Honda airbag codes do not look like anyone else's. Two numbers with a dash between them, 11-1x or 85-71, and a trailing character that carries no diagnostic meaning. Read the halves separately and the list opens up.
Honda calls the airbag computer the SRS unit. On an Accord it sits behind the dashboard center lower cover, reached by pulling that cover and the audio disc changer or center pocket, then releasing two 39-pin connectors, A and B. The safing sensor and one impact sensor are built into the unit, so it is both the brain and part of the sensing.
Honda's timing rule is stricter than most. Whenever the ignition has been in ON, or has been at LOCK for less than three minutes, do not bump the SRS unit, because the airbags can deploy. Location notes by model are on our Honda airbag service page.
Read a Honda code as two halves. The number before the dash names the component and the number after names the failure. The last character is noise. Honda's manuals state the trailing x is a 0 through 9 or A through F character identifying which company built the SRS unit, unrelated to your troubleshooting, so 11-11 and 11-1F are the same fault.
The failure digit repeats across every firing circuit: 1 is an open, 3 is a short to another wire or decreased resistance, 8 is a short to power, 9 is a short to ground.
Two families sit apart from the rest. Ex-11 is control operation recorded and Fx-11 is airbags and/or tensioners deployment recorded. Those are the SRS unit writing down what it did in a collision, and they are why the light stays on after the physical repairs are finished. That record is what a module-level crash data reset clears.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 11-1X | Open in the driver's airbag first inflator circuit. | Circuit fault |
| 11-3X | Short to another wire or decreased resistance in the driver's airbag first inflator. | Circuit fault |
| 11-8X | Short to power in the driver's airbag first inflator circuit. | Circuit fault |
| 11-9X | Short to ground in the driver's airbag first inflator circuit. | Circuit fault |
| 12-1X | Open in the front passenger's airbag first inflator circuit. | Circuit fault |
| 21-1X | Open in the driver's seat belt tensioner circuit. | Circuit fault |
| 22-1X | Open in the front passenger's seat belt tensioner circuit. | Circuit fault |
| 31-1X | Open in the driver's side airbag inflator circuit. | Circuit fault |
| 32-1X | Open in the front passenger's side airbag inflator circuit. | Circuit fault |
| 33-1X | Open in the left side curtain airbag inflator circuit. | Circuit fault |
| 34-1X | Open in the right side curtain airbag inflator circuit. | Circuit fault |
| 41-1X | No signal from the left front impact sensor. | Circuit fault |
| 41-2X | Internal failure of the left front impact sensor. | Hardware fault |
| 43-1X | No signal from the left side impact sensor, first. | Circuit fault |
| 44-1X | No signal from the right side impact sensor, first. | Circuit fault |
| 46-1X | No signal from the right side impact sensor, second. | Circuit fault |
| 51-XX | Internal failure of the SRS unit. Codes 51 through 58 all land here. | Hardware fault |
| 53-FF | SRS unit programming error. | Hardware fault |
| 56-25 | Lost communication with the gauge control module. | Circuit fault |
| 56-31 | Lost communication with the ECM or PCM. | Circuit fault |
| 61-1X | Open in the driver's seat belt buckle switch circuit. | Circuit fault |
| 71-1X | Open in the driver's seat position sensor circuit. | Circuit fault |
| 85-61 | No signal from the ODS unit. | Circuit fault |
| 85-71 | ODS unit not initialized after seat or OPDS parts were replaced. | Hardware fault |
| 86-1X | Faulty OPDS seat-back sensor. | Hardware fault |
| 92-2X | Open or short to ground in the passenger's airbag cutoff indicator. | Circuit fault |
| A3-1X | SRS connector A not properly installed at the SRS unit. | Circuit fault |
| B2-1X | No signal from the rear safing sensor under the rear seat cushion. | Circuit fault |
| EX-11 | Control operation recorded. The SRS unit logged that it acted. | Crash data |
| FX-11 | Airbags and/or tensioners deployment recorded. The locked deployment record. | Crash data |
| B00D5 | Passenger airbag cutoff indicator. | other |
| B1057 | Driver pretensioner circuit. | Circuit fault |
Honda SRS codes come out through the HDS, the factory scan tool, at the data link connector. A generic OBD2 reader cannot reach the SRS unit. Honda is specific that you read from the SRS menu only, never the SWS menu, because SWS codes from the ODS unit are subcodes of SRS unit codes and only the matching SRS code gets troubleshot.
Honda also splits every code into latching or resetting. With a resetting code the light goes out at the next key cycle once the circuit reads normal, but the code stays stored. With a latching code the light stays on until the fault is repaired and the code cleared. Before condemning an SRS unit on a sensor code, check the unit's software version with the HDS and update it if it is not current.
Impact sensor codes need reading as a set. Honda's own troubleshooting says 46-11 alone goes one direction, 44-11 and 46-11 together means the left side impact sensor first, and 46-11 with B2-11 means the rear safing sensor. Chasing one code at a time here replaces good parts.
The passenger seat is the other regular. A four-door Accord carries four weight sensors under that seat feeding an ODS unit, plus an OPDS seat-back sensor and a buckle switch. Honda's threshold is about 65 pounds, and under that the ODS holds the passenger airbag off and lights the cutoff indicator. A cutoff light that comes on with a grocery bag on the seat is the system working.
Nothing you can use. Honda's manuals say the trailing character designates the SRS unit manufacturer and other detail used for product analysis, and is unrelated to troubleshooting. Look up 11-1x and ignore the final digit.
Fx-11, airbags and/or tensioners deployment recorded. Ex-11, control operation recorded, is the related entry. Both are stored records rather than live circuit faults, which is why they survive the physical repairs and keep the light on.
No. The SRS unit answers on a path a generic reader does not reach, and Honda codes are not in the B-code format most scanners speak. You need the HDS or a tool with real Honda SRS coverage.
The OPDS sensor is in the passenger seat-back and the weight sensors are under the cushion, so anything that changes what the seat reads changes what the ODS unit reports. Honda also requires the ODS to be initialized with the HDS after a seat-back cover, seat-back cushion, or OPDS unit is replaced.
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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