When I start up my car right next to the outside temperature read out it says passenger airbag off, then it goes away. Does this mean the airbag is off or does that light just illuminate at startup? Thanks!

 

That is a system check(I believe) for the system that determines if someone is sitting in the seat or not.

If there is no one in your passanger seat, the airbag will not deploy. If there is someone, it will activate in the case of an accident.