Passenger airbag sensor problems??

[UoD]

If someone is in my passenger seat, it is usually my girlfriend or my roommate. When my roommate is sitting there (6'1", 170lbs.), the airbag on light is lit properly ....

When my girlfriend (5'2", 105lbs) is sitting there, the light keeps going from on to off to on ... etc.... the entire time I am driving. Sometimes, it won't ever turn on until I tell her to bounce up and down in the seat a little (which, of course, is fun to watch anyhow ...).

I have owned my runner for about a year now ... and I just noticed this within the last month. I honestly don't know if it has always done this or not .....

SO --- my question is --- Is she too light for the sensors? , or, do you think I have a problem here? It is not very comforting to have someone sitting in your passenger seat and looking over to see that their airbag is turned off. I can't imagine this being normal --- because even my 20lbs. backpack turns the airbag on sometimes when I have it sitting in the seat.

Also --- Does the vehicle just use one simple weight sensor on the "butt-portion" of the seat .... or, are their multiple sensors? It almost seems as if there may also be a sensor on the back-portion of the seat.


Anyhow --- thoughts and comments needed on this one. I plan giving the dealership a call immediately if this ends up not being normal behavior for the sensors.

 

[sharp4runr]

Give your girlfriend some of this and your problems will be solved:

<img src="http://www.adamssuperfood.com/data/recipeimages/cheesy%20nachos.jpg"> :

All kidding aside, does the air bag light go off/on if you take your hand and press on the seat? I think there is a sensor on the seat bottom and I don't think there is one on the seat back but I'm just guessing as I have a 2004 and that feature didn't come out till 2005. Maybe the sensor just needs to be moved closer to the rear of the seat bottom.

 

[toto]

The Owner's Manual talks about the "Front-Seat Occupant Classification System" at length, although it doesn't provide exact answers to your questions about weight. This advanced system was introduced on the 4Runner in 2005.
There are multiple sensors in the seat bottom (there's a picture in the manual), and it does imply that it will react differently between luggage on the seat and people. It may detect smaller adults as children, which will make it turn of the airbag. However, the seat belt reminder should still come on if she doesn't have the seat belt buckled.

 

[UoD]

The seat belt reminder does come on correctly. It comes on quite reliably with just my backpack in the seat.

If I apply pressure with my hand to the botton of the seat on certain areas, I can make the airbag turn on. So --- I can't imagine why someone who weighs over 100lbs. would not set the thing off. Maybe she just sits weird in the seat. Who knows --- but, I would almost prefer the airbag to be always on just incase. I could hate to get into a severe collision and not have that thing go off when it is supposed to.

sharp4runr ---- she loves nachos ..... I just can't get her to eat enough of them

 

[Spider5]

For what its worth my 10 year old son is only 75 lbs and keeps the light on most of the time but it never flahes. When he get in the seat most of the time the light goes on and stays on till I turn the ignition off. Sometimes the light stays off and stays that way also till I turn the ignition off even if he bounces in the seat. Is your system working correctly or is mine?

 

[Bluto]

I think the system uses a contact sensor to detect an occupant, and an induction loop to determine mass. Someone with a factory service manual could look it up.

The light flashes when my dog is sitting there (35 lbs). He usually rides in back, unless I'm hauling something.


My last car had side air bags. If you sat like a wanna-be gangsta, the side air bag light would come on (because they turned off). The sensors could detect you were leaning - and would be injured by the side air bag deploying.

 

[UoD]

I will have to experiment with different seating positions and what not. I honestly can't think of a good reason why the airbag should ever be off if someone of the appropriate size and weight is sitting in the seat though. I may just see if Toyota has a way to override the sensors to leave the airbag on. I would rather have the airbag blow when no one is actually in the seat instead of not blowing when someone is actually sitting there.