Passenger Airbag light is on

[ut151469]

i

[TonyPSchaefer]

[Tideland Prius]

[qbee42]

+1

[Mike Dimmick]

The Passenger Airbag On/Off light is controlled by an Occupant Classification System. It's trying to determine whether anyone is sitting in the front seat based on the seat buckle and the weight of what's sitting on the seat.

If it judges that no-one's sitting there, it turns off the front passenger airbag and the seat airbag, and the seat belt pretensioner. It saves unnecessary airbags going off in an accident.

If it determines that there is a child or a child seat there, it disables the airbags but leaves the pretensioner enabled. It treats a weight of less than 36kg (79lb) as a child.

If you have a heavy box in the passenger seat, and you stop it moving by buckling the seat belt, the airbag light may illuminate ON. You should generally put cargo in the trunk.

Otherwise, if it doesn't seem to be behaving correctly, get a dealer, or an independent mechanic with access to the diagnostic tools, to check it out.

[prius4ed]

Originally Posted by Mike Dimmick

The Passenger Airbag On/Off light is controlled by an Occupant Classification System. It's trying to determine whether anyone is sitting in the front seat based on the seat buckle and the weight of what's sitting on the seat.

If it judges that no-one's sitting there, it turns off the front passenger airbag and the seat airbag, and the seat belt pretensioner. It saves unnecessary airbags going off in an accident.

If it determines that there is a child or a child seat there, it disables the airbags but leaves the pretensioner enabled. It treats a weight of less than 36kg (79lb) as a child.

If you have a heavy box in the passenger seat, and you stop it moving by buckling the seat belt, the airbag light may illuminate ON. You should generally put cargo in the trunk.

Otherwise, if it doesn't seem to be behaving correctly, get a dealer, or an independent mechanic with access to the diagnostic tools, to check it out.

My passenger airbag light is not lit, and does not light up momentarily when the ignition is first turned on (like the other dash lights do, such as check engine light, airbag light, etc).

I'm not even sure I remember ever seeing it. How can I tell if my car has one?

[Patrick Wong]

2004 does not have the passenger airbag light or the seat sensor that turns on/off the airbags protecting that seat. Hence, if your car has a front-end collision severe enough to trigger the front airbags, both will deploy regardless of whether the front passenger seat is occupied or not.