Steering wheel swap

Am i going to get an airbag warning light if i swap out my steering wheel?

here is the DIY;
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=242963

unless you're not putting an airbag in, i don't see whey you would get the warning.

As long as you disconnect the battery beforehand, you're golden.

E46M3forRay wrote  

As long as you disconnect the battery beforehand, you're golden.

Just the negative terminal.

I switched mine out a few months back and YouTube was my friend. Took 15 minutes and I could do it in 5 now.

FMLYSDN wrote

Just the negative terminal.

To be safe, leave it disconnected for 30 min or so to let the bags lose their charge. Not sure if this is necessary but it was suggested to me.

JD3 wrote

To be safe, leave it disconnected for 30 min or so to let the bags lose their charge. Not sure if this is necessary but it was suggested to me.

never heard of that.

Between my 330CI, 135i, 335i and my current M3, I have changed out at least 8 steering wheels and have never disconnected the battery (or ground) even once.
Never had a single issue, but.....

Webb70 wrote  

Between my 330CI, 135i, 335i and my current M3, I have changed out at least 8 steering wheels and have never disconnected the battery (or ground) even once.
Never had a single issue, but.....

Regardless, I have changed the steering wheel a dozen times on E90 M3's and so far disconnecting the negative terminal provides no airbag light. Disconnect the positive terminal and it will result in an airbag light when the car is reconnected and started. I know this first hand as the first time I attempted it this was the end result and if you don't have a way to reset it, it's gonna cost you some money

yeah, it cost me $35 to have it reset last time. I think I took off the negative though...

shimmy23 wrote

never heard of that.

Yeah, could be an old thing, but cant be too safe with airbags.

E46M3forRay wrote

As long as you disconnect the battery beforehand, you're golden.

Exactly! I've done several. Just disconnect battery first and reconnect after finishing. The same goes for taking seats out of car since they have airbags in them too.