B0080: Passenger Seat Position Sensor Circuit

Circuit fault

What B0080 means

Seat position is one input among several the module uses to tailor a deployment. On the passenger side it works alongside occupant classification, since how far forward the seat sits changes how close an occupant is to the instrument panel airbag. The sensor reports position from the seat rail, and B0080 is stored when its circuit reads open, shorted, or otherwise implausible.

Diagnosis follows the harness rather than the sensor most of the time. The wiring runs along a rail that moves through its full travel every time somebody adjusts the seat, then joins a floor connector that gets unplugged for any interior work. Passenger seats also collect cargo, feet, and spills, all of which reach the same area where the sensor lives.

Common causes

• A conductor broken or stretched in the seat rail harness from repeated seat travel
• A floor connector unlatched or damaged during seat removal
• The sensor or its target knocked out of alignment by cargo or a foot
• Corrosion at the connector from a wet carpet or a spill
• Debris blocking the sensor from reading its target
• A failed position sensor that no longer switches

Crash data or hardware fault?

B0080 is a live circuit reading, which means it responds to repair. Once the circuit measures correctly the module stops storing it. Crash data has none of those properties. It is created at the moment airbags deploy, it lives in protected memory, and clearing codes with a scan tool does not remove it.

Does our reset clear it?

Wiring or sensor work comes first, since a module reset does not restore a broken seat circuit. After the repair, a normal code clear finishes the job. Where the module is locked by stored crash data from a collision, our mail-in reset service is the right answer, and we handle that after the deployed components have been replaced.

Which makes throw it

B0080 shows up on Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, and Ford. The GM brands share one restraint code table, and Ford uses the same number for the passenger seat position sensor circuit, so the meaning carries across all four.

What to do next

Adjust the passenger seat through its full travel with a scan tool watching live data, since a position reading that never changes tells you quickly whether the sensor is connected and aimed correctly. Check under the seat for a loose floor connector and for anything jammed around the sensor. Repair broken rail wiring with a solid crimp and leave enough slack for full seat movement. Related codes: B0079, B0081, 9069.