[Guest]

Does anybody know if I can remove the passenger air bag and how to do it? I want to put an amplifier and carphone kit in it's place, but I am a little worried about it activating whilst I have my head stuck behind the dash. Also, will it cause any problems with the electronics once gone.

Thanks for any help. Oh, it's a '97 CS, and if any of my future passengers are worried about my blase attitude to their safety, they can sit in the back.

 

[blackcarlsson]

is this for your own songs Harry?

 

[900016Turbo]

LOL

 

[900016Turbo]

On a serious note:-

Would I buy a car that had had it's SR Systems butchered? I think not.

Leave well alone is my advice. You're poking around in areas that most know little or nothing about.

What's wrong with the facilities you have regarding ICE & do you have to have an annoying carphone installed which will cause you to crash cos you're not paying attention & your passenger end up dieing as a direct result!!

Get the picture? Now put someone you love in their place!!

 

[ylee coyote]

sorry to disagree 900016turbo... the passanger airbag will have no effect on passenger survivability if the passanger is secured by a three point belt ..
Indeed there is some evidence of a higher chance of injury
the passanger airbag will only reduce injury if the passanger is unbelted..
I would reclaim my glove box on my aero if I could ..however you would have to replace the airbag load with a electrical equivelant ..not easy and you always have the chance of b****ing up the drivers airbag as well..not a good idea

 

[aeropilot]

As a DIY job I think it's best left alone unless youre qualified to do it. I made investigations about changing the steering wheel on my Aero, and was put off cost wise as the airbag deactivation/disassembly re-activation stuff had to be done by an authorised dealer, i.e Reading Saab or Gordon Lamb for an airbag compatible sports (Hirsch) steering wheel.
On that basis I wouldn't by a second hand car that had been thus modified, without the appropriate dealer invoice for peace of mind that is.
Mind you the car criminals manage OK when ringing cars, but they don't really care about the consequences do they?

 

[quarryeff]

I would tackle most things on repairs but not anything to do with bags and belts. The whole safety system (called SRS nowadays) is interlinked with complicated electronic thingies, so taking out one bit is not as easy as you might think. Also, despite what you might think, obviously Saab and most other manufacturers think on balance airbags save injuries and lives.

 

[cdcarlsson]

Errm, OK chaps, as ever we're getting quite emotional aren't we?
H Belafonte has asked a not unreasonable question. After all, some cars have passenger disable switches for their front passenger airbags, so kiddie seats (rear facing) can be put in.
I've recently asked the question of my specialist (as to whether the airbag can be disabled) and he said it could, but the SRS light will illuminate indicating a fault, unless a certain resistor is placed across certain pins of the correct plug coupler. This would fool the SRS system into thinking all is well and allow the drivers airbag to operate correctly.
HTH
Nick.

 

[Paul D]

Some cars can have the passenger airbag de-activated for purposes of using a child seat in the front - but I do not believe this applies to Saabs.

When I bought my 98 CSE from St George Saab (Bristol) the Sales Director gave me just one piece of duff advice: When asked if the passenger airbag could be deactivated he told me, 'Yes', and that their workshop could do it via by adjusting the car computor!

According to the Service Manager of a Saab Maindealers, diactivating passenger airbag cannot be done, and that both the passenger and drivers airbags are operated by the same system. Meddling with one could affect the other!

>>the passanger airbag will have no effect on passenger survivability if the passanger is secured by a three point belt ..

Apart from 'low impact' accidents, I must seriously disagree with this statement. Apart from the serious danger of injuring a child in a car seat, passenger airbags have proven to save lives in serious accidents on many occassions!
3 Point seatbelts are 'designed' to unravel in a serious impact, so that they do not cut the person up - and to 'absorb' some of the force! A seat belt will not stop drivers hitting the steering wheel (which often causes the worste head injuries in a car accidents) or stop front seat passengers hitting the window or dashboard. Airbags do, and they spread heavy the forces across a much wider area of a persons body, which significantly reduces serious damage.

 

[Paul D]

On a less serious note, hope I didn't quite overdo the usage of that word in one paragraph! Must start using my Thesaurus!

 

[pva]

Meddling with sophisticated passive safety features is in my opinion (without being humble) foolish in the extreme. NACP tests and others have clearly shown an additional survival over and above that provided by safety belts, if airbags deploy in an accident. This may be more controversial in the side impact, but refers clearly to full and partial frontal impact.

Remember that SURVIVAL figures only separate the worst cases, ie death from no death. You should examine the morbidity figures (severe facial, head, cervical and thoracic injuries), rather than pure mortality statistics.

I need not even suggest the association between road traffic accidents and the use of mobile phones whilst driving, particularly when you haven't a passenger next to you as an extra eye!!!!!

Severe injuries leave your nearest and dearest with the problem, not always yourself.

 

[900016Turbo]

Well put there pva... My sentiments EXACTLY!!!

Too many idiots on the road these days being side-tracked by their silly toys.

I stand by my initial comments on this thread. If you really want to go to these sort of extremes then buy a Vauxhall Nova SRi & a copy of Max Muppet.