Passenger side airbag light

[The-9]

The 9 went in today for her first service. Of course my wife tells me that the passenger airbag light comes on intermittently when my 105lb daughter is sitting in the seat. With all the driving we do it never comes on with an adult in the seat over 160 or with my wife (who is not 160+ LOL). So when my wife takes into the dealer this morning they duplicate the issue with my daughter in the passenger seat (good thing).

They are going to diagnose the vehicle and repair it and my wife has a loaner until it is done because even if they have to order parts they will not release the car without it being fixed.

Reading some other posts on the mazda forum it seems the sensors Mazda uses are rated to turn the light off if greater then 66lbs is in the seat. So hopefully it is a defective sensor. But who knows... I will keep everyone updated with what happens.

 

[vikefan7]

I've actually noticed ths with my wife, who's just over 100 lbs, in the passenger seat. It would happen intermittently when she was sitting over there. I haven't noticed it lately. Is this something I should take it in for?

 

[The-9]

My dealer called and said all sensors tested fine and they feel it is the position the occupant is sitting in especially when they clip the belt which is part of the system.

They say it is safe and I tend to agree it is most likely that. Guess I will tell my daughter to get a little chubbier LOL

 

[ceric]

I think 90-100lb is probably where the threshold of airbag cut-off is.
I would think it is safe also. Airbags could do more damage if they are not actually needed.

 

[The-9]

Again another notch in the quality belt for Mazda. The dealer actually put on the work order the Air Bag Complaint. The freaking Chrysler dealers would not have done that and I would always demand they do it. Boy what grief they would give. I truly wonder if they could not find a problem and did not note it was it a cover your ass scam?

In any case, I am ok with the diagnostics!

 

[dsc888]

Wow! I found this thread after my 2011 GT's passenger airbag light came on twice with my 105 lbs. wife in the seat. It happened again tonight and I told her to "wiggle" around the seat and it went out! There is a TSB on this so I will bring this up with the dealer at my 1st oil change. Did any of you guys get your issue resolved? Thanks!

 

[ceric]

This is normal. The sensor checks periodically the weight on top of it.
When the weight is on the borderline (~100lb), the light might turn on or off
depending on the data it collected.
I knew this because once upon a time, my daughter was about that weight in middle school.
There was a period of time the light might be on one day and off the next.
She is in high school now, the light never comes on again...

 

[table5511]

OPDS system is a really good system. CX-9 has dual stage airbags, that could very easily injure a small person, its great that has this feature. Not only that, but it is also designed to not deploy if no one is sitting in the passenger seat. (there is no illuminated lamp with a zero weight reading, the system just knows not to pop the right front airbag if the there is a left front impact for instance) This saves alot of money in a crash.

 

[dsc888]

ceric and helbigtw,

Gentlemen, thanks for coming through with your answers as usual. It makes total sense. My wife was pregnant (135 lbs) when we got the car in August in anticipation for the birth of our 2nd child and the light never came on. Our son was then born in November and my wife started to slowly lose weight. Then the light came on recently when she hit about 110 lbs. I'll just have to tell her to eat more or give her a bag of sand to hold from now on .

 

[ceric]

(there is no illuminated lamp with a zero weight reading.

If you buckle up the passenger seat belt with nothing/no one on the seat, the lamp still comes on.