Today I have my 05 RL in for service to correct really the only problem I have ever had with it. The Side Passenger air bag warning that it has been turned off goes on at odd times - like with the front seat completely empty or a package in the front seat which has already turned off the Passenger Air Bag or my wife bending down slightly to get something from her purse or pulling up to a stop sign or going over a slight bump. To me it seems like a loose connection or bad sensor but all that has already been checked in a previous service visit. Also it seems to work ok for weeks at a time and then over a period of two weeks I get flooded with the messages and then nothing for a while. Completely annoying when it happens.

Anybody had this problem and if so what was the fix?

Frank

 

Not sure about when there is nothing in the front seat or the stop sign and bump situations, but a package in the front seat most likely will trigger the sensor, depending on the weight. The same goes for your wife leaning forward. This takes the weight off of the sensor in the seat back and indicates someone leaning forward who could potentially be injured by the exploding airbag.

 

I don't agree about the package on the seat. If the package has already shut off the Passenger Air Bag (Off light is on) as it should I believe it should also shut off the side bag - the passenger bag if shut off should disable everything else. But the real problem is the shut off of the side bag when the passanger is just sitting there not moving or when the seat is completely empty or hit bump, etc. None of this can be proper operation. I can see a person bending forward shutting off the main passenger bag but why shut off the side bag? The main bag is the most dangerous in that situation I would think. To me the passenger bag always works right; it is the side bag that is faulty. Anyway I hope they can fix it.

Thanks for the response,

Frank

 

I've had the package and the wife thing happen and both seem to be correct. If you have a package on the seat and turn or stop or something to make it shift enough to remove weight from wherever the sensor is then it makes sense. It always turns back on for me anyway.

 

What the others have said seems correct to me. Either way, I hope you can get it resolved by the dealer if there is a problem. The side airbags saved my life in the TL and I won't drive in a car without side airbags now.

 

With the exception of it coming on over bumps or with an empty seat, the rest is COMPLETELY NORMAL operation of OPDS.

 

I've had the same problem with my RL. For some reason, the passenger airbag was turned off due to an obstruction or something like that.