Long story short, we hit a deer with our 2011 XC90 on a highway when traveling out of town. Got a mechanic to replace the radiator so that we were able to drive another 6 hours back home. Then it's my turn to work on the car. I was able to replace the impact bar, and was lucky enough to find the front bumper assembly from a junkyard and put it on. Got an AC condenser but still need to learn how to install it. The airbags were not triggered. But we got two warnings: "SRS airbag service urgent" and "Pass airbag off urgent". The airbag warning light is on. Is the dealer the only place to make sure the airbag system is working after a collision? How much do they usually charge for it? Thanks a lot for any suggestions.

 

You simply need a scan tool capable of talking to the SRS control unit. That is the first step - read the codes to figure out what the system thinks is wrong. The cheapy OBD readers won't be able to get codes from SRS. There are many componenets to the SRS systems - Most of the seatbelts have pyro techic retactors that tighten the belt in collisions.

Certainly the dealer can scan the SRS control unit - but a universal scan tool (capable of reading most control units) is a basic piece of equipment in most professional Mechanic tool boxes.

 

Thanks. I have a small OBDII reader that can read check engine code. Tried it, As you said, does not give me any info on SRS. Downloaded a copy of VIDA2014D. Let me see whether I can set it up on my laptop. If succeeded, I'll get a cable and try to read the SRS codes.

 

You will need A dice unit or possibly a J2534 cable such as shown below to interface between your OBD port and your CPU. (I have no experience with J2534 cables, but allegedly they work)