passenger air bag on

EmilysDad

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why is it that new cars seem to have to tell us that the passenger airbag is ON .... surely the only passenger airbag light we need is one to tell us that it's OFF ... given there is the ability to actually turn it off in the first place.
I've always been happy to believe that my passenger airbag is ready to deploy without the car actually telling me that it is in fact ON

Is this just another Nanny State warning light?
 

Frontstep

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Its for when you use a child restraint on the front seat.
 
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EmilysDad

EmilysDad

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Its for when you use a child restraint on the front seat.

No it's not .... that's to tell you it's OFF

Emily has just bought a 61 plate Toyota & that has a tell tale to tell you that the passenger airbag is active/on. Her boyfriend's new Fiesta also has a tell tale to tell you that the passenger airbag is active/on
 

Frontstep

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Question "why is it that new cars seem to have to tell us that the passenger airbag is ON"

Answer, Its for when you use a child restraint or I suppose a very light person on the front seat, if the weight is too light its not a good idea to use an airbag.
 
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EmilysDad

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Question "why is it that new cars seem to have to tell us that the passenger airbag is ON"

Answer, Its for when you use a child restraint or I suppose a very light person on the front seat, if the weight is too light its not a good idea to use an airbag.

As above ..... I'm not talking about the airbag is OFF
 
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EmilysDad

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continued .....

I've since managed to take a photo. This is what you see as normal ie the car is saying that the passenger airbag is armed & ready to go if needed.
20181225-130615.jpg


Then after you've used the key in the switch at the end of the dash to DIS-arm the passenger airbag for use when you have a rear facing child seat in the front, you get this .....

20181225-130704.jpg


So ..... back to my original question ..... does the Nanny State deem that we need a warning tell tale to tell us that we have a working passenger as well as a tell tale to tell us it's OFF too?
 

John Laidlaw

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Not sure but I can confirm our Volvo XC90 has exactly the same display (albeit it’s above the RVM) so I’m guessing it’s indeed the nanny state thing alongside displays to show which passengers are in the car and who has engaged their seat belts?
 

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Its for exactly the reason people have already posted. If you put a non ISOfix child seat in the car it will not automatically be switched off. Therefore to meet the safety requirements in some countries it has to display a warning that it is active to cover themselves for liability of someone not manually switching it off.
 
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EmilysDad

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Its for exactly the reason people have already posted. If you put a non ISOfix child seat in the car it will not automatically be switched off. Therefore to meet the safety requirements in some countries it has to display a warning that it is active to cover themselves for liability of someone not manually switching it off.

ISOfix has sod all to do with airbags .... it's a means of fitting a seat - forward or rearward facing - to the car ..... some cars need a key to switch the passenger bag off, other require a transponder built into the very expensive seat to talk to the car to turn the passenger airbag off.
 

400ixl

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ISOfix has lots to do with airbags, you even describe how some interact, but more importantly its those that don't interact. So if you fit a seat which does not switch off the airbag and it is still live, some countries require a warning to be shown. Therefore as you don't know, you show that warning at all times.
 
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EmilysDad

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ISOfix has lots to do with airbags, you even describe how some interact, but more importantly its those that don't interact. So if you fit a seat which does not switch off the airbag and it is still live, some countries require a warning to be shown. Therefore as you don't know, you show that warning at all times.

ISOfix relates only to the way a child seat fits into the car. You can have a seat that switches off the car's passenger airbag via its transponder but is only fastened in the car via seat belts. And besides ..... going back to the original post .... why do we need a light to tell us that the passenger air is ACTIVE?
 

400ixl

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Going around in circles here, as everyone has said, so that people know it is active when they use the seat. Especially when you are in a situation where you would ideally have it off. Some countries require this to be the case, so it tends to happen for all. Asking the question again doesn't change the logic because you don't agree with it. Lots of things are OTT but still happen.
 
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EmilysDad

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Going around in circles here, as everyone has said, so that people know it is active when they use the seat. Especially when you are in a situation where you would ideally have it off. Some countries require this to be the case, so it tends to happen for all. Asking the question again doesn't change the logic because you don't agree with it. Lots of things are OTT but still happen.

Only going around in circles cos people were not answering the question & initially insisting that any tell tale/warning light must be to say the passenger airbag was OFF or that ISOfix was somehow connected with the airbag/SRS system o_O

John L is the only one that has read the original post properly and confirmed that his Volvo is the same (and I know a new Fiesta is the same)
 

400ixl

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Most cars are the same as they have to comply to the same regulations in certain countries. Our Hyundai is exactly the same.

That's just a fact of modern cars and manufacturers responding to a litigation society and more regulations do they don't get sued for the reasons that everyone has been saying.

You also have not been reading. Its not that the ISOfix is connected to the SRS system directly, Its that modern cars have the ability to switch off the airbag if an ISOfix seat is connected (our Hyundai does), some rely on specific seats being used through RFID sensors, others don't at all. Because there is a variety, Manufacturers err on the side of caution and display that it is on or off at all times so they can't be sued for a lack of information. Quite simple really, but totally OTT, but they have to take into account the lowest level of intelligence.
 
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EmilysDad

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......
You also have not been reading. Its not that the ISOfix is connected to the SRS system directly, Its that modern cars have the ability to switch off the airbag if an ISOfix seat is connected (our Hyundai does), some rely on specific seats being used through RFID sensors, others don't at all. .....

I have been reading.
ISOfix has nothing at all to do with SRS. My car & EmilysMum's car has ISOfix fitting in the back (but not the front) but both cars have the option to turn the front passenger airbag off (with transponder or key). ISOfix is just a means of fitting a seat to a car's seat without using the car's seatbelt.
Late Omegas have the option to turn the passenger airbag off via a transponder and not an ISOfix fitting in sight.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isofix and no mention of an airbag or SRS
 

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Yawn...... zzzzzzzz
 

400ixl

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Or you read things literally and not part of the wider context.

But, whatever, you won't get an answer that you want as you don't accept that it is a general light now to show whether it is ON or OFF (not just off as it used to be). ISOfix was just an example where SOME manufacturers interact with this light (so what if yours doesn't one of ours does, but its not universal). But then neither is having an airbag on light, but is becoming more of the norm.

Maybe someone else will be able to phrase the same answer in a different way that you will accept as John and mine are the same answer. Good luck to them.
 

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