Anyone ever heard of this?

chris24 · #1 04-10-2007, 09:27 AM

My girlfriend just had to bring her X3 in because her airbag light was on. Now, I don't know if she lost something in translation here, but what she told me they said was that her seat covers (both front seats) had to be replaced because of a sensor in the seats that indicates whether or not someone's in the car, and that those sensors deactivate the airbags if no-one is sitting in the seat/s.

Now, obviously the car isn't going to drive itself, so I see no reason such a sensor would exist at all in the driver's seat. Further, it makes no sense to me that the activation of the airbags should depend upon a sensor that, if faulty, could incorrectly turn off the airbags and fail to serve its purpose if there were a passenger in the car and God forbid an accident occur.

Has anyone ever heard of such a thing? If so, is this a "feature" of the E70 as well? I hope either she misunderstood something or they didn't explain it to her correctly........... But they did replace the leather on both of her front seats as a result of the airbag light being on.

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xnsf · #2 04-10-2007, 09:46 AM

there are sensors in the cars seat...that's for sure. they do detect if there's an occupant by weight. there should be an indicator light on the overhead console. if there's no one in the front passenger seat, the front passenger's airbag does not deploy (saves some costs).

chris24 · #3 04-10-2007, 09:57 AM

Thanks.

I'd much rather pay for a new airbag than have someone in my car not get the advantage of an airbag because some foolish sensor isn't working... Luckily, the warning light came on and she brought it right back to the dealership (had just had service). They told her it's "rare" that the sensors fail, but that still seems ridiculous to me.

Any idea if the sensor can be turned off or overridden to keep the airbags active at all times?

Does the driver's seat have the same sensor? They replaced both seat covers and she was under the impression that they both have the sensors. Again, that wouldn't make sense - car can't drive itself, driver's airbag should always be on. I'm guessing maybe they just did both so the leather would match, even though she said it doesn't seem to match the back seat.

StumpyPete · #4 04-10-2007, 10:00 AM

I believe (but could be wrong!) that the sensors are needed due to the fact that the airbags are multi-stage (or at least dual) deployment. What that means is that the system adjusts how the airbag is deployed in an accident dependent upon the weight of the individual and also whether they are wearing a seatbelt. The weight sensor is used to determine if it is a child or small adult which may have a higher risk of injury in the event of the airbag going off with full power.

xnsf · #5 04-10-2007, 10:02 AM

both seats have the sensor. that's why when you drive without a seatbelt (or....err....forget to wear the seatbelt :eek

there's an alarm that goes off. the driver's indicator is always on even if there's nobody in the seat. the passenger's indicator will go on if somebody's in the seat, but has not buckled the seatbelt.

and the dealer isn't going to deactivate the sensor for you, it's a safetly feature. so you shouldn't mess around with it...you wouldn't want an airbag to fail...

and if the color doesn't match even almost perfectly, complain to the dealership, but if it's new leather, it will cure itself

chris24 · #6 04-10-2007, 10:06 AM

I meant deactivate the sensor so the airbag doesn't fail.. meaning let it deploy regardless of having or not having a passenger. More of an override than deactivating it...

As far as the driver's seat sensor, that was the problem she had. The sensor in the driver seat thought no-one was in the seat and it deactivated the airbag. Makes no sense to me that the design allows that to ever happen.

I haven't seen the new leather, so I'm assuming it's only different because it's new..

xnsf · #7 04-10-2007, 10:14 AM

ohhhh....okay...unless you can find a clever way to trick the sensor, don't think just deactivating the sensor will default in airbag will deploy under every situation.

PatX · #8 04-10-2007, 09:15 PM

Many of the sensors that are built into seats actually detect the occupant's weight (hope no-one's sensitive about it).

The weight is used in the calculations for a progressive air-bag deployment. How hard/fast the bad inflates will be guaged by the "size" of the occupant.

So, I don't think that you want to just have it go full-force all the time.

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