Side airbag passenger side faulty

[Mangesh]

My passat 2002 TDI is now showing airbag light on. VAG scan gives following code.
01222 - Crash Sensor Side Airbag; Passenger Side (G180)
37-00 - Faulty


I checked the sensor under passenger seat for any corrosion, all looks ok. Went to local indie, he suggested to by pass it and i should be fine. No point spending 200 + labor for a 2002 car. He said even if the fault is bypassed the airbag will still be deployed. He also said its the side airbag only.


1) To me it does not make sense. Is it correct?
2) If i bought the sensor, can i change myself or need to go to electrician to replace it.

Can anyone advise?

[Crasher]

Bypassing the sensor seems like a great idea to shut the warning light up for the MOT but is not really in the spirit of the rules and should you get stuffed in the near side and a passenger suffer avoidable injuries should the airbag have been working, your insurance company may take a dim view. The sensor under the left seat suffers due to the usual water ingress problem even though you can’t see any corrosion. Another point is one I keep trying to put over to customers is that the age of the car, it’s value and the cost of repairs should not influence how you look after it as regards saftey, environmental impact and reliability.

[Mangesh]

Thanks crasher and agree the safety outweighs the cost. I am not keen on by passing it due to obvious reason, but he said airbag will still be deployed and that was something which i could not understand.
I was able to remove the car seat and check for corrosion, but still consider myself as average in DIY. Can i replace the sensor myself , is it straight forward.?