Passenger side airbag seat weight sensor began to intermittently trip passenger side air bag light and air bag light. Adjusting weight on seat would initially extinguish; however, problem is now constant. Cost prohibitive to replace.

- Fairfax Station, VA, USA

Driving along at 30 mph when air bag light illuminated and over head passenger air bag light came on and off. Had passenger seat bottom replaced only to have the light come back on 3 days later. I have had the system checked 3 times ( with light turned off when returned) only to have the light come back on a few days later.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

Passenger seat airbag warning light won't go off. I do not know if the airbags will work in a accident.

- Hartland, MI, USA

When you start the car the passenger seat belt light and air bag light remains on, whether or not someone is in the seat or not. The light stays on, I visited the dealership the fix cost $1241. Why is this happening. Dealer should fix this error.

- Temple Hills, MD, USA

Per my research, this a recurring problem with the 2006 MINIcoopers. Numerous bulletin boards have the same questions for a safety concern if the airbag will deploy for the passenger seat. Took car to dealer for diagnostics and they gave us a repair price of $1200 to replace the lower seat for the occupancy pad is defective which causes the light to come on for the passenger bag and also the main light in the dash. Not sure if BMW cares about safety of the people who have purchased their vehicles but it is a bit callous on their part for not doing a recall on the 2006 MINIcooper seat sensor. I have seen a regular BMW vehicle that has a similar problem have a recall for a bad seat sensor. I am concerned for any person who rides in the passenger seat if an accident were to happen that the airbag will not deploy causing great bodily harm.

- Oregon City, OR, USA

Passenger seat airbag sensor failed and the airbag light stays on and the airbags in the front seat passenger and driver may be deactivated and not work in a crash. MINIis aware of this problem has chose to ignore it. It is a great safety hazard. My wife has refused to ride in the car or let anyone else ride in it.

- Palm Coast, FL, USA

My 2006 MINICooper had a air bag light just turn on about a week ago for no reason for what I can tell. I called my MINIdealer and they told me it was probably a worn out passenger seat sensor. They said it would cost about $900-1000 to replace the seat and the sensor. Our MINIonly has a little over 50K miles and 50% of those miles there wasn't anyone ever sitting in the passenger seat to ware it out. I have seen on several other forums that this problem has been corrected by BMW but not by MINII believe this issue should be a recall on all MINIs as I have seen that hundreds of other people have the same issue.

- Salt Lake City Utah, UT, USA

The air bag warning light came on. We contacted the dealer where we purchased the car and they said there was nothing they could do because it was not under warranty and there was no recall. They had repaired this previously under warranty. We then contacted MINIusa and they said our VIN# was not listed for a recall. I mentioned there are MINICoopers in forums all over the internet with airbag light issues.

- Willard, MO, USA

When I started my vehicle, 2006 MINICooper, the passenger airbag warning lights came on for no apparent reason there was no one in the passenger seat at the time. There was an August, 2008 BMW recall on 150,000 2002-2006 MINICooper's for this same passenger light airbag issue. BMW extended the warranty to 10 years on all of these recailed vehicles by VIN#. I had this diagnosed by a BMW service center & a faulty passenger sensor pad in the passenger seat is causing the issue. The sensor pad is attached to the bottom of the passenger seat so both items have to be replaced which will cost approx.$1,200. I spoke to MINIusa & my VIN# was not on the 2008 recall. I then asked MINIusa how do I get my VIN# on the recall list & was to told to go to this website & file a complaint. After your investigation, MINIusa told me that you can have my vehicle VIN# added to the August, 2008 recall. MINIusa was also unable to tell me if my passenger seat airbag will properly deploy in the event of a accident. I consider this an extremely serious safety issue (possible death) if the airbag does not properly deploy because of a faulty passenger seat sensor pad! please help.....thanks

- Owasso, OK, USA

The airbag warning lights came on and stayed on. At first the lights were coming on and off now they just stay on. No incidents on a well maintained vehicle. Both a MINIdealership and another mechanic both say it is the air bag weight sensor in the seat and that the seat needs to be replaced.

- Greenbelt, MD, USA

Passenger seat air bag sensor warning light is lighting up. This has been diagnosed as a result of a defective passenger seat air bag sensor. There was no incident that caused this. It just went bad. This appears to be a known issue for min and BMW but they are not taking responsibility to replace the sensor which runs anywhere from $900 to $1600 to be repaired. This automobile has been very well maintained has less than 60K miles and is a one owner. There was no reason for this to have gone bad other than the part must be of poor quality or design. This is a safety issue and MINIusa should step up and resolve this for their customers.

- Madison, AL, USA

The airbags light came on for no reason at all. Doing research I found there's a lot of people with the same problem! and apparently MINIusa is not taking responsibility for any of it.

- Cocoa Beach, FL, USA

Air bag system diagnosis returned fault code 71. Tech check on SRS system found passenger seat occupancy detector fault. Passenger air bag system is disabled as a result. Estimated repair cost is $1200. Internet searches found this is a very common problem with MINICooper's and MINIrefuses to cover when out of warranty.

- Houston, TX, USA

The passenger seat occupancy sensor has gone bad according to the diagnose from the dealer. I'm told that this will either make the air bag deploy at full force or possibly not at all. There seems that this is a very common occurrence on both BMW and MINIs. BMW has addressed the problem, MINIhas not. I have a car with an unpredictable air bag deployment and the dealer is telling me that it is a 1000 to make the car safe to put my family in. This seems like denial of a problem.

- Portland , OR, USA

The passenger seat occupancy sensor is weak and prone to failure. MINIdoes not cover replacement and charges $1200-$2000 to replace the part leading many owners, including myself to drive the car in an unsafe condition (low speed or non deploying airbags).

- Kent, WA, USA

The passenger airbag warning light indicates there is a problem with the passenger airbag system. The light illuminates continuously whether a passenger is in the seat or not indicating that the airbag is turned off for the passenger. MINICooper denies any problem with their safety airbag system, yet there are many people complaining about having the same issues. The problem occurred shortly after the warranty ran out.

- Amarillo, TX, USA

The passenger side air bag sensor warning lights stay on all the time that ignition is on, even when no one is in the seat. You can sit in the seat and the light stays on. My concern is whether or not the air bag will still function.

- Cleveland, TN, USA

Airbag warning light indicates system is either off or inoperative - it does not matter if someone is sitting on the passenger seat or not. The airbag light is always on. After reviewing numerous complaints on MINIforums, it appears that the problem is common and due to a defective sensor under the seat cover. Since I rarely carry passengers, this condition is definitely not due to wear and tear. As it stands, I have no way to ascertain if the air bag will deploy in an accident situation. This could cause serious injury to anyone riding in the passenger seat or even the driver. A low mileage vehicle or even an older vehicle should not have this type of safety issue. MINIcustomer support offered no help due to car being out of warranty. Independent shop is doing the repair for $1210 due to lack of confidence in MINI

- Brighton, MI, USA

The contact owns a 2006 MINICooper S. the contact was traveling 40 mph when the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the air bag sensor needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages was 42,000. Updated 08/29/12 updated 08/29/12

- Gulf Port, FL, USA

Airbag warning light indicates system is either off or inoperative - it does not matter if someone is sitting on the seat or not. The airbag light is always on. After reviewing numerous complaints on MINIforums, it appears that the problem is common and due to a defective sensor under the seat cover. Since I rarely carry passengers, this condition is definitely not due to wear and tear. As it stands, I have no way to ascertain if the air bag will deploy in an accident situation. This could cause serious injury to anyone riding in the passenger seat or even the driver. A low mileage vehicle or even an older vehicle should not have this type of safety issue.

- Pearl City, HI, USA