Expert: John Kingery - 9/24/2008

Question
Hi, I have a 1999 740IL BMW and my airbag light is constatntly on now.  I have not hit anything nor did they deploy.  How do I shut it off?  It is draining my battery to the point I had to get a jump start.

Answer
The airbag light should not be on when the car isn't running, so it shouldn't drain your battery.  If the car is draining enough to require a jump start, there's likely a problem there.  Your car should not require a jump unless it sits for about 2 weeks.  A constant drain exist because of the computers in there.

Back to the airbag light:  it's on for a reason.  it takes a special tool to read the reason, and to reset it.  I would suggest that you take it to a dealer and get it repaired.