Audi runs the same VAG diagnostic architecture as the rest of the group, so its airbag faults come up as five-digit numbers on VCDS or ODIS instead of the B-codes a domestic scan tool shows. What sets Audi apart is component protection, which changes what happens when a module gets swapped.
Audi calls the unit the airbag control module, component J234, and it answers at diagnostic address 15 on a scan tool. Sitting under the same address is the seat occupied recognition control module, J706, which handles passenger detection. The airbag module reads the front and side crash sensors, fires the restraints, and keeps a permanent record of any deployment in its own memory.
On A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, Q5 and Q7 it is bolted to the floor tunnel under the center console ahead of the shifter, behind trim that has to come out first. Battery cables come off and the system discharges before the yellow connector gets unplugged. Our Audi airbag service page covers the models we work on.
Audi shares the VAG five-digit fault code list with the rest of the group. Each code carries a description plus an elaboration naming the failure mode, so 01217 might read resistance too high one week and short to ground the next. Later Audis on UDS report B-codes with a hexadecimal symptom byte appended, but the system underneath is the same.
Three codes are stored crash data. 00595 crash data stored, 01226 for the driver side airbag, and 01227 for the passenger side are the module's record of an impact. Igniter codes are resistance readings on a firing loop, sensor codes are the module talking to a satellite sensor, and 65535 internal control module memory error is the module failing its own check. Restoring memory does nothing for any of those three groups.
Codes with a link have their own page. Crash data clears with a module reset; hardware and circuit faults need the part fixed or replaced first.
| Code | Meaning | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 00532 | Supply voltage B+ out of range at the airbag controller, usually a weak battery or bad ground. | Hardware fault |
| 00588 | Driver airbag igniter N95, resistance out of range or short circuit. | Circuit fault |
| 00589 | Passenger airbag igniter 1, component N131. | Circuit fault |
| 00590 | Passenger airbag igniter 2, component N132, the second stage. | Circuit fault |
| 00591 | Driver seat belt buckle switch E24. | Circuit fault |
| 00592 | Passenger seat belt buckle switch E25. | Circuit fault |
| 00594 | Front airbag firing circuit fault covering the driver and passenger bags. | Circuit fault |
| 00595 | Crash data stored. The module recorded an impact and locked. | Crash data |
| 00654 | Driver seat belt tensioner igniter N153. | Circuit fault |
| 00655 | Passenger seat belt tensioner igniter N154. | Circuit fault |
| 00656 | Passenger seat occupied sensor G128. | Hardware fault |
| 01217 | Front side airbag igniter, driver side, component N199. | Circuit fault |
| 01218 | Front side airbag igniter, passenger side, component N200. | Circuit fault |
| 01219 | Rear side airbag igniter, driver side, component N201. | Circuit fault |
| 01220 | Rear side airbag igniter, passenger side, component N202. | Circuit fault |
| 01221 | Side airbag crash sensor, driver side, component G179. | Hardware fault |
| 01222 | Side airbag crash sensor, passenger side, component G180. | Hardware fault |
| 01224 | Front airbag crash sensor, driver side, component G283, the satellite sensor up front. | Hardware fault |
| 01226 | Crash data stored for the driver side airbag. | Crash data |
| 01227 | Crash data stored for the passenger side airbag. | Crash data |
| 01228 | Passenger airbag cut-off switch E224, open or shorted. | Circuit fault |
| 01236 | Safety battery terminal, the pyrofuse that cuts battery power in a crash. | Circuit fault |
| 01578 | Passenger airbag off indicator lamp K145. | Circuit fault |
| 01588 | Head curtain airbag igniter, driver side, component N251. | Circuit fault |
| 01589 | Head curtain airbag igniter, passenger side, component N252. | Circuit fault |
| 01638 | Rear side airbag crash sensor, driver side, component G256. | Hardware fault |
| 01639 | Rear side airbag crash sensor, passenger side, component G257. | Hardware fault |
| 65535 | Internal control module memory error. The controller failed its own memory check. | Hardware fault |
| U1100 | Component protection active, seen after a replacement airbag controller is installed. | Hardware fault |
| U1101 | Component protection active on a replacement airbag controller. | Hardware fault |
| 01025 | Airbag warning lamp circuit. | Circuit fault |
| 00003 | Control module fault. | other |
Address 15 sits outside the generic OBD2 path, so a basic code reader shows nothing while the airbag light is on. Reading Audi SRS codes takes VCDS, OBDeleven, ODIS, or a scan tool with real VAG coverage. Read the elaboration line the tool prints, since resistance too high and short to positive point at different repairs.
Once 00595 is stored the clear codes command is refused. Ross-Tech documents crash data as permanent at the module level. The side flags 01226 and 01227 behave differently by module generation and can sometimes be cleared a couple of times before the controller stops accepting the reset and stores a control module faulty code instead.
Component protection is the Audi-specific catch. A replacement airbag controller comes up with U1100 and U1101, and on the 4G A6 and A7 or the 4H A8 those can only be learned with the factory tool over an online connection to Audi. No third party tool does it. Replacing the seat occupied recognition module J706 or the passenger seat also calls for a reset with conditions attached: ambient temperature between 5 and 35 degrees C, battery at 12.4 volts or better, and nothing on the passenger seat.
Passenger occupant detection is the Audi complaint we field most outside of collision work. The sensor mat in the front passenger seat is a known weak point across A3, A4, A5, A6, A8, Q3 and Q7, and Audi ran a recall over oxidation in the shielding of the detection system's connecting cable. When it faults, the module shuts the passenger airbag off on purpose and lights the SRS lamp, and swapping the sensor does not finish the job until the reset is run.
Side airbag igniter codes 01217 and 01218 reading resistance too high trace back to the connector under the seat cushion often enough to check there first. On a collision-damaged car, expect 00595 with a group of igniter codes stacked underneath it. Those are the fired pyrotechnics reading open, not separate wiring failures.
It clears ordinary faults but not 00595. Ross-Tech treats the crash record as permanent at the module level and the clear command is refused, which is why the module comes out of the car.
Crash sensor for the front airbag, driver side, component G283. That is a satellite sensor up front, and it gets damaged in frontal hits often enough to be worth checking before the nose goes back together.
Usually the seat occupied recognition system. The mat in the passenger cushion or its wiring reads wrong and the module disables the passenger bag deliberately. After the part is replaced, Audi's seat occupied recognition reset still has to be run.
Component protection triggers when a module the car has not been authorized to run gets installed. A module that leaves and comes back to the same car keeps its identity, so it does not raise a component protection code.
Keep reading:
Crash data clears with a reset of your own module. A hardware fault needs the part. Either way, call and we will confirm.
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Audi parts and codes · Do not see it listed? Request a part or call 501-988-0611.