U0261: Lost Communication With Seat Control Switch Module B
What to do
The car drives normally; one seat will not adjust from its own switches.
Two free tests, and between them they usually settle it.
Does the other seat's panel still work? If both are dead, the fault is something they share — a fuse or a supply — which is one repair. If only one is dead, it is that panel.
Can you move the affected seat from the driver's controls? Many cars let the driver adjust the passenger seat. If it moves that way but not from its own switches, the seat and its motors are proven fine and only the switch panel has failed — much the cheaper answer, and worth telling whoever looks at it.
As at U0260, the panel itself is exposed at shin height by the door, so water and knocks are the usual causes. A passenger-side panel that is rarely used also corrodes quietly, so this often shows up in winter.
What this code means
The second seat control switch module has stopped being heard from. The switch-versus-seat distinction that makes this family worth reading is at U0260.
With two switch panels the comparison is direct and the vehicle provides it for free, which makes this among the easiest faults in the block to narrow down without equipment.
Both panels dead points at what they share — a supply, a fuse, or the network branch — rather than at two panels failing. One dead points at that seat's own panel and wiring, and the working one proves the shared path is healthy.
One further test is worth knowing because many vehicles offer it: the driver's panel can usually adjust the passenger seat. Where that facility exists, using it is a clean way to separate switch from seat — if the passenger seat moves from the driver's controls but not from its own, the passenger seat and its motors are proven good and only its switch panel is at fault.
That is exactly the evidence a workshop would otherwise spend time establishing, and any owner can produce it in a minute.
Causes are as at U0260, with the passenger-side observation that a panel used far less often corrodes undisturbed — the same seasonal pattern noted for rear door latches at U0217.
Likely causes
Start here
- Water ingress into module · moderate
- Corroded or loose connector · easy
- Damaged wiring under the front seats · moderate
Less common
- Blown fuse or failed supply · easy
- Disconnected sensor connector · easy
Symptoms
Components involved
Information, not instruction
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Community experience
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- What you measured, not only what you replaced.
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