U0151 is a network code. Another module on the vehicle expected a routine message from the airbag control module and stopped receiving it. GM words the code as Lost Communication With Inflatable Restraint Sensing and Diagnostic Module. Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram word it as Lost Communication With Occupant Restraint Controller. Either way the restraint module has gone quiet on the bus.
Every control module on a modern vehicle puts a status message on the serial data bus on a fixed schedule, and the airbag module is on that list. When the message stops arriving, whichever module was listening stores U0151. That is why the code often shows up under the body control module or the cluster rather than under the restraint module itself.
The Chrysler chart is specific. U0151 is monitored with the ignition on, battery voltage between 10 and 16 volts, the IOD fuse installed and the TIPM configured correctly, and it sets when bus messages are not received from the occupant restraint controller for approximately 2 to 5 seconds. The listed causes are the (D65) CAN C bus positive circuit shorted to voltage, the (D64) CAN C bus negative circuit shorted to ground, restraint controller power and ground problems, a failed controller, and a fault in the module that stored the code.
GM describes the same thing in different words. Modules on the high speed GMLAN serial data circuits watch for communication during normal operation, and the code sets when the periodic message from the sensing and diagnostic module has not been received.
Neither, strictly. U0151 says nothing about a squib circuit and nothing about a stored crash record. It reports silence on the bus. A module holding crash data from an accident still communicates normally, so this code by itself is no evidence of a deployment.
The overlap shows up on collision repairs for a different reason. Wiring gets cut, connectors get left apart, and floor mounted modules take on water, all of which end with a module that no longer answers. When a vehicle comes out of a body shop with U0151 stored, start with what was disturbed during the repair.
Not by itself. Our reset works on the memory inside a module we have in hand, and a module that cannot get power or cannot reach the bus has a vehicle side problem first. Repair the fuse, the ground, the connector, or the bus wiring, then rescan and see what is left.
If the module turns out to be water damaged or failed internally, it has to be replaced, and we list genuine OEM airbag control modules by part number. If the same accident also left crash data in a module that is otherwise healthy, our airbag module reset clears that record from your original unit so it goes back into the same vehicle.
U0151 is a standardized network code, so the number means the same thing across manufacturers while the module name changes. GM calls it the inflatable restraint sensing and diagnostic module on Chevrolet, GMC, Buick and Cadillac. Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram call it the occupant restraint controller, and Ford calls it the restraints control module.
Start with power. Check the airbag fuses, then check for battery voltage and a clean ground at the module connector. From there use the scan tool network test to see whether the restraint module answers at all. If several modules are missing from that list, the problem is the bus rather than the airbag module.
Inspect anything that was recently apart. Under the front seats and under the carpet are the two places we see chafed and corroded restraint wiring most often. If the module is dead and needs replacing, start from your Jeep parts page or send the part number through our parts request form.
Related codes: U0154
Keep reading:
Code scope: Buick, Cadillac, Dodge, GMC, Jeep. The same number can mean something different on another manufacturer, so match the code to your make before you act on it.
A reset clears stored crash data. A replacement part fixes a hardware fault. We have read these codes since the nineties and will tell you which one you are looking at.
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