Passenger Airbag Indicator
 

Anyone finding that their Passenger Airbag indicator light (which lights up when it is off) Will have the airbag active when nobody is sitting in the seat? Also, my girlfriend sometimes will make the airbag active and other times not (she weighs ~ 105lbs). I might take it to the dealer...

I noticed it last night as well. I would have my GF in the seat and it would light up off. Weird. I'll have to ask about it the next time I'm at the dealership.

I thought something was up until I read the manual. It's very counter-intuitive. Essentially the light means different things depending on whether or not someone is in the passenger seat as well as how heavy/big that person is. The light AND airbag are off when noone is in the seat. The light is ON and airbag OFF when a child is in the seat. Finally, the light is OFF and the airbag ON when an adult is in the seat. (I've decided the light just makes no sense...the engineers weren't too bright when they designed how the light works). I've included a clipping from the manual below which explains...

It does make sense when you have a child in the seat. On occasion I will pick up my son from daycare and when I see the light illuminate I know that he is not in danger of being decapitated.

But it makes no sense when no one is in the seat. The indicator says "passenger airbag off". So having the indicator dark when there is no passenger would suggest the airbag is ON when per the manual it's really off. When you have a child in the car, the indicator functions as you would intuitively expect. Then when an adult is in the car, the indicator is again dark and makes sense that the airbag is ON. Thus, Nissan did something strange by keeping the light OFF when there is no one in the passenger seat. Other cars will just illuminate the "airbag off" light anytime you don't have a passenger.

It is a bit odd when no one is in the seat, I agree.

take your girl out for a burger or something. tell her she needs to gain a couple extra pounds or her life is at risk because the air back wont go off!!!

My gf just brought this to my attention a couple of days ago, shes about 150 lbs and it is illuminated "OFF" when she is in the seat. When no one is in the seat the light is not on. Wtf Nissan?

My god, either she's 3'8" tall, or 12 years old, or she needs some food, stat!:p

This does happen with my daughter, however. If I remember correctly, the manual states that 80 pounds is the cutoff point for the passenger side airbag... my daughter is, depending on what week it is, between 80 to 85 pounds.

Sounds perfectly clear to me.

It makes sense to have the light 'illuminate' when a child is in the seat so that you can clearly tell when it (the airbag) is OFF for sure. If an adult is sitting in the seat clearly the airbag is on and why should you be reminded via light or no light? The child setting is the one you should be alerted to in most cases.

I see no problem here.

But here's the problem. My wife weighs maybe 110lbs. But, sometimes the light is on and sometimes the light is off. Meaning, it's a toss up whether she is gonna faceplant into the console dash if we wreck. I'm gonna hit the dealer up and have them take a look. She's obviously over the 80lb limit. But half the time, she's sitting in the seat and the light is illuminated.

so if you had a girlfriend that weighs 350 will that work? or will the seat itself turn off and cause more problems than the silly light confusion? ^_^

Ok well I'm bringing this thread up again because I have the same problem and the dealer told me its because she is sitting improperly. I said BS and they won't fix it. I'm considering a class action suit for a safety recall. My girl weighs 113. So it seems in the weight range of 90lbs to 120 it doesn't work as designed as it is supposed to be 90 lbs and below when the air bags turn off.

Unfortunately the dealer is right and there isn't much the dealer can do. If you don't sit in the seat properly the sensor won't detect the persons weight which will cause it to get an inaccurate reading.

How can you not sit in the seat properly if you are wearing a seat belt? If it is possible, then she is at risk.

Funny, I was gonna mention my wife has never has a problem with the light, but thought the best of it.

Oh wait...................I take that back! :ugh2: