JoeinILL

Anyone else having problems with the Passengers Side Airbag sensor failure message going off ? It happens to me at least once a day.. There is nothing in the pasenger seat and nothing even touching the seat. The dealership hasn't found the issue yet and I am about ready to tell them to replace the damn sensor.

Tonia

I just started getting the message that the passenger airbag is off - there has always been something on the seat though. But, it seems random as I put my purse there almost everday and sometimes I get the message and sometimes I don't.

sasair

those are two different sensors. Tonias is the front air bag and joes is the side airbag.

joe, do you have anything on your seat like a seat cover? Or did your seat get wet from rain or something like if you left the windows down? the side airbag sensor puts out an electromagnetic field that senses anything obstructing the deployment path of the side air bag. If you seat gets wet, it can affect the sensor readings for a few days til it dries out. if you're certain nothing is blocking the path and nothing strange has happened, then it could be you need to check the sensor. I think there is a way you can reset the sensor too. I'll have to look that up in the service manual...

tonia, that is perfectly normal receiving the front air bag warning if you have something in the front seat. I have my gym bag there, and it won't go trigger the warning all the time, but over bumps and heavy braking the warning will come on. It goes strictly by weight on the seat as well as the weight of the seat.

JoeinILL

Sas, no nothing is on the seat at all. The tech at the dealership mentioned how sensitive the detectors are, hence our discussion about installing my ham transceiver in the car a few weeks back. There is nothing in the seat at all. It happens at least if not twice a day, on the way to work and on the way home. The amber indicator light goes off and the check side airbag now message displays on the CRT.
I have not spilled anything, left the windows open and let rain in or any such thing. Its irritating to say the least.

sasair

Do you have your ham radio installed? does it happen when you key the mic?? I'm sure you would have noticed if that were the case though.

Did it always do this or did it just start happening all of a sudden?

Stevenm

I think its one of the most annoying "features" of the car. Mine goes off constantly. I mean who doesn't always have something or another on the passenger seat. Recently I put a i pound bag of coffee on the seat and it went off.

catnippants

I'm a little confused now as to which warning is which. I had a series of warnings last week. The display message simply said that the passenger airbag was off...but now that I think about it, it might have said passenger SIDE airbag. To me, it's easy to confuse the two since technically they CAN mean the same thing...ie: the passenger airbag, or the airbag on the passenger SIDE. Anyway, I tried pounding the seat, sitting in it, restarting the car, etc., and it would reset each time only to have the error come back in a few minutes. I was about ready to call the dealer when I decided to move the seat. My wife had left it pretty far back, and the seatback reclined fairly far. I figured maybe the seat leaning back was putting pressure on the sensor or something. I haven't seen the message since I straightened the seatback.

Mike

kthlex

Paged 24 - 36 of the owners manual discusses the differences. If the "Passenger Airbag Off" indicator, next the emergency flashers, is lit then this would account for the seat detecting an object in the seat under 65 lbs. Page 34 discusses items that may cause a radom warning.

"Side Airbag off" warnings on the drivers instramentation panel or in the drivers multi-information display indicates a passenger is sitting (or possibily an object) is in the deployment path of the side air bag.

sasair

good job reading the manual!

JoeinILL

SAS, I have no ham radio in the car. The warnings about the sensitivity of the sensors in the car precluded me from putting any radio in the car.
I'll have to take the thing back to the dealer again to figure whats going on. There is nothing sitting in the seat or on the floor near the seat.

The odd thing is that it seems to go off 15 minutes into my commute. I checked the time last night and this morning and it is consistent in 15 minutes. Perhaps an odd coincidence.

Tonia

Shouldn't be on the boards at work. Read it too quickly... Haven't received any messages about the SIDE airbag.

sasair

Probably not a coincidence if it is consistently 15 minutes. Maybe a cooling fan that kicks on after 15 minutes is creating some electrical interference. At least it is a starting point for you or your dealer to investigate. if you start your car and let it idle for 15 minutes does the alert trigger? also does the alert stay on until you shut the car off or does it turn on and off on it's own? Does it happen when you drive by a certain area? Do you live around area 51? Personally I think your RDX is haunted....

sasair

Whatever you do, don't let work interfere with Acurazine!

catnippants

Ok...in my case (after doing some checking), it was the Passenger Airbag Off light on the center console that kept coming on, with an associated message on the nav system display. So this tells me it was a weight sensor, not the side airbag sensor. So it still doesn't explain why I kept getting it while the seat was tilted back. I haven't seen it since I moved the seat forward and straightened the seatback. Strange....

Mike

bobq

Mine was doing the same thing, about 15 minutes into my daily commute I would get this message about the passenger airbag.

It happened about 3 days a week for about 2 weeks.

I took it in to the dealer for the trailer hitch recall and also had them check out the warning messages.

They found nothing, cleared the messages and I have not had the problem since.

Go figure

kthlex

It says in the manual that if anything is pushed up under the seat from the rear passenger compartment, this could cuause inconsistant behavior.

catnippants

Hmmm....my problem was back tonight. The seat is in the same position I left it when the problem stopped last time. I'm starting to think that it's related to the cold....like a sensor sticking or something. It's REALLY cold here today (-10F to -25F in some areas). My tires weren't happy either. It was so cold that I was down 6 pounds and the TPMS gave me an error...

Mike

cape cod

Oh yes and it is driving me nuts – Nothing is on the seat and no it has not been wet. It is only a few weeks old (bought at 6: pm new years eave and probably payed less than most of you because of the timing). It has been doing it all along. Have not checked dealer yet, but moved seat, punched seat, sat in it, etc. …and still the warning comes on and off at free will.

sasair

Get what you pay for......lol, just kidding. You can have them recalibrate the weight sensors in the seat for the front airbag warning. If they are really accomodating they can even put a little weight in the seat and calibrate it with the weight there. nothing too big though, it is a safety feature after all....

EddieT

I'm just starting to get a message on the navigation screen and the passenger side air bag turns off. Have to respond to the message to clear it. Ok, now how it happens; my wife and I ride to work together each day. When I stop to let her off I put the transmission in Park, have it set to unlock doors, as soon as she closes the door the bag light comes on and I get the message. Every afternoon I have an envelope on the navi telling me that it happened, as if I didn't know. She has the purse problem also, but I kinda understand that. Will call for service soon.

Nyjumpman23

I got the Passanger airbag off message when I put the gym back on my front passanger seat.
Once I took it off, it went away.
So I'm guessing...which means - DON't PUT GYM BACK ON FRONT PASSANGER SEAT? LOL+

chipt911

Sasair, I'm getting the same "Air Bag Off" message. Nothing at all on or under the seat. It happens randomly. I called the service department and told them I understood they could re-calibrate the weight sensor in the seat. They laughed and said there's no way to do that and said they don't know how to fix the problem. Is the re-calibration process in the shop manual?

chipt911

Does anybody know if the airbag sensor can be re-calibrated? Does the shop manual discuss it at all? This is the seat bottom, not the seat back.

MacGuruTX

Yeah, the (*&(*&# thing drives me crazy. I would be happy if I could just turn off the message and let the warning light go on/off.

I basically have given up on deleting the message.

catnippants

I've been having the same problem since I got my RDX a year and a half ago. I initially found that if I moved the passenger seat forward and put it fully upright, it would reduce the frequency of the alerts. Unfortunately, it didn't stop them completely. I still get them frequently as soon as the weather drops below 20F.

So at my last service, I complained. The dealer said they checked for DTC codes and didn't find any set. They told me they would recalibrate the sensor as a first step. It didn't help, and I still get the alert as soon as the temp falls below 20. They have told me that at this point they will need to work with Acura, and Acura will likely tell them to replace the sensor. I'm going to wait for my next service appointment to do it...

So, you're not alone...I too wish I could just turn off the damn alert. I don't have kids, and there are never any in my front seat. I don't even need the stupid sensor!

Mike

ckiggins

This just started for me this morning - airbag light going on & off on my way to work. It was around 21 degrees this morning, so I was assuming the cold had something to do with it.

Will try putting my seat back in it's full upright position (haha) on my way home tonight and will see if that works.