We have noticed this on two different CX-9s, when my wife, a tiny thing of 89 pounds, is in the passenger seat the Passenger Airbag Off light will at times light up and stay on while driving. Is there some kind of adjustment that needs to be made to make it stay on while she is in the seat and buckled up? When I am in the passenger seat, a much larger person, the light never goes on, just when she is there. It doesnt come on right away either, could be driving for some time before it pops up, but it seems to want to when she is in that seat.
"Passenger airbag off" light when wife is in seat. (2010 Touring)
- Thread starter LordJezo
- Start date
It is working as designed. There are sensors in both front seats that monitor weight. The weight must be over 110 pounds (due to federal law) in order for the system to turn on the airbag system.
The way the SRS/ECU operates the system is it monitors the seat track position sensors, weight classification sensors on both front seats, the steering wheel position, brake pedal position, accelerator pedal position, speed of the vehicle and engine rpm to determine what it should be doing in a collision. If the seat track is in the far forward position and up to 9 seat track click positions back from the most forward position of each seat, it won't deploy the airbag. It also won't deploy the airbag if the weight on the seat is under 110 pounds.
I also weigh less than 100 pounds and when my son drives me in my car, the light also is on.
The way the SRS/ECU operates the system is it monitors the seat track position sensors, weight classification sensors on both front seats, the steering wheel position, brake pedal position, accelerator pedal position, speed of the vehicle and engine rpm to determine what it should be doing in a collision. If the seat track is in the far forward position and up to 9 seat track click positions back from the most forward position of each seat, it won't deploy the airbag. It also won't deploy the airbag if the weight on the seat is under 110 pounds.
I also weigh less than 100 pounds and when my son drives me in my car, the light also is on.
Technically, yes it is safer for the smaller person to not have the airbag deployed in a collision. The massive inflation hits the person hard enough to cause more damage than if it were not able to deploy. In a case like a dwarf (which I am not), the small size of the person requires them to sit very closely to the airbag, and since they are light in weight, the action of the deployment is strong enough to kill them in certain conditions.
I have had training on this subject as mandated by the federal DOT for several manufacturers and beginning in 2004, all passenger, light truck vehicles must have the dual stage advanced airbag system installed with the passenger weight classification system built into it. The way I described it, is how it works.
Even IF the person weighs more than 110 pounds, the system can also decide not to deploy the airbag depending on several factors, and one of them is the seat sensors have the ability to see how much weight is on the front or back of the seat. If more weight is on the front of the seat, as opposed to the back, or the weight is close to equal, the system determines if the person is closer to the airbag module and decides if the airbag should deploy.
Wisconsin Proud
Member
Buy her a car seat? Maybe? LOL!
At my shop, I have had people tell me to disconnect the system or tell me it did not go off in a collision. I tell them I cannot disconnect it by federal law and it is doing what it should. I modify cars for disabled people and have had to take a seat airbag, and mount it to the door (under a new panel that we make) for people in wheelchairs. Steering knobs are a challenge because of the design of the wheel and cruise and audio controls on the steering wheel.
It is 110 pounds.
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- 2022 CX-5 Turbo
My daughter is around 100lb. The light turns off half of the times when she sits on it.
Her weight is right on the threshold. That is why I guessed 100lb.
It depends on the way she sits in the seat, and it is likely the airbag would not blow even if the light was off. If she sits with her butt all the way in the back of the seat, against the backrest, it may turn off the light temporary, but it would not activate the airbag. If she weighed over 110 pounds, the airbag system would be fully activated if the seat was far enough back in the seat track. Posts #2 and #4 describe it in detail.
IslandTractor
Member
- :
- 2010 CX9 GT Silver/Blk
Am I recalling correctly that they now have airbags that can fire either a full or partial charge and therefore provide different levels of inflation depending on accident severity or passenger size? Maybe I just had too much spiked eggnog this week.
ALL of the airbags have a dual deployment function where they either deploy at 50% or 100% function. The SRS module determines which mode the airbag will deploy, if it will deploy at all.
For example, I weigh 95 pounds, and due to my size and (likely for) disability, I have my seat up forward and because of the seat position, and my weight, the airbag will not deploy at full strength, if it deploys at all. The curtain airbag MAY deploy, but it may not either.
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- 2022 CX-5 Turbo
Sorry, I did not read post #2 and #4 thoroughly.
Yes, what you said makes sense to me. It also explains why the airbag light sometimes goes off when my daughter sits on it.
I took several manufacturer training classes to work on the system (which is why I said what I posted). I tried to explain it so people would know what the system does.
Many people do make complaints about the SRS system not functioning in the way they think it should. However, the system does not always deploy the airbag if the conditions assume there could be more injury if it did blow.
It will not blow if the vehicle speed (determined by a full minute of vehicle speed readings). The ECU has a storage memory of a 10 minute interval (same as a black box on an airplane) and the SRS system uses a full minute reading of vehicle speed, if the brakes were applied, and if the ABS was activated, and if the speed was under 25 mph, the system won't blow the airbags. It also won't blow with other conditions as I previously mentioned.
