It's not unusual to tun on for a second when you start the car. Also,Do you have something on the seat? There is a sensor that will turn the airbag off if there is weight on the seat under a certain threshold.

 

Yes it is the car testing all of its stuff. Every modern car does this.

 

Let me edit my original post here...

When I turn the car on, all the indicators go on - I get that. Now, I understand that when no one is sitting in the passenger seat, if I were to get into a collision where the airbags would deploy, the airbags would in fact not deploy on the passenger side because no one is there, and the seat senses that. When no one is there, isn't the light suppose to stay on indicating that the passenger airbag in fact off? I ask this because the indicator light is not on when no one is in the seat. I have ever only seen that light when I start the car, and it has never been on for as long as I can remember. Does this mean the car assumes someone is sitting there? And to further clarify, there is nothing on the seat at all.

 

Hey there, Matthew.F,

Your forum members are correct in the info provided: the passenger airbag will not go off if a passenger isn't seated on the seat, and the warning light will not be illuminated. To add to that, the airbag indicator light will come on, and stay on after ignition, only if there is a malfunction in any of the airbag components. There's useful info in pp. 55-56, and 106 of your owner's manual: http://www.fordservicecontent.com/F...talog/owner_information/2014-Focus-Owners-Manual-version-3_om_EN-US_03_2014.pdf

Should this warning light come on and stay on (solid or blinking), it should be checked out by your dealer.

Let me know if you have any other questions, or if any concerns come up; I'm here to help. :smile:


Nikki
Ford Service CA

 

Bump

 

No the light doesn't stay on if no one is in the seat. You are correct that it will not deploy in that situation though. If there is an adult there it will. If there is weight on the seat, or a child in it then the light telling you it is off will illuminate and the airbag will not deploy in a collision.

 

The car runs a self-diagnostic at startup which cycles most of the dash lights. I think the passenger side airbag remains active even with no one sitting in the seat. The car only turns off the passenger airbag if the passenger seatbelt is fastened and there is not enough weight in the seat.

 

Advance airbags in most cases don't deploy if there is no one in the seat. Not in all, and I don't know with the focus for sure however.

Since Sept. 1, 2006, cars and light trucks sold in the U.S. have been required to have “advanced airbags” in front that can be turned off if weight sensors detect the seat is empty or occupied by someone or thing that is lightweight. Federal regulations do not specify a specific weight at which passenger-side airbags must turn on or off. Instead, automakers must meet a performance standard that in a frontal collision the airbag protects a crash dummy that represents a “5th percentile female” and weighs about 108 pounds.

When the passenger-side airbag is active can vary by manufacturer and readings from seat sensors that measure not only the weight but also the stature and seating position of the occupant and other factors. If the seat is empty, though, the passenger-side airbag should remain off. Cars.com.

 

I have noticed that the 'passenger airbag off' light will come on when I put my backpack with laptop in the passenger seat, guess it doesn't weigh enough to set it properly, but just enough that the sensor thinks there may be a child in that seat.

 

Airbag won't go off if nobody is sitting there or if the person sitting there is not big enough.

 

The light is there to let you know the person in it... or object is too light to make the airbag go off. It should also make you realize they may be too small to be sitting up front in case of an accident...

 

So to get this perfectly straight..

The light will stay OFF if no one is sitting in the seat, as well as if anybody "heavy" enough is sitting in the seat.
The light will turn on if something is on the seat that is too light to activate the airbags, such as a school bag or a small child.

 

^^^ Yes, exactly.

It's been my experience with other vehicles that the passenger airbag will deploy along with the driver airbag if the "off" light isn't illuminated. It's my understanding that the bags will deploy even if the seatbelt isn't fastened, though with slightly modified timing.

 

Thank goodness for this post. I was about to take my ST to the dealer because the light was not on when no one is in the seat. My thought by not seeing the Airbag Off light is why should the airbags deploy for someone who isn't there? This just adds to the repair of the vehicle and extra cost.

My vehicle is the 2013 ST3 I have the heated Recaro seats. Everything said about this indicator lamp is true on my vehicle except with my car even when I have slight weight on my seat (such as a backpack) the light still doesn't come on. Only time it comes on with too light of pressure or no pressure on the seat is when the seatbelt buckle is clicked. If the seatbelt is not buckled the light only comes on when the car is started and then goes off. Will never come on at all regardless of heavy or light weight in the seat However, you buckle the seatbelt with nothing on the seat or light pressure the light comes on. Sit down with heavy pressure light goes off.

So here is my thing. I believe that if the light isn't on telling me that the airbags are disabled, that means airbags will deploy. The reason why I think this is because you could have a child in the seat that's too light to be sensed but also not wearing their seatbelt. That would be dumb for a parent to allow, but it is possible and Ford has to account for that. Imagine an accident and the airbags didn't go off for that child in that scenario. Lawsuit. So for that reason I believe the airbags would deploy to cover that possibility that's why the light stays off when no one is sitting there and the buckle is not fastened. Nothing is sensed, the light is off but the airbags will still deploy.

Now that I know this here is what I plan to do. I'm going to fasten the seatbelt with no one sitting there so the Passenger Side Airbag Off light illuminates. This way if I do get into a frontal crash requiring airbag deployment it might help save the car from being totaled by not having the passenger airbag deploy for someone who isn't there.

To verify this it would be nice if anyone who has had their airbags deploy can tell us if the passenger side went off too with the indicator light having been off, no one in the seat and the buckle not fastened