Overly-sensitive Passenger air-bag Sensor

[993Fan]

Originally Posted by Humpie

The next time you are in for service, have your dealer disable the passenger side warning. This is an option that is available with TechStream software. I had my dealer to disable mine on the second oil change.

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.

[Wolfking]

Originally Posted by raptor87

This has been covered before but this car does not use a pressure sensitive airbag sensor. The unit in this car is capacitive and anything with a battery in it will trip the sensor.

That being said my phone will not trip the sensor in my BRZ but it did trip the sensor in an FRS I was sitting in I suspect it has something to do with the difference in seat materials.

I'm not sure about that guys... My 1.5l water bottle has no batteries!

[raptor87]

Originally Posted by Wolfking

I'm not sure about that guys... My 1.5l water bottle has no batteries!

Is it cold water? does the bottle sweat?

the manual also says this

If the front passenger’s seat cushion is wet, this may adversely affect the
ability of the system to determine deployment. If the seat cushion is wet, the
front passenger should stop sitting on the front passenger’s seat. Wipe off
water from the seat immediately, let the seat dry naturally and then check
the SRS airbag system warning light as follows.

[993Fan]

The bottom line is that the passenger seat sensor design appears to be a POS

[Wolfking]

No living water bottles in my car, so no! Lol! I know what you meant... I'd never place
a wet anything on my upholstery.

[Demandred7]

A little off topic, but, digging the avatar. Romy from Robotech (aka Macross).

[ET86]

Yeah, hella annoying

[993Fan]

Originally Posted by raptor87

a little kid without an electronic toy will trigger the sensor

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.

[marebear]

Originally Posted by Demandred7

A little off topic, but, digging the avatar. Romy from Robotech (aka Macross).

I think it's cool someone knows where she's from.


(I know her as Rook Bartley, tho.)

[Demandred7]

Originally Posted by marebear

I think it's cool someone knows where she's from.


(I know her as Rook Bartley, tho.)

My bad, I think that was her ex-boyfriend. It has been a while since I watched the series.

[airjonny]

Why can't we have both? Does it have to eat mustangs and camaros in a straight line? Of course not. But lets not ask like more power wouldn't turn this car into a legend.

[chrisl]

Originally Posted by airjonny

Why can't we have both? Does it have to eat mustangs and camaros in a straight line? Of course not. But lets not ask like more power wouldn't turn this car into a legend.

You could have both, but it'd be quite a bit more expensive. They choose to make it lightweight, agile, and inexpensive, rather than lightweight, agile, and powerful.

[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 [ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=autom otive&keywords=front%2Bpassenger%2Bseat&linkCode=u r2"]front passenger seat[/ame], 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
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=autom otive&keywords=front%2Bpassenger%2Bseat&linkCode=u r2"]front passenger seat[/ame] 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 [ame="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MJUNW04"]electrical charge[/ame]. Have
you ever been shocked when walking across a carpeted floor and touching a door knob? This
demonstrates your ability to store an [ame="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MJUNW04"]electrical charge[/ame] 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 [ame="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MJUNW04"]electrical charge[/ame], for example, those caused by laptops that are processing data, [ame="http://www.**************.com/#"]cellphones[/ame]
that are on or even an electric device connected to a [ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=autom otive&keywords=car%2Bcharger&linkCode=ur2"]car charger[/ame] 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 [ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=autom otive&keywords=front%2Bpassenger%2Bseat&linkCode=u r2"]front passenger seat[/ame]. (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 [ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=autom otive&keywords=booster%2Bseat&linkCode=ur2"]booster seat[/ame] in the front of the
vehicle. See Owner Manual for more detail.
Cc: DPSMs, RSOM

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by pooch

Found this on a Subaru BRZ Forum,

Yep not just the same "factory" they are the same car as far as things like this go.
This does make what some of us said all along official though. It is the electrical charge or moisture content of things that set it off not weight.