Buick's airbag module is the SDM, and it sets the same B0 numbers Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac use. Two things make a Buick list its own: which codes the car can physically set, and the fact that GM renumbered the whole set partway through.
GM calls it the Inflatable Restraint Sensing and Diagnostic Module, the SDM. On a Buick it lives under the carpet beneath the center console, the way the Enclave's own component view describes it, and that holds across the Enclave, LaCrosse, Regal, Verano and Encore.
Buick shares platforms across GM. The Enclave runs with the Traverse and Acadia, the Encore with the Trax, the LaCrosse with Impala. The restraint architecture rides with the platform, so the numbering is identical. What is genuinely Buick is option content: four pretensioner loops rather than two, roof-rail airbags running windshield pillar to rear pillar, four side impact sensors, and on the Enclave a driver seat inboard side airbag that deploys between the front occupants. Model coverage is on our Buick airbag service page.
Two incompatible numbering sets exist and reading the wrong one gives you a confident wrong answer. On the older cars the base code carries the whole meaning, so B0022, B0024 and B0026 are the driver frontal loop with resistance low, voltage out of range, and open. On the Global A cars from roughly 2010 forward the base code names the circuit and a two-character byte names the fault.
So B0012 04 is the driver steering wheel airbag first stage loop, open. B0012 02 is the same loop shorted to ground.
The crash records live in the B005x group. On older Buicks B0051 is deployment commanded, charted as latched and not clearable, with the SDM holding crash data. On newer ones B0052 00 clears with a scan tool unless deployment has been commanded more than twice, while B0052 56 is latched with no exception. That record is what a module-level crash data reset addresses.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| B0012 | Driver steering wheel airbag deployment loop, stage 1, on Global A cars. | Circuit fault |
| B0013 | Driver steering wheel airbag deployment loop, stage 2. | Circuit fault |
| B0014 | Driver seat side airbag deployment loop. | Circuit fault |
| B0015 | Driver seat belt retractor pretensioner deployment loop. | Circuit fault |
| B0016 | Left roof rail airbag deployment loop. | Circuit fault |
| B0019 | Passenger instrument panel airbag deployment loop, stage 1. | Circuit fault |
| B001A | Driver seat belt anchor pretensioner deployment loop. | Circuit fault |
| B001B | Passenger seat belt anchor pretensioner deployment loop. | Circuit fault |
| B001E | Driver seat inboard side airbag deployment loop, the Enclave front center bag. | Circuit fault |
| B0020 | Passenger instrument panel airbag deployment loop, stage 2. | Circuit fault |
| B0021 | Passenger seat side airbag deployment loop. | Circuit fault |
| B0022 | Passenger seat belt retractor pretensioner loop on Global A cars. On older Buicks this number is the driver frontal loop, resistance low. | Circuit fault |
| B0023 | Right roof rail airbag deployment loop. | Circuit fault |
| B0026 | Driver frontal deployment loop stage 1, open, on legacy numbering. | Circuit fault |
| B0051 | Deployment commanded. On older Buicks the factory chart calls this latched and not clearable by scan tool. | Crash data |
| B0052 | Deployment commanded. Suffix 00 is clearable unless commanded more than twice; suffix 56 is latched. | Crash data |
| B0053 | Deployment commanded with deployment loop codes also present. | Crash data |
| B0073 | Passenger presence sensor circuit. The factory descriptor for this family includes wet seat. | Circuit fault |
| B0074 | Passenger presence sensor performance. Suffix 0F is named wet seat. | Circuit fault |
| B0081 | Passenger presence module. Suffix 4B is calibration not learned, 3A is incorrect component installed. | Hardware fault |
| B0083 | Left front impact sensor. | Hardware fault |
| B0084 | Right front impact sensor. | Hardware fault |
| B0085 | Left front side impact sensor. | Hardware fault |
| B0086 | Right front side impact sensor. | Hardware fault |
| B0087 | Left rear side impact sensor. | Hardware fault |
| B0088 | Right rear side impact sensor. | Hardware fault |
| B0092 | Passenger presence system performance, legacy numbering. | Hardware fault |
| B0100 | Front end sensor 1, left, performance, legacy numbering. | Hardware fault |
| U0151 | Loss of communication with the restraint control module on the vehicle network. | Communication fault |
| B1327 | Battery voltage low. | other |
Generic OBD2 readers do not reach the SDM. The factory tools are the Tech 2 through roughly 2013, GDS2 for Global A cars, an MDI as the interface, and SPS inside Techline Connect for programming.
Replacing an SDM takes programming plus two setup routines. GM's procedure is to program the module through SPS, then run Setup SDM Primary Key in BCM from the body control module menu, then run Setup SDM. That primary key step pairs the module to the specific car, which is why a unit removed from another Buick does not quietly work. The passenger presence system also needs its preload test run any time the passenger seat bottom cushion, trim, or heater pad comes out. Skip it and you get B0081 4B, calibration not learned. The seat must be empty and dry for it.
GM bulletin 08-09-41-002 covers intermittent or constant airbag lights with deployment loop codes across 2005 through 2014 Buick and its sibling brands, and the cause is a loose, missing, or damaged connector position assurance retainer at an SIR connector. That small plastic lock is worth checking first on any Buick loop code.
The passenger presence system is the other one people get wrong. It reads capacitance rather than weight, so a laptop, a tablet, a phone with its charging cable, or a large drink on the passenger seat can turn the airbag on with nobody there and start the belt chime, and GM's guidance is to explain that to the customer rather than replace parts. Going the other way, B0073 and B0074 0F carry wet seat in the factory descriptor, because a spill or a damp coat will set them.
GM ran two numbering sets. On older cars the base code carries the whole meaning, so B0022, B0024 and B0026 are three states of the driver frontal loop. On Global A cars from about 2010 the base code names the circuit and a byte names the fault, and B0022 becomes the passenger retractor pretensioner. Match the chart to the model year first.
B0051 on older cars is charted as latched and not clearable, with the SDM holding crash data. On newer cars B0052 00 clears unless deployment has been commanded more than twice, and B0052 56 is latched with no exception. Anything latched needs the module addressed rather than another erase attempt.
Not on its own. GM's procedure is to program through SPS, then run Setup SDM Primary Key in BCM, then Setup SDM. That primary key step pairs the module to the specific vehicle, so one that has not been through it will not work.
The passenger presence system reads capacitance, not weight. A laptop, a tablet, a phone on its charging cable, or a large drink can read as an occupant and start the belt chime. GM's guidance is to explain that rather than replace parts. A wet seat pushes it the other way and sets the B0074 wet seat descriptor.
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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