Steering wheel - issue with airbag removal
 

Hey Guys,
I’ve been searching this forum for some time already but have not found any solution to my problem.
I tried to remove airbag from the steering wheel, as I want to change the cover.
I know all the videos & read the instructions where everyone says it should pop out easily when you loose/remove 2 torx screws from behind. These were unscrewed and landed inside the steering wheel while airbag still cannot be moved. Not sure what more needs to be done. It sits tight and the only movement is the standard one which turns horn on.
Anyone faced similar issue and fixed it?
Would appreciate your ideas.
cheers
PC

I don't understand what "landed inside the steering wheel" means?

The two bolts should be completely loosened off, although they might be captive so I'm not sure that you can completely remove them. Once the two bolts are fully loosened, the plastic cover and airbag should just pull out. Best advice is to disconnect the battery first. If it's stiff, then use a plastic trim tool to release it.

Edit. You are loosening the correct bolts? The ones where you have to turn the wheel 90 degrees to get access from underneath.

Richard

Just completed removal on my 2003 Coupe. The 2 Torx T30 are captive and stay in the wheel. Gently pull the airbag toward you and look closely at the Black connector. 2 tangs will need to be compressed to remove it. Next the Yellow plug can be removed after its 2 tangs are compressed. All Warning indicate Disconnected BATTERY First and allow capacitors discharge . Should you want to remove the Str. Wheel,. 15mm socket and loosen nu. Then remove the washer behind the bolt. Reinstall the bolt and work wheel side to side while pulling on it. The bolt will save your face. Take a Sharpie to mark the wheel and column shaft to return to proper position.

Thx for your comments.
Mystery solved... a different issue identified.
I inspected the wheel closely last night and removed one of the... broken screws.
I was not able to remove the airbag, because I broke the screws while trying to remove them. The half with the head is in my hands now, while the rest still sits in the wheel...

So now, do you have any ideas how to remove these 2 headless ones without destroying the airbag?

I'm guessing that you were turning the bolts the wrong way because they are pointing towards you so clockwise, from your perspective, is required to loosen them?

I doubt whether you can now remove the airbag without some level of destruction. The least destructive would be to use a Dremel, or similar, to carefully cut away the plastic cover, which I think you are going to replace anyway, and then see whether you can access the securing bolts from the top side. If you can, you should be able to easily remove them. A normal drill bit, which will be reverse from above, would probably do the job very quickly.

The one thing which puzzles me is that if you have completely snapped off both the bolt heads and removed them, then I would have thought that the airbag would pull off with the captive threads and short length of broken bolt still attached. You could try inserting a long bolt or rod of the same diameter into the empty bolt hole to see if you can locate the end of it against the broken bolt and then tapping it upwards to see if you can drive the assembly upwards.

All the above requires the battery to be disconnected, of course.

Richard