The airbag light found in the bottom right hand corner of the instrument cluster on my 2004 LS430 keeps coming on. Everytime I take it to the dealer, the mechanics say that no error codes can be found. The light then goes away and comes back later. Has anyone else had this problem? I'm worried about safety and the overall functionality of the car.

 

air bag light coming on means that something is not functioning correctly within the system. You probably already know this. In all probability, it may just be a sensor gone bad in the car. Ask your mechanic, or the dealership if they have what is called an flight recorder that you can borrow. This is a small device which is hooked to the OBDII diagnostic port under the dash and can record the data stream while the malfunction is going on. It is possible to have a system malfunction while not throwing codes. What happens here is with this recorder, they hook it up to your car, you drive around for awhile, or even a few days with the recorder. When the light comes on, all you do is hit a button on the recorder, so that the device can get a "real time data stream read" from the car. Once back with the mechanics, they can take the device, read the data stream which was recorded and diagnose the problem. These are the worse ones to try to analyze(real time data stream), as you have found out that you may have a problem but the car is not throwing any codes. Inquire about it at the dealer.

(technical advise provided with the aid of http://www.americascarshow.com/ . I listen to the program, on XM radio, religiously, which is how i learned about flight test recorders.)

 

Does anyone know if the airbag light is a staged/progression light such as Maint. Reqd, or is it pass/faill? I FEEL like mine is staying on a little longer when I start the car, but my dealer service advisor, whom I've worked with a lot and do trust, says it is a straight pass/fail light, either on or off, no progressive blinking. He says I'm being hyper aware since I have had a few repairs recently. That could be true.

Anyone know?

 

In my 03, the airbag light comes on about 60% of the time when someone sit on the passenger side. No code and since usually I drive my myself so I never bother to look into it.

 

20 year old pressure switch in the passenger seat is malfunctioning. Common issue on many cars. Because it is intermittent the car often doesn't record a code.
The switch is set to disable the airbag if less than 80lbs is on the seat. That way kids in child seats in the front don't get injured by the airbag.

 

Is it possible the clockspring is wrapping around the wires and making and issue?