Precision repair of
VW & Audi airbag squibs

The squib — also called the clock spring or rotary coupler — is the coiled ribbon conductor behind your steering wheel. It keeps the airbag, horn and steering-wheel controls electrically connected while the wheel turns. When that ribbon fractures it creates an open circuit, which is what triggers the airbag warning light and the loss of those functions.

The airbag / SRS warning light on the dash, a horn that stops working or works intermittently, steering-wheel buttons (volume, phone, cruise) that stop responding, cruise control dropping out, and sometimes a rubbing or clicking noise when you turn the wheel. Your car’s airbag module constantly monitors the squib circuit and flags a fault the moment the ribbon breaks.

No. The suffix letters (for example …AE, …AL) are just VAG revision codes — we repair every suffix of both 5K0 953 569 and 5Q0 953 569. The number moulded on your unit is all you need to check.

We specialise in two VAG clock springs: the 5K0 953 569 (PQ-platform Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT and Škoda, roughly 2008–2019) and the 5Q0 953 569 (MQB-platform VW, Audi, SEAT, Škoda and Cupra, roughly 2012–2024). See our 5K0 953 569 and 5Q0 953 569 pages for the full car lists.

We rebuild your original unit using genuine OEM components and OEM repair methods — we never solder, because soldered fixes are short-lived. Every unit is then bench-tested for continuity and function before it goes back to you.

Very fast. Any squib we receive by 1pm is repaired and dispatched the same day (subject to postal opening hours), and it comes back on Royal Mail Tracked 24 for next-day delivery. So a post-in repair can be back with you the very next day.

If you drive in to our Egham workshop (near Heathrow) we return your squib within the hour, while you wait. Drive-in and mobile visits are by appointment — same day if we have a slot free — and pop-ins are welcome.

Post-in repair is from £59.95 for the 5K0 953 569 and from £79.95 for the 5Q0 953 569, and return postage is included in that price — you only cover sending it to us. Drive-in / drive-out and mobile repairs are priced separately.

For a post-in repair, refit the unit and clear the stored airbag fault code with any standard diagnostic tool. There’s no coding or steering-angle-sensor calibration to do — because it’s your original unit going back in, it’s plug-and-play. On drive-in and mobile jobs we erase the fault codes for you before you leave.

Yes — every squib we repair carries a 12-month workmanship warranty. The only exclusion is hair ingress, which can foul the mechanism after refitting.

You send your unit in on the assumption that it’s at fault. In the rare case we test it and find no fault, we simply return it — there’s a £25 inspection fee plus return postage, and nothing more.

It’s rare, but if a unit is genuinely beyond repair we can supply a fully rebuilt, bench-tested refurbished exchange unit instead, so you’re never left without an option.

The whole UK by post, with a 24-hour turnaround once we receive your unit. You can also drive in to our Egham workshop near Heathrow, or we can come to you across West London, Surrey and the Home Counties. See our areas page for the towns we cover.