Kia's airbag module is the SRSCM, and it reports faults as B-codes between B1101 and B2505. The single most useful thing to know about that list is where the crash records sit, because those five or six codes behave completely differently from the rest of the table.
Kia calls the airbag computer the SRSCM, the Supplemental Restraint System Control Module, and the coding procedures call the same unit the ACU. It bolts to the floor pan on the transmission tunnel under the center console on most of the lineup, secured with three bolts. Kia and Hyundai share a corporate group and a restraint module supply, which is why the fault code definitions line up almost word for word.
The shared code table does not make the modules interchangeable. Each SRSCM is coded to the car it was built for, so a Sorento module and a Santa Fe module read the same list and still will not swap. Module location by model is covered on our Kia airbag service page.
The crash record group is the one to find first. B1650 is crash recorded in first stage only, frontal. B1651 and B1652 record a front collision with the driver or passenger side airbag involved. B1657 is a crash recorded in the belt pretensioner only, which is what you get in a collision hard enough to cinch the belts without firing the bags. B1670 is a full stage frontal. B1658 counts pretensioner deployments and sets once the module has fired them six times. Every code in that band is history the module wrote about itself, and it is what a module-level crash data reset clears.
Everything else in the table is a live reading. The firing loops are grouped four codes at a time in a fixed order of resistance too high, resistance too low, short to ground, short to battery, running through the front airbags, the front pretensioners, the front side airbags, the inflatable curtains, and the second stages. The sensors are grouped a little differently, with defect, short to ground, short to battery, communication error, and wrong ID variants for each front and side impact sensor. The buckle switches occupy B1511 to B1518, and B1620 stands alone as the module's own internal failure.
One unplugged connector under a seat can throw a side airbag code, a buckle switch code, and an occupant detection code at once, and only one of them is the actual problem.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| B1102 | Battery voltage low at the SRSCM for longer than the module's threshold time. | Hardware fault |
| B1331 | Passenger front impact sensor harness shorted to ground. | Circuit fault |
| B1334 | Communication error between the passenger front impact sensor and the SRSCM. | Circuit fault |
| B1335 | Passenger front impact sensor reporting the wrong ID. | Hardware fault |
| B1349 | Driver airbag first stage circuit shorted to battery power. | Circuit fault |
| B1353 | Passenger airbag first stage resistance too low. | Circuit fault |
| B1355 | Passenger airbag first stage circuit shorted to battery power. | Circuit fault |
| B1362 | Driver front seat belt pretensioner resistance too low. | Circuit fault |
| B1364 | Driver front seat belt pretensioner circuit shorted to battery power. | Circuit fault |
| B1369 | Passenger front seat belt pretensioner circuit shorted to ground. | Circuit fault |
| B1379 | Driver front side airbag resistance too low. | Circuit fault |
| B1382 | Passenger front side airbag resistance too high. | Circuit fault |
| B1403 | Passenger front side impact sensor has failed. | Hardware fault |
| B1410 | Communication error between the passenger front side impact sensor and the SRSCM. | Circuit fault |
| B1415 | Passenger front side impact sensor reporting the wrong ID. | Hardware fault |
| B1474 | Driver inflatable curtain airbag resistance too low. | Circuit fault |
| B1477 | Passenger inflatable curtain airbag resistance too high. | Circuit fault |
| B1485 | Passenger airbag second stage resistance too high. | Circuit fault |
| B1493 | Communication error with the passenger occupant detecting system. | Circuit fault |
| B1512 | Driver buckle switch circuit shorted or shorted to ground. | Circuit fault |
| B1513 | Passenger buckle switch circuit open or shorted to battery power. | Circuit fault |
| B1620 | SRSCM internal fault. Kia's definition reads internal error, replace SRSCM. | Hardware fault |
| B1650 | Crash recorded, first stage frontal only. Locked deployment data in the module. | Crash data |
| B1651 | Crash recorded, front collision with the driver side airbag. | Crash data |
| B1652 | Crash recorded, front collision with the passenger side airbag. | Crash data |
| B1657 | Crash recorded in the belt pretensioner only, no front airbag deployment. | Crash data |
| B1658 | Belt pretensioner deployment count reached six firings. | Crash data |
| B1670 | Crash recorded, full stage frontal deployment. | Crash data |
| B1745 | Passenger pressure-type side impact sensor has failed. | Hardware fault |
| B1762 | Airbag control unit coding error after a module replacement or failed coding attempt. | Hardware fault |
| B1684 | Device not configured. | other |
| B1346 | Driver airbag resistance high. | Circuit fault |
Generic OBD2 readers do not reach the SRSCM. They talk to the emissions side of the connector, so a parts-store scanner sees the light and no codes behind it. Kia SRS coverage on the scan tool is the requirement, and the factory tools are the GDS and KDS.
A replacement SRSCM has to be variant coded with the vehicle's VIN before the system will arm, and an uncoded unit sets B1762 for a coding error or B1684 when the configuration does not match the car. Low battery voltage will fail the coding on its own and put B1102 up next to B1762, so charging comes first. Where a Kia has the passenger occupant detecting system, that system needs calibrating after seat cushion work or the module sets a PODS code and holds the light on.
The pattern that surprises people most is B1657, crash recorded in belt pretensioner only. Drivers there usually say the car took a minor hit, no airbags came out, and nothing looked wrong except the light. The pretensioners fired, the belts are locked short, and the module logged the event. That is a belt job plus a module reset, and skipping either half leaves the system where it started.
The other steady one is the buckle switch and side sensor wiring under the front seats. Kia runs those circuits through connectors that sit in the path of feet and cargo, and a partially unseated plug reads as an open circuit. When a Kia comes in with several unrelated-looking codes at once, that is usually where it starts.
B1650 is a crash record, so the module is locked and the light will not go out while it is stored. Kia's service literature answers that with replacement, which is the dealer path. The data itself can be cleared from the original module in our shop.
The definitions match almost exactly, because both brands use the SRSCM and share the same code table. The practical difference is which restraint hardware a model carries, since a car without curtain airbags never sets a curtain code. The modules are still coded per vehicle and do not interchange.
No. A basic OBD2 reader talks to the emissions side of the connector and never reaches the SRSCM, so it will confirm the light is on without showing a code. You need a scan tool that includes Kia SRS coverage.
B1657 covers exactly that case. The module fired the seat belt pretensioners without commanding the front airbags, which is common in a moderate impact. The belts will be locked short and the module holds the record until it is cleared.
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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