[important] Airbag issues - weight confirmed

[stevemis]

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

If you weigh over 60 pounds and are seated in the passenger side of a 2004 Titan, the passenger airbag disabled light should be OFF (NOT ILLUMINATED). If this is not the case, please read this post carefully. I realize it may be wordy and long-winded, but ... hey, lives are at stake!

BACKGROUND

I've seen the threads and have had some of the same concerns myself about the passenger airbag system in the 2004 Titans.

For those of you who haven't seen these threads, many Titan owners have expressed concerns about the 2004 Titan Advanced Airbag system not detecting a passenger properly.

The Advanced Airbag system eliminates the "passenger airbag on/off" switch many of us are familiar with. Instead, the passenger seat contains a weight sensor. If the sensor detects an empty seat, or a seat with very little weight (for example, a toddler in a safety seat) it will completely disable the airbag. For small adults and children, a "modified" setting is used, where the airbag will be enabled but would deploy with less force than normal. For full weight adults, things are set normally -- full force deployment. When the "Passenger Airbag OFF" dash light is illuminated, the passenger airbag is completely DISABLED. This system is required by federal regulations.

PASSENGER WEIGHT

There are many conflicting reports here, as evidenced by confusion in the forums. We were equally confused: Our dealer stated 125 pounds was required to enable the passenger airbag. Nissan's website claims 47 pounds. Customer Care said 60 pounds. Nissan Customer care states, per their engineers, the weight is 60 pounds, and that the dealer and website are both wrong.

As seen in an earlier thread, the Titan/Armada Salesman's Manual states:

(page 51)

"Federal regulations now require that the right front passenger airbag be automatically suppressed when a rear-facing child safety seat is installed in the right front passenger seating position, or modified when that seating position is occupied by a child or small adult under approximately 45 kg (102 lbs.). Armada and Titan are both equipped with an Occupant Classification System (OCS) to determine the weight of the right front passenger. This system may suppress or modify passenger airbag deployment depending on seat occupancy." (emphasis added)

As confirmed by Nissan Customer Care:

Suppression means the passenger airbag system is completely disabled,
Modified means the passenger airbag system is enabled, but will deploy with less force.

Many dealerships, ours included, have made untrue statements regarding the Advanced Airbag system and are failing to acknolwedge the system is not functioning properly.

Based on our testing in various dealer lots, we believe this issue is widespread among Titans, although it may only affect those with Captain's chairs.

At this point, our Nissan dealer placed a new OCS/passenger seat assembly on order (it's nationally backordered) and released the vehicle back to us. When we asked Nissan Customer Care "Is this vehicle safe to carry passengers?" they had no answers. A few hours later, we got a call from our dealership instructing us to return the Titan and pick up a rental vehicle at Nissan's expense.

If you are having problems convincing your dealer that your passenger airbag is defective, you might want to print this post and show it to your dealer.

Additionally, it is extremely important to file a defect report/complaint with the NHTSA. The URL for reports is:

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/Consumer.cfm

If you have further questions, feel free to contact us via pm.

Steve and Tiffany

[titanmike]

My girlfriend is 110 pounds and the light usually stays on until she bounces up and down.

[greg w]

I am 170 lbs and if I sit at the back of the seat the airbag stays off. I have shown this to the dealer that it only works if you slide forward in the seat as if the sensor is in the wrong place. Dealer is looking into it and said Nissan has had a problem with airbags on the Quest.

[stevemis]

Originally Posted by titanmike

My girlfriend is 110 pounds and the light usually stays on until she bounces up and down.

I'm going to leave that one alone...

Have you filled out the form at nthsa.gov?

Our rental Ford F-150 XLT Triton V8 (I know, Nissan is even paying for it!) has the same OCS/Advanced Airbag system -- it works exactly as it should.

We just conducted a little experiment with the 150. Sixty-five pounds on the seat seemed to be the threshold.. a pound more and the airbags enabled, a pound less and they were disabled.

Seems about where Nissan claims the Titan should be.

-Steve

[bestatchess]

O.K., I'm not sure I understand. Is this correct:

1. From 0 lbs to 60 pounds, the passenger air bag should be disabled, and the dash light should indicate that the air bag is off.

2. From 60 pounds to 102 pounds, the passenger air bag (in modified mode) should deploy with less force and the dash light will not illuminate.

3. Above 102 pounds, the passenger air bag should deploy with full force and the dash light will not illuminate.

4. There is no visual indication to distinguish between full on and modified mode.

5. Does this mean they are swapping out your rusty seat?


If the foregoing is accurate, I think mine is also defective as with my 90 pound kid in the passenger seat, the dash light illuminates, indicating that the passenger airbag is deactivated. I think that the activation threshold on mine is pretty close to the 102 pound level.

[hawkeye680]

Originally Posted by stevemis

I'm going to leave that one alone...

Dang you Steve, you beat me to it.

Thank you for the info.

[stevemis]

Originally Posted by bestatchess

O.K., I'm not sure I understand. Is this correct:

1. From 0 lbs to 60 pounds, the passenger air bag should be disabled, and the dash light should indicate that the air bag is off.

2. From 60 pounds to 102 pounds, the passenger air bag (in modified mode) should deploy with less force and the dash light will not illuminate.

3. Above 102 pounds, the passenger air bag should deploy with full force and the dash light will not illuminate.

4. There is no visual indication to distinguish between full on and modified mode.

5. Does this mean they are swapping out your rusty seat?


If the foregoing is accurate, I think mine is also defective as with my 90 pound kid in the passenger seat, the dash light illuminates, indicating that the passenger airbag is deactivated. I think that the activation threshold on mine is pretty close to the 102 pound level.

You are absolutely right, except for #5.

The seat cushion contains the OCS sensor. I have paperwork stating the seat frame rust is "normal" as well as the name of Nissan's area representative who the dealer requested examine the seat. My request for a new seat has been formally denied and it's been stated that "rust does not affect operation of the vehicle." (translation: Cash $30,000 check, extend arm and raise middle finger)

I mailed off an overnight package to the address in the lemon law section of the warranty with a strongly worded letter stating my truck has been in the shop for 7 days, with two repair attempts for 3 serious issues. Color pictures included. I requested Nissan repair the nonconformities within the timeframe allowed by my state's laws, or replace the vehicle with one which does not exhibit these issues.

I stated my faith and patience in Nissan is wearing extremely thin at less than 30 days of ownership, and my next step will be seeking a buyback through arbitration, and should that fail, NC courts.

-Steve

[bvstone1]

My wife is 110... she doesn't turn off the light either. I had her put her hands up and push on the roof to get more force down on the seat and it took a lot to turn that light off.

Of course, it worked perfectly when I sat in it.. But Im 215!

[bestatchess]

Originally Posted by bvstone1

My wife is 110... she doesn't turn off the light either. I had her put her hands up and push on the roof to get more force down on the seat and it took a lot to turn that light off.

Of course, it worked perfectly when I sat in it.. But Im 215!

Careful pushing on the roof. There have been posts that the air blower dryers in the car wash are just about all it can handle.

[stevemis]

Originally Posted by bestatchess

Careful pushing on the roof. There have been posts that the air blower dryers in the car wash are just about all it can handle.

I wonder if it can handle some seedy bird poo from 30' above without denting?

[stevemis]

Another report of this issue in the NHTSA defect database.

ODI ID Number : 10073252 Date of Failure: May 22, 2004
Component: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE
Summary:
MY 120LB WIFE DOES NOT ACTIVATE THE SEAT SENSOR FOR THE AIRBAG IN MY 04 NISSAN TITAN. WHILE IT DOESN'T HAPPEN 100% OF THE TIME, IT HAS OCCURRED REPEATEDLY. THE DEALER CHECKED & CONFIRMED THAT THE SYSTEM IS OPERATING NORMALLY AND STATED THAT THEY COULD DO NOTHING MORE. AT THIS POINT MY WIFE IS RIDING IN OUR TRUCK WITHOUT AN AIRBAG. WHILE SHE DOES WEAR A SEATBELT, I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THE COMFORT OF KNOWING THE FULL SAFETY SYSTEM IS OPERATIONAL IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT. RESEARCH AND OTHER COMPLAINTS POSTED HERE SHOW TAHT THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATED PROBLEM.

[stevemis]

... and another one.

Make : NISSAN Model : TITAN Year : 2004
Crash : No Fire : No Number of Injuries: 0
ODI ID Number : 10073293 Date of Failure: April 12, 2004
Component: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE
Summary:
PASSENGER AIRBAG REMAINS TURNED OFF WITH 170 POUND PASSENGER. SENSOR TOO FAR FORWARD AND IF SITTING NORMALLY DOESN'T ACTIVATE, HAVE TO MOVE FORWARD ON SEAT TO ACTIVATE. *LA

[BoCRon]

Hmmm, this is quite disconcerting. I was hoping to get our Titan in the next couple of weeks. The front psgr seat airbag was one of the things we liked about the truck, since I have a 13 year old son who weighs about 100lbs I was happy to have a front seat that had the ability to adjust the force of the airbag. I wonder if we should just wait for the 2005 and see if this problem is resolved, or I wonder if this is an individual truck issue and should we just test out the seats in the trucks we are test driving?
Annette

[tnbowhunter]

Originally Posted by BoCRon

Hmmm, this is quite disconcerting. I was hoping to get our Titan in the next couple of weeks. The front psgr seat airbag was one of the things we liked about the truck, since I have a 13 year old son who weighs about 100lbs I was happy to have a front seat that had the ability to adjust the force of the airbag. I wonder if we should just wait for the 2005 and see if this problem is resolved, or I wonder if this is an individual truck issue and should we just test out the seats in the trucks we are test driving?
Annette

while I do not doubt stevemis or anyone else that is having a problem with the airbag issue, I just want to add that this is not a problem with all of the titan's. After hearing about all of the complaints I did a lot of checking on my truck and everything is working as it should. If it weren't I would certainly be pushing the issue and making sure that it was resolved.

[rrumaner]

Originally Posted by BoCRon

Hmmm, this is quite disconcerting. I was hoping to get our Titan in the next couple of weeks. The front psgr seat airbag was one of the things we liked about the truck, since I have a 13 year old son who weighs about 100lbs I was happy to have a front seat that had the ability to adjust the force of the airbag. I wonder if we should just wait for the 2005 and see if this problem is resolved, or I wonder if this is an individual truck issue and should we just test out the seats in the trucks we are test driving?
Annette

Take your 13 year old to the dealership and have him sit in the truck before you buy it. My 98 pound neighbor's wife causes mine to turn off as expected.