passenger air bag off?

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PittsburghJoe
Posts: 95
Joined: Fri Jun 08, 2012 5:55 pm

Hi Guys,

I think I may have a malfunction with the sensor on my passenger air bag. If I have any weight at all in the passenger seat (I mean litterally 5 lbs. and occaisionally no weight or an evelope or feather etc.) the light and beaper comes on. Is there a remedy to this or does anyone else have this problem? I did a search of these forums and didn't find anything. It's not a big deal as I don't have the problem with an actual passenger (don't let kids sit in front) but it's a bit of an annoyance.

Thanks in advance to my helpful friendly Kizzy forum,

Joe
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KuroNekko
Posts: 5170
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 5:08 pm
Location: California, USA

I don't have this problem, but is it telling you that the airbag is off or is it warning the passenger to put on the seat belt? I know that the sensor is there so that it can determine whether airbag deployment is safe for the front passenger or not based on their weight. Lightweight passengers like small women and kids can be seriously injured by the air bag deployment so the sensor will disable the airbag if the weight is too low. Your issue sounds like this is what it's doing but it's malfunctioning.

I read about a similar issue that prompted recalls with other Suzukis. While the recall did not include the Kizashi, it's not a far stretch to think that the same part supplier was used and you got a faulty sensor. After all, other Suzuki models were once recalled for faulty belt tensioners and so was the Kizashi's.

Here's an article on the front passenger sensor issue and recall:
http://www.autoblog.com/2013/09/16/suzu ... nd-vitara/
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
PittsburghJoe
Posts: 95
Joined: Fri Jun 08, 2012 5:55 pm

KuroNekko wrote:I don't have this problem, but is it telling you that the airbag is off or is it warning the passenger to put on the seat belt? I know that the sensor is there so that it can determine whether airbag deployment is safe for the front passenger or not based on their weight. Lightweight passengers like small women and kids can be seriously injured by the air bag deployment so the sensor will disable the airbag if the weight is too low. Your issue sounds like this is what it's doing but it's malfunctioning.

I read about a similar issue that prompted recalls with other Suzukis. While the recall did not include the Kizashi, it's not a far stretch to think that the same part supplier was used and you got a faulty sensor. After all, other Suzuki models were once recalled for faulty belt tensioners and so was the Kizashi's.

Here's an article on the front passenger sensor issue and recall:
http://www.autoblog.com/2013/09/16/suzu ... nd-vitara/
Thanks Kuro. Sounds like I need to have it checked out at the dealer.
~tc~
Posts: 999
Joined: Tue Mar 29, 2011 3:33 am
Location: Houston, TX USA

On mine, it seems to matter WHERE the weight is placed in the seat - front vs back.
2011 Sport SLS with nav Black Pearl Metallic
sx4rocious
Posts: 485
Joined: Mon Jul 22, 2013 8:31 pm

It's a HORRIBLE problem with the SX4. Like 65% or something have this issue. Mine does... Suzuki is making a valiant effort to recall them, but I don't see it happening any time soon. So far, I think this issue is limited to the SX4, but you are describing exactly what my car does. You may have to pester your dealer until he fixes it, but yes, Suzuki is supposed to fix it for you.
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Ronzuki
Posts: 2382
Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2010 5:33 pm
Location: Lancaster County, PA

It's a problem with the Kiz too. My wife sits in the seat on rare occassion and it deactivates. Today in fact. Once, my daughter sat in it and it deactivated (she's heavier than my wife and a normal weight for a female adult). Dealer says everything's fine because there's 'no codes set'. I called BS, but the sad fact of the matter is that the criteria for the dealer to initiate the warranty claim w/ Suzuki, and know they will get paid, is a certain all-knowing magic code that must be set. There's no where near enough Kiz's on the road for any recalls to be generated and, well, Suzuki just plain doesn't care any longer about this side of the globe.

Also, there's another thread on this topic somewhere as well.
Ron

2010 Kizashi GTS, CVT, iAWD (3/10 build date)
2011 SX4 Premium Hatch, CVT, iAWD (12/10 build date)
2018 Mazda CX-5 iAWD Touring
2014 Wrangler JKUW (GONE, traded :D :D )
1991 Samurai, 5-Speed, EFI, Soft-Top ( :| sold)
cca105983
Posts: 25
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2012 11:37 pm

Wow I'm glad i'm not the only one dealing with this.. My 2012 w/ 125k started having the passenger air bag sensor on the dash and ac unit light up around 115k. I've own it since day one and rarely have anyone or anything other then some books in the chair. I've been hesitant to mess with it but one day when vacuuming, slid the chair back and forth and the next time I drove it the senor lights were off. Figured there might be some loose connection that warranted removing the seat for some carpet detail and re-seating the connections but never got around to it. A couple days later the light came back on and no matter how I move the seat or re-seat the connection I can't get the light to go back off. Thankfully I found this before I paid the dealer to look into it. Hopefully a recall comes out soon cause I hate having that light on when I actually do have someone in the passenger seat. Not safe at all.
rossirob73
Posts: 55
Joined: Sun Jul 07, 2019 11:06 am

Not with a suzuki but i also had the same light on within my car.
The airbag never exploded.
I think you should be ok

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bdleonard
Posts: 268
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2013 4:39 am

cca105983 wrote:Wow I'm glad i'm not the only one dealing with this.. My 2012 w/ 125k started having the passenger air bag sensor on the dash and ac unit light up around 115k. I've own it since day one and rarely have anyone or anything other then some books in the chair. I've been hesitant to mess with it but one day when vacuuming, slid the chair back and forth and the next time I drove it the senor lights were off. Figured there might be some loose connection that warranted removing the seat for some carpet detail and re-seating the connections but never got around to it. A couple days later the light came back on and no matter how I move the seat or re-seat the connection I can't get the light to go back off. Thankfully I found this before I paid the dealer to look into it. Hopefully a recall comes out soon cause I hate having that light on when I actually do have someone in the passenger seat. Not safe at all.
There is a recall, just no fix yet. I expect no fix until the spring at the earliest, as Suzuki states they are currently testing a redesigned passenger seat cushion. Here is a link to the initial notice:
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2019/R ... 3-8296.pdf
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