So Hoosier, I take it from your video ..... if my occupied passenger seat light does NOT illuminate, then the light sensor may be faulty or the air bag has a problem? Correct?
The mechanic shop, with test gear to test the air bag, informs me there is nothing wrong with the air bag's functionality. They quoted a repair cost of the status light, but thus far I have just trusted their word that the air bag will function. A light going on and off seems less than significant.
Your video does tell me what is actually supposed to be happening on the dash. Thanks for your effort.:cheers:
I don't think that the passenger side air bag is a problem. Most of what people here have experienced is either the light is malfunctioning or the seat sensor is faulty. I don't think that the passenger bag will deploy if the seat is not showing a passenger present. I am not sure how you would test the light to see if it is faulty.
My video here was mostly to show that you don't have to visit a dealer to have the sensor reprogrammed. There was some discussion here on the forum about that. And also to show that most likely most models and years either Sky or Solstice would be a viable replacement. If you are experiencing a code or "light" in the DIC then you most likely have a problem with the sensor.
I unhooked the passenger side seat sensor and started vehicle. The "service air bag" warning light appeared in the DIC. I then shut off the vehicle and plugged the sensor back in restarted vehicle and no service air bag was showing. Restarted vehicle a couple of times more just to confirm, still no light.
I did this! Bought the pad/sensor on ebay for 300.00 Installed myself in about 40 minutes. Had to go out and buy some new "christmas trees" that hold the seat cover to the frame. Took it to the local Chevy dealer (after greasing the skids with an email to the service manager). They charged me 110.00 to reflash/recalibrate.
Picked up the car with my wife and the "Passenger Airbag Off" message initially comes on, then changes to "On" after a few, long, seconds. Cool!
Now wife gives the green light for performance enhancements! Cooler!
We present this information to inform, and persuade, hopefully providing momentum to ensure loss of life does not occur due to a faulty airbag sensor. The evidence is clear, as it has been documented carefully over 67 pages by Troy Lyman, that GM holds a responsibility to its customers over this safety issue.
So Troy, i read your 67 pages twice, but i couldn't find any proof that the a failed seat sensor mat is leading to the non-deployment of the airbag in the event of a collision. ? (even not a single sentence!)
I state, that the both airbags still working with a broken passengers sensor mat.
So Troy, i read your 67 pages twice, but i couldn't find any proof that the a failed seat sensor mat is leading to the non-deployment of the airbag in the event of a collision. �� (even not a single sentence!)
I state, that the both airbags still working with a broken passengers sensor mat.
If you read the report and look through the supporting documents, you'll see that out of all the recalls mentioned, BMW, Mini, Kia, Suzuki, and GM, and the reports from Kappa owners...there has only been ONE injury due to a non-deployed passenger air bag because the sensor mat was broken. (It was in the BMW documentation.)
The reason I state in that document that a defective mat may result in non-deployment of the passenger airbag is because the manufacturers' in their official responses to the NHTSA state that. GM, BMW, Mini, and I believe Suzuki ALL claim that if the sensor mat is broken, the passenger airbag will not deploy.
With that kind of statement coming from the manufacturer, I'm not sure you NEED proof that it won't deploy if the mat is damaged. That the manufacturer believes this to be so is reason enough to properly address the sensor mat problem.
That is the purpose of that document...to get the NHTSA to open an investigation into the issue and I believe what has been stated by the manufacturers and NHTSA's data is sufficient to prove an investigation needs to be done.
If the sensor mat doesn't detect a passenger, the passenger side airbag does not get turned on and therefore does not deploy in the event of a head-on collision that would normally cause passenger side airbag deployment.
The issue of whether the airbags deploy properly at all in any accident is a whole other debate that is still being hashed and unfortunately is not as easy (relatively speaking) to prove/disprove.
Very easy to replace. I just bought a pair of seats off eBay ($400, vs $350 for a sensor) and swapped it over. No reflash or recalibration necessary. Easiest way to do it is to unbolt and take the seat out.
german_gt, the argument put forth by that paper is that the statements you quote off page five of my paper are false, especially that first one. It is my argument that the CTS passenger sensor mat IS similar to the Kappa passenger sensor mat and thus susceptible to the same failure with the same consequences. As I mentioned, of all the vehicles produced and recalled with IEE mats, only ONE manufacturer stated that the passenger side airbag would still deploy if the sensor failed. Thus only 1 of the five systems were designed to operate differently from the rest.
We have no evidence or information from GM that the IEE based sensor system in the Kappa works the same way as the 2005-2007 CTS system. However, this is what we DO know. The Kappa went from concept car to production car in about half the time GM had previously needed to complete the task. One way this was done was to use proven systems from existing vehicles where possible. While most of the chassis and suspension components were new and original to the Kappa platform, most of the interior and drivetrain were not.
In addition, we know the rear differential in the Kappa was borrowed directly from the CTS platform. We also know that much of the interior was borrowed from other GM platforms.
With this knowledge, along with the facts that the sensor mat has the same origin as the mat in the CTS, that the seat cushion assembly was made by the same GM supplier as the assembly for CTS, that the overall design of the system is similar in layout to the CTS system, that the failures seen in the CTS and the Kappa are caused under similar conditions, and that the majority of GM dealerships who have commented on the failure also believe that the passenger airbag will not deploy if the Service Air Bags message is triggered in the DIC due to a failed sensor mat, it is reasonable to believe that the Kappas' Air Bag systems will feature very similar logic to the system introduced by GM in the Cadillac CTS and thus the statement made by GM regarding probably lack of deployment of the passenger air bag in the event of an accident triggering the Air Bag system can be extended to the Kappa Platform.
You won't have a statement direct from GM commenting on the Kappa platform UNTIL an investigation is initiated.
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