w d

I just got my '05 TL (AM/Ebony/Non-navi) less than two weeks ago and I noticed today the Passenger Airbag "Off" light coming on. Anyone else experience this?

Ron A

Do you have the button on the dashboard above the hazard warning switch pushed in? I don't have a 2005 or the manual for it but I think that might be the cause.

Edit: Found out from rets that this is just a light, not a button. Should have checked this for myself before I sent it in.

jjc1967

I am pretty sure it comes on when there isn't anybody sitting in the passenger seat. It is a safety feature for children. It should be off if someone sits in the seat. Not 100 percent sure but I think thats how it works.


Jon

ElmerHiggins

It will stay on until it detects weight on the passenger seat sufficient to let it know that there is an individual big enough for the airbag to properly protect I.E. it wants to know that there isnt a child there, where the fierce deployment of the airbag could actually hurt him/her rather than protect. Hope this helps.

BrandNewTL

More specifically:

Air bag off light should be on during proveout (first 6-8 seconds or so of key-on)
" should be turned off (air bag enabled) afterwards when seat is empty
" should be on with a small weight. So light would be on for a moderately heavy brief case, for example.
" should be on for child occupants
" should be off with small adult female or heavier adult in seat

Is this what you see? Please be more specific.

BrandNewTL

Correction

More specifically:

Air bag off light should be on during proveout (first 6-8 seconds or so of key-on)
" should be turned off (air bag *disabled*) afterwards when seat is empty
" should be on with a small weight. So light would be on for a moderately heavy brief case, for example.
" should be on for child occupants
" should be off with small adult female or heavier adult in seat

In other words light on means air bag off except for empty seat when air bag light off also means air bag off.

Is this what you see? Please be more specific.

Sherlock

"should be turned off (air bag *disabled*) .."

"might" not necessarily be true. I was in a wreck in october, only occupant, nothing in passenger seat, and both deployed.

I am aware of when a laptop bag or something in the seat can make the indicator come on, and it was not on as I had nothing in the seat at all.

Then again, it could be the curse of my P.o.S. Vin259 ghost again.

later.

ElmerHiggins

If you are placing a laptop bag or some other weight next to you in the passenger seat, this could explain the light being on. Just a thought.

BrandNewTL

Sherlock - 2004 model year does not have this feature. Passenger air bag will deploy regardless of passenger seat occupancy status.

cliff

it happens when the passenger leans towards the door, there is a sensor somewhere that detects that the passenger is too close to the airbag and mgiht possibly get hurt if the airbag is deployed

BrandNewTL

..it happens when the passenger leans towards the door, there is a sensor somewhere that detects that the passenger is too close to the airbag and mgiht possibly get hurt if the airbag is deployed...

This is for side air bag disable. Front air bag disable is based on weight.

see this from Acura website:


The Occupant Position Detection System (OPDS) employs preventative safety measures using sensors to calculate passenger height and position. If a child or small-statured adult is leaning into the airbag deployment path, this sensor will prevent the side air bag from deploying. Dual automatic seat-belt pretensioners are also standard on both front belts for added occupant protection. There are 3-point shoulder/lap belts at every seat, and both outboard rear seats are LATCH-compatible.

cliff

oh..i thought you guys were talking about the side airbags

ResearchFreak

The air bag 'OFF' light on the dash of the 05 TL comes on when the person sitting in that front seat weighs less than about 85 pounds. My son currently weighs 84 - 86 pounds and it comes on about half of the time when he sits in that seat. (I'm sure it depends on the weight the passenger has on the seat, but I don't know how to measure that!)
I didn't know that about the side airbags. Very interesting!

vtec1jk

I dont think that is true. My girlfriend is 115 and its like 50/50 for her too

Lore

I've never seen this light come on (meaning that it's disabled) for the 2004 TLs, even when I put a backpack or something else in that front seat. I've even had a friend lean forward to try it out but it doesn't ever come on - is there a good way to test this?

acuraTL44

This light is not on the 2004 TLs. It is only on the 05s.

The 04 TLs do have the sensors in the seat, it is just that there is no light to tell you.

MR1

The above is true! This was one of the few changes for 2005.

I have been waiting...did anybody RTFM???

Lore

I thought the lights were in the instrument panel, and that they come on when the person is not seated properly?

acuraTL44

We are talking about the light, just above the hazard button, located in the 05 TLs.

That little black box, under the words "Passenger Airbag", lights up and says "Off".

Lore

Yeah, I know what light you're talking about - and I'm referring to the light that serves the same function on the 04 TLs, which is present in the instrument cluster. It's supposed to light up for the same reasons, but I've never seen it come on.

TheNip73

Yes, the 04 has a light in the right guage pod at the top I believe. i don't believe i've ever seen my go on except for during startup.

acuraTL44

Maybe thats light turns on when there is a problem with the airbags, because that is what most of the lights in there are for.

Greg-ster

It comes on when there's something on the seat, like a small kid, that isn't 85 pounds or more.

midas69

There's more to it than meets the eye. I'll occasionally have some books on the seat and the light won't come on. But if I reach across and rest my right elbow on the corner of the seatback the light will then come one.

Lore

I re-read my 2004 TL manual and it looks like the indicator in the instrument cluster only applies to the SIDE airbags getting disabled in case the person leans against the window, for example. I guess the passenger seat sensor does not exist in 04 models.