Heads Up; airbag off switch

[Petrus]

For whom occasionally has a young kid (or dog) in the passenger seat, there is a rare passenger airbag off switch on ebay; item # 192647886290

[shnazzle]

For whom occasionally has a young kid (or dog) in the passenger seat, there is a rare passenger airbag off switch on ebay; item # 192647886290

I had one on my last MR2. quite handy when daughter was young.
Don't know why they stopped putting these in

[Petrus]

For whom occasionally has a young kid (or dog) in the passenger seat, there is a rare passenger airbag off switch on ebay; item # 192647886290

I had one on my last MR2. quite handy when daughter was young.
Don't know why they stopped putting these in

In any case I hope someone scoops it up.

[Flat-land-Matt]

I've just bought my first MR2 (y reg), I have a nearly 3 year old, daftly I didn't check whether it had an airbag off switch. Does anyone know if it's possible to retrofit one/would the item above work in a UK car not originally fitted with it?

 I've seen the US cars had the switch, and somewhere I read some early UK cars had it too. I haven't managed to find out if the wiring was changed between early uk cars with the switch, and later cars without.

On the US cars there was a cut-out in the trim on both sides of the glove box surround, one for the front release, and one for the airbag off switch; my car only has the cut out for the front release. My car has passenger airbag disabled indicator light on the heater panel, which seems odd if it's not possible to turn it off, I guess it could be there for showing a fault?

If it's not possible to retrofit, does anyone know what the UK manual says about child seats and the airbag (I haven't managed to find a copy)? The US manual specifically says under 12s shouldn't be forward facing with airbag switched on.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, my wife won't be impressed if I can't take the little one in the car!

[Jimbo]

Rear facing child car seat is a big no no:

deactivate any front airbags before fitting a rear-facing baby seat in a front seat

https://www.gov.uk/child-car-seats-the-rules

From https://www.childcarseats.org.uk/choosing-using/airbags-and-child-seats/

Do not put a forward-facing child seat in the front, unless there is no other choice. If you must do so, make sure the car seat is as far back as possible, the child seat is securely fitted and the child is securely held by the seat belt or child seat harness, keeping the child as far as possible from the dashboard. Ask the vehicle manufacturer how far the airbag comes out as it deploys and whether it is safe to use a child seat.

This is a personal choice about weighing up risk, and there does seem to be a lack of definitive research on the subject - I suspect due to the large variance in car seat, air bag and child car seat designs.

Personally I am happier with the air bag activated using a front facing child seat and the seat all the way back given the amount of space in the cabin.[/quote]

[Joesson]

Hello and welcome @Flat-land- Matt

There has also been some past discussion on this topic that can be seen via Search and entering child seat.

[Petrus]

I've just bought my first MR2 (y reg), I have a nearly 3 year old, daftly I didn't check whether it had an airbag off switch. Does anyone know if it's possible to retrofit one/would the item above work in a UK car not originally fitted with it?

---

Any help would be greatly appreciated, my wife won't be impressed if I can't take the little one in the car!

Yes you can retro fit the switch. It simply goes inline between the ends of the present plug

You can also deactivate the passenger one by unplugging.

The easiest is taking the fuse out and deactivate the whole system.

The latter two will result in a malfunction light on the dash which will not light up again when you replug, put the fuse back.
Pérsonally I would simply take the fuse out (and back) but there are legal consequences.

As you observe the US should be a source for the switch.

Hope you sort it to yoúr satisfaction. Your car, your kid; never mind the moral hang ups of others or the State view.

[Flat-land-Matt]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your welcome, and your input. I've read through the previous posts about this, and I don't think it's possible based on the evidence available to come to an indisputable decision on what's safest, as @Jimbo and @Petrus have said, it is really down to personal judgement of the risks involved.
 
The only certainties are: it's  illegal in the UK to have a rear facing seat in the car with the passenger airbag active; in the US the owner manual says the airbag must be turned off for under 12s – forward or rear facing (although arguably this could be down to US law rather than evidence from safety testing); in the UK Toyota sold some early cars with a switch, and then decided to remove the switch for an unpublished reason; and the (paraphrased) uk owners manual said forward facing child seats can be used with the passenger seat pushed as far back as possible.

To muddy the waters even further, does anyone know whether the switch was installed in other markets e.g Europe/Australia/Japan?

One would hope the decision to remove the switch would be down to evidence it was safer not to have it, than it saved Toyota some money on switches.

It's really good to know that the switch can be fitted. I'm currently undecided on whether I would deactivate it or not, however, as the switches seem to be quite hard to come by, I think I will buy one so I have the option to add it. I might also do some further reading on whether or not Toyota were fitting an equivalent switch in their other cars around this time. I might really go down a speculative rabbit hole and see what the guidance was on other 2 seaters  built around the same time.

Does anyone happen to know what year Toyota stopped installing the switches on UK cars? If it was before 2001, I suspect I would have to notify my insurance company of the change, which might present some issues.

[Petrus]

Thing is Matt, the air bag is not. It is exploding rocket fuel ignited by an incendiary device. While it saves lives it is brusque enough to be potentially harmful even lethal for smaller kids.

Is there ánything else you would undertake with your kid running this risk?

In case of the switch, the dash signal tells you to switch it on again when not taking the kid.

In the US they should be easily availeble. On spyderchat they will probably provide the OEM partnumber and ordering can be dome on line.
The one in my opening post is still availeble too. Just make him an offer.

[Joesson]

@Flat-land-Matt
North American's I understand are fond of litigation. So a switch that can turn off a safety device, as you have found, is a debatable subject, and if the switch is not there there is no debate.

[m1tch]

You could probably just attached a switch inline, the service manual has the pinouts for it:

(image removed due to copyright issues, wiring diagram available from https://www.toyota-tech.eu/)