Passenger Airbag is Off Message

[antelux]

I am getting the message at the lower right corner that passenger airbag is off - it comes on and then goes, keeps doing this. This happened when I was driving with my son who is around 100lb. Has anyone else seen this behavior?

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[sub]

That is the system working as designed. And as required by safety regulations.

The front airbag can do more harm than good when children are involved so the Occupancy Classification System (ocs) disables the airbag if it thinks a child is in the front seat to protect the child from the airbag.

The weight cut off is usually around 100lb. So with your child right at the cutoff, it's not surprising that it turns on and off as he shifts his weight around.

Although your child may disagree about their status as a child, they should probably stay in the second row until they are a bit older. The second row is a safer place for children.

 

[NoCoRH83]

I've had this issue with my wife (115 lbs) riding in the passenger seat. The Rivian tech said the occupant sensors are set at a higher threshold than other manufacturers (typically in the 70-80 lb range). He said the engineering team is aware of complaints but he wasn't aware of a firm plan to make a change.

 

[antelux]

Thanks for the feedback. I tried having my wife sit in the passenger seat to confirm this theory and it does look like the weight was the problem. However, if my wife slouches in the seat - leaning back to the seat and sitting almost around the the second 1/4th (from backrest) - the passenger airbag switches off. Seems like the sensor is all the way at the back. Will do some more investigation in the next few days.

 

[GANTZ]

I am getting the message at the lower right corner that passenger airbag is off - it comes on and then goes, keeps doing this. This happened when I was driving with my son who is around 100lb. Has anyone else seen this behavior?

I notice this today riding with my son 125lbs. We kept adjusting the seat and it would go off when it was all the way down. Eventually we found the sweet spot but it will change once my wife rides in the truck.

 

[JMazz]

Yes, I have the same issue no matter the weight of the person sitting in the passenger seat.. Mobile unit going to come to the house to address this safety concern.

 

[Apatel323]

Any updates on how this was resolved? My Rivian is in the shop for the same reason. It seems like if the passenger is slouching, the airbag turns off.

If the passenger belted themselves and the vehicle recognized a person of adequate weight is in the vehicle, the vehicle shouldn’t turn off the airbags while driving for the passenger’s safety. The passenger never unbelted to leave the vehicle.

 

[godfodder0901]

Any updates on how this was resolved? My Rivian is in the shop for the same reason. It seems like if the passenger is slouching, the airbag turns off.

If the passenger belted themselves and the vehicle recognized a person of adequate weight is in the vehicle, the vehicle shouldn’t turn off the airbags while driving for the passenger’s safety. The passenger never unbelted to leave the vehicle.

Safe airbag deployment is highly dependent on passenger position. A safe deployment for an upright passenger may kill a passenger that is leaning forward, for example.

 

[cbrcanuck]

Mine does this too. If it turns off, if she unbuckles and rebuckles it seems to fix. Haven’t tested enough to know if this will always reset it or just sometimes

 

[Apatel323]

Rivian had a recall for the 2022 models according to a google search. However mine is a 2023. I wonder if it’s the same issue.

https://www.kbb.com/car-news/recall-alert-rivian-r1s-r1t/

 

[MackLoDon]

Same experience here. Wife of 115 lbs. has to wiggle around in the seat to get the airbag to recognize a passenger. Annoying from a safety and climate control standpoint. Guess I'll put a 30 lb. weighted vest on the seat as a cushion? Ridiculous.

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