Seat Occupancy Sensor - How to fix it: "Restraint system Malfunction!" error
My car: BMW 330i 2006
Chances are that if you are reading this its because you have your Air bag light ON, and you need to replace the Seat Occupancy Sensor. But if you go to the Dealer you will find out that it's very expensive to have it replaced. If you take it to the dealer they will charge you Over $2000 dollars to have it replaced, but if you just replace the seat with an used seat it will cost you less than $100.
YouTube video at the bottom of this post...
What is the Seat Occupancy Sensor:
The sensor determines if somebody is seating in the seat, and if they are, the air bag is activated in the event of an accident. If the car can't determine if somebody is seating in the seat the Airbag light will turn ON, with a "Restraint system Malfunction!" error.
The Math :
Seat Occupancy sensor price: $800
Seat Occupancy sensor replacement price at the dealer: $2000
Foxwell 510 Elite: $180
OLD used car seat from a junk yard : $100with 90 day warranty
Cygnetic bypass mat: $45
Why it's a bad idea to replace the Sensor instead of replacing the entire seat:
Air Bag Light
I tried replacing the sensor, I bought a new one, it ended up being the wrong one, the sensor needs to be exactly like the picture above, if it looks different it's not the correct one. But long story short, the sensor is glued on to the foam, very difficult to remove because the seat has a few metal parts that are crimped to the metal part of the seat, and remove its very difficult, to put it back it's even more difficult. I don't recommend trying it, I recommend just buying a used seat and replacing it that way.
Replacing the Seat Sensor can be done, it's not IMPOSSIBLE, but I don't recommend it. If you want to go that route, here is a link where you can get it: FCP Euro note it's $800 dollars plus shipping
Replace the entire seat instead:
I got my USED seat at the Junk Yard: Pick your part in San Diego
800 Energy Way, Chula Vista, CA 91911
Only thing you have to make sure that it's the same seat type: Same model year, and same options, take the old one out and plug the used one in, that it. The old seat and the new seat should be identical in every way.
Please NOTE: to remove the old seat from the donor car, is going to require a battery, see how I did it in the video at the bottom of the post, in the video I explain how I did it.
Make sure you bring a friend or a Dolly, the seat is about 80lb
The down side of getting a used seat...
There is a chance that the replacement seat you get also has a bad Seat Occupancy Sensor,... possible but no likely. when you go to the Junk Yard, just look for a descent car, not too old, and look and see how many miles it has. Most cars in the lot have a sticker on the rear panel and you can see how many miles it had when it came into the yard. This is the only way to find out how many miles the car has... because you can't turn the car on to see the mileage.
Turning off the Air Bag Light after new (new used Seat) is installed:
I used the Foxwell 510 Elite, and all I had todo was: I ran the standard scan for the car, where it looks for anything wrong with the car.. The standard diagnostics. One of the codes was for the air bag, just clear it just like you clear another code and that should do it.
If you clear the Airbag Light, and with in a day or a week, the light comes back ON with the same code, chances are that you got a bad seat, I recommend going back to the junk yard and getting a different one.
Please note, that you can't clear the airbag light with a Cheap Bluetooth scanner, the Foxwell 510N Elite does clear this code, more expensive but for sure to work.
Seat Occupancy Sensor Mat Bypass:
I tried it, it didn't work for me, I followed all the instructions, believe me I wanted it to work, but it didn't. It worked for a few days and then it didn't. Something that I didn't like about the bypass is that it tells the car that somebody is always seating in the seat and so you need to have the Seatbelt buckle attached all the time, or it will tell you that the passenger doesn't have their seat belt ON. If you just want to pass smog, maybe its worth it, but I would just get a used seat and be done, it's almost about the same price anyway.
This is the one I tried, that didn't work, in case you are interested: Cygnetic
If you need to do the smog check and your airbag light is ON, you will fail the smog check, so make sure you do one of these options before you go.
Very IMPORTANT: (If car involved in an accident)
IF you car was involved in a car accident, and you have the airbag light on, replacing the seat won't get rid of the light, in this case you have to replace the SRS ECU Module, and the module needs to be coded to the car. Only way to fix this problem.
Important NOTE:
My car was not involved in an accident, one day out of the blue the air bag light would turn On for a day and then it would turn OFF the following, sometimes it would be off for a month with no issues and then it would return, until one day it was solid ON and when I tried to clear it with the Foxwell it would not go away. This was the reason I replaced the seat. NOT because my car was in an accident and it blew an airbag.
Codes:
93C1 : MRS: Communication fault, seat-occupancy detector, passenger
In this post I will be talking about the service I did to the Transmission Mechatronics of my BMW 330i 2006 E90. I will give as much detail as I can and I will show as many pictures as I can. As many details as I can. This job is very time consuming, but not impossible to do at your house.
Watch the video below for tools and tips. I write about my personal experience in this blog.
How it all started:
It all started about 2 months ago, when my wife drove the car off in the morning and I noticed an excessive amount of oil in the ground. Now my car leaks oil from the Motor oil pan, I've known this for a while, and I haven't fixed it. But I also knew that the amount of oil in the ground that day was excessive. Later that week... I took my car to get an oil change and I asked the technician to check to see where the oil was coming and he confirmed my suspicions, the oil was actually Transmission fluid.
As a result I started learning as much as I could could about the transmission service, and this is what I learned....
What exactly is wrong with the transmission:
The Transmission fluid is coming out from around the Transmission Oil Pan(made of plastic). The seal gasket is no longer good, and because it has little transmission fluid, the transmission started hesitating and jumping. The transmission will give you codes if something is wrong, my car didn't give me any codes...
First road block:
You first must know which transmission you have. There are 2, they use different transmission fluid. My transmission is a ZF6HP19 with Shell Fluid (same as Pentosin ATF1). I believe most cars use this.
My transmission had a stamp number, pictured here, where you can see the 6HP19 number, to verify that is what you have.
If you are not sure which one you have, the transmission will have a stamp on the transmission, near the Fill Plug. it will have the manufacturer stamp (GM6 or 6HP19) my transmission above says 6HP19, in picture below.
This stamp is on the side of the fill plug, on top of the cable that is used to change the gear
If your car is Manual these are the specs below...
Manual transmission application
Model Transmission Manufacturer ID
325i, 328i GS6-17BG Getrag type 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
325i, 328xi, 330xi GS6X-37BZ ZF Type H
330i GS6-37BZ
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
335i, 335xi GS6-53DZ ZF type G
GS6X-53DZ
Automatic Transmission Fluids:
Type BMW Part no. Manufacturer part no.
6A6L45R 83 22 0 397 114 Dexron VI
GA6HP19Z 83 22 0 142 516 Shell M-1375.4
Pentosin ATF1 is a direct replacement to Shell M-1375.4
Manual transmission fluids
Transmission Year range Fluid Type
Getrag GS6-17BG All MTF-LT-3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ZF GS6-37BZ To 03/2007 MTF-LT2
From 03/2007 MTF-LT3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ZF GS6-53BZ To 03/2007 MTF-LT2
From 03/2007 MTF-LT3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MTF-LT2 (Lifetime fluid) BMW part no. 83 22 0 309 031
MTF-LT3 (Lifetime fluid) BMW part no. 83 22 7 533 818
Process:
Lift the car off the ground, the car "must be level", to fill the trans fluid, if only the front wheels are off the ground this will not work. Lift the front and the back.
Remove the cover under the car. The Engine oil plastic shroud and the plastic transmission should under the car.
You will need an 8MM Allen wrench and a hammer to hit it a few times, to loosen the Fill plug. YES I said a hammer to hit it. The drain plug will be very tight and it will need a little persuasion to loosen, I also added penetrating oil. Put the Allen wrench on the fill plug and hit it with a hammer a few times, to loosen. DON'T STRIP THE FILL PLUG, take your time. I held the Allen wrench tight on the Fill plug and hit it as hard as I could (righty tighty, lefty loosy) I hit the end of the Allen wrench, I also used an extension on the Allen wrench, but it didn't do anything. What worked was hard taps on the wrench, I hit it about about 40 times. before it got loose. Again Don't strip the Fill plug, use a new Allen and TAKE YOUR TIME.
Before you do anything make sure you can loosen the fill plug, if you CAN'T loosen this plug FIRST, don't do anything else, because you won't be able to fill the transmission fluid. I am not talking about the Drain plug(PLASTIC), I am talking about the Fill plug(METAL). The fill plug is made of metal.
Fill plug removed
Get a container for the drained trans fluid, and put it under the car by the Drain plug. The drain plug is plastic and it's on the bottom of the transmission pan, the transmission pan is also plastic. I heard that some may be metal, your experience may be different.
Undo the transmission drain plug with a 10MM Allen wrench, and let the transmission fluid drain, note that under normal circumstances, 7 liters of transmission fluid should be inside and only about 5 or 6 will drain. The rest of the fluid will stay inside the transmission, this is normal.
Drain Plug removed
SIDE NOTE: the total drained fluid in my car was about 4 liters, this was because the fluid had been leaking on my car. You may have 5 to 6 liters drain. The total fluid capacity is 7 liters.
After the old transmission fluid is drained, put the plug back in and undo all of the screws around the transmission pan, and remove. It will expose the mecatronics. You will need to remove a metal peace connected to the exhaust pipes to get access to all the screws.
FYI: The transmission Pan also houses the Filter, it's integrated into the pan.
To remove the mecatronics system you will need to remove these screws. 10 in total. The picture below also shows the order to tighten them when you put them back. This is in the video I will provide below, keep reading...
Tighten these screws to 10 Newton meters.
When you take the mecatronics out it will look like this:
FYI, Mecatronics is heavy, use a jack after you remove all the screws to make it easier for you to handle. Picture above. I left 2 screws on it and then put the jack under it. Then removed the last 2 screws to lower it.
TIP: The transmission Cable moves a small plastic make sure you don't brake it taking out the mecatronics and or putting it back on. In the Video they talk about this too...
Plastic on the right side of this picture
the different color motor looking things are actually solenoid motors. Sometimes these can fail, the car will give you a code for each one, so you know which to replace.
Which parts need to be serviced: all of these :)
Description and Cause of problems:
Round one is connector Mechatronics "Electronic connector": it has O-rings that can leak oil out
The rectangular one: it tends to get squeezed and it it doesn't send trans fluid to transmission properly.
4 small tubes. They are the ones that need to be replaced when you are slowing down to almost a stop and your car suddenly surges forward.
All are made of plastic, and you are suppose to replace them every 80K miles. They are NOT life time parts. If you are over 100K or 200K in your car, you should replace them, before your transmission completely fails. My car has 230K miles and it's the first time I've replaced them. Because I didn't know... If you do this yourself it's not that expensive, if you take it to a shop, be prepared to pay $500 to $600 dollars for service. The transmission fluid alone is over $100 dollars...
All can be found independently, but if you buy a kit it's much easier. KIT: oil pan, screws, and parts. ZF (the company) makes a kit. FCPEuro.com, has a kit, it's MUCH easier to just buy the KIT. Because I knew exactly what I needed, I got the kit from Amazon and it was cheaper than FTC Euro. But it's you call... You decide... The Amazon parts I got worked great.
The Fluid is Pentosin ATF1 (replacement for Shell Trans fluid), you can also get it at FCP Europ, or your local Advanced Auto Parts.
If you have this label ( picture below ), use Pentosin ATF 1, BMW part number: 83220142516
As a replacement for the Shell M-1375.4 transmission fluid
I got my Pentosin from Advanced auto parts, a local store and I got exactly 7 Liters: (1) 5 liter container and 2 (1 liter), I ended up using exactly 7 liters in my car.
This was the sticker on my car BMW 330i 2006 E90, a label on the transmission cover label, the new cover I got didn't have this label.
To pump fluid back into transmission:
Use a Pittsburgh pump, don't use a small hand pump. I got under the car to pump the Trans Fluid, kept pumping and oil did not go out of the 5 litter container, I had to go to Harbor Freight to get a new pump, wasted an hour...
Don't use this one...
Use this one
Fitment:
I did have a fitment issue with the cover/oil filter. It was not a deal breaker, but expect to spend a little extra time to line everything up.
If you look closely, the whole is off to the side, if you try to start the screw you will strip it.
If it feels like the screw(s) is not going in smooth, STOP and push the plastic oil cover towards the side it needs to be, to FLEX it, to the correct area and then the screw should go in smooth. TAKE YOUR TIME. All the screws should be started by hand and if it doesn't feel like it's going in smooth STOP, figure out what is going on, loosen the screws you already put on if you have to, to get the Plastic Pan aligned properly, all screws should go in smooth. You don't want to mess this up, TAKE YOUR TIME, AND WORK SLOWLY.
How difficult is it?
I have never done this and it took me about 3 days in total to do the entire process. Why??? Because I didn't have the tool and when I did I wanted to take my time to make sure I didn't strip or break something accidentally. Somebody that knows what they are doing, could probably do this in a couple of hours...
If you are only doing the oil change it's easy, if you are replacing all the serviceable parts. I took my time and started all the screws by hand, etc... If you are handy I recommend you try this. It's not impossible, just time consuming, because I didn't have a lift, and working under the car makes it much more difficult.
This is a messy job, have plenty of cardboard and hand towels... Again this job is messy...
Good video to watch:
ShoplifeTV: I've watched these guys for a while, they work on a lot of BMW cars, and this time, a video about transmission came very handy. I recommend, it. I am not affiliated to them but I recommend their channel. I believe they are in the Los Angeles area, recently they were going to move to a new place... Check them out for more info...
This particular video has everything you need to do the transmission fluid change.
YouTube Channel: ShoplifeTV consider subscribing, these guys are great! Some of the pictures in this post come from their video. I would like to thank them for doing a very helpful video, with out their video, I wouldn't had the courage to tackle this job. I believe their names are Selena and Jason. Again thank you guys!
Tools:
You will need a torque wrench, if you don't have one get one. You will need it for this job. I got mine at Harbor Freight, it was not expensive. Torque Specs are in the video, for all screws... I also recomend a torkx tool set, and allen wrench set. They talk about the specific specs in the video.
Tip:
When you are ready to remove the mecatronics, put a clean bag on the mecatronics to stop all of the fluid from making a mess... The bag will stick to the oil and stay in place. Otherwise the oil will leak all over you when you start to remove the 10 screws.
bag attached to bottom of mecatronics... Bag will stick to the metal because of the Fluid.
Oil Pan Screw tightening order:
FYI: Tranmission Fluid is very flammable, so don't use a torch to loosen the Fill plug!
Side Note: When I first start the car after filling up the Transmission fluid, I went thru all the gears PRND, I got a message of "CAN'T GO INTO PARK", but after shifting the gear about 4 times, message went away. Then everything was okay, no problems. Just in case it happens to you too, know to expect that. But it's normal.
Conclusion:
It took me a while to do the service, but it was worth it. Way cheaper to do it yourself. If you are mechanically inclined I recommend you do it. I was scared to do it, but I took a stab at it and everything went great.
Good luck to you, if you decide to do this service and until next time...
Questions or comments below...
I hope this was helpful to you!
I post a ton of BMW 330I E90 related content, I have a lot of other posts, check them out, link below to the main page.
Comment below if you have any questions...
Thank again and until next time
See all my Blogs posts, link to main page: See them all!
Rear Window Trim Installation
BMW 330i 2006 E90 240k Miles
In today's vlog post we will cover how to replace the rear window trim seal, because chance are that by your is falling apart. I've replaced it twice in the life time of the vehicle, I would say about 5 years ago. I struggled a lot because I didn't know the secret to it, in today's blog we are going to cover the secret to a fast installation. But first...
First step: Purchasing
You have to buy the correct window trim. I got mine from BMW El Cajon, it was not very expensive considering how expensive everything is there, but that is not here nor there.... This is the part number if you are interested.
Part # 51 31 7 061 970
Price about $40 dollars.
You can ask for it at the dealer, it's called the : Rear Windows Seal
I was going to buy it online for less at ECS tuning, but the shipping was $30 dollars... Yikes... total about $60 dollars shipped.... so I opted to go to the dealer instead...
Second Step: Removal
If your window seal is as bad as mine, it's probably coming off already, or disintegrating...lol, kidding aside, the trim is just pushed in place, so all you have to do is pull on it, from an edge, and it will come off. It is very easy to remove...
Third: Installation
It's important for you to know that the trim "should" snap i place as soon as you start to push it where it belongs. The trim has a groove and it snaps into the window. The installation is very easy and fast.... BUT...
If you are struggling, like I was, it's because the manufacturer put too much "silicone" around "under" the window and because it's on the way, you won't be able to push the trim into where goes. You have to remove a bit of the "silicone". I used a pic and I ran it along the window pressing down enough, but not enough where I could damage the paint, almost under the window glass. I would say about 2mm under the rear window glass. The silicone in my car was brittle, yours may still be "fresh" I say fresh because it might be malleable, or gooey.... in which case it will just messy to remove... and in this case I FEEL FOR YOU... mine however was easy to cut out in long strips... like picture below... I just ran the PIC under the window in long swoops...
HOW MUCH SILICONE TO REMOVE: I remove this much SILICONE (about 2MM), UNDER THE GLASS, all along the area where the seal trim won't go in. After you remove this much....trim will slide in place, VERY EASILY.... I can't stress this enough, if you are struggling to get the trim in... You have to remove this extra silicone before it will go in.... Otherwise you will be there for hours with NO Results.... This is the secret to the Installation. If you are concerned at all about this job, take it to the dealer for the installation... the installation procedure I am telling you about here is for DIYers...
Don't be scared to do this, it's actually very easy....
Where to Start: Installation
I started inserting the trimm at one end and worked it in until I got to the first corner, then continued...If there is enough clearance under the window you won't be struggling.. so please do yourself a favour and remove a few millimeters of silicone, "under the glass" to get enough clearance to continue. There is a lot of silicone under the glass of my car, enough where I wasn't worried by removing a few millimeters.
It only takes about 5 minutes to completely install all of the trimm, I ended up removing the silicone under the glass on the TOP section of the glass, which took me about 30 minutes, to get the clearance I needed to insert the trim. Along both the left and the right of the window, I didn't have to remove any silicone under the glass
very easy installation... :)
Let me know how your installation went...
I hope this was helpful to you!
I post a ton of BMW 330I E90 related content, I have a lot of other posts, check them out, link below to the main page.
Comment below if you have any questions...
Thank again and until next time
See all my Blogs posts, link to main page: See them all!
By far the easier repair i've done to the BMW, anybody can do this!
It is very difficult to get something from the trunk with just one hand, because the other hand is busy holding up the trunk lid.... if your struts are bad, you know exactly what I am referring to.
You see after a while the struts lose their ability to hold the trunk UP. To make your life easier... it's best to replace them. Very easy problem to fix!
Today we will discuss how to replace them. These are the steps...
First:
Before you do anything... order the CORRECT struts, it took me 3 tries to get the correct ones. Make sure they are the correct length, because if they are 1/2 an inch or an inch too long..., you will "STRUGGLE" a lot... to just give up at the end...because the trunk won't close.... I accidentally picked the wrong model of car on Amazon, looking for a cheaper alternative, I accidently picked one that didn't fit my car. Ofcourse, I didn't find out until they arrived, and they were an inch too long... later I found out they were for a Lexus trunk.... LOL... not sure how I missed that, when I ordered them.
The new replacement struts should be EXACTLY the same size in length...as the old ones, "Extended" of course.
Old struts -- New Strut(inside bag). They are exactly the same length.
Second: Removal of old strut
All you have to do is pry on the metal clip and pull away, then pull the strut out. I used an angled pick, it worked really good. It's okay if the clip is taken out completely, as they will be thrown away. The new strut should come with new clip.
Third : Clean
Make sure you clean the Ball where the strut was seating, as you can see mine was very dirty. If you leave it dirty like this, it will make the ball smaller from the dirt rubbing inside the strut....and then the strut will fall out of the ball... YOU DON'T want to deal with that problem... way more expensive to fix... just clean your balls please.... LOL
Fourth: Grease
Make sure your new strut comes with Grease, check inside the cavity. If it doesn't have grease, apply a bit inside, don't go crazy, just a little will do.
Installation:
To install the strut just PUSH the strut cavity into the Ball and it will snap in place.
It's that easy!
Close and Open the trunk a few times to make sure the grease takes... The first and second time closing the trunk it will feel weird, like it's stuck, but that is okay, if you keep moving up and down the struts will fee normal... after a few tries.
Service:
While you are in here, make sure to apply a bit of grease to all of the joints inside the trunk... You car will thank you for it. I used standard gear grease.
Where to buy:
I got my struts from Amazon. Like I said earlier, do you homework, because it's very easy to get the wrong struts from Amazon.
These are the one I got....I am not affiliated to the seller, after a few tries, these were perfect. The price was competitive too. Less than $20 dollars shipped, for TWO.
Wow! new fog lights make a huge difference!
BMW 330i 2006 E90 with 240K miles
In today's vlog post we are going to talk about the big difference it makes getting a new Fog light in my E90. We will talk about how easy it is to install and about the difference in light intensity on the street and about the light setup adjustment which was critical.
As you can see in the picture, how can the light go through that haysy lens...Impossible.
Installation : It was very easy to install the new fog lights, in my case specially because one of my fog lights was missing LOL... and because the other was broken. BUT... if you want to replace your fog lights it's actually VERY EASY... and you don't need to remove the wheel or wheel well, it is possible to remove and replace the lights with just a 8mm socket wrench, like this...
The key is to rotate the wheel out so that you have enough space to pull the plastic to the side and for the light to fit "or Slide" I should say... the light in place.
Only 3 Screws and you are done : Each light is held in place by 3 screws... 2 in one side and 1 on the other. The first 2 are installed Vertically and the 1 is installed horizontally from the top. When you pull the plastic fender back you can see the screws... if you peak in you will see what I mean...
to remove the power cable going to the light twist half a turn and pull out. Very easy to do.
Original BMW Headlight
Only 1 power cable going to the light, to unplug just press on the sides and it unplugs.
Setup : The setup of the light was critical, after you install the lights. Next to the light there is a hole, insert a Phillips screwdriver and rotate to adjust. Rotate counter clockwise to move the projected light up, or clockwise to move the light down. When I say Projected light, I mean the place where the light is going to land on the street when ON. Because in my case the fog light was pointing up way too high, and that is not where you want your light to point, you want it to point below the main Headlights so that the light goes under the fog.
If you think the light is going to point straight forward because it looks like it's pointing forward, you are very wrong. You have to do the adjustment.
Best way to adjust: The best way to do this adjustment is to point the lights at a wall or in my case, the garage door... and turn the lights on, you will see the lights hit the garage door and adjust then the adjustment screw accordingly.
Insert phillips screwdriver inside the little hole to adjust the light.
The difference : The difference is HUGE, like Donald Trump would say... lol.. In all seriousness it really is a big difference. If your lights are Opaque from old age or from rocks hitting it all these years, I really do recommend you replace them. The lights no longer function as they were intended and it can be dangerous, because you can't see as far as you should.. or as you used to... I mean look at this picture, I can't even see inside, how can the light cross this lense...
Cost: I got mine from Ebay, but you can get them from all over, ECS tuning, Amazon, Dealer. They were $30 dollars for 2 which is not very expensive... WAY more expensive at the BMW Dealer, FYI...
I am not affiliated with this vendor, I just liked the product and price, so I bought it from them...
In Conclusion : Not only does my car look better with new lights it also gives me better view of the road. For the price you can't beat this upgrade to my car. Plus the benefit of seeing further on the road... You can't put a price to that... but for $30 dollars worth every penny..
Here are a few more pictures in case you were interested...
I hope this was helpful to you.
I post a ton of BMW 330I E90 related content, I have a lot of other posts, check them out, link below to the main page.
Comment below if you have any questions...
Thank again and until next time
See all my Blogs posts, link to main page: See them all!
