A Sierra's airbag diagnosis is a Silverado's airbag diagnosis. GM builds one sensing and diagnostic module for both brands, and the code text in GMC service information is word for word identical to Chevrolet's. What changes on the GMC side is vehicle content, and content is exactly what the module counts.
GMC calls it the SDM, short for inflatable restraint sensing and diagnostic module, and GM labels the system SIR rather than SRS. It reads the impact sensors, decides when to fire, and writes a deployment record it will not give back. GM service information for the 2011 Sierra 2500 places it under the center console, the same view GM prints for the Silverado and Yukon XL.
Around it sit parts that carry their own codes: a passenger presence system module on the passenger seat frame, a belt tension sensor on the inboard lower buckle, seat position sensors on the tracks, and impact sensors at the front crossmember and inside the door frames. The Sierra also has a passenger airbag disable switch in the instrument panel storage compartment that the Yukon and Acadia do not. Coverage is on our GMC airbag service page.
GMC vehicles from roughly 2007 forward use the GM Global A code map, where the number names the deployment loop or the sensor and a two character symptom byte names what went wrong with it. Read them together. B0022 with an 04 is the passenger retractor pretensioner loop reading open. The same code with an 0E is the same loop reading below the resistance threshold, which is a different repair entirely.
Only two codes on a GMC are the crash record itself. B0052 deployment commanded and B0053 deployment commanded with loop faults present are what GM calls latched, and GM states a latched code cannot be cleared. Everything in the loop and sensor ranges is a live measurement the module retakes every key cycle, which means fixing the circuit is what clears it. After a real deployment you will usually see loop codes alongside B0052, because the fired inflators now read open.
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. | 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 |
| 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 deployment loop. | Circuit fault |
| B0023 | Right roof rail airbag deployment loop. | Circuit fault |
| B0052 | Deployment commanded. The SDM fired the restraints and the code latched. | Crash data |
| B0053 | Deployment commanded with loop faults already stored. | 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 |
| B0079 | Driver seat position sensor circuit. | Circuit fault |
| B0080 | Passenger seat position sensor circuit. | Circuit fault |
| B0081 | Passenger presence module, erratic, wrong component installed, 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, Sierra and Silverado only. | Circuit fault |
| B1000 | Electronic control unit performance, an internal SDM fault. | Hardware fault |
| B101D | ECU hardware fault inside the module. | Hardware fault |
| B1019 | System configuration error. Detected restraint components do not match the module's calibration. | Hardware fault |
| B1325 | Device power circuit voltage above or below threshold. | Circuit 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. GM's own bulletins name the Tech 2, the MDI and the TIS terminal for restraint work, and any scanner without GM enhanced coverage will show a clean scan while the SIR lamp is lit. Insist on a tool that prints the symptom byte, because B0016 04 and B0016 0E send you to different ends of the truck.
Installing a used SDM out of another GMC is where truck owners get burned. GM ties the module to the vehicle's restraint content, and impact sensor count varies with cab style: a Silverado or Sierra SUV carries six, a light duty regular cab four, a light duty extended or crew cab six, and heavy duty cabs as few as one. Drop in a module calibrated for a different cab and B1019 system configuration error sets, the airbag lamp flashes, and the setup routine will not complete. GM's procedure for a new module is SPS programming, then Setup SDM Primary Key in BCM, then Setup New SDM, in that order.
The connector position assurance retainer is the most documented non-crash cause across GMC. GM bulletin 08-09-41-002G names 2007 to 2012 Acadia, Sierra, Yukon, Yukon XL and Denali, 2008 to 2012 Savana and 2005 to 2009 Envoy, and traces intermittent loop codes to a loose, missing or damaged CPA retainer at an SIR connector. The connector and the CPA seat independently and each should click, which is why a connector that looks plugged in can still set a code.
GMC crossovers behave differently from the trucks. Acadia and Terrain appear on GM's bulletin about conductive objects on the passenger seat, where a phone or a charging cable can set a presence code because the system reads capacitance rather than weight. Sierra and Yukon are absent from that list. On the truck side, GM program 11288 covered 2011 and 2012 Sierra and Silverado with roof rail airbags for a right side routing concern.
Physically the modules line up, but GM binds the module to the vehicle's restraint content and to the BCM through a setup routine. A module from a different cab style sets B1019 system configuration error and the setup will not complete. Your own module going back into your own truck avoids all of it.
That is the GM symptom byte. 01 short to battery, 02 short to ground, 04 open circuit, 0D resistance above threshold, 0E resistance below threshold. Without it you only know which loop, not what happened to it.
Not a generic one. The SDM answers only to a scanner with GM restraint coverage, and deployment commanded codes are latched, which GM says cannot be cleared at all.
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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