OctoberFestFan

Hi folks.
This is a very mysterious issue that is giving me quite a headache trying to find out exactly what is going on. Well, just yesterday, the "SIDE AIRBAG OFF" light came on my dash board for the first time in 2 years (I have a 2006 TL automatic/ silver.) Now the mysterious part is when someone sits in the passenger seat, that light goes off. As soon as passenger seat empties, light comes back.
As it seems when I weight down on the passenger seat, light goes off, I lift up the weight on the passenger seat, it comes back lol.... So What I ended up doing, is stuck a piece of bubble wrap between the passenger seat and seat back... and the light goes away. Of course, this is a very unprofessional way to solve the mystery but it works.

Note that I have nothing between the side airbag or anything in the way. It just mysteriously appears one day..

help please...

csmeance

did someone sit down in the seat very hard? the sensor there could have been damaged, it has a threshold of 60 pounds to show the light,

OctoberFestFan

^sir the heaviest person is about 180 lbs that ever sits in my car. perhaps something damaged it? I am not too sure. My vehicle has 50,000 miles so far (yes I have a long commute) does dealership warranty light sensors? But the problem is when NO ONE sits on the passenger seat, light comes ON. When someone weights/sits down, it disappears. ....
I guess my question is has this every happened to anyone and how do you fix it? Yes I know, take it to the dealership and let them take a look. I just want to get some information before I head in and gets dinged for something simple

thanks much
cheers

I hate cars

Mine is a bit more sensitive than that. Just my cordless drill on the seat turned the light on the other day and it's a pretty light drill. I'm a bit worried that mine is on it's way to staying on like the OP's car.

01tl4tl

a bottle of water-groceries-briefcase can set the sensor off-and disable the side airbag

in the OPs case where its being backwardsd operation, call acura at 1-800-382-2238 x5 tell them what its doing and ask if a known problem- they will say no, and take it to the dealer (they just answer the phone- not technical people)
a real acura manager from Corp can call you back if needed- but first thing is that dealer check it out

there is a special SRS system extended warranty for us gen2, 10 year 150,000 miles iirc
and according to one of the acura service managers here- covers 99.99 percent of the possible parts that will cause an SRS malfunction of some sort
there are like 5 parts that may fail, and the obscure 6th part that is not usually bad, is my guess

CAll the dealer and make an appointment

TL|GTX

When my 11 year old cuzin sits in the front seat the light comes on. I guess it's the safety feature, like the airbag could really hurt him. I Think the weight on the seat has to be under 90, to make the air bag turn off?

jokerman826

i thought it was supposed to work like that. When there is someone in the seat or something in the seat that has enough weight, the sensor thinks thast there is a person in it and the airbag will need to be active. i.e airbag off light is not on. But when there is nothing in the seat it doesn't need to be on since there is nothing there to protect. i.e. airbag off light is on. There shouldn't be any person on the front seat that doesn't weigh enough to set the switch.

TL|GTX

Guess, that not the case with kids. I think the airbag would to more damage to kids, then actaully save them.

Trew

iTrader: (1)

I hate to admit it... but

It's an occupant detection system that is designed to deploy only when someone over 65lbs is in the passenger seat. There is also a proximity sensor in some vehicles that will suppress deployment of the passenger airbag if the occupant is too close to the dash.

OctoberFestFan

Hi folks. I don't think it is the problem with the SRS. The problem is "side airbag off" sign comes on when no one is at the passenger seat and goes off as soon as someone sits down. That is the strage part, which never happened before. I will be taking the car into the dealership and see what they say. I just wanted to check here first and find out if someone knows anything.

01tl4tl

airbags, regardless of location in the car, are part of the
SRS = Supplemental Restraint System
seatbelts are Primary restraint

read the owner book about the OPDS and not triggering the side airbag if your buddy is passed out against the window or has the seat layed way back

read the owner book for details of system operation and limitations

mista.huynh

iTrader: (4)

My passenger airbag light "airbag off" comes on when i start the car up, (with a passenger, about 120 pounds) and than it turns off 2 seconds later. Does this mean that the airbag will not deploy?

I'm just wondering, since I bought my car with a rebuilt title on it. Maybe they did a half ass job?

Will Y.

No- that is normal.

Every warning light in the dash should also turn on for a couple of seconds after the ignition is turned on to confirm that the bulbs are operable.

OctoberFestFan

My has gone away since, weird, it came on a few weeks ago.

jkos101

So im guessing theres been no real solution to this? Ive had the same issue here and there recently it will only come on when someone's in the seat and stay on until the car is shut off restarted etc and sometimes it will still be there after that, i've had it come on driving down the road and then go off just as randomly. i've tried putting weight on the seat,.just a few books to check sensitivity. nothing. ive also removed stuff from the seat when it pops on randomly, and no difference.

YeuEmMaiMai

there are multiple sensors that determine if the airbag gets deactivated and the light comes on. They are in the seat bottom and the seat back. They are used to detect position and weight of the passenger. if the passenger is under X lbs it will turn the light on. If they are not positioned in the seat properly, the light will turn on. In my o2 CLS I have had things in the seat and the buckle not engaged and the light does not come on. If my wife leans forward in the seat, the light will come on.

csmeance

It's very possible that the seat mat that detects weight is bad. It might be worth it to call acura up as suggested above and see if they can help out.

choiyn98

Sorry for bring back the old thread.
I have a 08 TL base and now running into the same issue. Side airbag off light on dash came on. If I sit on the passenger seat, the light goes out.

We just had some pouring rain in the area and some water did get into the car, carpet was little wet but now has dried out.

Anyone know what is the issue before I head to dealership? I don't want to get hammer a lot of diagnostic fee...

WDPanda

There's 2 airbag off sensors.
one indicates next to the hazard switch if a young person is sitting in the seat.
the other is the side airbag off indicator next to the fuel gauge if someone is leaning to the window side or sitting on the seat sideways. This one is probably a sensor on the right most side