Airbag? Passenger occupancy sensor?

VICTORIAROSE218

MEMBER
2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU

When I sit in the passenger seat, the majority of the time, the passenger airbag stays off, or so the light tells me. I weigh enough that it should recognize someone is sitting in the seat. Would it be an electrical problem that causes the light not to turn on? And if the light says the airbag is off, is it? As much as I don't like airbags, I like them a lot better than my head through the windshield. I just want to know that the airbag would work if we were in an accident and I were sitting in that seat.

5 Replies

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
47,512 POSTS

It sounds like you have a weight sensor on the passenger's seat that can be off but to be sure lets run the codes to see if anything comes up here is a guide to help you.

https://youtu.be/gnSGfEqrf_w

A light is not turning on, but a light is turning on to tell you something? All cars have a red "Air Bag" light on the dash. That must turn on for about six seconds when you turn on the ignition switch. That's for a visual bulb check, and the computer is performing self-tests. If that light turns off after those self-tests, the system is working and all of the air bags will deploy in a crash, under the right conditions. It's when that light turns on while you're driving that a problem has been detected by the computer, it turns the system off so the bags will not deploy in a crash, it sets a diagnostic fault code in the computer, and it turns the light on to tell you.

Totally separate from that is a yellow "Passenger Air Bag Off" information light. The passenger airbag has to be manually turned off, usually with a key, to deactivate it. Only the passenger airbag will not deploy in a crash when that yellow light is on. I've never seen that switch and yellow light in a car.

If the sensor is bad here is how you change (below)

Please let us know if you need anything else to get the problem fixed.

Cheers

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Tuesday, January 2nd, 2018 AT 3:18 PM

WITCHIE

MEMBER
1 POST
2006 CHEVROLET MALIBU

2006 Chevy Malibu

hello we took our car to the dealership for a replacement of the heater coar after 2 times of it being in the for the same thing and comming back with more thing wrong a bolt feel out from the dash we pulled and droped the glove box to see the dash behind it and found the bolt was to mount the pasanger air bag and 2 others you could remove with your fingers. My? Is could the air bag go off from just raddleing and what if we did have a crash I'm don't think it is safe

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Thursday, April 30th, 2020 AT 11:05 AM (Merged)

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
109,700 POSTS

It shoudn't go off, but I would recommend taking it back and having them replace the one bolt and tighten the others.

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Thursday, April 30th, 2020 AT 11:05 AM (Merged)

LILANGEL89108

MEMBER
1 POST
1998 CHEVROLET MALIBU
6 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
118,000 MILES

I was in wreck yesterday, and flipped my 1998 malibu compelety over, total my car.

The thing is my air bags didnt deploy

(photos)

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Thursday, April 30th, 2020 AT 11:05 AM (Merged)

MHPAUTOS

MECHANIC
31,937 POSTS

HI there,

Looking at the pics there is no evidence of frontal impact, air bags are triggered by sensors that are sensitive to rapid deceleration, (decelerometers) in a roll over this forces is insufficient to trigger deployment, some with side impact airbags can deploy in roll over, but in your case the incident although enough to do considerable damage was insufficient to deploy the SRS.

Mark (mhpautos)