I have had my airbag system light on for about a year now due to a bad sensor module, something I don't intend on fixing. The reason for this is because I intend to replace the steering wheel with a 3 spoke Momo steering wheel (with no airbag). Even though I know how to disable the airbag system, and disable the dash light, I decided it made more sense to remove the bulb for that warning, and at the same time brighten up the dark corner behind my voltage gauge with a fresh bulb.

Unknown to me, the two bulb styles were slightly different, requiring a bit of extra work to install. For 90% of the dash lights in this car, Audi used Osram twist lock mini bulbs, while the other 10% use the easy to find mini push in bulbs that are used in many other cars. The problem with the twist lock style, is the fact that the bulbs are actually soldered into the sockets, and most corner parts shops don't carry them.

This wasn't a problem as I had a few of the mini bulbs sitting in my parts drawer, and a handy soldering iron to help me remove and replace the mini bulb in the Osram socket. The process of melting, removing, and re-soldering the bulb took me about 2 minutes, and saved me a trip to VW or Audi to buy a new socketed bulb. If you own an older German car that uses this style bulb, give this process a try, it can save you a bit of time / money!