Air bag bypass switch?

Bird · Apr 30, 2003

( Where did they put the switch? )

Jeff, I've never disabled my airbags; just read about it in the manual. I just now went out and looked at the manual again in my '99 F150 Supercab. It has air-conditioning vents on either side of the radio in the center of the dash, and the heater/air-conditioning controls are right under the radio. The airbag indicator light, switch, and labels are just to the right of the heater/air-conditioning controls and below that air vent or outlet. The "switch" is simply a place to insert the ignition key and turn about 45 degrees clockwise and take out the key. And you have to do the same thing, in reverse, to turn it back on.

Now if I remember what I read in the manual for the '01 Windstar, it's a different procedure to turn it off, the indicator light is in about the same place, but I think it turns itself back on after you kill the engine and restart it. In other words you have to turn it off each time you go somewhere. And I might be remembering wrong /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif but the Windstar isn't here and I won't see it again until tomorrow. I'll try to remember and check it tomorrow.

Inspector507 · Apr 30, 2003

The F-150 has a switch because there is not enough room for a car seat in the rear seat if you have one. The Taurus has a back seat that will accomodate the car seats, hence no cut-off switch.
Given that reasoning.......Why does the Windstar have one??
/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Bird · Apr 30, 2003

( Given that reasoning.......Why does the Windstar have one?? )

Beats me. I thought maybe all the Fords had them, but I just called one of my daughters and she said her 2002 Taurus does not have. Of course, I bought both my '99 F150 and my '01 Windstar second hand; maybe it was an option instead of standard equipment. Well . . ., now that I think about it though, the manual simply says it has the switch; didn't say "if equipped" like it does for a lot of things.

thcri · Apr 30, 2003

Do you guys want to get in trouble? Don't do what I did with my Dodge Ram 150. It had the switch and when my wife got in I reached over and shut it off. She asked me what that was for, I told her it was to shut the "air bag" off. She hit pretty hard across the head. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

So from experience explain it different.

hurting in minnesota
murph

Bird · Apr 30, 2003

/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gifI said I'd never turned mine off; don't even know whether they work but the manuals say they do. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

thcri · Apr 30, 2003

After turning mine off my wife kept talking so Im not so sure they work /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

All in all I love her much, she does enjoy me teasing her some. She really didn't hit me.

murph

TOMLESCOEQUIP · Apr 30, 2003

Jeff..........They put the on-off switch in the center console.........also they put a indicator light next to the dash guages that alerts you that the passenger bag is shut off..........Murph............My 2002 dodge has an extended cab/rear seat and the on-off switch too? go figure...............As to the other post about the vehicle with the 50 # seat sensor ....my 7 year old weighs 58 lbs and I wouldn't trust the sensor with my son's life................Tom

thcri · Apr 30, 2003

My dodge was an extended cab, in fact the first year they made the double doors in the back. It still had the bypass. My partners Ford is an extended cab 2001 and it has the switch, my 2001 f150 crew does not have the switch.

murph

Jeff396 · May 1, 2003

I'm surprised they would pick 50 lbs for the cut off too. It would seem to me that even a 100 # adult is more than likely too short for safe use of an airbag.

I haven't looked at cars in a while. The Taurus did have a couple of nice safety features I hadn't heard about. First, the airbags sense the location of the seat and the deployment speed is adjusted depending on how close you are to the wheel or dash. Also, the Tuarus had the adjustable pedals to get shorter people a little further away from the steering wheel.

If we opted for the Taurus, I am really not concerned about being able to shut off the air bag. Even without the front seat we will be able to carry five kids. Trouble is I would really rather keep the Chrysler. We don't owe much on it and it's a car I've always wanted. Either way though, the Taurus is more than likely in our future. My wife now has a job where she is racking up the miles on her car. The Taurus is nice because you can get the top of the line wagon which seats 8 and lists for around $26k. Not my first choice in cars but great value especially when compared to the prices of the mini vans or SUV's.

Jeff

Bird · May 1, 2003

( the Tuarus had the adjustable pedals to get shorter people a little further away from the steering wheel )

Yep, that's a feature our youngest daughter likes 'cause she's very short (both daughters drive Taurus), and our Windstar also has that feature.