Passenger Airbag off light stays illuminated even without passenger in seat

[daitienshi]

Can you get in touch with Mazda of Canada? Maybe they can help you although I do have my doubts

haha... they've been useless so far so I doubt it too

[FLIPDADY]

I have this same issue on my 2008.5. I use to put a light object or my lunch bag on the passenger seat. This would randomly trigger the airbag warning light to come on later on even though there wasn't anything on it.

It's fine now and I try to avoid putting things there. Other than passengers of course.

[Bean]

It is a sad thing when Mazda of Canada couldnt care less about customers.

[daitienshi]

I have this same issue on my 2008.5. I use to put a light object or my lunch bag on the passenger seat. This would randomly trigger the airbag warning light to come on later on even though there wasn't anything on it.

It's fine now and I try to avoid putting things there. Other than passengers of course.

yeah, we thought this was the case too, but we've tried putting things on, leaving it empty, but it still comes on intermittently. what a pain....

[omalak]

Back from the dead!

noticed today that my passenger airbag deactivated light comes on when no one is in the seat, the seat belt is not buckled, and nothing is on the seat!!

if i sit on the seat the light goes off.

car turns on normal, the light comes on, then goes off, but then it stays on when nobody is in the seat..

wondering if its just the temps around this year, if not gone by the weekend i guess i'll be seeing a dealer

[McGuyver_3]

sounds like you may have a pressure point somewhere that is causing a simulated pressure below 80 pounds i think setting on the light. Just the light at the ashtray come on right? not the one on the dash? try hitting the passneger seat bottom as this often times will releive the pressure and turn off the light. If that does not fix it then i would suggest turning to the dealer

[omalak]

sounds like you may have a pressure point somewhere that is causing a simulated pressure below 80 pounds i think setting on the light. Just the light at the ashtray come on right? not the one on the dash? try hitting the passneger seat bottom as this often times will releive the pressure and turn off the light. If that does not fix it then i would suggest turning to the dealer

yeah you got it, it;s just the light in the ashtray area, nothing on the dash.

i'll check the connectors under the seat and feel around tomorrow morning, hopefully that will solve the issue.

Thanks Dan

[wikdslo]

Folks, there is a TSB on this, do a search and you can find it. It describes what the tech's are supposed to do and what the general causes are and how to fix it.
Edit: http://www.finishlineperformance.com...01-07-1758.pdf

I had the same issue for several months, and then decided to tackle it myself.

I read someone was told that their seat belt receptacle was showing an output of 4.00 ohms too high.
What causes ohm's to be to high? Resistance.
What causes resistance? Frayed connections, dirt, corrosion.

Where is the harness located for the seat weight sensors? Underneath your seat, where it's often wet, dirty, and attached to a seat that constantly moves forward and back putting undue strain on the wires/harness connection.

I disconnected my harness and made sure all of the terminals were clean and clear. If you want, you can try adding in one of the sprays that helps make connections more fluent and reduce the risk of rust/corossion buildup.

The TSB also has a diagram of how to zip tie the harness to the brack where it connects, which will limit the amount of strain put on it when moving.

Since I did this, I have no longer had any issues with the airbag warning light coming on.

Took me about 15 minutes, and it was free.

I would say anyone who can read a document and understand it can do this, so don't be afraid to try it no matter how inept you are when it comes to mechanical work.

If this doesn't fix it, I'd highly recommend taking it to a dealer or shop to have it serviced. It could be the actual rececptacle is in need of replacement or something more serious, and at the end of the day, it's someone's life you could be toying with.

Best of luck.

[omalak]

UPDATE:

I checked the connectors under the seat all looked fine, so i buckled and unbuckled the seat belt a few times, that did the trick.. Haven;t had any issues since then

TSB is worth checking out though

[McGuyver_3]

sometimes if some sticky stuff gets in the buckle they dont like that usually lol atleast you figured it out

[Zotaga]

Just experienced this.. haha.. problem was with the buckle. Pressed the red button a couple times and the light went off.. too bad.. could've just told people it was a ghost sitting in the passenger seat 😅