Recently got into a front end collision that left most of my front end damaged. (Hood, bumper cover, front reinforcement bar.) My airbags didn’t deploy, and after the collision my srs light was on. my seatbelts still lock when I pull on them, and the car drives and runs just fine. Basically what I’m asking, is if it’s something to be extremely worried about. Doesn’t the srs light just turn on automatically as soon as it has crash data? or does it ALWAYS mean that there’s a problem with the airbags/seatbelts?
Has the damage been repaired? There could be damage to one of the collision sensors or the wiring, the fault codes in the airbag control module will indicate which circuit has a problem.
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It’s been repaired, but I don’t think the collision sensors have been replaced/repaired.
Sounds like the collision shop didn’t do a complete job, did they tell you to have the airbag system checked out on your own?
If the car’s been repaired, and the srs light is STILL on, you need to talk to the repair shop
they either misdiagnosed it, the repair was improper/incomplete, they forgot to clear codes, etc.
Did you pay out of your own pocket . . . or did you go through your insurance?
If you went through your insurance, contact them. You pay them. Let them earn it
No, but I do have an OBDII reader.
Out of pocket.
Okay, will do. But for now, until I can get it fixed (Again 
) should I be worried? is clearing the codes something I can do myself? I’m sure that I have to get my airbags reset anyway, but if they didn’t deploy during the collision, are they still functional, is it something I can wait to do?
you can clear codes yourself, provided you have access to a scanner capable of doing that
But I’ll say this . . . on many vehicles, if the srs system sees no problems during its self-test . . . which is typically every ignition cycle . . . the light will stay off with the engine idling
If its staying on, there may be a current fault code . . . in other words, something still isn’t fixed
OK
If I managed to reset the SRS codes by myself and got the light to turn off, would it turn back on again even after it was reset if there was truly something wrong with it? I’m trying to figure out if it’s a possibility that there isn’t anything truly wrong with the SRS system, only that the light is on simply because it automatically turns on because I got into a collision.
Did you record the faults so that you could see what they mean and perhaps the cause? Maybe they temporarily unplugged some of the wiring during the repair and that is what set the fault.
No, I’ll have to look at the codes again.
if the issue is fixed, and you cleared the codes- then no. The SRS light will not come back on. If it is still on, then the system is recognizing an issue- which could be deadly if you were to get into another crash.
I reset the SRS light and the codes, and turned off my car and turned it back on. the system went through with it’s check, and all the lights turned off, including the SRS. I think i’m probably okay…