B0098 is GM's code for the passenger air bag disable switch circuit. On trucks built with the key operated on and off switch, the SDM watches that switch and the wiring to it. B0098 means the module could not read the switch position the way it expects, so the fault sits in the switch, its circuit, or the module input.
Some GM trucks were built with a manual passenger airbag on and off switch instead of a passenger sensing system alone. GMC owner literature describes it as a switch in the glove box that the ignition key operates: push the key in, move the switch to off, and once the system check finishes the passenger airbag status indicator reads OFF. That indicator is how the driver knows the right front airbag has been suppressed, usually so a rear facing child seat can ride up front in a truck with no back seat.
The SDM keeps current flowing through the disable switch circuit and reads back what the switch is doing. When the current or the voltage does not match a valid switch position, the module stores B0098 with one of three symptom bytes. 01 is the circuit shorted to battery voltage, 02 is shorted to ground, and 04 is open. Each one points at a different kind of wiring failure.
The practical result is that the module can no longer trust the switch. Confirm which way the passenger airbag is actually set before anyone puts a child seat in that position, because the indicator and the module can disagree while this code is stored.
Circuit. There is no deployment record behind B0098, and it names no deployment loop, so no airbag or belt part is implicated by this number alone. Verify the vehicle was actually built with the on and off switch before chasing the circuit, because a module or calibration from a truck that had one will look for a switch a given vehicle never carried.
No. Clearing memory does not repair a switch or a wire, and the module checks the circuit again at the next key on. Fix the circuit and the code stops returning. Where our work applies is a different situation on the same truck: if the vehicle was in a collision and the module locked with crash data, an airbag module reset clears that record from your original SDM once the physical repairs are done. If the module is the failed part, airbag control modules are searchable by year and model.
B0098 belongs to GM's inflatable restraint system and is reported most often on Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks, where the disable switch was commonly fitted. GM used the same arrangement on other vehicles where a child restraint could not be placed away from the passenger airbag, so the code is not exclusive to those two model lines. Whether a specific truck has the switch depends on how it was built, so check the glove box before ordering anything.
Start by working the switch with the key. If moving it between on and off produces no change in the status indicator, the switch and its circuit are the likely suspects. Disconnect the battery and let the system sit before unplugging the switch, then check the connector for pushed out or corroded terminals and reseat it.
With the connector ruled out, test the circuit between the switch and the module against the symptom byte you recorded. A 01 reading sends you looking for a wire touching voltage, 02 for a chafed section against the dash structure, and 04 for a break or a terminal backing out of a connector. If the wiring measures correct end to end and the switch tests good, the module input is what remains. Other passenger side codes worth reading alongside this one are B0073 and B0081, which belong to the passenger presence system rather than the switch.
Related codes: B0073, B0081, B1000
Keep reading:
Code scope: Chevrolet, GMC. The same number can mean something different on another manufacturer, so match the code to your make before you act on it.
A reset clears stored crash data. A replacement part fixes a hardware fault. We have read these codes since the nineties and will tell you which one you are looking at.
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