Passenger Air Bag Light

[Bondy]

Hi Guys

Has anyone experienced the passenger airbag light not arming when someone is sitting in the front passenger seat?

I drive my wife to work everyday and seems like every 2nd or 3rd time we drive the light doesn't light up when she is sitting in the front passenger seat. It does however work for me when I sit there.

She is of a petite build with a large rear end. So I am suspecting that her small body weight is being spread out by the large surface area of her heinie. Perhaps its not enough pressure to trigger the switch?

 

[Chevrolet Customer Care]

Bondy,

I am sorry to hear you are having this concern. As I read this, I can not help to wonder if your wife will ever read this. My coworkers seem to think you have a wonderful explanation. Back to your concern. Have you had a chance to show this to your Chevrolet Dealership? If you need assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out via private message.

Erica Tiffany
Chevrolet Customer Care

 

[Bondy]

Passenger Airbag

Thanks for your reply regarding my passenger airbag question.

When I pick up my wife from work, quite often the passenger airbag light doesn't light up. If I turn off the ignition and restart the car it will then detect that my wife is there.

I am wondering if I am doing something incorrectly. Does the car need to be in "Park" for the passenger airbag to engage? Usually I keep the car in Drive or Manual shift mode when she enters the car.

My wife keeps bugging me about it, so here I am.

Any ideas?

2013 Sonic LTZ 1.4 T

Ross Sherwood

 

[DSSPROXY]

I would be interested in knowing also. I have had my Sonic (12) into the dealer about 15 times and the light still has a way of coming on until I take it in. Started just outside of 1 year of ownership. I also have issues with the passenger airbag system staying offline even when there is someone with me. GM has not done anything to help with the issue. If you and others are having issues we could go all "class action" on GM to make them get this resolved.

 

[nikkix]

Hi Bondy,

I am having a similar problem.

Several occasions the passenger airbag do not pick up when a passenger is in the seat. There were cases that it turns on and then goes off. Therefore, passenger airbag light works randomly. I took it to the dealership and that they could not duplicate the problem and a code was not triggered therefore they are unable to fix this issue. We have videos of the passenger airbag not engaging when a 170lbs adult is sitting the the seat.

Did you get a resolution to your issue?

2013 Sonic LT 1.8
Nikki

 

[Chevrolet Customer Care]

Hi Nikki,

We'd like to look further into your airbag light difficulties. I see that you stated that your dealership was unable to duplicate your concern. We can certainly contact your dealership on your behalf to discuss your concern further. Feel free to send us a private message with your full contact information, VIN, current mileage, and dealership name if our help is needed. We look forward to hearing from you!

Kristen A.
Chevrolet Customer Care

 

[Hangman]

CurrEntry leaving my local dealership with the same issue, and the same (lack of) results. The techs are stating they can't replicate the issue. My girlfriend is also my primary passenger, and is very petite at around 110-115 lbs.

 

[4g63gst20]

My girlfriend is about 130 and sometimes the light would not light up either. I noticed that usually it happened when I picked her up and the car was already running when she got in. Dealer also couldn't replicate the problem .

 

[Chevrolet Customer Care]

CurrEntry leaving my local dealership with the same issue, and the same (lack of) results. The techs are stating they can't replicate the issue. My girlfriend is also my primary passenger, and is very petite at around 110-115 lbs.

Hello Hangman,

I certainly understand how frustrating it can be when you have a concern and it can't be duplicated. Feel free to send us a private message with your VIN, mileage, contact information, and involved dealership in a private message. We'd be happy to look into this further and contact the dealership on your behalf.

Sincerely,

Jasmine F
Chevrolet Customer Care

 

[BradF80]

My focus did that before I got the Sonic. The Sonic does the same thing. Airbags are designed for an average weiggt/height adult. If you have a petite wife like mine; the airbags won't go off because she's too small and she would likely get hurt more from the air bag than helped. That's the explanation I was given from the engineers when I used to work at Mazda.

 

[Chevrolet Customer Care]

My girlfriend is about 130 and sometimes the light would not light up either. I noticed that usually it happened when I picked her up and the car was already running when she got in. Dealer also couldn't replicate the problem .

Hello 4g63gst20,

I can imagine how frustrating this may be since your dealership was unable to duplicate your passenger airbag light concern. We'd be happy to reach out to the involved dealership on your behalf to further discuss this matter. If interested, please send your VIN, mileage, contact information, and preferred dealership in a private message. We're always ready to help in the best way possible!

Jasmine F
Chevrolet Customer Care

 

[Stubzug]

Same issue. Just bought the car this month. I'll take it into the dealership here.

 

[Stubzug]

Dealership wants $140 to diagnose the issue. - Why am I on the hook for a known issue like this?

My wife is small, and the problem seams to be worse when the engine was already running, but it has also failed to work for me (6'2 185lbs).

Any suggestions on how to get this fixed by Chevy?

 

[JKimSonic]

I'm having the same problem. I just took the passenger seat out, and checked all the connections.


Has anyone found a reason for this to happen? Nothing is lose.

The airbag readiness lights comes on when I start the car, and it stays on.

 

[Stubzug]

My car has car seat covers, and I suspect this may be contributing... Still no fix for this?

 

[Mike DZ]

Hello 4g63gst20,

I can imagine how frustrating this may be since your dealership was unable to duplicate your passenger airbag light concern. We'd be happy to reach out to the involved dealership on your behalf to further discuss this matter. If interested, please send your VIN, mileage, contact information, and preferred dealership in a private message. We're always ready to help in the best way possible!

Jasmine F
Chevrolet Customer Care

I am wondering if Chevy has found a fix for this?

I have a 2016 Sonic with the same problem. The condition is intermittent. My wife who is an average sized person is the one who normally sits in the passenger seat. We do not use any sort of seatcovers.

I have taken it to my Chevrolet dealer and they could not find any faults. I have no doubt that they tried, but they may not have the same depth of knowledge that Detroit has.

My vehicle has about 22K miles but the problem has been present for the entire time I have owned it.

 

[carsNskis]

I believe the airbag turns of when it detects there's 100lbs or less, for child passenger safety.

Perhaps the calibration is off, or your wife lost weight?

[emoji593][emoji809][emoji472]

 

[Mike DZ]

I believe the airbag turns of when it detects there's 100lbs or less, for child passenger safety.

Perhaps the calibration is off, or your wife lost weight?

[emoji593][emoji809][emoji472]

Umm, without getting into specifics on weight, calibration is more likely.

I was hoping, since this problem has shown up so many times previously over multiple model years, that Chevy might have found the error in their engineering.