Defrost
Moderator - CPSTI Emeritus
Could those of you with vehicles that have airbag deactivation lights dig out your manuals and check something for me?
I've always got the impression (even in tech class) that putting a RF carseat in front of an airbag with a deactivation light (as in, the light comes on to tell you that the airbag is deactivated based on the weight of the person/thing sitting on the seat) is something that technically is allowed but not something most of us would risk or recommend. As in "Well, the folks who make the cars say it's okay but I personally don't trust them." That seems a rather wishy-washy answer to me - I don't trust the deactivation lights, either, but it's not a good answer, yk?
Well, I was flipping through my owner's manual the other day ("I got it from the library for a little light reading!" /obscure Harry Potter reference) and I found this...
2007 Mazda5:
So now I'm wondering - do all cars with airbag deactivation lights have a similar warning about RF carseats? Or is it just Mazda that agrees with us that those lights are untrustworthy?
I've always got the impression (even in tech class) that putting a RF carseat in front of an airbag with a deactivation light (as in, the light comes on to tell you that the airbag is deactivated based on the weight of the person/thing sitting on the seat) is something that technically is allowed but not something most of us would risk or recommend. As in "Well, the folks who make the cars say it's okay but I personally don't trust them." That seems a rather wishy-washy answer to me - I don't trust the deactivation lights, either, but it's not a good answer, yk?
Well, I was flipping through my owner's manual the other day ("I got it from the library for a little light reading!" /obscure Harry Potter reference) and I found this...
2007 Mazda5:
Never use a rear-facing child-restraint system in the front seat with an air bag that could deploy:
Rear-facing child-restraint systems on the front seat are particularly dangerous even though you may feel assured that a front passenger air bag will not deploy based on the fact that the front passenger air bag deactivation indicator light illuminates. The child-restraint system can be hit by a deploying air bag and moved violently backward resulting in serious injury or death to the child.
So now I'm wondering - do all cars with airbag deactivation lights have a similar warning about RF carseats? Or is it just Mazda that agrees with us that those lights are untrustworthy?