First let me say my own personal history with this problem is long and tortuous and so I sympathize with everyone else who's suffered. I do have a question which I've not seen covered here or at AW before, but before I ask it let me vent/provide some context first :-)

The specific codes I get are as follows:

1 Fault Found:
01217 - Side Airbag Igniter; Driver Side (N199)
001 - Upper Limit Exceeded - MIL ON

While I was under warranty the car was in the dealer's shop numerous times to try and fix this, including applying TSB 69-05-06 to eliminate the connector and subsequent visits to redo it (apparently they messed it up the first time!). As my warranty expired I would occasionally get the light again, and would use my VAG to reset it. This usually worked for a while, but if it came back quickly I would move the seat all the way back and all the way to the front to try and "stir things up" and reset it again.

Unfortunately I've reached a state where this is not working anymore. To say I am dissappointed that despite the legions of owners who have posted about this issue over many years, an still Audi has not issued a recall, would be a gross understatement. This one issue almost certainly makes this the last Audi I will ever buy.

Now here's the question I've never seen directly addressed - while the light is on, is the airbag still functional? This may be a stupid question, but I'm hoping an expert can provide an informed response. If Audi's negligence is putting my life at risk on a daily basis I'm going to raise hell with Audi USA.

Thanks

 

none of the airbag lights will fire if the airbag light is on... so lame...

 

airbags will not deploy with the light on. I've also been thru the exact same fault codes a few days ago on the passenger side, took it to an indy I know well, they couldn't delete the fault code. Ended up being the wiring, but they had the rip the whole seat apart to do the rewiring. They told be there was a TSB for this to completely rewire so the connectors won't become loose again. TOTAL was about two hours of labour.

 

No, the airbag system is disabled when the light is on.

The connector repair usually works. But if the fault returns for the same airbag after the TSB is performed. The airbag unit needs to be replaced

I think your perfectly justified in calling AOA and complaining. They did not effectively fix your car when it was under warranty, If the same problem persist they are responsible.

I would call and talk to the service manager first, And let him know you'll be calling Audi if they don't make good on it

 

Thanks everyone for your feedback. Time for me to get on Audi to make this right.