the error has cleared. Will drive a bit later and check if it comes back!

Hopefully it’s having some effect. It has happened once since I “fixed” it, but hasn’t been coming back intermittently like it was before. Hopefully that video technique is at least stopping it from happening a disruptive amount of times. Unless it becomes a reoccurring issue again I’m gong to wait until the next service in 9 months and mention it to the dealer then

 

[crowe99]

Thanks @aidan but it looks like it was a very temporary fix for me. I've had the error arrive then clear within minutes or stay for a while then clear for a while. It seems completely random and at the beginning of my drive today I had 12 messages which was very annoying.

I'll have to book it in with a big sigh considering the garage told me to call the AA who said they wouldn't tow the vehicle as it wasn't required!

 

[aidan]

If it was happening that much to me I’d be doing the same. Hopefully they can sort it for good. Let us know how it goes ?

 

[aidan]

To follow up on this thread, the airbag alert is no longer a problem. It hasn't come back at all for more than a few months, which is over half the time I've had the car

 

[crowe99]

For my part this was resolved via the connector clip under the driver seat being replaced. Hasn't occurred since. So if anyone has this recurring problem try the dealer.

 

[sinhaEVnoob]

I had the same airbag warning light. Mine was red. I found this thread and was so pleased to see the thing about the yellow connector under the seat. Mine was not down to a loose connection.

This is what happens when you leave a cockapoo puppy in the front footwell.

Never again.

 

[crowe99]

I had the same airbag warning light. Mine was red. I found this thread and was so pleased to see the thing about the yellow connector under the seat. Mine was not down to a loose connection.View attachment 32888

This is what happens when you leave a cockapoo puppy in the front footwell.

Never again.

I've used a laughing emoji but I could equally shed tears for you!

 

[Ian Key]

I had the same airbag warning light. Mine was red. I found this thread and was so pleased to see the thing about the yellow connector under the seat. Mine was not down to a loose connection.View attachment 32888

This is what happens when you leave a cockapoo puppy in the front footwell.

Never again.

https://amzn.eu/d/047Oarl