My GUESS is it is a bad clockspring. That is the wire that runs to your steering wheel for your steering wheel controls and airbag. The wire is constantly unraveling and rolling up as you turn the steering wheel.

In you case, I am GUESSING that there is a tiny break in your wire and when you turn all the way to the left and right it separates, but when you turn the wheel back it touches again. This is what is causing the intermittency.

This is all just a guess though

Here is a video that shows you how to change it out

 

Ok thanks for the input. The code says it's a side airbag issue but I'll definitely have a look at that as well.

Cheers

 

31-10 is the air bag in the driver's seat showing an inflator open circuit. The seat belt is not involved with this. Now for the warnings. The SRS should be serviced by only trained individuals using approved diagnostic tools. Do not used volt/ohm meters on most of circuits as you may set off an airbag. Before performing any work on the SRS disconnect the battery for at least 5 min. That being said, being an open circuit DTC you might want to try unplugging and plugging the connector under the seat a couple of times to see if it's a poor plug connection. Be sure to disconnect the the battery first for 5 mins. Beyond this you should have a professional troubleshoot the issue. Note that the SRS connectors are very reliable and rarely an issue. But given that it started out as an intermittent issue and now has become constant it's worth unplugging/plugging the connector under the seat first.

 

Great stuff, thanks. I found the Service Manual on-line. My guess is that it's the plug or harness either from the SRS module to the plug or the plug to the airbag. I'll be abundantly cautious. I'll report back with whatever I find. Cheers

 

Here’s an update on the permanent 31-10 DTC. I unbolted the front seat to get proper access to the plugs and wiring runs. Disconnected the neg battery terminal. Inspected the wiring and conduit under the seat and it was all in good condition. Unplugged the large yellow airbag plug. Inserted a 2 Ohm resistor into the non-airbag side of the plug. Reconnected the battery and cleared the DTC with my Innova code reader. Disconnected the battery again. Connected and disconnected the yellow plug a couple times. Reconnected the battery. No airbag light…so far.

in conclusion it looks like a plug continuity issue since the airbag is currently not giving an error of any kind.

Thanks to all for your input!

 

Thanks for the update. I have to do something similar - one day.

 

No problem. Not a huge job, took about an hour just taking my time.