00591: Driver Buckle Switch E24

Circuit fault

What 00591 means

The buckle switch tells the airbag controller whether the driver belt is fastened. That information feeds the belt reminder and, on many of these cars, the way the controller manages deployment and tensioning. An open, shorted, or erratic reading on the E24 circuit stores 00591 and puts the fault on the dash.

The switch sits inside the buckle at the end of the stalk, and its wire joins the seat harness underneath. Everything under a front seat gets abused, and Audi and Volkswagen connectors in that area are well known for corrosion. Seats that slide their full travel every day work the harness at the same point over and over.

Common causes

• Corrosion in the yellow connector under the driver seat, a common failure point on these cars
• A broken conductor in the buckle stalk wire from repeated seat movement
• Debris or dried liquid inside the buckle keeping the switch from closing
• A connector unlatched or pinched after seat removal or floor repair
• A buckle switch that has failed internally

Crash data or hardware fault?

00591 reports a live circuit condition, which means it is not stored crash data. The controller reads the switch continuously and the code clears itself once the circuit behaves. Crash data is a permanent entry written at deployment, and it stays in the controller until the unit is reset off the vehicle.

Does our reset clear it?

Clearing the code does nothing about a corroded connector or a failed switch, and the controller sets 00591 again at its next check. Repair the circuit. Our mail-in reset handles a controller locked on crash data after a deployment, which is not what this code describes.

Which makes throw it

E24 is the driver buckle switch on Audi and on Volkswagen, and 00591 reads the same on both. The failure pattern is the same on either brand, and so is the connector underneath the seat.

What to do next

Slide the seat all the way back and unplug the connectors underneath it, then look closely for green or white corrosion on the terminals, since that is the most common single cause on these cars. Latch and unlatch the belt while watching the switch state on a scan tool if you have one connected. A buckle that never changes state is the part to replace, and we stock genuine OEM Audi and VW seat belt assemblies. Related codes: 00590, 00592, B007E-13.