Overly-sensitive Passenger air-bag Sensor

[finch1750]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Not cranky. It just reads that way. That is why I have taken to having pre comment clarifications when I say something that somebody would probably take as angry or a call out. Seems to be working since people actually respond reasonably instead of snapping back.


Oh and
I am not a damned engineer may their souls (if they have them) rot in hell!




Joke I actually like engineers.


Except electrical ones they suck.


Oh and engineering students. They think they know it all.


And civil engineers are rarely civil.


And those dumb sonsabitchs that drive trains. They can't design shit.

lmao sorry. just seems like everyone is an engineer in OT lol.

But that was a great rant. I swear they need to standardize internet fonts based on how comments should be read

[FX86]

i plugged in a seat belt clamp and the car thinks the seatbelt is on lol so no more annoying beeping

[Zhangy]

I think ur the one being sensitive here, not the airbag system

[FRSBRZGT86FAN]

Originally Posted by 993Fan

But don't be surprised if they try to charge you an hour's labor for it!

It's worth the $25 or so to get a knockoff Techstream programmer from ebay and then you'll be able to play around with all kinds of configurable options.

Originally Posted by 993Fan

Not sure if you're referring to an FRS or a BRZ. Also not sure what you mean by "trigger the sensor".

I just confirmed that in my BRZ, some sensor was indeed triggered when a light weight was placed on the passenger seat. However, the system correctly turned the "airbag off" indicator on since the load was below the minimum airbag deployment weight.

The load did not contain any electronic gadgets. Next time I'll try adding a cell phone or something to the same load but I'm not expecting a different result.

In any case, the FRS & BRZ appear to behave differently with respect to the passenger seat sensor, which is kind of surprising.

Originally Posted by pooch

Found this on a Subaru BRZ Forum, so being made in the Subaru factory, it should be the same for the FR-S vs other Toyota's that are weight based sensors. Since I recognized that the seat was picky that my phone would set it off but a heavier soda bottle wouldn't. But on a side note, the "beeping" sound or warning can we turned off at the dealer per customer request.

To: Service Managers, Service Advisors
From: Subaru of America, Inc., Fixed Operations Training and Recognition Department
Date: August 1, 2012
Subj: Important information regarding the Occupant Detection System (ODS) on
Impreza and BRZ
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, require the use of an Occupant Detection System (ODS). This
system is designed to determine if a person is seated in the front passenger seat, and more importantly, if
the person is of adequate size to be protected in the event of the deployment of the front passenger seat
airbag (SRS) in a moderate to severe frontal collision.
Most Occupant Detection Systems measure the weight of the front seat passenger, to determine if the
front passenger seat airbag should deploy.
All 2012 and 2013 Impreza and 2013 BRZ models use a new type of Occupant Detection System called
Electrostatic Capacitance Sensor ODS. This system does not use weight to determine whether to turn the
Occupant Detection System ON and OFF. It is important that you understand the operation of this system
so that you can explain its operation and precautions to your customers.
Electrostatic Capacitance Sensor ODS uses electrostatic capacitance to determine passenger airbag
status. Electrostatic capacitance represents a material’s capability of storing an electrical charge. Have
you ever been shocked when walking across a carpeted floor and touching a door knob? This
demonstrates your ability to store an electrical charge in your body.
When anyone is seated or when anything is placed on the front passenger seat, there is a change to that
capacitance value. This change in capacitance value is what the Electrostatic Capacitance Sensor ODS
uses to determine whether the front passenger seat airbag (SRS) will be ON or OFF.
Everything that is placed on the seat has the potential to affect a change in capacitance value. The
system can determine whether to change the OFF status of an airbag to ON depending on what is on the
passenger seat, which in turn causes a change in capacitance value. Some examples:
 A proper sized passenger will change the OFF status of an airbag to ON
 Plastic, metals and other substances, even if at a heavy weight, will not change the OFF status of an
airbag
 A false electrical charge, for example, those caused by laptops that are processing data, cellphones
that are on or even an electric device connected to a car charger can cause the airbag status to
switch to ON
 When water or anything with high moisture content is spilled on the front passenger seat cushion, the
airbag is designed to remain OFF until the seat cushion is dry. This will also be the case if the
passenger has moisture on their clothing, such as rain-soaked pants or raingear. In each of these
situations, the airbag status may remain OFF even if a passenger is seated.
Subject information for customers:
 “The Electrostatic Capacitance Sensor ODS on 2012 and 2013 Impreza and 2013 BRZ models uses
an electric charge to determine what is on the front passenger seat. (To assure the customer that
they will not get shocked, use the static electricity and touching the door knob example)
 Advise the passenger not to sit in the front passenger seat if the seat cushion is wet or if their clothing
is wet.
 The best way to ensure proper operation is to keep everything off the front passenger seat except a
passenger
 For more detailed information, stress to your customer the importance of reading and understanding
the Owner Manual
By reading the Owner Manual, your understanding of how this system functions directly affects how
confidently you will be able to discuss this ODS system to your customers. For more detailed information
on this and other types of Occupant Detection systems used in other model year Subaru vehicles, please
click on this link to register and attend a web based technical overview: technician training video.
*Passengers seated in the front of the vehicle must meet all State and Federal regulations according to
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208. Never install a child seat or booster seat in the front of the
vehicle. See Owner Manual for more detail.
Cc: DPSMs, RSOM

Originally Posted by FX86

i plugged in a seat belt clamp and the car thinks the seatbelt is on lol so no more annoying beeping

Carista app ($20) + Bluetooth obd2 dongle ($5), and you can disable the airbag beep as well as other anoyances seatbelt chimes etc and enable other features (auto lock after 30 seconds and others). Rather then dealing with tech stream which is some cases people can't get the pirated copies to work properly

[FX86]

Originally Posted by FRSBRZGT86FAN

Carista app ($20) + Bluetooth obd2 dongle ($5), and you can disable the airbag beep as well as other anoyances seatbelt chimes etc and enable other features (auto lock after 30 seconds and others). Rather then dealing with tech stream which is some cases people can't get the pirated copies to work properly

thanks, i didn't know that's all it required....i'll most likely pick that up because i wanted to change some of those little settings but didn't want to go the stealership about it

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by FRSBRZGT86FAN

Carista app ($20) + Bluetooth obd2 dongle ($5), and you can disable the airbag beep as well as other anoyances seatbelt chimes etc and enable other features (auto lock after 30 seconds and others). Rather then dealing with tech stream which is some cases people can't get the pirated copies to work properly

Ahhhh poor thieves can't get there stolen goods to work?

[FRSBRZGT86FAN]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Ahhhh poor thieves can't get there stolen goods to work?

I mean I understand pirating in some ways but techstream quite frankly has a pay wall specifically to prevent people from ruining there cars. If you're smart enough to torrent or pirate it (follow the guide on the forum), then I think you know what you're doing

[Stratoside]

that's normal lol
mine used to activate when i put my house keys on it, but it didn't activate when i put backpack full of books and stuff

i'm not sure how the sensor works, not sure if it's conductivity or weight or something else totally different

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Stratoside

that's normal lol
mine used to activate when i put my house keys on it, but it didn't activate when i put backpack full of books and stuff

i'm not sure how the sensor works, not sure if it's conductivity or weight or something else totally different

That is mentioned about 20 times in the course of this thread. Actually reading it would give you an answer.

[billwot]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

That is mentioned about 20 times in the course of this thread. Actually reading it would give you an answer.

Actually, it has not only been mentioned, it has been explained in some detail.

[FRSBRZGT86FAN]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

That is mentioned about 20 times in the course of this thread. Actually reading it would give you an answer.

Originally Posted by billwot

Actually, it has not only been mentioned, it has been explained in some detail.

Originally Posted by Stratoside

that's normal lol
mine used to activate when i put my house keys on it, but it didn't activate when i put backpack full of books and stuff

i'm not sure how the sensor works, not sure if it's conductivity or weight or something else totally different

Because it seems you can't read, the FR-S and other Toyota Lexus vehicles most likely, although this may be a Subaru specific technology because the impreza has it as well, also the chevy volt also has this technology. NO LONGER USE A WEIGHT SENSOR. It may be a licensing sort of deal with this company: https://www.iee.lu/en/products/automotive/bodysense
The technology utilizes an electrical capacitance based sensor. Capacitance can be used to calculate the mass of the person sitting there. Hence electronic devices that transmit like cell phones, or conduct like keys will give false readings. By the same token however, a 200 pound lump of plastic would probably not turn the light on unless it's somehow conductive.



This is from a write-up on a Subaru website:

>A proper sized passenger will change the OFF status of an airbag to ON.


>Platic, metals and other substances, even if at a heavy weight, will not change the OFF status of an airbag.


>A false electrical charge, for example, those caused by laptops that are processing data, cellphones that are on, or even an electric device connected to a car charger can cause the airbag status to switch ON.


>When water or anything with high moisture content is spilled on the front passenger seat cushion, the airbag is designed to remain OFF until the seat cushion is dry. This will also be the case if the passenger has moisture on their clothing, such as rain-soaked pants or rain gear. In each of these situations, the airbag status may remain OFF even if a passenger is seated.




The Electrostatic Capacitance Sensor ODS on 2012 and 2013 Impreza and 2013 BRZ models uses a low level electrical charge to determine what is on the front passenger seat. This low level charge will NOT result in an electrical shock.


Passengers are advised NOT to sit in the front passenger seat if the seat cushion is wet or if their clothing is wet. The best way to ensure proper operation is to keep everything off the front seat except a passenger.

Remember, anything not belted in can be a projectile in the event of a crash and could increase injuries.



It'd be nice if someone stickied this so we don't get more of these posts

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by FRSBRZGT86FAN

It'd be nice if someone stickied this so we don't get more of these posts

Dude, we can't get people to read the manual much less a stickied post.


Besides I already thought of this one and had ichi put it in the info thread.
See #16:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=96158