OBD-II Code
B1015
Severity
Not yet reviewed
Nobody on our side has assessed this code yet, so we are not going to guess at how serious it is.
Can you drive it
We cannot say
Treat it as unknown until a shop reads it with live data. If the check-engine light is FLASHING, stop driving as soon as it is safe to — that means an active misfire, whatever the code.
Indicative cost (USD)
$0–$1,200
From this code's diagnostic notes. Varies by vehicle, diagnosis, parts, and local labor. This is not a repair quote.
$0 (Takata recall return visit) to $1,200 (OCS sensor mat replacement plus dealer calibration on a Ford truck).
B1015 is a Frontal Passenger Stage 1 airbag deployment-resistance-low code — the RCM is reading the resistance across the passenger front airbag's squib (the resistive heating element that ignites the propellant) and finding it below the expected 1.5-3.0 ohm window, typically under 1.0 ohm.
How a shop works this
Work from evidence to part, not the other way round. A code names a circuit or a symptom; it does not name the part that failed.
Note every code that is set, not just this one.
Codes that appear together usually narrow the cause faster than any one of them read alone.
Read the freeze frame — the conditions the fault was recorded under.
Cold or warm, idle or load, road speed and engine speed. A fault that only appears cold is a different fault from one that only appears under load, even with the same code on the scanner.
Confirm the fault is current rather than history.
Clear the code and see whether it returns under those same conditions. A code that does not come back may have been logged during a repair, a flat battery, or a bad connection that has since been disturbed.
Then follow the diagnostic notes further down this page, in the order they are written.
They are written in the order a shop works this code, cheapest checks first. Where they name a component, inspect its wiring and connector before replacing it.
If the code comes back after a repair, the underlying fault is still there. That is the point to bring in a scanner with live data and freeze-frame, or a shop that has one.
Common symptoms
- Check engine light
Read the full diagnostic procedureB1015 is a Frontal Passenger Stage 1 airbag deployment-resistance-low code — the RCM is reading the resistance across the passenger front airbag's sq…
B1015 is a Frontal Passenger Stage 1 airbag deployment-resistance-low code — the RCM is reading the resistance across the passenger front airbag's squib (the resistive heating element that ignites the propellant) and finding it below the expected 1.5-3.0 ohm window, typically under 1.0 ohm. A squib reading below spec means either an internal short in the squib itself, water/corrosion intrusion across the connector, or pinched/chafed wiring that's shorting one leg of the circuit. The airbag light is on and the passenger airbag is disabled.
Cheapest-first ladder
- DISCONNECT THE BATTERY and wait at least 5 minutes for the SRS capacitors to discharge before touching any airbag wiring — live SRS work without proper disarm has killed technicians.
- Inspect the yellow SRS connector under the passenger seat or behind the glovebox for green corrosion, water staining, or a partial disconnect — the shorting bar inside these connectors can stick and cause a false low-resistance reading.
- Measure the squib resistance with a dedicated airbag-safe meter (NOT a standard multimeter — the test current from a regular meter can fire the airbag) — expected 1.5-3.0 ohms.
- Inspect the wire harness from the connector to the airbag module itself for chafing, especially where it routes through the seat frame on under-seat airbags.
- Replace the airbag module ($150-$800 OEM) only after confirming the wiring and connector are intact. Expensive-misdiagnosis caveat: the OCS (Occupant Classification Sensor) on Ford and the passenger-seat weight-sensor mat on many platforms throws B1015 or related codes when the seat-mat connector corrodes — the airbag itself is fine, but the mat reports an invalid weight and the system disables the bag as a safety default.
Vehicle-specific patternsany vehicle covered by the Takata airbag recall (Honda, Toyota, Ford, GM, Mazda, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes — over 70 million units ac…
any vehicle covered by the Takata airbag recall (Honda, Toyota, Ford, GM, Mazda, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes — over 70 million units across 19 makes per NHTSA) that has had a passenger airbag inflator replaced under recall can throw B1015 if the replacement inflator's squib resistance falls outside the original spec; the fix is a return visit to the recall dealer at no charge.
- 2004-2014Ford F-150/Expedition/Lincoln Navigator with under-passenger-seat OCS (Occupant Classification Sensor) throws B1015 or B1193/B1342 from corrosion on the OCS connector under the seat — replacement OCS mats run $250-$500 and require dealer or capable-shop calibration.
- 2005-2010Honda Odyssey/Pilot throws B1015 (or Honda-specific equivalent) from a documented passenger-seat weight-sensor harness chafe where the harness rubs on the seat track.
- 2007-2013Toyota Camry/Avalon throws B1015 from the OCS computer under the passenger seat going out of calibration after seat-cover replacement or aftermarket seat-cover installation.
Estimated repair$0 (Takata recall return visit) to $1,200 (OCS sensor mat replacement plus dealer calibration on a Ford truck).
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