pmartone

I don‘t like the always on (unless a passenger is in the right front seat) amber colored seat belt off indicator light, located on the right side of the center console.
That light is too bright and particularly annoying to me during night time driving.
Is there a good way to turn this light off, outside of covering it with black electrical tape?
Thanks in advance for you comments.

kboo74656

NO. This light is always on when nobody is in the seat. Your stuck with it just like millions of others in various cars.

leomio85

You could just pop the trim off and disconnect the light if you'd like.


This video shows you how to disassemble the trim for the Idle Stopper. I'd assume you can just do the same for the opposite side and disconnect the connection for the light for the SRS airbag.

Dereileak

in a lot of cars they are able to detect dead bulbs, and could disable the entire airbag system if you do this

NooYawkuh

You mean if a bulb is burned out, the car disables the entire supplemental restraint system required by Federal law and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is just fine with that?

leomio85

Can you cite your source(s)? I'm not saying it's not true, but I have not heard that. In fact, in a lot of cars, the light going out means the system is functioning properly ... being illuminated is a sign of a malfunction. I don't know why Acura decided to always have it on. I would try it myself, but I'm apprehensive to touch any interior panels that I don't need to since my interior has already seen its share of rattles and I don't exactly wish to introduce the possibility of more if I don't need to.

DriverOne

I have no idea what the answer is, but I always find it amusing how people do this stuff all the time. Like they'll go "the NHTSA requires a supplemental restraint system! By law!" while they're breaking open their center panel to disable stuff. Or they'll disable an indicator and then if the airbag doesn't work, it's lawyer time and they're like "there should be something that prevents someone like me from doing what I did! How irresponsible!" There are threads on here where people rip out literally the entire contents of their car and then someone is like "this doesn't void the warranty, does it?" and the poster is like "nah, just don't tell them." And in between all of that, everyone is complaining about Acura.

NooYawkuh

The piped-in engine sound, auto idle stop and airbag light don't bother me enough to rip the interior apart to "fix" them. But I find it hard to believe that an entire safety system would be disabled, by design, because of a burned out bulb. That makes no sense at all.

Funz51

could.....

Funz51

use a Sharpie.

JB in AZ

EVERY car I have owned in since 2015 has had this light when there is no passenger in the passenger seat, or their seat belt is not fastened. It is most noticeable at night. At one point we had what seemed to be identical models, one a 2014 and one a 2015. The 2015 had this "annoying" light and the 2014 didn't. I don't know if it was a change in the laws, but it it NOT unglue to Acura, It might be more or less obnoxious in other cars, dunno.

I was out early this morning, it was still dark out, and I paid attention to this light. Considering all the other light emitting items on the dash, the infotainment screen, the lighted HVAC controls, etc, it is hardly alone emitting light on the dash.

DriverOne

Speaking of lighting, is it just me or are the lights over the passenger doors essentially useless? At night, I can't see a thing inside my car if I have to get something. The front interior lights are OK, but anything behind the front seats is pitch black.

DriverOne

I tend to doubt that's the case. But I do think it's also something ridiculous that this forum is encouraging because of a supposedly-unbearable light that is actually barely noticeable. I guess if someone wants to do it and then crash into a wall to report back to us, I'm OK with that. I'm always a big proponent of social Darwinism.

leomio85

Some food for thought:

https://acurazine.com/forums/third-g...switch-974904/

Pulling/disabling the light wouldn't be the best idea seeing as this is a possible issue.

One viable solution that I thought of is to simply take it to a tint shop. 20% or 5% tint over that whole section and it'll likely look almost seamless outside of having direct sunlight on it (that panel will likely look just a touch darker and not as reflective). Although not completely factory, it's probably your best solution at this point. I don't know what the back of the panel looks like ... it may be possible to tint the backside, but I'm going to assume it wouldn't be, but I have no idea. One warning though, if you did tint that portion, and you do run into the above issue, Acura may point to the tint procedure as causing the fault (despite having a history of it documented) as tinting requires water solution to apply. Water used over an electrical component ... ground ball for Acura to deny a claim that the user created the issue. Again, just something to think about before jumping in.

Also, dimming the interior lights has no effect on the passenger airbag light brightness.