OK I may be dreaming about this but I thought when I got my car the passenger air bag light would stay illuminated when no one was in the seat. Now I have read in the manual that the light will go out when no one is sitting in the seat but the airbag will not deploy. This isn't the first time I have seen something in the manual that was wrong.

Can someone comfirm what actually is going on in their car? My light comes on for a few seconds when I start the car and then goes out when no one sits in the seat.
I have an '08 G35x.

 

Jackal:

My understanding is that if the car detects a non-full sized human in the seat, the light will turn on indicating that the car thinks that there is a child in the seat and the airbags could potentially do more harm than good.

For example, when I put my briefcase on my front seat, the light stays on until I remove the item from the seat, then the light turns off. Hope this helps.

 

/\ +1

If I put my camera bag or laptop bag on the seat, the light appears.
Removing them to the floor resolves the issue.

 

when my gf sits in the passenger seat, the light lights up.... but when no one sits in the seat, or my friends sit there, the light stays off.... Guess my gf is considered child sized...

 

Ok so here is what I am gathering...

1. If there is nothing on the seat - the light is NOT lit.
2. If an adult is sitting in the seat - the light is NOT lit.
3. If a child sits in the seat, maybe something under 80lbs - the light IS lit.

 

If the seats sensor is cracked you will have that issue too. (It's common)

 

Jackal:

The way that you are describing how the light is functioning is the way it is supposed to function.

If no one is in the seat the airbags are not active, but the light is off b/c it would be annoying to always have that light on.

If an adult is in the seat then the light is off b/c the airbags will deploy upon a collision.

If a child (or small object) is in the seat the light is on and it's just saying, hey, something is in the seat, but I'm not going to deploy the airbags in the event of a collision b/c I could do more harm than good. (The message is, get this kid in the back seat)

Hope that helps.

Bottom line - looks like your passenger air bag light is functioning properly.

 

Same deal...

My girl would Bobbit my azz if she knew i was giving up this info but she weighs like 115-120lbs and that light is always on when she sits there...

She swears the car just doesn't like her.

You think i should take it in? or just go with it?

 

I also have this problem when i sit in my passenger seat sometimes. I talked to the dealer and they say that it's suppose to turn on when someone < 90 sits there as a safety feature for kids. So i guess the sensor is not correct or something...

 

My gf is ~85 lbs (shes 22 btw, not a pedophile) so yea, i think you're ok. Think the sensors are set for 90 lbs, but you know there's always a little variation in there...

 

Pft... 22 or not, sporting a 85lb gf is skating the pedophile edge anyway! (jk)

If someone sits in the passenger seat in anything other than a normal sitting position, the light may come on, since the weight of the person is not centered on the sensor pad within the seat.
My wife sometimes sits at a weird angle, sorta up against one side of the seat, and the light sometimes comes on and off.

 

That's the same thing that happens to me in my TL when i had it (sold it earlier this year). When ever my GF or my Ex GF would sit kinda tilted to one side of the seat, the light would turn on. But the SRS light on the TL, was in the gauges, so it would drive me nuts...