Chevrolet's airbag computer is the SDM, and GM files these faults under SIR rather than SRS. The trap on a Chevy is that GM reassigned the same B-code numbers to different components around 2007, so B0016 points at one part on a 2005 Silverado and another on a 2011.
GM's full name for the unit is the inflatable restraint sensing and diagnostic module, SDM for short, and GM calls the whole system SIR, the supplemental inflatable restraint system. The housing holds the microprocessor, the sensing element, and a 23 volt loop reserve GM says can take a minute to bleed down after the battery comes off.
Where it sits depends on the platform. GM puts the SDM under the driver seat beneath the carpet on 2003 to 2007 Silverado Classic trucks, under the center console on 2007 to 2013 Silverados and the full size SUVs, under the console carpet on Malibu, and under the passenger seat on Impala. The label carries an arrow that has to point toward the front of the vehicle. Model coverage is on our Chevrolet airbag service page.
GM runs two incompatible B0xxx maps, and knowing which one your vehicle uses is most of the work. On the older map the failure mode is baked into the number, so B0016 is passenger frontal deployment loop resistance low and B0017 is that same loop open. On the GM Global A map used from roughly 2007 forward, the number names the loop and a two digit symptom byte names the failure: 01 short to battery, 02 short to ground, 04 open, 0D resistance above threshold, 0E below. That is why B0016 reads as a passenger frontal loop on a 2005 Silverado and the left roof rail loop on a 2011.
GM's naming does the sorting. Deployment commanded means the SDM fired the restraints, and GM calls those latched codes. Deployment loop with a resistance, open, or short qualifier is a circuit the module is measuring right now. A loop code on a GM is never a stored crash event.
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 vehicles. | 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 on Global A. Passenger frontal loop resistance low on the older map. | Circuit fault |
| B0019 | Passenger instrument panel airbag deployment loop, stage 1. | 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. Driver frontal loop resistance on the older map. | Circuit fault |
| B0023 | Right roof rail airbag deployment loop. | Circuit fault |
| B0026 | Driver frontal deployment loop open, older GMT800 map. | Circuit fault |
| B0051 | Deployment commanded, older GMT800 map. A latched crash record. | Crash data |
| B0052 | Deployment commanded. The SDM fired the restraints and latched. | Crash data |
| B0053 | Deployment commanded with loop faults already present. | Crash data |
| B0071 | Passenger seat belt tension sensor circuit, above or below threshold or open. | Circuit fault |
| B0074 | Passenger presence sensor circuit, out of range or signal invalid. | Circuit fault |
| B0078 | Right front passenger side impact sensor performance, older map. | Hardware fault |
| B0079 | Driver seat position sensor circuit. | Circuit fault |
| B0080 | Passenger seat position sensor circuit. | Circuit fault |
| B0081 | Passenger presence module, erratic or wrong component or calibration not learned. | 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 |
| B0091 | Center front impact sensor. | Hardware fault |
| B0098 | Passenger airbag disable switch circuit, Silverado and Sierra only. | Circuit fault |
| B1000 | Electronic control unit performance. An internal SDM fault with no external circuits involved. | Hardware fault |
| B1019 | System configuration error. The SDM counted different restraint components than its calibration expects. | Hardware fault |
| B1327 | Battery voltage low. | other |
A basic OBD2 reader stops at the powertrain. Reading GM SIR codes takes a scanner with restraint coverage, and GM names the Tech 2, the MDI and the TIS terminal. The symptom byte carries as much information as the code number, so a tool that prints B0016 without the 04 or the 0E after it is telling you half the story.
A latched deployment code will not clear. GM's wording is blunt: you cannot clear a latched code. Reset shops report a scan tool attempting to erase it returns cannot execute routine. GM also publishes the loop thresholds, so watch the deployment loop resistance parameter before condemning a part. On a 2011 Silverado the roof rail and pretensioner loops flag above 3.9 ohms or below 1.1 ohms.
A replacement SDM is not plug and play. GM runs programming through the Service Programming System, then Setup SDM Primary Key in BCM, then Setup New SDM, and the setup refuses to finish while any fault is current. B1019 sets when the module counts different restraint components than its calibration expects. Impact sensor count changes with cab style, so a module out of a crew cab lands in a regular cab with a mismatch.
The best documented cause of a Chevrolet airbag light with no collision behind it is the connector position assurance retainer. GM bulletin 08-09-41-002G blames a loose, missing or damaged CPA retainer at an SIR connector for B0012, B0013, B0015, B0016, B0019, B0020, B0022, B0023 and B0026. The CPA isolates the shorting bars inside the connector and seats separately from the connector body, so both have to click.
On 2003 to 2007 Silverados, GM published a separate bulletin for the yellow four way connectors C221 and C222, which live behind the kick panels rather than at the steering column. GM also warns that the passenger presence system reads capacitance rather than weight, so a phone or a charging cable left on the passenger seat can set a code on Cobalt, HHR, Impala, Traverse and Equinox. GM's instruction there is to remove the object and clear the codes.
GM changed the code map. On a 2003 to 2007 Silverado it is passenger frontal deployment loop resistance low. On a 2007 and newer truck it is the left roof rail airbag deployment loop.
No. GM calls deployment commanded a latched code and states that a latched code cannot be cleared. That is the code a module-level reset is built for.
That is the GM symptom byte, and it names the failure. 01 short to battery, 02 short to ground, 04 open circuit, 0D resistance above threshold, 0E below. Same loop, different repairs.
Start at the connectors. GM's own bulletin blames the CPA retainer for exactly that complaint.
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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