TheWrongMotor

My wife's 93 needs the airbag dis-abled. She's 5'2" and sits WAY to close to the steering wheel.

Is there a known, reasonable way to do this?

Thanks!

unvmyrx7

iTrader: (14)

just unplug the connector, it's the blue and orange connector under the steering column

the_glass_man

iTrader: (2)

Take the whole thing out and put a different steering wheel in. You can just unplug it as previously pointed out it's the large orange and blue connectors.

Red Suns

Probably might be a good idea to unplug your negative terminal on your battery before doing this as well.

Rocking Rotary

iTrader: (14)

I think you should get a battery. Run a wire from each post and stick one in each side of the plug.

CantGoStraight

Now that's just the kind of help someone should offer you.

FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

Umm...correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't that be the BEST time for her to have an airbag? If she sits really close to the steering wheel, then she's at a huge risk for slamming into that steering wheel upon impact. And I can tell you that that's the most common cause of many severe injuries in car accidents. Injuries from airbags are minimal and far and few in between, so I'd think twice about disabling the only device that's between your wife's face & chest and the steering wheel - that probably won't collapse upon impact.

Just my $0.02
~Ramy

RotaryResurrection

iTrader: (8)

They say that being too close to an airbag can kill you, whereas without the airbag you might have a better chance of living. Being too close puts your head in contact with the bag as it is still expanding, and the extra force is the problem.

When I removed mine, I unplugged the bag, unplugged the module under the dash (to prevent the light and beeping) and went with a different wheel. The new wheel had an updated airbag (2001 nardi) but I did not feel comfortable splicing airbag leads, so it is unhooked.

I have no side effects from unplugging the module or bag. If you just unplug the bag, you will have an airbag light flashing. IF you try to remove the bulb, a beeper picks up the slack. Unplugging the module gets you around both.

JDawG707

Hey im 5'4 and my FD is perfect for me lol....

TheWrongMotor

I'll do that only if you're sitting on it at the same time.

Thanks for the help though!

Fritz Flynn

iTrader: (263)

Take the air bag out then take off the bomb (activator) on the bottom side of the airbag. Then just put it back in.

XSTransAm

tell her to sit back, no reason a 5ft2 person should be all up on the wheel. my girlfriend is 5ft2 and i wouldent let her near a steering wheel without an airbag :P

FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

Nothing's a good fix for poor positioning

Sgtblue

iTrader: (16)

The distance she is from the steering wheel may be dictated more by her ability to reach the pedals and other controls. Depending on the angle and distance, she may be in a situation where, like children in the front seat, an airbag statistically is more of a danger.
That said, maybe there's a way to put a high-quality switch in between to disable it only when she's driving?

Indian

iTrader: (1)

what will your insurance say if something fatal happens? What if there is no airbag and the law says that her life might have been saved if there was one there in the car while she was driving, cause the car comes with one. I don't know your laws over there but times are different and you'd be suprise how much things can be brought up, for something you think might be helping.
Btw, I'm with the other guys on not taking out the air bag, Maybe you can change the seat, so she can sit higher, Put a pillow on the seat or something, that might help.

Just my .02 cents, not to offend you

Also, there is another fix, Buy your wife another car, hehehe maybe a miata or something that she doesn't have to struggle to see the road.

Keith

tuj

As someone who's life was almost certainly saved by an airbag (in my now extinct 96 Miata), I tend to disagree with those who say that airbags are too dangerous. Even if you only look at the older airbag technology, fatalities from airbags are exceedingly rare, and are more often than not affecting small children (less than 80 lbs), not adults. For example: in 1996 there were 35 airbag fatalities, 26 of which were children, and in almost all of those cases, they were not restrained property. But in 2000, there were only 18 airbag fatalities, and that's after the number of vehicles with airbags had tripled since 1996.
(http://www.nsc.org/library/cristext.htm)

Airbags made since 98 have reduced deployment force, and many of the modern cars have multiple deployment force levels and sense where the seat is positioned. I would agree that older airbags can be a risk, and that children under 12 should never ride in the front seats if possible. But I would strongly consider retaining the airbag. The chances are that it will help protect your wife rather than hurt her more.

TheWrongMotor

I must say that when she mentioned wanting it removed, I was a little unsure. I'm 6'&7" and like the idea of a airbag. I am really impressed with these new cars that the interior pretty much fills up with airbags in accidents. To bad my 88 GXL doesn't have one though. (Hopefully I'll never need it.)

Being an adult that ALWAYS has her seatbelt on, I think that maybe the injuries caused by airbag deployment in an accident would be LESS than injuries she may get w/o the airbag. BUT. she's the short one and knows what she wants and feels safe with.

I'll get her to read this thread and we'll see what happens.

For one thing, I didn't think about the insurance part it of it before. I'd be willing to bet that with State Farm, if the bag is "unhooked" the policy is "void".

DamonB

No. Make no mistake; an airbag is an explosion. The problem was that when Congress mandated airbags they also mandated that the airboag must inflate in x milliseconds. It takes a very powerful burst to inflate the airbag in that time. If you strike the airbag while it is still inflating the airbag will literally blow you off of it; it's a bomb. Short people end up with their face and chest right in front of the airbag and are much more likely to be terribly injured. Airbags pose much more of a hazard than a help to this minority of people.

Airbags are wonderful devices for 98% of the population. The other 2% is forced by Congressional authority that they shall be much more likley to experience severe injuries. The automakers have tried for years to enable the driver airbag of "short people" to be disabled by dealers. Congress won't allow it. Does Congress have the right to dictate that a minority of short people shall die at the hands of a device that saves others? I think not.

I think airbags are a wonderful device, but for a small minority of people airbags are a true threat and Congress won't allow those people the option of disabling it. I find that wrong.

Passenger side airbags are mostly a farce. Next time you get in any car and sit on the passenger side try to touch your head to the dashboard. You have to lean so far forward that you could clearly never do it unless you had no seatbelt on.

This has been a step in the right direction but the auto manufacturers have known and understood the possible dangers of airbags all along. Unfortunately Congress dictates the rules everyone must meet. When the automakers cry Congress accuses them of just trying to save a buck. Congress has made a step in the right direction by allowing smart airbags, but I still insist that a car owner who meets certain criteria that are KNOWN to endanger them should be allowed to disable their airbag. I highly doubt we'll ever see that.

I would never be without an airbag but there is a small group of people to whom life or injury is threatened by the same device.

TheWrongMotor

Thanks for the good info guys! The problem is now I'm really on the fence about this. I want her to be as safe as can be, but this airbag thing, with short people, is really a catch twenty-two.

Where we live, there's a LOT of older drivers (most of which I think should not be allowed to drive). It's known around here, that the older women and men will pull out in front of you in a heart beat. The men then drive slow. The women usually get on the gas. But still, you have just been pulled out in front of by, most of the time, a BIG Caddy or Lincoln type car.

This being said, in my years of driving in this city, I've just adjusted my style to meet the need. I ALWAYS look at up-coming intersections and parking lots for someone to pull out in my way. This alone has saved my *** plenty of times. The wife is a good driver (even co-instructs with me for a private Advanced Driving Techniques school), also auto crossed before I ever did, and was in a car club before I ever was, and she's 10 years younger than me.

So I'm torn! She's a great driver. In a city full of old crappy drivers. In a small car that would not make it through almost any accident with a Caddy or Lincoln type car. With ABS and an airbag. So many things to consider, but only one life.

I wish I could pick one way or the other and be done. Either way, the outcome of an accident could be anything.

I'll add, that when I drive, I live by this rule... "Don't trust any other drivers." It has saved me. But you have to live by it, for awhile, and have better foresight, and better reaction times than everyone - for it to work! (NO, I'm not GOD on wheels. I'm just allergic to pain!)

Sorry for the rant, but you all have really got me thinking.

FLA94FD

BTW the frontal crash rating on an FD is about 0. Airbag or not it's not going to be pretty.

mpk490p

Anyone tried putting a switch on one of the passenger side cables so you can disable when needed? i.e. for a child seat?
i have a airbag switch from another car to try this

DaleClark

iTrader: (55)

Not that I know of. If it's disabled you would have to have something in place to fool the computer into thinking it's still there. That could get more interesting.

Dale

mpk490p

Dale, its just so i can put a child seat in the front, i'm not worried if the airbag light stays on, in fact i would prefer it so i know its switched off

DaleClark

iTrader: (55)

May just be able to tap into one of the wires with a switch. But, this can be VERY tricky. Fooling with airbag wiring is interesting, you do NOT want to accidentally set the airbag off!

You'll have to have a dig in the shop manual and the wiring diagrams and see what makes sense to disable it. I would think the wire going from the airbag module to the airbag itself. Be sure to disconnect the battery when working with any airbag wiring and CAREFULLY test it once it's done.

Remember, an airbag is an explosive. Treat it with respect.

Dale

mpk490p

yes totally agree, but that was my thinking hence getting a proper airbag switch
i found this also
http://www.airbagsystems.com/switch%...azda_Miata.pdf